Cottonwood is working to permanently protect sections of the Gallatin and Madison Rivers from water pollution by having them designated as “Outstanding Resource Waters.” An ORW designation is the strongest protection available for a river
and prohibits the Montana DEQ from issuing permits to pollute the designated sections of the protected Rivers.
Because the Montana DEQ is captured by industry and will not support an ORW designation, Cottonwood has previously sought to allow Montana voters to directly decide the fate of the Rivers through a ballot initiative. The Secretary of State accepted Cottonwood’s ballot language, but the Montana Attorney General determined I-191 would unconstitutionally take private property owners’ rights to pollute the Rivers and their tributaries. Nobody has a right to pollute our water. The Montana Supreme Court unanimously overturned the Montana Attorney General’s determination and ruled Cottonwood could start collecting the 31,000 signatures necessary to get I-191 on the November ballot.
After prevailing in the Montana Supreme Court, Cottonwood did not have enough time to collect the necessary signatures to get the issue on the ballot. We’ll try again in 2024.