Author: Press Room

Montana Opioid Epidemic Not Slowing Down

11 July 2024
Press Room
No comments

By Chris Woodward, The Center Square

Fentanyl has been a problem in Montana for years, and 2024 appears to be no different.

Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (RMHIDTA) task forces seized 163,184 dosage units of fentanyl in Montana during the first quarter of this year. That is compared to 65,142 during the same period last year, an increase of 150 percent.

Because of this, Attorney General Austin Knudsen said Montana is “on pace to far surpass last year’s record-shattering number of fentanyl seizures.”

An estimated 398,000 fentanyl dosage units were seized last year in Montana. That was up from 188,823 in 2022 and 60,557 dosage units in 2021.

“While I’m glad anti-drug task forces are successfully taking fentanyl off the street, it means more of this poison is making its way across the southern border and into Montana where it’s killing men, women, and children,” said Attorney General Austin Knudsen in a news release.

RMHIDTA includes the Montana Department of Justice’s narcotics bureau as well as the Montana Highway Patrol, which Knudsen credits for making more traffic stops leading to drug arrests. Regardless, Knudsen said this week that the federal government needs to be more involved.

“I will continue to do everything in my power to fight this battle in Montana and urge President Biden to secure the border.”

Earlier this year, Knudsen testified before a House committee seeking to impeach Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas over border issues and drug problems. Knudsen has also called on President Joe Biden to consider drug cartels terrorist organizations and label fentanyl a weapon of mass destruction.

“Mexican drug cartels are pushing it across the border, flooding it into our state at an unprecedented rate,

and killing  Montanans,”  said Knudsen in 2022.

Knudsen recommends Montanans talk to their loved ones about the dangers of fentanyl. He also advises citizens to “never take a drug that is not prescribed to you.”

Montana’s State Crime Lab has reported 22 fentanyl-related overdose deaths. There were 80 in all of 2023. 

Montana Highlights July 1 2024

9 July 2024
Press Room
No comments

Lake County commissioners sent a letter to President Biden recently to make compensation for “depredations” by the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, pertaining to the low water level in Flathead Lake last summer. The letter references the Blackfeet Treaty, signed in 1855 by the leaders of the Flathead and Kootenai, and refers specifically to Article 8, which states in part “that the navigation of all lakes and streams shall be forever free to citizens of the United States.”

Hot beeswax and watercolor artist Leisa Lewis has moved into a new studio in downtown Hamilton called “Leisa Lewis, connecting with feel good art.” The studio is open by appointment.

The Northwest Montana Association of Realtors has named Brenda Miller the 2024 Realtor of the Year. Awards also included Realtor Rookie of the Year Sarah Meehan.

The new Kyiyo Bakery and Mercantile has opened in Kiowa Junction. The business has been opened by owner Will Hammerquist, who has also run the Polebridge Mercantile with his wife Katerina for nearly 10 years. He didn’t have plans to expand the business, but when the opportunity arose to build something at the Kiowa Junction, he decided to go for it. Kiowa Junction is the area where Montana 49 meets U.S. 89 west of Browning. The land was on the market for several years before Hammerquist purchased it. There was a year of demo work, tearing down the dilapidated buildings that used to be a pit stop at the junction. Currently, Hammerquist and his team are building cabin rentals across from the mercantile.

A major power transmission project linking Montana to energy markets in the Midwest picked up a commitment recently from Colstrip Power Plant shareholder Portland General Electric. The $3.2 billion North Plains Connector would bridge the Eastern and Western energy grids by running 415 miles of high voltage, direct current line between Colstrip substation and Center, North Dakota. North Plains is being developed by Texas-based Grid United.

U.S. Bank has been at the corner of Main Street and Black Avenue in downtown Bozeman for 27 years. A renovation project uncovered the historic, Fred Willson-designed building underneath the façade. Work is continuing on the fourth and fifth floors of the building, but the U.S. Bank branch is open on the ground floor.

Glendive Chief of Police Jeremy Swisher has been charged with three felony offenses alleged by the Montana Attorney General’s office. The police chief is on track for a jury trial by December. Assistant Montana AG Michael Gee filed with the 7th Judicial District Court last week. According to court documents, the State of Montana alleges Swisher committed unlawful possession, shipping or transportation of game animal on or between Jan. 30, 2023 and July 20, 2023, a felony.

At a presentation before the North Dakota Public Service Commission, representatives for a gas conversion plant spoke about the impacts and benefits of the proposed facility to be located southwest of Williston.

