Montana Supreme Court
Trout Unlimited v. Dnrc
January 2, 20252025 MT 1
Summary
The Montana Supreme Court affirmed the denial of judicial review of DNRC’s decision granting Tintina a water-use permit for 350 acre-feet of groundwater and treating the remaining 457 acre-feet removed during mine dewatering as neither a beneficial use nor waste under the Montana Water Use Act. The Court held that Tintina forfeited its standing challenge by failing to raise it before the agency, that DNRC’s longstanding interpretation of the Act was reasonable, and that the interpretation did not violate Article IX of the Montana Constitution.