The Montana Stockgrowers Association (MSGA) filed a motion to intervene in a lawsuit filed by a trio of environmental groups against the state over its statewide water pollution permit for concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs).
Upper Missouri Waterkeeper, Food & Water Watch and the Center for Food Safety filed a complaint in December 2023 challenging the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). They alleged DEQ issued a permit for CAFOs across the state without the necessary water pollution monitoring to ensure compliance with permit terms and water quality standards.
According to the complaint, this lack of monitoring could degrade water quality statewide, undermine the Clean Water Act’s permit framework and prevent DEQ from protecting Montana’s right to a clean environment.
“DEQ’s failure to issue a permit capable of identifying, or preventing, CAFO discharges that can cause or contribute to degradation or violations of water quality standards also violates Montanans’ Constitutional right to a ‘clean and healthful environment’ and leaves Montanans without an ‘adequate remedy at law’ to protect that right,” the lawsuit read.
The lawsuit said CAFOs produce various pollutants, including pathogens, pharmaceuticals and concentrated animal waste, that require careful management to protect water quality. The waste, often stored in lagoons or accumulating in feedlots, can contain harmful substances like E. coli, antibiotics, hormones and nutrient-heavy runoff, which can impair water quality if mismanaged, the groups continued. Additionally, contaminants from animal feed, rainwater runoff and other pollutants stored at CAFO sites pose significant risks to public health and the environment.
MSGA said in a statement that CAFO operators dedicate significant resources to meet the requirements of the CAFO General Permit. This includes submitting a comprehensive Notice of Intent package that outlines facility design, operational protocols and monitoring practices. The permit mandates detailed monitoring within and around CAFO facilities, and operators must notify DEQ within 24 hours of any pollutant discharge. Additionally, MSGA highlights that DEQ can enforce strict groundwater monitoring measures whenever a potential threat to groundwater is identified.
“MSGA’s members who hold CAFO general permits will bear the brunt of increased water monitoring, sampling and reporting,” said Raylee Honeycutt, MSGA executive vice president. “The livestock industry in Montana, while large in economic terms, is managed and held up by a relatively small number of family-owned businesses, all of who rely in some way on CAFO operators. The effects of this litigation will trickle down to all ranchers, livestock producers and livestock markets in Montana, causing uncertainty and harm.”
Previous lawsuits
Food & Water Watch has previously sued government agencies about monitoring CAFO emissions with mixed results.
In 2021, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a water permit granted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to Idaho’s CAFOs after Food & Water Watch filed suit citing inadequate environmental monitoring requirements.
The court found Idaho’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit lacked sufficient safeguards to prevent CAFO pollutants, such as manure and waste from thousands of confined animals, from contaminating nearby waterways. This decision marked a win for food and environmental groups that sued under the Clean Water Act.
The court ruled that the permit did not ensure compliance with “zero discharge” standards, as it lacked necessary monitoring provisions for both production and land-application areas. Although the permit required surface monitoring at production sites, the court found it insufficient, particularly for underground discharges, which had no monitoring requirements. Additionally, while dry-weather discharges from land-application areas were prohibited, the permit lacked any provisions for monitoring irrigation runoff, making it difficult to enforce compliance with discharge regulations.
In 2024, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the EPA’s decision to deny a petition from Food & Water Watch and other environmental groups challenging pollution regulations for CAFOs. The court ruled on Oct. 2 that it did not find the EPA’s actions arbitrary, capricious or unlawful in denying the petition.
Food & Water Watch, joined by 12 groups, had requested the EPA revise its regulations on CAFO waste discharge into waterways, claiming current rules were too lenient. The EPA denied the request last fall, stating it would form a stakeholder committee to assess potential regulatory improvements and evaluate the effectiveness of existing rules before considering any further action. The appeals court supported the EPA’s approach, noting it hadn’t dismissed regulatory changes entirely but chose a more gradual, research-driven path. — Charles Wallace, WLJ contributing editor
