[{"_1":2,"_124":-5,"_125":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88,100,112],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6097455,"mediaKeyId","2828099-4f90dd71ea586eb098459ebb834b7095","parentId",2828099,"title","Heated testimony on bill to create permanent water division court and clarify post-adjudication jurisdiction","audioSeconds",2462,"startMs",8783000,"endMs",11245000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2828099-4f90dd71ea586eb098459ebb834b7095&start=8783&end=11245","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2828099-4f90dd71ea586eb098459ebb834b7095/thumbnail_8783000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6097455/Montana/Heated-testimony-on-bill-to-create-permanent-water-division-court-and-clarify-post-adjudication-jurisdiction","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6097455-2915cb31c6905d8c13da84b1b46f2e56/orig.mp4?Expires=1771148844&Signature=B4CWITK~Mo~G-o32ylnnX0NjRPyaCNLfwb2tJ-wAgyLTL5pmBIznOKL2js9LdDGYj3K~~vkZWrvGKNlQlKls8IRntWvFBLD94bXAKT9khN8BlS3yxcNvgnnXcQnG97aLZEP1tATNRecjV5l39-RymRgy4~mHTZjmtI4PZ7vog7PuEbRXMyNQKR8C0Uhj--EUeJxF9GPtOff5sf4XtXqnt6GHuWNfKp9v3NYYf~mMarwCzPr78ur0FC00CVM812ExLikODer5Qzf3Luq0IyT2TuD-wz35wULIgEyvPrVzGV9qdKnTIvD3mx1ORdduR0LbY5JlgJPAkDkU4aXNIoFa6g__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Montana State Legislature","date","2025-03-31T00:00:00Z","article","Representative Rex Walsh opened the hearing on House Bill 886, a wide-ranging judiciary and water-administration bill that would implement permanent water division courts and clarify post-adjudication jurisdiction over water disputes and enforcement. \"What this bill does is a great job of walking the process from the water court to the division court and transitioning that in a very concise timely manner,\" Walsh told the committee.

Supporters including Clayton Elliott (member of the DNRC stakeholder working group), Ryan McClane (private water-rights attorney), Brian Thompson (Senior Water Rights Coalition), Abby Brown (private water attorney) and multiple agricultural and municipal organizations argued the bill would provide a single forum with subject-matter expertise and hydrologically organized divisions to handle technical water disputes efficiently after adjudication. Proponents emphasized options to keep local control: the bill allows water division judges to \"certify\" cases down to a local district judge or to hold hearings in local venues.

Opponents were numerous and vociferous. Members of the Senior AG Water Rights Alliance, Rocky Mountain Stockgrowers, local ditch companies and many individual irrigators warned the proposal would strip local, elected district court authority and replace it with appointed judges selected by the governor (after nomination by the chief justice), creating a less accountable process. They argued the current system worked, that only a modest number of district-court water cases exist, and that the proposed appointment process and substitution criteria would in practice make it difficult to return cases to local district judges. Several witnesses warned of procedural burdens related to service of process and the appointment of water commissioners under the bill.

Legal concerns were also raised. Former water-law practitioners and others pointed to the Ross report and the historical decision to keep enforcement in district courts, and some lawyers warned that expanding permanent court authority could raise constitutional questions or create conflicts with federal adjudication rules. DNRC and MBMG representatives testified as informational witnesses; DNRC staff said the provision could be made to work but stressed that the legislative choice between \"may\" and \"shall\" language affects outcomes and that an orderly transition must protect local access and record-keeping.