North Dakota Attorney General Drew H. Wrigley and West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, along with 21 other states have filed a petition for review in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, challenging the Biden EPA’s unconstitutional overreach aimed at killing North Dakota’s coal fired energy production. The recent Federal rule would require certain air toxin emission levels from coal-fired plants to be reduced drastically, with no corresponding health benefits and with great costs to the States and their industries.

The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes recently received an Indigenous Animals Harvesting and Meat Processing Grant through the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The $7.7 million grant will fund a 3,000-square-foot plant in Ronan designed to process up to 25 animals a week. The three-acre building site, located along Mink Lane, was part of a 31-acre parcel of tribal land annexed by the city of Ronan last summer. CSKT Management predicts the facility will take between 18 and 24 months to complete.

Whitefish-based Averill Hospitality is planning to develop a hotel on property in Sandpoint, Idaho. Once plans are approved work on a new hotel where the Edgewater Resort now sits could begin by this fall. The hotel is on Lake Pend Oreille. The project would be a $70 million, 150-room full-service resort.

The Scheels Aim High Big Sky Aquatic and Recreation Center is planning to open for business on June 29. It is located at 900 29th Street South in Lions Park just off of 10th Ave South in Great Falls. The rec center features a full-court gymnasium, eight-lane pool, sauna, cardio and weight machines, elevated walking track, a splash pad, group fitness, and a large water slide.

Residents of the Swan Valley are investigating how to form their own central government in Condon, which would be the first new town in Montana since the 1990’s. Members of the Swan Valley Community Council met last week with a local government expert from MSU and the Missoula County commissioners for more information on making the idea a reality. Condon sits at the edge of Missoula County and is unincorporated. Some residents are interested in incorporating so they can refocus their taxes toward local issues. The process of creating a town has rarely been used since the turn of the last century, with Colstrip as the last town to incorporate in 1994.

The new Dollar General location in Victor is open. The business is located at 2438 Railroad Ave., just off U.S. Highway 93. The Victor location will be one of around 5,400 to carry fresh produce along with health and beauty products, housewares, stationery and seasonal products. Dollar General operates four other locations in Montana including Columbia Falls, Eureka, Libby and Thompson Falls.

The Montana Department of Commerce recently announced that 67 film creations will share more than $2.6 million in grant funding to film on-location productions across the state. Film Office promotes Montana as a business destination for film production companies to expand production in our state.

Missoula is the 15th best-run city in America, according to personal-finance website WalletHub. The rankings compared the operating efficiency of the 148 largest U.S. cities. WalletHub used 36 metrics regarding education, the economy and the environment for the assessment. Nampa, Idaho, secured first place in the study, while San Francisco scored the worst. Billings, Montana, made the list at 16th place. Data from the website showed Missoula ranks 59th in the country for quality of city services, but 15th in its total budget per capita.

ND Malting and Hops, Inc. began production near Williston on Thursday, May 23, 2024. The new plant is locally owned by two farmers , David Anfinson and Paul Weyrauch. The grains processed in the facility will be used for the 2 row malting process and then shipped to meet the demand for micro brewing facilities.“

Kiplinger Personal Finance named Great Falls as one of the 25 Cheapest Places to Live: U.S. Cities Edition. Great Falls ranked 16th in the survey.

A huge controversy is broiling near Gallatin Gateway regarding a proposed gravel mine. On a farm that has been in the Black family for generations, a 130-acre gravel mine is being proposed to build roads and highways for the burgeoning development in the Gallatin Valley. Third generation owner of the farm, Bayard Black says that the multi –million deal with Belgrade-based TMC Inc., is essential for the continued operation of the farm. Neighbors, many of whom are transplants to the valley, who have built “dream” homes with views of Spanish Peaks and the Bridger Mountains, and who are the reason for the need for the roads and highways, are trying to halt permitting for the gravel pit through the courts.

New water restrictions in Idaho are having  a “profound effect” on local farmers. They are leading to “decreased crop yields, financial strain, and the potential long-term consequences for our farming community and the entire state.”

Cerilon Gas-to-Liquids facility in Williams County, ND, is being developed to turn natural gas into specialty products. With a cost of $3.2 billion, phase one of the facility will turn 240 million standard cubic feet of natural gas per day into products like diesel. Located near Trenton, the project is still undergoing permitting, but construction is expected to start in 2026, with the first phase operational by 2029.

Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis – Since January 2020, employers across the United States have filled the job hole created by the pandemic, plus another 5 million jobs. That ability to hire suggests there is an expanding labor pool. The growing foreign-born1 population is a contributing factor. In 2010, North Dakota had the smallest foreign-born population in the region. By 2023, this population had grown by 176 percent, helping the state leapfrog Montana and South Dakota. Michigan saw the smallest growth rate among Ninth District states, at 16 percent. 

