Montana groups challenge PSC over climate change rule delay - Bozeman Daily Chronicle
Montana groups challenge PSC over climate change rule delay | Environment | bozemandailychronicle.com
A group of Montana businesses and environmental organizations filed a court petition Wednesday to compel the Public Service Commission to consider climate change’s impacts on health and the environment or formally deny the request, accusing the commission of illegal stalling.
Eleven of the over 40 organizations that initially filed the petition in February have now filed a writ of mandamus in Gallatin County District Court, seeking a court order to compel the Public Service Commission to fulfill its duties and make a decision.
In their February 28 petition, the petitioners argue that the PSC must consider climate impacts, citing Lewis and Clark County District Court Judge Kathy Seeley’s August ruling that sided with 16 young Montanans in the Held v. Montana lawsuit. This ruling concluded that the state had violated environmental protections in the Montana Constitution by failing to consider the effects of greenhouse gas emissions in its permitting decisions.
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