- Upper Missouri Waterkeeper®

Improve Protections for Montana's Waterways

Massive fisheries collapses, catastrophic climate change impacts, noxious algal blooms, and unrelenting development pressure demonstrate that our current rules aren't serving our communities, our fisheries and wildlife, or our outdoors heritage. We need to do a better job. Once every three years, the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) conducts a comprehensive review of all water quality standards for the state. This review is called a Triennial Review (https://deq.mt.gov/News/publiccomment-folder/Water-Quality-Standards-Triennial-Review-5-12-2023), and it's happening now. The Triennial Review is an opportunity to make meaningful updates to our state's Water Quality Standards, but unfortunately DEQ is not proposing any changes. Upper Missouri Waterkeeper is taking this opportunity to advocate for improving Montana's rules. It's critical to the future health of our waterways, our wildlife, and community health to have strong, science-based rules on the book that protect our waterways from pollution and decline.