Letters to the Editor Deming and Butcher

9 July 2024
Press Room
No comments

To the Editor,

In the press recently there appeared criticism of HB 527, the Defend the Guard bill. One article was by Senator Wendy McKamey titled, “It’s Time We End the War on Law Enforcement and the National Guard”. There was also a critical article by Roger Hagan titled, “Show Ponies Must Own Their Votes”. As principal sponsor of HB 527, let me help you to understand my enthusiastic sponsorship of HB 527.

For your information, the bill’s intent is to forbid the Governor from releasing the Montana Guard into combat overseas absent a US Congressional declaration of war.

You should read the two articles above. You will notice the intentional lack of Constitutional references to make their case. The reason is that there aren’t any. In fact, HB 527 is defended by the Constitution itself. Article I, Section 8, Clause 11 (The Congress shall have the power) To declare war. Article II, Section 2, Clause 1; The President shall be the commander in chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual service of the United States. Article 1, Section 8, Clause 15; (The Congress shall have the power) to provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the laws of the Union, suppress insurrections and repel invasions.

Reread Article 1, Section 8, Clause 15. Congress, not the President, calls forth the Militia to do three things only; execute the laws of the Union, suppress insurrections, and repel invasions. Sending the National Guard into combat overseas in places like Iraq or Afghanistan without a declaration of war is flatly unconstitutional. Title 10 of the U.S. Code 12406 reinforces my contention.

We are led to believe by Senator McKamey, Roger Hagan, and Adjutant General Hronek that we should give up the lives of our citizen-soldiers in conflicts not authorized by the Constitution for $197 million dollars. They want us to trade the lives of our National Guard for money. It is as simple as that.

This is not an academic exercise. Before introducing HB 527 I asked a legislative staffer to find out how many members of Montana’s National Guard had been injured in the Global War on Terror. He reported that 36 members of our Montana Guard had been killed in that conflict.

The Montana National Guard deserves a thorough debate by the U.S. Congress and an affirmative vote before being sent overseas. Do we want the Montana National Guard fighting in Yemen, the Ukraine, or Gaza? Make the case in the U.S. Congress. Our citizen-soldiers deserve that.

Do we want the Montana National Guard to help secure both borders, provide relief during natural disasters and/or deal with the threat of domestic insurrection? It will be hard to do if they are deployed to Syria.

HB 527 was and is rock solid constitutionally, legally, and morally. I hope you value the lives of Montana National Guard members as beyond price. I do.

                             Representative Lee Deming HD 55

Lies Defeat incumbent  – Republican Legislators

Politics is increasingly a “contact sport!”  However, this primary election has gone from twisting facts and statements to outright lies about candidates.  We have become used to the Soros funded Democrat political PAC Tactics they have perfected, but during this Montana primary a well-funded left-leaning Republican faction attacked conservative incumbent legislators (opponents were endorsed by Republican governor Greg Gianforte) and carried out by the “Republican” Llew Jones led “Solutions Caucus” (the “Democrat wing” of the Republican legislature).

An example was incumbent Rep. James Bergstrom (HD 78—Hobson) who was attacked by a last minute mailer accusing him of “defunding the Montana National Guard” by his vote for HB 527 which resulted in his defeat by a handful of votes.  Jim Bergstrom has been a conscientious hard working legislator who earnestly represented his voters while generally voting with the conservative Republican House majority. 

Here are the facts:  HB 527 (had an unusually high 26 co-sponsors) “An Act requiring official U.S. Congressional declaration or action to release the Montana National Guard  to active combat duty….”   In other words it instructed the Governor to maintain control over the State National Guard until Congress voted to give the President permission to call up the Guard for combat beyond the state of Montana (This follows the U.S. Constitution).

The bill was defeated 60 to 40 with the Llew Jones led RINOs (plus 2), with the support of Governor Gianforte, joining all the Democrats but one in defeating HB 527.  The facts about this last minute “leftist political hit piece” against Bergstrom and a number of  other incumbent Republican bill supporters— did not “defund the Guard,” did not interfere with fighting fires, did not block Guardsmen’s salaries, and did not “…put our nation and state at risk…” as charged by this left wing PAC mailer. It simply stated that Montana soldiers could not be sent to die at the whim of a President!

These types of lies spread against a legislator resulting in his defeat are not fair to unsuspecting voters who support our soldiers and veterans as does Representative Bergstrom—a good and decent man.

                                                  Sen. Ed Butcher

Sen. Ed Butcher (Ret) is a Central Montana rancher/businessman and former college political history professor who previously served for 10 years in the Montana legislature and has been currently appointed to represent Legislative HD 29.

