1. Home
2. Daily News
3. In ‘monumental moment,’ Montana Supreme Court…

Environmental Law

In ‘monumental moment,’ Montana Supreme Court rules for youths claiming right to clean environment

By Debra Cassens Weiss

December 19, 2024, 9:01 am CST

The Montana Supreme Court on Wednesday struck down a state law banning consideration of greenhouse gas emissions in fossil-fuel-permitting decisions, citing a state constitutional provision that guarantees a “clean and healthful environment.”

The Montana Supreme Court sided with 16 youths who alleged environmental harm. The decision is the first of its kind by a state supreme court, according to a press release by Our Children’s Trust, a nonprofit public interest law firm, and the Western Environmental Law Center, which represented the plaintiffs.

The lead counsel for the plaintiffs, Nate Bellinger, called the opinion “a monumental moment for Montana, our youth and the future of our planet” in the press release.

The state constitutional right to a “clean and healthful environment” includes a stable climate system, the Montana Supreme Court said in the majority opinion by Chief Justice Mike McGrath. The alleged violation of that right gave the youth plaintiffs standing to sue, the state supreme court said in the Dec. 18 opinion.

Law360, the Hill and the Daily Montanan are among the publications with coverage.

The state had argued that delegates at the 1972 state constitutional convention didn’t intend to address climate change because it wasn’t discussed. Montana also argued that state efforts to address climate change wouldn’t have an impact without global action.

But the majority said constitutional delegates didn’t have to contemplate every constitutional harm that would be protected. Nor would they “grant the state a free pass to pollute the Montana environment just because the rest of the world insisted on doing so,” McGrath wrote.

A concurring judge agreed on the constitutional issue.

But the concurrence said solutions to global warming are in federal and international public policy choices, “rather than in a flashy headline-grabbing rights-based legal case in Montana.”

A dissenting judge argued that the plaintiffs did not have standing.

Chase Scheuer, the press secretary for the Montana Department of Justice, said the ruling was “disappointing but not surprising,” according to coverage by the Hill.

“The majority of the state supreme court justices yet again ruled in favor of their ideologically aligned allies and ignored the fact that Montana has no power to impact the climate,” Scheuer said.

The case is Held v. Montana.

See also:

Montana’s disregard of climate change violates right to clean environment, judge rules

Nation’s first youth climate lawsuits to go to trial

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. – The Bureau of Land Management is seeking public comment on the draft environmental assessment for a proposed clean energy project on private lands and approximately 40 acres of public lands in eastern Riverside County. If approved, the Sapphire project could generate and store up to 117 megawatts of solar energy and deliver clean electricity to the statewide transmission grid. 

EDF Renewables Development, Inc., proposes to construct, operate, maintain, and eventually decommission a solar photovoltaic electricity facility including solar panels, battery energy storage, and other facilities on mostly private lands. 

“The Bureau of Land Management welcomes public feedback for the Sapphire Solar project to ensure responsible clean energy development in the California desert,” said California Desert District Manager Shelly Lynch. “If approved, this project would contribute to California’s renewable energy portfolio and the Biden-Harris administration’s goal of a carbon-pollution free energy economy.” 

The public lands within the project site are designated as Development Focus Area lands in the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan, a landscape-level plan that streamlines renewable energy development while conserving unique and valuable desert ecosystems and providing outdoor recreation opportunities. The Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan covers 10.8 million acres of public lands in the desert regions of seven California counties – Imperial, Inyo, Kern, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, and San Diego. 

The BLM will hold an in-person public meeting on October 23, at 5:30 p.m. at Lake Tamarisk Golf Course Clubhouse, 26250 Parkview Drive Desert Center, CA 92239. The public can also attend a separate virtual public meeting that will be held via Zoom on October 24, at 5:30 p.m. by registering in advance.  

Written comments may be submitted through the “Participate Now” function on the BLM National NEPA Register (preferred), emailed to blm_ca_pssc_sapphire@blm.gov, or delivered to the Palm Springs – South Coast Field Office (Attn: Sapphire Project), 1201 Bird Center Drive, Palm Springs, CA 92262. The public comment period closes November 4, 2024. 

As of September 2024, the Biden-Harris administration has approved 41 renewable energy projects on public lands (10 solar, 13 geothermal, and 18 gen-ties) and exceeded the goal to permit 25 gigawatts of renewable energy by 2025. In total, the BLM has now permitted clean energy projects on public lands with a total capacity of approximately 29 gigawatts of power – enough to power over 12 million homes. This year, the BLM also issued a final Renewable Energy Rule that will lower consumer energy costs and the cost of developing solar and wind projects, improve project application processes, and incentivize developers to continue responsibly developing solar and wind projects on public lands.  

For additional information, please contact Matt Toedtli, project manager, 760-833-7153. 

Volunteers will assist the Bureau of Land Management El Centro Field Office in conducting maintenance and restoration activities in the Lark Canyon Day Use Area, Lark Canyon Campgrounds, and Cottonwood Campground in McCain Valley in San Diego County.

Activities:

* Removing trash from Day Use and Campground facilities

*Re-painting restrooms and interpretive signage in Day Use and Campgrounds

*Removing weeds with hand tools from Day Use and Campgrounds

*Fixing broken signs, campfire rings, and fencing.

 

Participants can register for the event by emailing BLM_CA_Web_EC@blm.gov. Participants will meet BLM employees at the Lark Canyon OHV Staging Area near the bathrooms.

 

Event Date and Time

Saturday, September 21, 2024

9:00am to 12:00pm

Location
located at Lark Canyon Day Use Area

Event Address:

2899 Mccain Valley Rd #2829
Boulevard, CA 91905
United States

Latitude: 32.7221
Longitude: -116.2689

Volunteers will assist the Bureau of Land Management El Centro Field Office in conducting maintenance and restoration activities in the Lark Canyon Day Use Area, Lark Canyon Campgrounds, and Cottonwood Campground in McCain Valley in San Diego County.

Activities:

* Removing trash from Day Use and Campground facilities

*Re-painting restrooms and interpretive signage in Day Use and Campgrounds

*Removing weeds with hand tools from Day Use and Campgrounds

*Fixing broken signs, campfire rings, and fencing.

 

Participants can register for the event by emailing BLM_CA_Web_EC@blm.gov. Participants will meet BLM employees at the Lark Canyon OHV Staging Area near the bathrooms.

 

Event Date and Time

Saturday, September 21, 2024

9:00am to 12:00pm

Location
located at Lark Canyon Day Use Area

Event Address:

2899 Mccain Valley Rd #2829
Boulevard, CA 91905
United States

Latitude: 32.7221
Longitude: -116.2689