The hearing generated extensive testimony from both sides across the afternoon. Representative Walsh closed by noting this was a complex policy choice intended to preserve expertise while allowing local substitution and that stakeholders had invested significant work drafting the bill. The committee did not immediately take final action.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","House Natural Resources - Mar 31, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","Rep. Rex Walsh offered a bill to establish permanent water division courts and set the post-adjudication structure for water-right disputes; proponents emphasized expertise and efficiency, opponents warned loss of local control and administrative burdens.","taxTitle","2025 Legislature MT, Montana","taxId",77694,"location","Montana","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6097459,"Representative seeks two-year study and temporary pause on large permits for Fox Hills/Hell Creek aquifer",2084,3541000,5625000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2828099-4f90dd71ea586eb098459ebb834b7095&start=3541&end=5625","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2828099-4f90dd71ea586eb098459ebb834b7095/thumbnail_3541000.jpg","/articles/6097459/Montana/Representative-seeks-two-year-study-and-temporary-pause-on-large-permits-for-Fox-HillsHell-Creek-aquifer","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6097459-fa26756fda8bd717c39d4099342ffca3/orig.mp4?Expires=1771148844&Signature=o2rp3Wmvwvlg3eS1UHn2edUjejW3fFHYfFHXNZhmosXyh~KFVWt0pGlU7tXUGQj8YKTOzfbd7ergD1oqbARrOVfRdvCbQwDdDy5GbTz2mbVRNInxJxMtLXa-5Q2ACNgCt7Kvk5MVU5PknChdktnmM-V2XSAInWBGlcX45UWy1~C5N-kGQw6ymv0d1DJ3GOzqnbw2kn9zOLX5odlS7YnFSCXD2FcEPPjGw2KNv1rvkZUVSvpKQ0-IeFhd2EfdJ4G1HG3kTtTc~40hgTKn79D6uwXv3xkemJskk8APc2ABxFEgwq-uCgP0MsoikocajZcgxfIxkqIuWI--BVXTnZj3kQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Representative (sponsor identified in the hearing as the sponsor and referred to by witnesses as Representative Teal) opened the hearing on House Bill 935 to raise concerns about declining water levels in the Fox Hills/Hell Creek aquifer across eastern Montana. The sponsor said the aquifer spans large parts of eastern Montana and has shown long-term water-level declines; some landowners reported artesian wells losing pressure and said re-drilling to deeper zones can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The measure as presented included two elements: (1) a directive to the Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology to study aquifer characteristics and update water-level data, and (2) a temporary two-year suspension (a \"may\"/\"shall\" option in draft amendments) on granting new permits for withdrawals above the exempt-well threshold (35 gallons per minute / 10 acre-feet) within basins that tap the Fox Hills/Hell Creek formation. The sponsor said North Dakota has adopted a moratorium on its side of the border in parts of the aquifer and that stakeholders raised concern a study alone could trigger a rush to apply for permits.

Proponents included local ranchers and conservation district representatives who said flowing artesian wells have lost pressure and that redrilling is expensive. Ross Salmon (Senior AG Water Rights Alliance), Jeffrey Tiberi (Montana Association of Conservation Districts), Don Steinbeiser (local rancher) and Richard Iverson (farmer/rancher and former NRCS employee) told the committee the aquifer is important for livestock and rural communities and supported a study and, in many cases, a temporary hold.

Informational witnesses included John Metesh (State Geologist, Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology) and Anna Pakenham Stevenson (DNRC water division administrator). Pakenham Stevenson told the committee DNRC participated in drafting amendments and that notice and exemption details matter; she said if the committee intends a mandatory pause a \"shall\" accomplishes that goal and the MBMG study would provide the underlying data the department needs to analyze impacts. Committee members asked about affected subdivisions that need redundant wells, the potential for casing failures in old wells to reduce pressure, and whether a temporary pause could harm needed public water-system work. Well-drillers' representatives and local stakeholders urged including carve-outs or careful language to avoid unintended impacts on needed backup wells.

Representative Teal closed by saying she would work with the committee on whether to retain the temporary pause or convert the bill to a study-only measure; she emphasized the intent was neither to deny necessary small exempt wells nor to block legitimate industrial water uses but to ensure longer-term protection for agriculture and communities while acquiring better data.","Rep. Teal introduced a bill asking for a two-year study of the Fox Hills/Hell Creek aquifer and, as drafted, a temporary pause on new large groundwater permits over the exempt-well threshold while the study proceeds; supporters cited artesian wells losing pressure and high replacement costs.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6097461,"Senate bill would restore temporary water-leasing tool with negotiated protections",1225,2298000,3523000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2828099-4f90dd71ea586eb098459ebb834b7095&start=2298&end=3523","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2828099-4f90dd71ea586eb098459ebb834b7095/thumbnail_2298000.jpg","/articles/6097461/Montana/Senate-bill-would-restore-temporary-water-leasing-tool-with-negotiated-protections","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6097461-23942e32451ef94afbcd6f6947b579f2/orig.mp4?Expires=1771148844&Signature=gLQxElrprP1KDdd6pX7E7DMFaD3HtlLpQP~b-0Khrld8-RgeCRc-cU8~Q3TDiAkpwlgYT1hj3CRAVq2sxM46dFfwAw-3xYKoRc7xICu8a5Bkccpl6ORjTi00QysTkfo~vFGrWtb07IkYFv98uZeQFRN~HWhJnGPnEL1Oe-JvD7up~1fCpfHek~JAJXPWlHh7KGxyc9ua9WHapECou6vUMDNSF6XEJ-OubDd-qmH0l~FICd4YlYUpOtoxTWwVgKilNJ0QZkFVd-ZKJYRjKv8rADhAz8BWj~Bl-mmKb-dUxYlpW6xdyDYVt9PA59qfcfnVS-Qpyerom~VNBbE3Qp1b5w__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Senator Sue Vinton opened the hearing on Senate Bill 178, which updates Montana\u0000\u0000s code to restore a temporary water-leasing tool that had previously lapsed. \"Given the limitations in quantity and duration these temporary uses do not interfere with other water users,\" Vinton said, summarizing the bill\u0000\u0000s intent to allow water-right holders to offer water for short-term uses without compromising underlying historical rights.