The Immigrant Population of The Ninth District Has Grown

9 July 2024
Press Room
No comments

By Erick Garcia Luna

Since January 2020, employers across the United States have filled the job hole created by the pandemic, plus another 5 million jobs. That ability to hire suggests there is an expanding labor pool. The growing foreign-born1 population is a contributing factor.

In the Minneapolis Fed’s Ninth District, foreign-born growth rates have been robust, and the share of the labor force comprised of foreign-born workers has increased. Still, compared with the national average, the concentration of foreign-born workers remains relatively low in district states. (Foreign born means they were not born in the US, and pertains to both citizens and non-citizens.)

After declining early in the pandemic, the U.S. foreign-born population bounced back strongly. According to the Current Population Survey, from 2010 to 2023, the foreign-born population grew by 30 percent, more than three times faster than the native-born population.

There are other differences among groups. Foreign-born men tend to participate in the labor force at higher rates than native-born men and women, regardless of nativity. Among women, rates tend to be slightly higher among native-born workers.

But the gap seems to be closing, and quickly in some cases. In Minnesota, labor force participation among foreign-born women has been higher than that of native-born women since 2021.

The foreign-born labor force is also relatively younger. Across the country, about 70 percent were between the ages of 25 and 54—what economists call the “prime” labor force—compared with 62 percent of the native-born labor force. That younger share is even higher in some Ninth District states, like North Dakota, at 82 percent.

Fast growth among the foreign-born workers means their slice of the labor force is also growing.

Nationwide, 18.6 percent of the total labor force in 2023 was foreign-born, up from 15.8 percent in 2010. Despite high growth rates among district states, their labor force shares still lag far behind that national average. At the top, Minnesota’s labor force share of foreign-born workers was 10 percent in 2023. At the bottom, Montana’s share is just 3 percent despite having seen 55 percent growth in foreign-born workers since 2010.

In North Dakota, a much higher growth rate among the foreign-born population has pushed its labor force share from about 3 percent in 2010 to almost 7 percent in 2023.

Over the years, North Dakota has worked particularly hard to integrate people from around the world into the labor force.

“We want new arrivals to have the same opportunities as everyone else,” said Janna Pastir, deputy director of the North Dakota Department of Commerce Workforce Development Division. “Coordinated language, adult education, and digital skills programming help integrate immigrants to meet the needs of our economy.”

Governor, Chamber of Commerce Highlight Business Climate

9 July 2024
Press Room
No comments

Joining the Montana Chamber of Commerce, Governor Greg Gianforte highlighted recent investments to improve Montana’s business climate at the Big Sky, Bright Futures Economic Summit in Bozeman.

“With record business creation and more Montanans working now than ever before, it’s clear Montana’s economy is on the move,” Gov. Gianforte said. “Thanks to our pro-business, pro-jobs policies we’re welcoming investment across all industries. We’ll continue to cut red tape and make Montana an even better place to do business and create new opportunities for Montanans.”

Talking with Montana Chamber President and CEO Todd O’Hair, the governor outlined his priorities to continue lowering taxes, reducing red tape, attracting new businesses, building the workforce, and addressing Montana’s housing shortage.

Last spring, the governor was proud to deliver the largest tax cut in state history, providing income tax cuts for Montanans at every level, as well as immediate and long-term property tax relief.

Since taking office, Gov. Gianforte has prioritized investments to develop a highly-skilled, highly-qualified workforce. In 2023, the governor nearly doubled the Montana Trades Education Credit, offering employers credit for employee education and training and expanded work-based learning opportunities for Montana students.

In addition, the governor has reformed the state’s tax code to promote business investment and job creation, attracting businesses from around the world to Montana.

And to meet the growing demand for housing, the governor last October reconvened his Housing Task Force following a historic legislative session for pro-housing reforms that some have dubbed the “Montana Miracle.”

“This is a pivotal moment for business in Montana,” said O’Hair. “Companies are increasingly drawn to the unique opportunities Montana offers, making our state a prime destination for growth. To sustain this momentum, we must address key challenges like housing and childcare.”

Gov. Gianforte talking with BHE Montana President Nancy Murray at the Big Sky, Bright Futures Economic Summit in Bozeman

Wrapping up the afternoon, the governor also highlighted his focus on Montana’s all-of-the-above energy policy in a fireside chat with BHE Montana President Nancy Murray.

As a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Energy, BHE Montana earlier in the day announced their latest investment in two new renewable energy projects in Montana.

