Description: Challenge to state lease of 8,300 acres for coal strip mine.
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Northern Plains Resource Council v. Montana Board of Land Commissioners
Case Documents:
Filing Date Type File Action Taken Summary 02/03/2012 Memorandum Memorandum and order issued. A Montana state court dismissed a challenge to the Montana State Land Board’s decision to lease access to 1.2 billion tons of coal without first complying with the Montana Environmental Policy Act (MEPA). The plaintiffs argued that a state law exempting coal leases from environmental review under MEPA violated the Montana Constitution. The court disagreed, holding that the exemption only delayed the environmental review until a more detailed mining plan was presented at the permitting stage. 01/07/2011 Decision Decision issued. A state court in Montana held that this and another lawsuit (Montana Environmental Information Center v. Montana Board of Land Commissioners) could proceed against Montana’s land board for leasing 8,300 acres of state-owned land for surface coal mining without an environmental review. The plaintiffs sought a declaratory judgment that the Montana Board of Land Commissioners violated the state constitution by failing to conduct an environmental review when it leased the land in southeastern Montana to a coal company in 2010. In 2003, an exemption from a provision of the Montana Environmental Policy Act was passed by the state legislature specifically to facilitate the lease. The exemption defers environmental review from the leasing stage to the later mine permitting stage. The plaintiffs allege that the exemption is unconstitutional and denies the land board its right to place mitigating conditions on the lease. 07/01/2010 Complaint Download First amended complaint filed. 05/13/2010 Complaint Complaint filed. A coalition of farmers and ranchers filed a lawsuit challenging the lease of 8,300 acres of state school trust land in southeastern Montana, alleging that it would become the country’s largest new surface coal mine. Among other things, the lawsuit alleged that the lease should not have been exempted from environmental analysis under the Montana Environmental Policy Act given that the coal would emit 2.4 billion tons of greenhouse gases. -
Northern Plains Resource Council v. Montana Board of Land Commissioners
Case Documents:
Filing Date Type File Action Taken Summary 10/23/2012 Opinion Download Opinion issued. The Montana Supreme Court affirmed the dismissal of a challenge to the Montana State Land Board’s decision to lease access to 1.2 billion tons of coal without first complying with the Montana Environmental Policy Act (MEPA), holding that the state’s lease of mineral interests to a coal company was not a major government action affecting the quality of the human environment as would trigger the requirement for the preparation of an environmental impact statement under MEPA. In addition, the court held that a rational basis existed for the deferral of the EIS until there was a specific proposal to consider. -
Montana Environmental Information Center v. Montana Board of Land Commissioners
Case Documents:
Filing Date Type File Action Taken Summary 05/14/2010 Complaint Complaint filed. Environmental groups filed a lawsuit challenging the lease of 8,300 acres of state school trust land in southeastern Montana, alleging that it would become the country’s largest new surface coal mine. Among other things, the lawsuit alleges that the lease should not have been exempted from environmental analysis under the Montana Environmental Policy Act given that the coal will emit 2.4 billion tons of greenhouse gases.