Stakeholders described a package of negotiated amendments intended to protect senior water-right holders while making the program usable. Clayton Elliott of Montana Trout Unlimited said he 'reluctantly' rose as an opponent only to request amendments; after the committee distributed an amendment packet he said the changes addressed timing, notice and expansion-of-use concerns and that with those edits his organization would support the bill.

Opponents and interested parties raised two main concerns: notice/objection procedures for senior water-right holders, and the department\u0000\u0000s authority to impose conditions to avoid adverse effects. Abby Brown, water attorney for Shields Valley Land and Cattle LLC, said that as drafted the bill lacked an adequate opportunity for senior holders to receive notice and object; she and others said the proposed amendments would likely resolve those concerns. Marcus Strange of the Property and Environment Research Center and Mike Murphy of the Montana Water Resources Association expressed similar themes: support for the concept, but need for clear notice and objection procedures.

DNRC water resources staff (Anna Pakenham Stevenson) and MBMG data were present as informational witnesses; Pakenham Stevenson told the committee the department participated in amendment negotiations and emphasized that the amended drafting was intended to produce an implementable tool. Committee members asked about the history: Elliott noted a temporary leasing provision first passed in 2013 (House Bill 37), and that a prior short-term statutory authority for road/dust uses dated to 2001.

Senator Vinton closed by saying she supports the negotiated amendments and urged the committee to consider them when moving the bill.","Sen. Sue Vinton presented SB 178 to restore a temporary water-lease mechanism that expired; proponents and opponents described negotiated amendments intended to protect senior water rights while allowing short-term leases for conservation, agriculture and local projects.",{"_33":101,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":102,"_41":103,"_43":104,"_45":105,"_47":106,"_49":107,"_51":108,"_53":109,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":110,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":111,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6097463,"Montana resolution urges federal attention to forest management and wildfire strategies",1177,1021000,2198000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2828099-4f90dd71ea586eb098459ebb834b7095&start=1021&end=2198","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2828099-4f90dd71ea586eb098459ebb834b7095/thumbnail_1021000.jpg","/articles/6097463/Montana/Montana-resolution-urges-federal-attention-to-forest-management-and-wildfire-strategies","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6097463-d69dbe6206bd98264732e78087d3a466/orig.mp4?Expires=1771148844&Signature=FKkC1oon~44nl20sZziyWQMbnjfmX-IWcprm78QK9TCo4wao8f2TLQZERv86G~NWu403qKLruLJ~uUY6-YIzX4bRkEjUX3obo~JG2IXV42rCNL~zlZCErLsIhIWyY18magg4Y4sbg-oZjRqkeaVtThSiFe6RebGhom3ZXtBuKI9WMxqkyTa-GwMab4oishn8ricKQDQDe7khIUsHC~CbqG11ViBcffT6i9CrJ3jQXVibrWUKg4MoVabDq1Yirl7A7NtXxoIxiHFhdHREDHu1OexCgw4BETkcm62lolUjuv2EttlS9JS74SBuLPdxzfsInOpZFHXc6FhO65v3TGYYvA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Representative Jedidiah Hinkle opened the hearing on House Joint Resolution 35, which asks federal and interstate leaders to reexamine U.S. Forest Service wildland fire and forest-management practices. Hinkle, a former Forest Service employee, said the resolution urges greater emphasis on timber management, road maintenance and more aggressive initial attack to reduce the risk of large crowning fires.

\"Forest management and wildfire are so very interconnected,\" Hinkle said, adding that he observed decades of changing practice in the Forest Service and believes the lack of active timber harvest and decommissioning of roads has contributed to higher fuel loads.

Proponents included Jason Todhunter of the Montana Logging Association, who said HJ 35 is ‘‘about pro resource management’’ and maintaining roads as access for suppression and timber sales. Charles Henkel, a retired county commissioner and former forester, described specific fires and said he believed some Forest Service fire treatments had unintentionally increased burned acreage in certain incidents.