The first, a 100-megawatt solar project on 1,000 acres of land in north central Montana. The installation of 200,000 solar panels is expected to add 100 megawatts to the grid by 2026. And the other, a 75-megawatt battery in Ethridge to store energy from BHE Montana’s wind and solar generation assets by 2025.

“We are incredibly excited to build upon the significant investments we’ve already made to further develop energy resources in Montana,” Murray said. “These new projects reflect our commitment to grow our business in Montana and support the growth of local businesses and communities that rely on a clean and resilient energy grid.”

Gov. Gianforte added, “Montana continues to be on the cutting edge of innovation, including in our energy sector. We will continue to embrace our all-of-the-above policy to address energy affordability and grid reliability and gladly welcome this investment from BHE Montana.”

Creating the best environment for business and more opportunities for Montanans is a top priority of the Gianforte administration.

Federal Judge Issues Injunction Stopping Title IX Rules

9 July 2024
Press Room
No comments

By Steve Wilson,The Center Square

A federal judge has issued an injunction that put a temporary hold on new Title IX rules issued by the Biden administration.

U.S. District Court Judge Terry Doughty issued the order in a lawsuit brought by the states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana and Idaho. The injunction keeps the final rules from going into effect pending a review by the U.S. District Court of the Western District of Louisiana. 

The new rules finalized by the Department of Education and which are supposed to go into effect Aug. 1 expand the definition of sex discrimination to include gender identity and pregnancy, but the agency didn’t issue any rules relating to transgender athletes. Among the changes include a prohibition on single-sex bathroom and locker rooms and requirements that a school use pronouns based on a student’s preferred gender identity.

Doughty said in the order that the new rule violated the free speech and free exercise clauses of the First Amendment along with the spending clause and “is arbitrary and capricious.”

The judge also said in his ruling that for one of these injunctions to be issued, the plaintiffs must show a substantial chance of success on the merits of their case, a threat of irreparable harm that must outweigh any that would result if the injunction weren’t issued and it must be in the public interest. Doughty said the plaintiffs did so successfully. 

Doughty also said that the plaintiffs were able to prove that the harassment standard created by the rule is contrary to Title IX and he said they “made compelling arguments for how it can violate the free speech right of the First Amendment.”

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, who brought the Title IX lawsuit, praised the ruling. 

“This a victory for women and girls,” Murrill said in a statement. “When Joe Biden forced his illegal and radical gender ideology on America, Louisiana said NO! Along with Idaho, Mississippi, and Montana, states are fighting back in defense of the law, the safety and prosperity of women and girls, and basic American values.”

Title IX prohibits educational institutions that receive federal funds from discriminating on the basis of sex in both educational programs and activities.

Federal courts have already acted against the Biden administration’s rules. 

U.S. District Court Judge Reed O’Connor granted the state’s motion for summary judgement in a case over a mandate issued by two federal agencies before the administration amended Title IX to redefine biological sex to include “sexual orientation” and “gender identity.” 

He also denied the Biden administration’s request to dismiss and vacated the guidance nationwide and issued a permanent injunction against its enforcement in Texas.

Electric Transmission Line Would Be a Game Changer for Montana

9 July 2024
Press Room
No comments

By Amanda Eggert, Montana Free Press

Project developers, policymakers and think tanks working in the capital-intensive arena of energy development say a new Montana-North Dakota high-voltage transmission line could be a game changer for an area of the American West that’s seen limited expansion to its power grid in four decades. The North Plains Connector Line would be the region’s first major grid expansion since the construction of a 500-kilovolt line that carries power from the Colstrip coal-fired power plant to population centers in the Pacific Northwest in the mid-1980s.

Late last year, Minnesota-based energy company ALLETE and Grid United, a Houston-based transmission developer, announced their partnership on a proposal to build a $3.2 billion transmission line from Colstrip to central North Dakota. The companies are billing the roughly 400-mile line as a “long-term energy infrastructure asset” that will help utilities access new regional energy markets, meet rising electricity demand and become more resilient to grid-straining cold snaps and heat waves. 

Stakeholders like Kyle Unruh, with renewable energy advocacy organization Renewable Northwest, also describe the North Plains Connector Line as an opportunity for Montana to reap some of the economic benefits accompanying an “explosion” of demand for new power generation — renewable generation in particular. It would do that by allowing a significant amount of electricity to flow between national energy markets. 

If built, the North Plains Connector Line will be the first high-capacity transmission line to link the Western Interconnect with the Eastern Interconnect.  

Currently, the western grid is transmission-constrained, challenging utilities that struggle to accommodate rising electricity use and throttling investment in utility-scale energy projects. The North Plains Connector would allow about 3,000 megawatts of additional generation onto the grid.

