Our mission is to safeguard Montana communities, waterways, and ecosystems from the environmental threats posed by expedited permits for opencut gravel mines.
We advocate for citizen participation and government accountability, challenging the Montana Department of Environmental Quality's (DEQ) practices that neglect consideration of groundwater and drinking well contamination, asphalt plant emissions, conflicts with wildlife, noise pollution, visual impacts, threats to public health, and decreased local property values.
Protect The Clearwater is a nonpartisan grassroots nonprofit founded in 2023. We are challenging Montana DEQ’s actions as violations of the Montana Environmental Policy Act (MEPA), the Montana Public Participation Act and the Montana Constitution .
Our team consists of dedicated volunteers who are passionate about protecting Montana’s environment and special places for future generations.
Thank you to the University of Montana Environmental Law Group. Lori Blumenthal and Sadie Giles and all the students, vendors, and volunteers who contributed to such a successful event. The event raised $3000, which will help pay legal fees!
On September 12th, PTC received notice that the Cinnabar Foundation board had voted to award a $6000 Tawney Opportunity Grant “to help your organization safeguard Montana communities, waterways, and ecosystems from the environmental threats pose by expedited permits for open cut gravel mines.” The funds will be used to support our legal efforts. Thanks to Riley Comstock, Baucus Climate Scholar, for his work on securing this grant.
Judge Leslie Halligan has responded to a motion PTC filed asking that court to include relevant information from Fish, Wildlife, and Parks (FWP) in decision making.
This is an important order for protecting wildlife and the environment around the mine site. DEQ has to meaningfully look at how this project is going to cause harm to grizzly bears in light of FWP’s own information and that of Dr. Chris Servheen. It also highlights the legal inadequacy in DEQ’s failure to provide public participation in the MEPA process.
Read the entire ruling on our documents page.
On August 20th, the MT Supreme Court issued a decision reversing the temporary restraining order granted in July 2023 that paused mining activity. The Court avoided addressing most of the issues we have raised, instead focusing on the technical difference between general legal rules and new rules specific to MEPA. The merits of our argument were not addressed and, therefore, the ruling does not affect the cases before the Board of Environmental (BER) review or the MEPA complaint in the Fourth District Court.
Funds to pay legal fees is our greatest need. We have excellent attorneys fighting to protect this public land, critical wildlife habitat, the Clearwater River, and local taxpaying property owners. We need your help to get this over the finish line. The board and dedicated volunteers work on PTC activities every day – whether it is fundraising, website updates, social media outreach, consulting with our attorneys, or keeping the public informed.
In a surprising a 5-1 decision, BER rejected the hearing examiner’s recommendation that the BER rule against us, saying essentially that there was “insufficient information” for them to make that determination. (The hearing examiner is a DEQ employee that evaluates evidence about the permit process.)
The decision verifies what PTC has been saying all along - that the permitting process lacked proper notification of nearby property owners, inadequate review of risks to the Clearwater River, and did not include existing information about critical wildlife habitat.
BER Chairperson, David Simpson stated:
“This board has the responsibility to examine whether or not the department followed the law in issuing the permit. That’s our primary function but it’s not limited to that. We also have the responsibility to look at the substance of the decision that’s being made here under our responsibility under the Constitution. And I just can’t understand why we’re in a position of being asked to make a decision when we have virtually no information.”
See the documents section for full transcript of the ruling.
Look for a feature story in the spring issue of the Montana Quarterly Magazine on gravel mining in Montana. Thank you to the Montana Quarterly and Laura Lundquist for sharing this story. The article can be found in the documents section on our website
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Protect the Clearwater
c/o Citizens Bank
P.O. Box 720
Seeley Lake, MT 59868
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