The Environmental Protection Agency has signed off on Montana’s plan to discard numeric water quality standards and adopt a measure that was passed by the 2025 Legislature, allowing state officials to revert back to an older system, which many groups criticize as being insufficient to protect the Treasure State’s already struggling waterways.

In 2014, Montana adopted numeric water quality standards, which have been hailed by scientists and conservation organizations as the scientific gold standard, which is most likely to ensure clean water throughout the state. In summary, it’s a system where nutrients, pollutants and other water quality issues are measured by sampling results reflected numerically.

However, the Montana Legislature had been thwarted by federal authorities for years as i

See Full Page