Grid United plans to submit an environmental impact statement — which will allow the public to review and comment on details of the project proposal — to the U.S. Department of Energy this fall. Brant Johnson, the project’s lead developer for Grid United, said he’s hopeful the review process will conclude within two years. If all goes according to Grid United’s plan, the line could be operational by 2030. 

Unruh recently told Montana Free Press there are multiple reasons he’s optimistic the project will be built, even given the notorious difficulties associated with transmission planning and permitting. In his assessment of the project’s prospects, he noted the federal government’s recent move to streamline transmission review and Grid United’s reputation as an “extremely capable” transmission developer with a proactive approach to engaging local communities. 

Last month’s announcement that Portland General Electric has inked a deal with Grid United and ALLETE for 20% of the line’s capacity, bringing the line’s total subscribed capacity to 55%, further improves the project’s prospects by reducing some of the financial risk associated with building it. (ALLETE, which owns two utilities in the upper midwest and a handful of other energy companies, is expected to account for 35% of the capacity on the line and oversee its operation.)

During a May 22 presentation before the Montana Legislature’s interim Energy and Telecommunications Committee, Unruh, who formerly worked as a transmission market analyst for NorthWestern Energy, discussed the economic implications of expanding the grid. 

Increasing transmission capacity can help Montana capitalize on its “preeminent wind resource,” entice electricity-intensive businesses to set up shop in (or remain in) Montana, and alleviate the rising power and property tax bills many Montanans are facing, he argued.

In the two decades since Montana’s first utility-scale wind farm came online, more than 20 additional projects have come online, with more in the works. Credit: DEQ

On the flip side, Unruh says, Montana’s economy is currently “starting to reap the consequences” of lagging grid expansion as energy developers pursue projects in regions where transmission is currently available or planned.

“Transmission should be at the heart of every economic development discussion we have in the state and every energy discussion we have in the state,” Unruh said. 

Tyler Farrell, a transmission researcher with the Rocky Mountain Institute, a nonpartisan think tank focused on decarbonizing the energy sector, said there is a chicken-or-egg dynamic at play in the relationship between electricity generation and transmission.

The North Plains Connector’s proposed route through eastern Montana and western North Dakota. Credit: Portland General Electric

This story was originally published by Montana Free Press at montanafreepress.org.

14 AGs Petition Court over Federal Mining Rule 

9 July 2024
Press Room
No comments

By Bethany Blankley, The Center Square

Attorneys general from multiple states for years have been petitioning courts and suing to block federal agency rules from going into effect, arguing the agencies promulgating them are exceeding their statutory authority. The latest petition makes a similar argument about a final rule issued by the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement Office (OSMRE) related to state regulatory oversight of coal mining.

Fourteen attorneys general filed a petition for judicial review with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia asking it to vacate the rule they argue seeks to strip states of regulatory authority delegated to them by Congress and the U.S. Constitution.

The petition was filed by the attorneys general of Indiana, West Virginia, Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Wyoming. Several state agencies are also petitioners.

Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, two OSMRE directors, and both federal agencies were named as respondents.

The petition argues the rule, which went into effect May 9, exceeds Haaland’s statutory authority, is arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion and inconsistent with law. The AGs asked the court to declare the rule unlawful, vacate it and grant temporary relief pending the outcome of litigation.

The OSMRE Final Rule amends the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA), which gives states exclusive jurisdiction over regulating surface coal mining and reclamation operations with few exceptions. It also gives states the sole authority to issue permits and bonds; states also inspect mining sites and enforce regulatory requirements. The SMCRA only applies to non-federal and non-Indian land.

The law limits the Interior secretary’s mining regulatory authority with two exceptions: the secretary is authorized to issue a “Ten-Day Notice” to state regulatory authorities if there is “reason to believe” a regulatory violation exists and to take over a state regulatory program if the state fails to enforce it.

The OSMRE explains that it amended the law in its rule change to limit the sources of information to determine if a possible violation exists. It also changed its definition of “reason to believe,” which it says “is supported by its legislative history.” The OSMRE also said it made the changes because it “observed instances in which requesting and considering information from” state regulatory agencies resulted in delays.

It made the claim after the Interior secretary and OSMRE officials previously acknowledged that delays occurred at times because state regulatory agencies needed weeks or months to perform complex investigations, including because of inclement weather, the lawsuit notes.

But the real reason OSMRE officials changed the definitions of the exceptions was to limit states’ rights, the AGs argue. The final rule “is dismissive of consequences for federalism,” the complaint states.

Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita, leading the coalition, said, “Simply put, this new rule is unlawful.” It intrudes on the states’ “rightful authority under the American system of federalism. We’re suing to uphold the proper balance of power between the individual states and the federal government and to prevent another unjustified assault by the Biden administration on coal.”

The rule “proposes to overthrow the Act’s deference to States” by issuing ten-day notices, the complaint states. It also subjects “state decisions over which the Act affords States exclusive jurisdiction, such as permitting decisions, to federal oversight through ten-day notices.”

OSMRE also “seeks to make the federal government the regulator of first resort,” stripping states of their regulatory authority, the complaint states.

The rule eliminates a key requirement that citizens must first contact state regulators with concerns before they can contact the federal government. It also imposes “inflexible, arbitrary timelines on states to complete complex investigations without regard for facts on the ground, setting up federal regulators to swoop in,” the complaint states.

The AGs represent state regulatory agencies that oversee surface coal mining operations and are responsible for enforcing the SMCRA within their states. They also pointed out that these agencies received positive reviews from OSMRE officials.

Last year, OSMRE officials said Indiana’s Department of Natural Resources “administers its program in a way that effectively protects citizens and the environment from adverse impacts resulting from surface coal mining activities,” Rokita said.

OSMRE officials also said Montana’s program “had no regulatory problems” and Montana “takes citizen complaints seriously,” Montana AG Austin Knudsen said. OSMRE found “Montana DEQ appropriately responded to complainants in a timely manner consistent with applicable rules.”

‘The American Crisis;’ 250 years after Thomas Paine

9 July 2024
Press Room
No comments

 By William Haupt III, The Center Square

“To argue with a man who has renounced the use and authority of reason, and whose philosophy in holding humanity in contempt, is like administering medicine to the dead.”

                                                  – Thomas Paine

In 1980, when Ronald Regean accepted his party’s nomination for president, he reminisced about our nation’s past and its “shared values.” He mentioned how far America had drifted from the ethos of our founding of national unity, individual responsibility, with a patriotic and a limited government. He called for a return to the spirit of principles and ideas of Thomas Paine’s, “Common Sense.”

Of all our great founders whose ideas he wanted for America, Ronald Reagan quoted the one who was not honored as a founder, Thomas Paine. Although he inspired and unified the colonies with enlightenment teachings, Paine was considered too radical to attend the Convention of 1787. And his insight into our socio-political future was never reflected in the writing of our Constitution.

In 1774, Ben Franklin told Thomas Paine he was needed in the New World. Within months Paine was editor of the Philadelphia Magazine, where he penned the ideals that unified the colonies and brought them to revolt. Paine wrote, “America was in a crisis.” Until they had undivided unity, they’d never become a nation.

“We have it in our power to begin the world over again.”

                                –Thomas Paine

When Paine arrived in America, the colonies were unhappy as servants to the crown. But they were content with what America gave them and tolerated British abuse. When Paine wrote his pamphlet, “Common Sense” aka “The American Crisis,” he wanted to alert the colonies: until they worked for the collective good of a nation united under one flag, they’d always be in a state of constant crisis.

In contrast, to many founders who were educated with money and status, Paine was philistine and appealed to commoners. “Common Sense” is considered the crucial tool used to bring the idea of sovereignty to middle class colonials and challenged them to revolt.

“Without the pen of the author of ‘Common Sense,’ the sword of Washington would have been raised in vain.”

                                                – John Adams

During the Revolution when Washington’s army was on the verge of defeat, he asked Paine if he would read passages of “American Crisis” to troops at Valley Forge. The genesis of Paine’s work was a copious enlightenment theme of axioms that formulated the caliber of the American Dream. Paine believed that unity and respect for the rights of man were the only way society could survive.

If Paine had been at the Convention, our country would be different today. They denied him entry since his wish-list to end slavery, grant universal suffrage, and to establish a parliament that could be replaced when they did not act in the people’s best interests were judged too radical at the time.

“Let them call me a rebel, and I welcome it. I feel no concern within my soul.”

                                                – Thomas Paine

Reflecting back, Paine’s clairvoyance was uncanny. It took decades for women to get the right to vote. Our republican democracy, without the ability to issue a no-confidence vote for incompetent lawmakers, has come back to haunt us since the first Congress met in 1789. It took a bloody Civil War to end slavery, which resulted in a new crisis that took another 100 years to bring to an end.

Confederate John Wilkes Booth planned to kidnap President Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War and take him to the Confederate capital, Richmond, but his plot failed. So when he learned Lincoln would be at Ford Theater on the eve of April 14, he shot him in the head and exclaimed, “The South is now avenged.” Lincoln’s murder put pro-slavery Democrat Vice President Andrew Johnson in charge of Reconstruction, which resulted in chaos and social unrest that would haunt America for centuries!

