News

Getting a tax increase through the Montana Legislature usually is an uphill, nearly impossible battle. Yet the Montana Senate’s Energy Committee last week rushed to approve legislation that could impose millions of dollars in costs on NorthWestern Energy customers for decades. Senate Bill 278 proposes to abolish regulations that require NorthWestern Energy to justify costs […]

Legislation bolstered by statewide grassroots organizing FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 12, 2019 BILLINGS, Mont. – The Yellowstone Gateway Protection Act, drafted by Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) and eventually supported by Montana’s entire congressional delegation, was passed on the floor of the United States Senate today. The bill is part of a broad public lands package, the Natural […]

by Johnathan Hettinger, Enterprise Staff Writer January 29, 2019 The city of Livingston expressed its support for a state bill that would help commercial properties transition to clean energy. The Commercial Property-Assessed Clean Energy Act would allow commercial property owners to get 100 percent upfront financing to do things like upgrade HVAC systems, LED lighting, […]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 7, 2018 Great Falls, MT – U.S. District Judge Brian Morris ruled today that TransCanada is prohibited from field activities related to the construction of their proposed Keystone XL pipeline. Today’s Supplemental Order clarifies the court’s November 8 decision which found that the Trump Administration failed to comply with environmental laws in issuing […]

Federal Judge Brian Morris vacates Presidential Permit FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 8, 2018 Great Falls, MT – Today, Judge Brian Morris levied what could be the final blow to TransCanada’s would-be Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, vacating the 2017 record of decision by President Trump to issue the Presidential Permit for the project. Judge Morris […]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 2, 2018 Northern Plains Resource Council successfully pressures Montana congressional delegation to pass Yellowstone Gateway Protection Act Billings, MT – The Yellowstone Gateway Protection Act, drafted by Senator Jon Tester, was passed by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee today after a House version introduced by Representative Greg Gianforte passed out of the […]

by Michael Biesecker Associated Press, September 16, 2018, 10:06 AM Duke Energy said Saturday night that heavy rains from Florence caused a slope to collapse at a coal-ash landfill at a closed power station near the North Carolina coast. Duke spokeswoman Paige Sheehan said about 2,000 cubic yards (1,530 cubic meters) of ash were displaced […]

The Yellowstone Gateway Protection Act is a great example of how legislation should be written. The bill introduced in the Senate by Jon Tester and in the House by Greg Gianforte began in Paradise Valley — the northern gateway to Yellowstone National Park. After two foreign-owned companies started making plans to mine in the valley near […]

By Tom Lutey Billings Gazette, June 21, 2018 Fort Peck tribes raise concerns about Keystone XL pipeline threatening reservation’s water The Keystone XL pipeline is facing opposition from American Indians along its Montana-to-Oklahoma route, beginning with the Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux tribes. Proposed by TransCanada Corporation, the pipeline for Alberta tar sands oil skirts […]

By Terry Punt Northern Plains Resource Council, and Leland James Turner Powder River Basin Resource Council A federal judge ruled in March that the federal government’s plans to open up the entire Powder River Basin to 10 billion tons of coal leasing violated the law. As ranchers in the Powder River Basin who deal with […]