US EditionGroup Sues the State over Law Used to Bring Water to Rural Subdivisions
The lawsuit challenges Montana’s 1973 exempt well law, citing constitutional harms to senior water rights and over 141,000 wells drilled without regulation, plaintiffs say.
- On Wednesday, a coalition of six nonprofit groups and three individual water users sued Montana, led by the Montana League of Cities and Towns, asking Lewis and Clark County District Court to block exempt well authorizations.
- The 1973 Montana statute creating `exempt wells` allowed pumping up to 10 acre-feet without proving impacts, sparking failed efforts like Senate Bill 358 earlier this year.
- Headwaters Economics' data show there may be 141,000 `exempt wells` authorized since 1973, and DNRC defines them as using 35 gallons per minute or less and not exceeding 10 acre-feet per year.
- Plaintiffs ask the court to conserve limited water resources and preserve constitutional protections for senior water-right holders, warning fisheries and municipal supplies face threats while DNRC spokesperson declined to comment.
- Developers have used the exemption to fuel low-density subdivisions outside public water systems, and the suit notes more than half of residential development occurred outside incorporated municipalities, citing Upper Missouri Waterkeeper v. Broadwater County and Judge Michael McMahon's criticism of DNRC's interpretation.
14 Articles
14 Articles
Ag groups, environmentalists jointly sue state over exempt wells
An irrigation system is shown near Sheridan, MT, in 2019. (USDA Photo by Lance Cheung)Agricultural groups and environmental groups combined to file a lawsuit against the state’s Department of Natural Resources and Conservation alleging the state’s exempt well laws allow unregulated groundwater development outside the state’s permitting system. According to the DNRC, small groundwater developments that use 35 gallons per minute or less and do not…
Agricultural groups, environmentalists jointly sue state over exempt wells
Agricultural groups and environmental groups combined to file a lawsuit against the state’s Department of Natural Resources and Conservation alleging the state’s exempt well laws allow unregulated groundwater development outside the state’s permitting system. According to the DNRC, small groundwater…
State sued over law often used to bring water to rural residential subdivisions
A broad coalition is suing the state over its interpretation of a decades-old law that housing developers have long relied on to supply water to low-density residential subdivisions outside public water supplies. At the center of the conflict are “exempt wells,” which earned that moniker shortly after Montana legislators passed a law in 1973 allowing just about anyone to drill a well and pump up to 10 acre-feet of groundwater from it without fir…
Municipalities, farmers, ranchers, landowners, and conservation groups unite to protect Montana water rights in challenge to exempt well loophole - Western Environmental Law Center
Today, groups and individuals representing a diverse coalition of municipalities, farm and ranch families, landowners, and conservation organizations filed a legal challenge in Montana state court against the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC) and the state of Montana over its continued implementation of the state’s “exempt well loophole,” which allows unregulated groundwater […]
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