{"id":138720,"date":"2024-12-19T09:10:21","date_gmt":"2024-12-19T02:10:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=138720"},"modified":"2024-12-19T09:10:21","modified_gmt":"2024-12-19T02:10:21","slug":"montana-supreme-court-affirms-decision-in-held-historic-youth-climate-case-daily-montanan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=138720","title":{"rendered":"Montana Supreme Court affirms decision in Held, historic youth climate case \u2022 Daily Montanan"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"dataContent\">\n<p>The Montana Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld a district court ruling in the nation\u2019s\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/mtclimatecase.flatheadbeacon.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">first constitutional climate change trial <\/a>, affirming that the youth plaintiffs have a \u201cfundamental constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment\u201d while revoking two Montana statutes.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/dailymontanan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Opinion-Published.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">70-page decision<\/a>, authored by Chief Justice Mike McGrath, comes 16 months after Lewis and Clark District Court Judge Kathy Seeley <a href=\"https:\/\/dailymontanan.com\/2023\/08\/14\/judge-sides-with-youth-in-montana-climate-change-trial-finds-two-laws-unconstitutional\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ruled in the landmark Held v. Montana<\/a> lawsuit, explicitly stating that the state\u2019s greenhouse gas emissions are \u201cproven to be a substantial factor in causing climate impacts to Montana\u2019s environment, and harm and injury to the youth plaintiffs.\u201d Seeley\u2019s decision also rolled back two laws enacted by the 2023 legislature that changed the Montana Environmental Policy Act.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_19485\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width:100%;width:377px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/dailymontanan.com\/2024\/05\/30\/climate-impact-analysis-procedures-among-recommendations-in-mepa-work-groups-report\/img_0901\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-19485\" data-slb-active=\"1\" data-slb-asset=\"1968287397\" data-slb-internal=\"19485\" data-slb-group=\"28455\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-19485\" src=\"https:\/\/dailymontanan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/IMG_0901-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"Most of the Held v. Montana plaintiffs and their attorneys pose outside the courtroom for photos halfway through the trial.\" width=\"377\" height=\"283\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dailymontanan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/IMG_0901-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dailymontanan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/IMG_0901-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/dailymontanan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/IMG_0901-150x113.jpg 150w, https:\/\/dailymontanan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/IMG_0901-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dailymontanan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/IMG_0901-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/dailymontanan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/IMG_0901-2048x1536.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 377px) 100vw, 377px\"\/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><i class=\"fas fa-camera\"\/>  Most of the Held v. Montana plaintiffs and their attorneys pose outside the courtroom for photos halfway through the trial. (Photo by Blair Miller, Daily Montanan)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The state immediately appealed the decision to the Montana Supreme Court, which <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/dailymontanan.com\/2024\/07\/10\/montana-supreme-court-hears-arguments-in-climate-change-case-appeal\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">heard oral arguments in the appeal in July<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. The court found in a 6-to-1 decision that Montana\u2019s constitutional guarantee of a \u201cclean and healthful environment\u201d includes a stable climate system, \u201cwhich is clearly within the object and true principles of the Framers inclusion of the right.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cPlaintiffs showed at trial\u2014without dispute\u2014that climate change is harming Montana\u2019s environmental life support system now and with increasing severity for the foreseeable future,\u201d the order states. \u201cPlaintiffs showed that climate change does impact the clear, unpolluted air of the Bob Marshall wilderness; it does impact the availability of clear water and clear air in the Bull Mountains; and it does exacerbate the wildfire stench in Missoula, along with the rest of the State.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The six-justice majority found the law which limited analysis of greenhouse gas emissions during environmental reviews violates the Montana Constitution\u2019s \u201cright to a clean and healthful environment,\u201d\u00a0 and enjoined the state from acting on it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Justice Jim Rice dissented.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The lawsuit, the first of its kind to reach trial, was filed by 16 youth plaintiffs from across Montana who alleged the state violated their constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment by promoting the fossil fuel industry and exacerbating the effects of climate change.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThis ruling is a victory not just for us, but for every young person whose future is threatened by climate change. We have been heard, and today the Montana Supreme Court has affirmed that our rights to a safe and healthy climate cannot be ignored,\u201d<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/mtclimatecase.flatheadbeacon.com\/who-is-held-of-held-v-state-of-montana\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> lead plaintiff Rikki Held<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> said in a statement.