Montana Trout Unlimited v. Montana Department of Natural Resources & Conservation

An environmental conservation group challenged the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation’s (DNRC) order granting a beneficial use permit to a mining company pursuant to the Montana Water Use Act, and its related finding that the company’s dewatering activities fell outside of the scope of the Act’s permitting requirements. The Montana Supreme Court held that the exemption of dewatering from the Act’s permitting requirements did not violate water rights section of the state’s constitution, and that the DNRC correctly categorized the mining company’s proposed dewatering activities as exempt from the permitting process of the Act.