1. Conference on Environmental Assessments in Federations A Montana Perspective September 14, 2009 Tom Livers, Deputy Director Montana Department of Environmental Quality

4. Projects for Illustration Montana-Alberta Tie Line Keystone Pipeline Powder River Basin Coal Bed Methane

5. Montana Constitution – 1972 Article II – Declaration of Rights Section 3. Inalienable rights. All persons are born free and have certain inalienable rights. They include the right to a clean and healthful environment… In enjoying these rights, all persons recognize corresponding responsibilities.

6. Montana Environmental Assessment Authority  Major Facility Siting Act  Montana Environmental Policy Act

7. Major Facility Siting Act  Compliance with state law  Protect the environment  Socioeconomic impacts  Citizen participation  Coordination and efficiency for regulated facilities

8. Findings Necessary for Certificate  Need  Nature of probable environmental impact  Minimal adverse environmental impact  All reasonable, cost effective mitigation of significant impacts  No violation of law in unmitigated impacts

9. Montana Environmental Policy Act (MEPA)  Patterned after National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) NEPA: “Each person should enjoy a healthful environment.” MEPA: “Each person is entitled to a healthful environment.”

10. Coordination of NEPA and MEPA  NEPA – Federal actions  MEPA – State actions  Joint jurisdiction State project federally funded State actions on federal lands Interstate or international

11. Implementation  Federal and state agencies are required to cooperate  May adopt the other’s environmental review  May prepare a single environmental review

12. Montana – Alberta Tie Line

13.  230 kV transmission line between Great Falls, Montana and Lethridge, Alberta  2-way energy flow  Increased reliability  Wind energy development

14. Environmental Review  International border  Interagency cooperation  Disagreed on need for EIS  Landowner litigation  Late decision delayed approval

15. Keystone Gulf Expansion Project

16.  Hardisty, Alberta to US Gulf Coast  3200 km oil pipeline  International boundary  Rejected state request for co-lead

17. Powder River Coal Bed Methane

18.  Memorandum of Understanding  U.S. Bureau of Land Management  Montana Department of Environmental Quality  Montana Board of Oil and Gas Conservation (BOGC)  Agency responsibilities for contact oversight and decision resolution

19. Cultural and Priority Differences  Simultaneous preparation of separate EISs  Montana DEQ: water quality and beneficial use protection  Wyoming DEQ and Montana BOGC: timely permitting

20. MOU with EPA  EPA aware of cultural differences  Specified integration of NEPA throughout  Montana BOGC objects to “EPA Stubbornness”

21. Conflict over Environmental Impact Statement:  EPA review of draft  Wyoming EIS “unacceptable”  Montana EIS “wanting”  Wyoming objects to EPA criticism  Bureau of Land Management proposes fix for EPA criticism

22. EISs Ultimately Issued  Challenged by environmental groups  Wyoming Bureau of Land Management direct to redo EIS to address phased development

23. Water Quality Standards  Montana numeric standards  Approved by EPA, challenged by Wyoming and industry  Negotiations with Northern Cheyenne

24. Sunshine Laws Montana Open Meeting Law  All meetings of public…agencies…must be open to the public  Exceptions  Individual privacy  Certain litigation strategy  Certain Supreme Court deliberations  Cancelled meetings and conference calls

25. Future Issues: Electrical Transmission Lines  Western grid congested  Waxman-Markey Bill – Federal Energy Regulatory Commission would control siting in western states  Energy corridors  ~FERC: overrule states on “national interest” projects  ~4 th Circuit: states may reject projects on reasonable grounds

27. Federal and State Joint Review: Strengths  Share workload  Share data  Anticipate comments, concerns  Multiple perspectives  Resolve differences  Sounding board  Technical expertise  On-the-ground knowledge, experience

28. Federal and State Joint Reviews: Challenges  Communication more complex  Delays  State statutory constraints

29. http://deq.mt.gov/http://deq.mt.gov/ -- Montana DEQ home page tlivers@mt.gov -- my email http://deq.mt.gov/MFS/index.asp -- Montana Facility Siting Program http://leg.mt.gov/content/publications/En vironmental/2006mepaguide.pdf -- Guide to MEPA http://deq.mt.gov/MFS/index.asp http://leg.mt.gov/content/publications/En vironmental/2006mepaguide.pdf