A sign near the entrance of Bull Mountains Mine No. 1 which is operated by Signal Peak Energy in Roundup, Montana (Photo by Darrell Ehrlick of the Daily Montanan).

A new lawsuit filed by several conservation groups charges that the Montana Department of Environmental Quality is making hundreds of changes to mining permits that could affect the health of residents and environment, but which are beyond public scrutiny. They said the department’s approach and the decisions violate the Montana Constitution.

In a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Lewis and Clark County District Court, Bull Mountain Land Alliance and the Northern Plains Resource Council both say that vague rules or, in some cases, no rules allow department officials to modify mining plans constantly without any public notice, input and

See Full Page