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_28471\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width:100%;width:428px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/dailymontanan.com\/2024\/12\/18\/montana-supreme-court-affirms-decision-in-held-historic-youth-climate-case\/rikki-1-2048x1365\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-28471\" data-slb-active=\"1\" data-slb-asset=\"913452450\" data-slb-internal=\"28471\" data-slb-group=\"28455\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-28471\" src=\"https:\/\/dailymontanan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Rikki-1-2048x1365-1-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"428\" height=\"285\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dailymontanan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Rikki-1-2048x1365-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dailymontanan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Rikki-1-2048x1365-1-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/dailymontanan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Rikki-1-2048x1365-1-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/dailymontanan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Rikki-1-2048x1365-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dailymontanan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Rikki-1-2048x1365-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/dailymontanan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Rikki-1-2048x1365-1.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 428px) 100vw, 428px\"\/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><i class=\"fas fa-camera\"\/>  Rikki Held, 22, is the lead plaintiff in the constitutional climate change lawsuit Held v. Montana. (Courtesy of Rikki Held)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Our Children\u2019s Trust and the Western Environmental Law Center, which represented the youth plaintiffs in the case, said in a news release they hoped the ruling would be fully implemented, and if that does not happen, they would be prepared to take further legal action to ensure the state is complying.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThis ruling clarifies that the Constitution sets a clear directive for Montana to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, which are among the highest in the nation on a per capita basis, and to transition to a clean, renewable energy future,\u201d Western Environmental Law Center attorney Melissa Hornbein said in a statement.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Montana\u2019s Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte said in a statement the state is reviewing the decision but that he believes it will lead to \u201cperpetual lawsuits\u201d that will \u201cwaste taxpayer dollars and drive up energy bills\u201d for Montanans. He also accused the court, which interprets whether laws made by the Legislature are constitutional when they are challenged, of making policy outside of its purview.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThis Court continues to step outside of its lane to tread on the right of the Legislature, the elected representatives of the people, to make policy,\u201d Gianforte said. \u201cThis decision does nothing more than declare open season on Montana\u2019s all-of-the-above-approach to energy, which is key to providing affordable and reliable energy to homes, schools, and businesses across our state.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>    <\/p>\n<h4 class=\"editorialSubhed\"> Right to a clean and healthful environment <\/h4>\n<p>\t<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Following Judge Seeley\u2019s 2023 ruling, the defendants \u2014 including the state departments of Environmental Quality, Natural Resources and Conservation and Transportation \u2014 appealed to the Montana Supreme Court.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The state asked the appellate justices to review four issues: Whether the Montana Constitution\u2019s guarantee of a clean and healthful environment includes a \u201cstable climate system that sustains human lives and liberties;\u201d whether the youth plaintiffs had standing to bring the initial lawsuit; whether the MEPA limitation is unconstitutional;\u00a0 and whether the district court abused its discretion by denying a state request for psychiatric examination of the plaintiffs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Delegates to the 1972 constitutional convention were overwhelmingly in favor of increasing environmental protections for Montana. The language in<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.umt.edu\/montana-constitution\/articles\/article-ix\/ix.1.php#:~:text=Montana%20Constitution&amp;text=(1)%20The%20state%20and%20each,and%20enforcement%20of%20this%20duty.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Article IX<\/span><\/a> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">of the Montana Constitution \u2014 \u201c<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The state and each person shall maintain and improve a clean and healthful environment in Montana for present and future generations\u201d \u2014 came about \u201c<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">hours and hours of debate, rethinking, restructuring, political maneuvering and numerous votes,\u201d <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/missoulian.com\/opinion\/columnists\/mae-nan-ellingson-the-right-to-a-clean-and-healthful-environment-is-our-legacy-to\/article_2c63fa40-60a2-57d2-980f-e2612b395b3d.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">recalled <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">constitutional<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> delegate Mae Nan Ellingson.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The majority\u2019s opinion drew heavily on transcripts of the debates from the constitutional convention in their opinion.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The state argued that because the framers used Montana-specific examples of a clean environment \u2014 such as the clear, unpolluted air near the Bob Marshall Wilderness \u2014 instead of specifically discussing climate change or other global issues when adopting the environmental rights, they \u201ccould not have intended to include an environment undegraded from the effects of climate change,\u201d according to court documents.