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We have seen shortages of things like eggs and baby formula. Imagine the shortage of energy and products that would result from eliminating 40% of the coal mined in the United States. As far-reaching and unimaginable as that might seem, a federal court in Montana appears set to do just that. The same judge who attempted to eliminate irrigation from the Yellowstone and Missouri Rivers is now commanding the Bureau of Land Management to consider eliminating coal mining on federal lands in the Power River Basin. The Basin includes Richland County a...
A formation of losses is destroying our way of life. Hot air is not saving it. Publicly noticed losses are closure of the MDU electric plant, closure of the Savage coal mine, and closure of the sugar factory. Additional threat of loss fails to be noticed. Those include the part of the irrigation case about Fort Peck and irrigation from the Missouri River, the Montana federal court case to diminish 44% of the nation’s coal mining and restrict oil and gas in the Powder River Basin which includes Richland County, and the drive to close first 3...
President Biden is pursuing a “Half Earth” policy to permanently lock up half of the earth’s land and water against any human use by 2050. Its name “50 x 50” means 50% by 2050. In 2019 the Center for American Progress published an intermediate goal of 30 x 30 to permanently lock up 30% by 2030. Senator Kamala Harris sponsored 30 x 30 legislation in the Senate. Representative Debra Haaland sponsored it in the House. Candidate Biden named Harris his Vice-Presidential running mate. President Biden appointed Haaland Secretary of the Interior....
During this primary election season, a promise has been made to pave the county roads (not by any current county commissioner). Along with that are promises to reduce spending and taxes. Do these promises add up? Richland County has about 70 miles of major collector roads, 160 miles of minor collector roads, and 980 miles of local roads. With the varying dimensions of those categories of roads, paving them would require about 20,416,000 square yards of pavement. Using the most recent county bid award for paving from January of this year, which...
In this primary election season, critics say we need to stop local government representatives such as the mayor of Sidney and the county commissioners from “running to Helena.” Would this serve the people or neglect our interests? Let’s consider a handful of examples from the last few years. In 2001, several revenues were diverted from local governments to the state. To make up for that, state budgeting has an item for a local government share. This compensation is threatened every session. In the 2019 Legislature, an illegal, secret meeti...
We should tolerate firebombing federal courthouses in Portland no more than we would tolerate firebombing the law and justice center in Sidney. Both house our courtrooms. We bring our cases to both places. Remember the irrigation case? It would have abolished irrigation here. We were heard before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in one of the federal courthouses in Portland. We won a reversal in that building that saved our way of life. That is not an isolated case. I took an appeal for Richland County to defend our county revenues against...
The Richland County Commissioners received a recommendation from the County Fair & Rodeo Board to cancel the 2020 fair and rodeo because of coronavirus and COVID-19. The Commissioners gave notice of a public meeting to consider the recommendation and invite public comment and citizen participation in the decision. This would have been the centennial year of the Richland County Fair & Rodeo. For 100 years it has had tremendous importance to thousands of people because of its many different compon...
The Montana Environmental Quality Council has reversed course to let safeguards for disposal of radioactive waste go into effect. The Department of Environmental Quality had proposed rules setting a limit of 50 picocuries per gram for TENORM waste accepted in Montana landfills. TENORM is naturally occurring radioactive material with technologically elevated radioactivity. TENORM comes to Montana mostly from the oilfield in North Dakota. The 50 pCi/gm level is consistent with science reports, North Dakota’s rule, a stakeholder work group, and o...
The Montana Environmental Quality Council has reversed course to let safeguards for disposal of radioactive waste go into effect. The Department of Environmental Quality had proposed rules setting a limit of 50 picocuries per gram for TENORM waste accepted in Montana landfills. TENORM is naturally occurring radioactive material with technologically elevated radioactivity. TENORM comes to Montana mostly from the oilfield in North Dakota. The 50 pCi/gm level is consistent with science reports, North Dakota’s rule, a stakeholder work group, and o...
