House Bill 270 amends the Montana Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) to revise the environmental review process conducted by state agencies. Key changes include clarifying that the purpose of environmental assessments and impact statements is to assist the legislature in evaluating environmental laws and informing the public. The bill removes the provision that allowed state agencies to exercise regulatory authority beyond existing statutes and specifies that greenhouse gas emissions will not be evaluated in environmental reviews unless done jointly with a federal agency or if federal law changes. Additionally, the bill establishes stricter criteria for judicial challenges, limiting them to individuals who submitted formal comments during the review process and requiring challenges to be based on those comments.

The bill also introduces new provisions regarding the judicial review process, including the requirement for challengers to pay a fee for compiling the certified record and the burden of proof resting on them to provide clear evidence. It restricts court reviews to the certified record and prohibits consideration of new information not presented to the agency prior to its decision. Furthermore, it emphasizes that attorney fees cannot be awarded to the prevailing party in noncompliance cases and outlines conditions under which courts may issue injunctions. Overall, House Bill 270 aims to streamline the environmental review process while ensuring that project sponsors have a clear avenue for addressing agency decisions and limiting the grounds for legal challenges.

Statutes affected:
LC Text: 75-1-102, 75-1-201, 75-1-208
HB0270_1(1): 75-1-102, 75-1-201, 75-1-208
HB0270_1(10): 75-1-102, 75-1-201, 75-1-208
HB0270_1(11): 75-1-102, 75-1-201, 75-1-208
HB0270_1(12): 75-1-102, 75-1-201, 75-1-208
HB0270_1(2): 75-1-102, 75-1-201, 75-1-208
HB0270_1(3): 75-1-102, 75-1-201, 75-1-208
HB0270_1(4): 75-1-102, 75-1-201, 75-1-208
HB0270_1(5): 75-1-102, 75-1-201, 75-1-208
HB0270_1(6): 75-1-102, 75-1-201, 75-1-208
HB0270_1(7): 75-1-102, 75-1-201, 75-1-208
HB0270_1(8): 75-1-102, 75-1-201, 75-1-208
HB0270_1(9): 75-1-102, 75-1-201, 75-1-208
HB0270_1: 75-1-102, 75-1-201, 75-1-208
HB0270_2(1): 75-1-102, 75-1-201, 75-1-208
HB0270_2(10): 75-1-102, 75-1-201, 75-1-208
HB0270_2(11): 75-1-102, 75-1-201, 75-1-208
HB0270_2(12): 75-1-102, 75-1-201, 75-1-208
HB0270_2(13): 75-1-102, 75-1-201, 75-1-208
HB0270_2(14): 75-1-102, 75-1-201, 75-1-208
HB0270_2(15): 75-1-102, 75-1-201, 75-1-208
HB0270_2(16): 75-1-102, 75-1-201, 75-1-208
HB0270_2(17): 75-1-102, 75-1-201, 75-1-208
HB0270_2(18): 75-1-102, 75-1-201, 75-1-208
HB0270_2(19): 75-1-102, 75-1-201, 75-1-208
HB0270_2(2): 75-1-102, 75-1-201, 75-1-208
HB0270_2(3): 75-1-102, 75-1-201, 75-1-208
HB0270_2(4): 75-1-102, 75-1-201, 75-1-208
HB0270_2(5): 75-1-102, 75-1-201, 75-1-208
HB0270_2(6): 75-1-102, 75-1-201, 75-1-208
HB0270_2(7): 75-1-102, 75-1-201, 75-1-208
HB0270_2(8): 75-1-102, 75-1-201, 75-1-208
HB0270_2(9): 75-1-102, 75-1-201, 75-1-208
HB0270_2: 75-1-102, 75-1-201, 75-1-208
HB0270_X(1): 75-1-102, 75-1-201, 75-1-208
HB0270_X(2): 75-1-102, 75-1-201, 75-1-208
HB0270_X(3): 75-1-102, 75-1-201, 75-1-208
HB0270_X(4): 75-1-102, 75-1-201, 75-1-208
HB0270_X(5): 75-1-102, 75-1-201, 75-1-208
HB0270_X(6): 75-1-102, 75-1-201, 75-1-208
HB0270_X(7): 75-1-102, 75-1-201, 75-1-208
HB0270_X(8): 75-1-102, 75-1-201, 75-1-208
HB0270_X(9): 75-1-102, 75-1-201, 75-1-208
HB0270_X: 75-1-102, 75-1-201, 75-1-208