Montana Court Restricts Use of Groundwater for New Homes

Montana Court Restricts Use of Groundwater for New Homes - The New York Times

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Montana Court Restricts Use of Groundwater for New Homes

The scion of a political dynasty sought to build a subdivision in a water-stressed valley. A judge said no, a decision that could slow development across the state.

A Montana judge has ruled that state officials have failed to impose adequate limits on the construction of new homes that rely on groundwater, a decision that could considerably curtail building in areas of the state where water supplies are disappearing.

The decision comes as Montana, like much of the country, struggles with long-term declines in its aquifers, the result of both overuse and a changing climate, as revealed by a New York Times investigation last year. In the state, that pressure on groundwater has been amplified by rising demand for housing.

The case began when Errol Galt, a developer and a member of a prominent political family in Montana, proposed to build a subdivision in a pristine valley about an hour east of Helena. The state and county gave him permission to build 39 homes that would take their water from wells, despite evidence suggesting that groundwater in the area was in decline.

Local residents sued both the county and the state to stop the development, arguing that officials had failed to consider the effect of new construction on their existing water supply.

The district court judge, Michael F. McMahon, ruled in favor of the residents, writing that the decision to approve the development was based on an environmental review that was “abjectly deficient” and “astonishing.”

Carole Plymale, one of the plaintiffs, has a nearby ranch with about 400 Red Angus cattle and grows alfalfa to feed them. She said that the decline of groundwater in the valley made irrigation difficult and that new construction would only intensify the shortage.

The judge went further than simply blocking the new development. He found that Montana’s policy for approving new developments violates state law.

The Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, he wrote, has “allowed the (ongoing) appropriation of millions if not billions of gallons of water that under our laws should have been left in aquifers.”

A spokeswoman for the department, Cassie Wandersee, did not respond to a request for comment. The county commissioner chairwoman of Broadwater County, where the development was to be built, referred a request for comment to the county attorney, who also did not respond.

Vuko J. Voyich, the attorney for Mr. Galt’s development company, said in a statement that he and his client were reviewing the judge’s decision. He would not say whether they would appeal.

If the ruling stands, it would significantly limit new development in rural Montana, according to Guy Alsentzer, executive director of Upper Missouri Waterkeeper, an environmental group that represented residents seeking to block the development.

“The pendulum for the longest time was largely swinging in support of development at any cost,” Mr. Alsentzer said in an interview. The ruling “is a big moment for Montana land use policy,” he added.

Eugene Graf, president of the Montana Building Industry Association, which represents homebuilders, agreed, saying the ruling could stop residential development outside of cities, at least in the short term. He said he hoped state lawmakers would revise the law.

By restricting the supply of new housing, the ruling would also make homes less affordable, Mr. Graf said. Median home prices in Montana have doubled since 2015, spurred in part by the rush of people moving to the state during the Covid pandemic.

“Where are we going to house citizens of Montana?” Mr. Graf said.

Christopher Flavelle is a Times reporter who writes about how the United States is trying to adapt to the effects of climate change. More about Christopher Flavelle

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