Committee members questioned trade-offs. Representative France asked whether the resolution should explicitly address cost-effective road maintenance; Hinkle noted road upkeep historically was paid for with timber-sale receipts. Representative Marler and others pushed Hinkle on the need to recognize historic fire regimes and indigenous practices. Hinkle responded that the resolution aims to raise awareness of management choices and stressed that contemporary priorities differ because people and homes now occupy previously unsettled landscapes.

Hinkle closed by recounting field experience and arguing the resolution seeks only to prompt attention from new federal leaders and the Forest Service chief. The committee did not take final action at the hearing.","Rep. Jedidiah Hinkle introduced a House Joint Resolution asking federal officials and governors to consider changes to U.S. Forest Service practices, focusing on active forest management, road maintenance and tactics for wildland fire suppression and use.",{"_33":113,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":114,"_41":115,"_43":116,"_45":117,"_47":118,"_49":119,"_51":120,"_53":121,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":122,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":123,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6097464,"Montana lawmaker seeks streamlined septic approvals where groundwater is absent",851,147000,998000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2828099-4f90dd71ea586eb098459ebb834b7095&start=147&end=998","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2828099-4f90dd71ea586eb098459ebb834b7095/thumbnail_147000.jpg","/articles/6097464/Montana/Montana-lawmaker-seeks-streamlined-septic-approvals-where-groundwater-is-absent","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6097464-193067eaf490ae5e76b16361d4d1e3f0/orig.mp4?Expires=1771148844&Signature=gcIuEefgCD6RwwN2~Yu5JkvrJIZRvPURUZetsEDGeGlbXa3cxLu6FRNfV7b-zmbY6Gxh1hywP5qWKTnkRRh2s-d95ZJ7cjxiEU0-rRn2IQpdlOaBfJ~m0d5Sfx6UY07NKabi9OAy1XGL008HejmRy5ksxVNoIW4OM-XA8w9XVmReMkyjNEDl8mxH4RLNzMJg1cpqfSm~sF82UMZYPFFTL8MUc9ngnjRL0FdVV8YCw5JvdOCkwfqM-IlbaBH9rUjBfGKPX67MUykZNKwLZwzV2kEzx13jypTGbtTkquLwsggF6AcSp2B0PPJnV2Vdbcazn5LrhujkCN0t~Ezn9xhkBw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Representative Lou Jones, sponsor of House Bill 923, told the House Natural Resources Committee that the bill would authorize the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to adopt tailored rules for septic-system reviews in parts of eastern Montana where usable groundwater is absent. “We\u0000\u0000re giving DEQ a smart tool to acknowledge what\u0000\u0000s obvious to everyone on the ground in those areas and give families out there a far more efficient pass to get in their system approved,” Jones said.

The measure responds to complaints from county sanitarians and residents who face the state\u0000\u0000s existing nondegradation review process even where no drinking groundwater exists. Jones described homeowners hauling water or piping it long distances and said the geology in several counties means test wells either never find drinkable groundwater or reach it at prohibitive depth.

Rachel Clark, chief of DEQ\u0000\u0000s engineering bureau, appeared as an informational witness and described DEQ\u0000\u0000s role during questions. She confirmed the agency conducts nondegradation analyses to protect drinking and surface waters and said in areas where there is essentially no groundwater that factor would not be part of that analysis. Clark told the committee she and policy staff are available to answer technical questions and that the bill\u0000\u0000s amendment was prepared with DEQ staff involvement.

Committee members pressed on details. Representative France asked what the \"discharge\" would be when no groundwater exists; Clark explained the term refers to household wastewater that flows from the septic tank to a drainfield and then percolates into subsurface soils. France and others asked whether skipping background nitrogen sampling or other elements of the nondegradation review could risk contamination; DEQ staff and the sponsor said the bill would limit the modified review to areas with no nearby drinking groundwater and would preserve setbacks and septic-system design standards.

Representative Jones said the bill\u0000\u0000s amendment narrows authority for DEQ to write rules that apply only in those locations and intended the change to balance environmental protection with reduced cost and delay for residents who have no practical source of groundwater.

The committee did not take final action on the bill during the hearing; Jones closed the hearing and listed proponents and opponents for the record.","Rep. Lou Jones introduced House Bill 923 to let the Department of Environmental Quality adopt alternate review rules for septic systems in areas where usable groundwater does not exist, aiming to reduce cost and delay while retaining environmental safeguards.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Heated testimony on bill to create permanent water division court and clarify post-adjudication jurisdiction

Representative seeks two-year study and temporary pause on large permits for Fox Hills/Hell Creek aquifer

Senate bill would restore temporary water-leasing tool with negotiated protections

Montana resolution urges federal attention to forest management and wildfire strategies

Montana lawmaker seeks streamlined septic approvals where groundwater is absent