Montana Supreme Court OKs Coal Lease

The suit was brought by the Sierra Club and other groups. Montana Supreme Court Chief Justice Mike McGrath wrote in the recent unanimous opinion that the law exempting the Land Board from requiring an environmental review at the time of the lease was approved was constitutional provided the lease was subject to permitting requirements later in the process. He wrote, “Because the leases themselves do not allow for any degradation of the environment, conferring only the exclusive right to apply for state permits, and because they specifically require full environmental review and full compliance with applicable state environmental laws, the act of issuing the leases did not impact or implicate the right to a clean and healthful environment in Article II, Section 3 of the Montana Constitution.”