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The court disagreed, citing Seeley\u2019s findings of fact that greenhouse gas emissions have specific effects within the state, \u201cdrastically altering and degrading Montana\u2019s climate, rivers, lakes, groundwater, atmospheric waters, forests, glaciers, fish, wildlife, air quality, and ecosystem.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWe reject the argument that the delegates\u2014intending the strongest, all-encompassing environmental protections in the nation, both anticipatory and preventative, for present and future generations\u2014would grant the State a free pass to pollute the Montana environment just because the rest of the world insisted on doing so,\u201d the opinion states. \u201cThe District Court\u2019s conclusion of law is affirmed: Montana\u2019s right to a clean and healthful environment and environmental life support system includes a stable climate system, which is clearly within the object and true principles of the Framers inclusion of the right to a clean and healthful environment.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the matter of standing, which addresses whether the youth had the legal right to bring the case, the state argued the youth stories of harm from climate change impacts were not \u201clegally unique\u201d nor \u201cdistinguishable from the general public at large,\u201d and thereby do not meet the threshold for bringing the constitutional lawsuit.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, the court disagreed, citing a previous ruling made by the Montana Supreme Court that plaintiffs alleging constitutional harm do not have to distinguish their harm from that of the general public.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cHolding that there is no sufficient injury for <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">any<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Montanan to bring a claim asserting their constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment just because <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">every<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Montanan is harmed by climate change\u201d would be a misapplication of standing, according to the court\u2019s majority.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The court also considered the argument that to have standing, plaintiffs must show that legal relief will alleviate their injuries. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/flatheadbeacon.com\/2023\/06\/20\/state-employees-economist-testify-for-state-as-climate-trial-winds-down\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lawyers for the state argued<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that because climate change is a global problem, whereas Montana\u2019s contribution to global greenhouse gas emission is comparatively negligible, \u201cno single judicial action in Montana can meaningfully reduce climate change, and thus redress Plaintiffs\u2019 injuries.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, the court rejected that notion, stating it could potentially \u201cimmunize the state from litigation\u201d for similar constitutional claims, and citing a Massachusetts case that acknowledged \u201ca reduction in domestic emissions would slow the pace of global emissions increases, no matter what happens elsewhere.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The court opinion also summarized the myriad stories told by the 16 youth plaintiffs during the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/mtclimatecase.flatheadbeacon.com\/latest-updates\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">two-week district court trial<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> last summer, indicating that their collective \u201cathletic, recreational and economic injuries,\u201d give them sufficient personal standing in the case.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI was really pleased to see that the Montana Supreme Court grounded its analysis of harm in the testimony of the youth plaintiffs,\u201d Roger Sullivan, an attorney with McGarvey Law in Kalispell who represented the plaintiffs, told the Daily Montanan. \u201cIt specifically mentioned the impacts on the working ranches in Montana, on the diminishment of the recreational opportunities the youth plaintiffs can experience, of the harm that comes from breathing in the smoke that annually descends on our valley. I was pleased to see they got both the harm these youth plaintiffs are experiencing, the cause of it as a result of fossil fuels being collected and combusted, and that Montana is one of the actors in this global phenomenon.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_18472\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width:100%;width:782px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/dailymontanan.com\/montana-forests-struggle-with-climate-change-2\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-18472\" src=\"https:\/\/dailymontanan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/GettyImages-1175151142-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"782\" height=\"521\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dailymontanan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/GettyImages-1175151142-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dailymontanan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/GettyImages-1175151142-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/dailymontanan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/GettyImages-1175151142-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dailymontanan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/GettyImages-1175151142.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 782px) 100vw, 782px\"\/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><i class=\"fas fa-camera\"\/>  New pine trees grow up from the forest floor among the gray skeletons of trees killed by the 2003 Robert Complex fire that burned the mountain sides along the North Fork of the Flathead River on the western boundary of Glacier National Park Sept. 16, 2019 near West Glacier, Montana. