Montana DEQ questioned over settlement with developer

HELENA – The Montana Department of Environmental Quality faced tough questioning from a state oversight board Monday, regarding a settlement with a Big Sky developer accused of violating state water law.

The Environmental Quality Council’s Agency Oversight Committee asked DEQ director Jan Sensibaugh why the agency’s settlement with Yellowstone Mountain Club didn’t lead to funding for an environmental study on the potential effects of stricter protections for the Gallatin River.

The study was ordered by the Board of Environmental Review in March 2002. It must be completed as part of the process to have the Gallatin designated as an “Outstanding Resource Water.” Advocates have been trying to get the protection for the river since 2001, but the state has so far not funded the EIS.

Rob Ament, director of American Wildlands, said the recent settlement was just another in a string of decisions the DEQ has made to avoid paying for the study.

The Yellowstone Mountain Club, an exclusive multi-million dollar development owned by Tim Blixseth, was accused of polluting tributaries of the Gallatin River during construction of a golf course, roads and ski runs.