Lincoln’s Republican Congress approved a Reconstruction program that guaranteed political and civil rights for Southern blacks. But when Johnson took office, he convinced the Democrats to block black suffrage and civil rights programs. Johnson vetoed bills providing provisions for the displaced slaves and military trials for those accused of violating the rights of all black Americans. He vetoed the Republican Civil Rights Act of 1866 and refused to sign the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments.

Andrew Johnson continued to lobby Democrats to block all Reconstruction programs. Instead of helping to assimilate former slaves into society, he rebuilt the southern segregationist wing of the post war Democratic Party. He allowed Democrats to manage their own Reconstruction programs, which opened the door for them to replace the institution of slavery with the institution of segregation.

“To deny a man the right to vote is to deny him the right to protect his every right.”

                            – Thomas Paine

When Johnson urged Southern Democrats to boycott constitutional conventions, Congress passed legislation empowering the military to initiate conventions and override Democratic boycotts. Under the auspices of Northern Republicans, by 1868 Congress readmitted seven Southern states, North and South Carolina, Arkansas, Alabama, Florida, Georgia and Louisiana, back into the Union.

On Feb. 24, 1868, the House inevitably impeached Andrew Johnson and filed 11 charges against him for violating the Tenure of Office Act and the Command of the Army Acts and bringing disgrace to his office. But the Senate failed to convict him by one vote and he avoided conviction. If our nation had a parliamentary system, as Thomas Paine had proposed, a prime minister who lost the support of the legislature could have been simply removed from office by a no confidence vote.

The racism of Andrew Johnson and his refusal to enforce legislation to acclimate former slaves into American society enabled southern Democrats to deny the rights of black Americans and chattel them into second class citizenship. It took 100 years of blood, sweat and tears to finish the tenants of Republican Reconstruction that Lincoln had already approved. If Thomas Paine had been invited to the Convention, we could have abolished slavery in 1787 and changed the course of our history.

Thomas Paine told us, “Character is much easier kept than recovered.” Paine is considered one of our greatest Enlightenment thinkers. Since he came from the working class he knew their problems and how to remedy them. He was a self educated brilliant writer and thinker who foresaw the future and passionately alerted others of the necessity to correct socio-political problems expeditiously, or face the consequences in the future.

“He who dares not offend cannot be honest.”

                                                – Thomas Paine

Why does history repeat itself: Because we don’t profit from our mistakes. We’ve spent years trying to correct the sins of our past. But without education and civic leaders demanding teachers instruct our youth “true American history,” students will grow up unaware who created their problems and who has always tried to remedy them. As a result, we’ll always have people who continue to blame the wrong people for their failures and admire those who caused them. Until they know their history and take responsibility for their actions, they will always be a liability and never an asset to society; because:

“Reason obeys itself and ignorance submits to whatever is dictated to it.”

                                                – Thomas Paine

$15.8 million for Behavioral Health

9 July 2024
Press Room
No comments

$15.8 Million in Grants to Increase Community-Based Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities Care

As recommended by the Behavioral Health System for Future Generations (BHSFG) Commission the State of Montana is issuing a total of $15.8 million in one-time grants to increase bed capacity for community-based residential providers offering behavioral health care or developmental disability services.

The grants represent the next allocation of $300 million in funding from the state to reform and improve Montana’s behavioral health and developmental disabilities services systems.

“Timely access to more residential services at the local level is critical and plays a major role in preventing the need for more intensive services down the road,” Gov. Greg Gianforte said. “I thank the commission for advancing another recommendation that will help to transform the delivery of behavioral health care in Montana.”

Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) Director Charlie Brereton said the goal of the grant program is to stabilize or increase residential services across Montana and to build sustainable capacity, while also ensuring more Montanans can be served in clinically appropriate settings closer to home.

“This funding represents yet another key milestone to ensuring providers at the local level have the resources they need to serve Montanans appropriately,” Dir. Brereton said. “We know the current lack of residential services capacity in our state leads to inefficient treatment, challenges for patients discharging from inpatient settings, and missed opportunities to keep Montanans closer to home. We are eager to help solve this longstanding issue and will continue to advance projects like these with the needs of future generations in mind.”

Possible uses of the grant funds include helping purchase or construct new facilities, upgrading and maintaining existing facilities, and hiring and training staff to increase bed capacity.

In the coming weeks, DPHHS will work toward finalizing contracts with eligible providers who applied for the funding and received an award. DPHHS will publicly announce award recipients once all contracts are effectuated.