The Environmental Quality Council has sidetracked six years of citizen work to protect Montana against radioactive waste from out of state. At its April 2020 meeting, the Council voted 10-to-6 to file an informal objection to protective rules proposed by the Department of Environmental Quality. The objection delays the rules going into effect. If the Council continues its objection at its May meeting, sidetracking will become permanent derailment. DEQ’s proposed rules would establish safeguards for disposal of TENORM waste. TENORM is naturally...
The Environmental Quality Council has sidetracked six years of citizen work to protect Montana against radioactive waste from out of state. At its April 2020 meeting, the Council voted 10-to-6 to file an informal objection to protective rules proposed by the Department of Environmental Quality. The objection delays the rules going into effect. If the Council continues its objection at its May meeting, sidetracking will become permanent derailment. DEQ’s proposed rules would establish safeguards for disposal of TENORM waste. TENORM is naturally...
For four years, the Board of County Commissioners of Richland County (Duane Mitchell, Loren H. Young, and Shane Gorder) has been in the fight to protect us from the risks of radioactive waste material. The material is called TENORM, an acronym meaning "technologically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive material." In our area, the very great bulk of this material is a solid waste produced in oil and gas development. The agency that regulates disposal of TENORM in Montana is the Department of Environmental Quality. The DEQ began ordinary...
Large numbers of Richland County people have given public comment about closure of MDU’s Lewis and Clark Station at Sidney. We did this four times to MDU and three times to the Public Service Commission. Richland County Commissioners have filed written public comment. With a few precious exceptions such as PSC Commissioner Randy Pinocci, we have been speaking to people who have plugged their ears. One PSC commissioner has even complained about us being allowed to appear before them. Public comment is good, but we need to take further steps. W...
Federal district court judge Brian Morris issued his summary judgment ruling in the lawsuit that threatened to end irrigation in the lower Yellowstone valley. The ruling is cause for joy and celebration with caution. The ruling is a solid win for our community. In addition, some of its points, besides contributing to this win, can be beneficial in future cases. There are, however, several reasons for caution about further litigation. Let’s look at points that can help us in future cases. At last, due consideration was given to the fact that Con...
The federal district court in Great Falls heard arguments on motions for summary judgment in the lawsuit by Defenders of Wildlife against our irrigation project. Summary judgment means judgment without a trial. It can be granted only when the law and facts are so clear that a trial would be a waste of time. Judge Brian Morris asked why the Court wasn't told before now that, when it comes to recovery of the species, there is no difference between hatchery pallid sturgeon and wild pallid...
Despite claims to the contrary, the lawsuit against the Lower Yellowstone Irrigation Project is not a suit only to stop a new weir and fish bypass. It threatens to terminate irrigation from the existing Intake weir. In response to my previous article, “Buffalo Commons by way of the pallid sturgeon, “a new Facebook user named Ictiobus Bubalus, said: “Tom, as an attorney I’d expect you to understand the arguments in the filed complaint. This litigation has absolutely nothing to do with taking anyone’s water or changing livelihoods.” Ictiobus Bu...
The U. S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has reversed the federal district court in Great Falls in the case by Defenders of Wildlife against the Lower Yellowstone Irrigation Project. The district court had issued a preliminary injunction that stopped construction of a new irrigation weir and fish bypass. The reversal vacates that preliminary injunction. This is outstanding news for our communities. It is cause to celebrate. We still face, however, the upcoming hearing on summary judgment in Great Falls on April 19. The issues on a...
Because I grew up as a dry land farmer, when the Buffalo Commons was proposed in 1987, it didn’t take long for me to realize what was really going on. While on one side, it involved repopulating the Great Plains with buffalo, on the other side, it was a push to depopulate the Great Plains of people. That would be people like my family, church, friends, neighbors, and entire communities. What had been promised in homesteading – and earned by homesteaders and each succeeding generation – would be stolen back. Sometimes we dry landers are not a...
The U. S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals heard the appeal from the federal district court’s preliminary injunction against improvements to the Lower Yellowstone Irrigation Project on March 5, 2018 in Portland, Oregon. Video of the arguments is posted on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjFrJO_ei2A. Here are some first impressions of how the arguments went. Whenever I get the chance to go back through the video again, I might have some changed or additional impressions. A. All three judges knew the file. That is good B. Just like w...
