When Great Falls residents learned that a coal plant was being planned in their peaceful rural community in 2005, they had concerns and sought more information.
In 2006, when a developer wanted to build a transmission line going into Canada, people in the area had questions — as most of us would. And when a large industrial operation makes moves to locate a facility near homes, residents always want more information.
Until now, a 50-year-old Montana law has been the mechanism by which neighbors have been able to secure details about proposed developments. This law provides the public with specifics on a project’s location, environmental and social impacts, and harm to wildlife, cultural, and historic resources — such as sacred tribal sites or sites used by Lewis and Clark.
It’s the Montana Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) that provides everyday Montanans with the details they need to learn more about a project and how it will impact their safety, community, sacred places, or their families’ health.
Two major MEPA reform bills, representing an industry wish list, are now sitting on the governor’s desk: SB 221 and HB 285. If these bills are signed into law, they would reduce MEPA to little more than a paper exercise.
MEPA has been under attack for 25 years. Time and time again, the same cast of high-paid industry lobbyists line up at the Capitol to complain — the public wants to know too much, they ask too many questions, and they demand answers from agencies that should be catering to their employers.
If these lobbyists had gotten their way sooner, we might not have mitigation solutions such as dust suppression on rural roads near industrial operations and prevention of shooting ranges next to school bus stops — and yes, these are actual examples of how MEPA has helped Montanans.
Since 2001, these same corporations have told legislators that MEPA is hampering economic development and interfering with their ability to make money. But they are wrong — there is no history of the state ever denying a project from moving forward under MEPA.
MEPA simply requires a “hard look” at the impacts and an opportunity for the public to be notified and provide input. In fact, in 2011, after signing a bill to weaken MEPA, Gov. Brian Schweitzer ordered agencies to consider how the new law would improve business development.
A subsequent comprehensive look at MEPA makes no mention of lost profit or jobs, though it does conclude by saying, “Nearly everyone we spoke with suggested that to the extent that MEPA provides more information to the public and allows the public to contribute, it is a great decision-making tool.” MEPA doesn’t impair economic development; it ensures that it is done in a way that considers the people who already live there.
The courts have consistently protected this right from legislative attacks. Yet once again, the Legislature, terrified that industry and the state might have to consider the little guy, is trying to put holes in the law so they can have their way — locals and landscapes be damned.
MEPA is a law for those who don’t have time or expertise to research the impacts of a project that may be their neighbor for decades to come. But once again, a majority of Montana lawmakers want to force us to cater to large out-of-state corporations.
We deserve better.
Gov. Gianforte should veto these bills to protect Montanans’ constitutional rights, health, and ability to protect their families and property from dangerous projects in their neighborhoods.
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