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><b>    <\/p>\n<h4 class=\"editorialSubhed\"> Court affirms that MEPA limitation is unconstitutional <\/h4>\n<p>\t<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The court majority also agreed that Seeley\u2019s decision that the limitation to Montana Environmental Policy Act, which was initially put into law by the 2011 Legislature but tweaked again by Republicans in the 2023 Legislature, was unconstitutional.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The limitation originally said that environmental reviews of energy projects could not include environmental impacts those projects would create outside of Montana unless required by a federal agency or state law.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Republicans in the 2023 Legislature passed a bill ahead of the Held vs. Montana trial and partially in response to a<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/dailymontanan.com\/2023\/04\/06\/judge-rules-deq-failed-to-properly-analyze-potential-harm-from-laurel-generation-station\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Yellowstone County judge\u2019s decision<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> regarding the greenhouse gas emissions of a NorthWestern Energy plant in Laurel.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The new version passed and signed into law by Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte changed the limitation\u2019s wording to say an environmental review for energy project permits cannot evaluate greenhouse gas emissions or their impacts to the climate either inside or outside of Montana unless Congress amends the Clean Air Act to regulate carbon dioxide emissions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Throughout the Held case, the state has made the argument that MEPA is procedural in nature and that the underlying permitting statutes are what uphold the constitutional provisions requiring a clean and healthful environment.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In Wednesday\u2019s majority opinion, the court said while MEPA may be procedural, that word \u201cof course, does not mean \u2018unimportant.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cHere, the State\u2019s argument that (greenhouse gas) emissions do not have a \u2018reasonably close causal relationship\u2019 to permitting a coal mine or an electrical generation plant\u2014both of which need a permit under the Clean Air Act under the agreed facts in District Court\u2014is disingenuous at best,\u201d the opinion says.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The court addressed the state\u2019s argument that a single Montana project\u2019s greenhouse gas emissions are insignificant on a global scale, writing that just because that may be the case, that does not mean the emissions will not affect the environment or result in degradation to it in violation of the state constitution.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The court offered a theoretical example as to why that argument from the state was not accepted. It said doing so would be akin to not regulating any selenium pollution from mines in Montana that drain into Lake Koocanusa simply because 95% of the selenium that enters the lake comes from Canadian coal mines.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_25931\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width:100%;width:477px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/dailymontanan.com\/2024\/08\/19\/u-s-canada-officials-to-study-impact-of-coal-mining-in-north-idahos-kootenai-river\/img_3682-1024x683\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-25931\" data-slb-active=\"1\" data-slb-asset=\"1429177103\" data-slb-internal=\"25931\" data-slb-group=\"28455\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-25931\" src=\"https:\/\/dailymontanan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/IMG_3682-1024x683-1-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"477\" height=\"318\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dailymontanan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/IMG_3682-1024x683-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dailymontanan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/IMG_3682-1024x683-1-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/dailymontanan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/IMG_3682-1024x683-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dailymontanan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/IMG_3682-1024x683-1.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 477px) 100vw, 477px\"\/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><i class=\"fas fa-camera\"\/>  This coal mine in Sparwood, British Columbia, sits next to the Elk River, which is connected to the Kootenai River that flows through Montana and Idaho. The Elk Valley in Canada has one of the highest quality deposits of metallurgical coal in the world, which is the type of coal used in steelmaking. (Mia Maldonado | Idaho Capital Sun)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThe fact that climate change impacts extend beyond Montana\u2019s borders, as does selenium pollution and other environmental harms, does not allow the State to disregard its contributions to environmental degradation within Montana,\u201d the court wrote.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The majority opinion says a clean and healthful environment cannot exist unless the state can make \u201cadequately informed decisions.\u201d It also says that the plaintiffs could not be aware of how energy projects might affect the environment if the Legislature \u201cforecloses an entire area of review proven to be harmful\u201d to the environment, and that the Legislature cannot know whether it should make more law to better address climate change if impacts from state actions cannot be reviewed.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cForeclosing environmental review of (greenhouse gas) emissions under MEPA prevents state agencies from using any information garnered during this process to inform and strengthen substantive permitting or regulatory decisions or any mutual mitigation measures or alternatives that might be considered when the environmental harms of the proposed project are fully understood,\u201d the court wrote.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThe MEPA Limitation arbitrarily excludes all activities from review of cumulative or secondary impacts from review of cumulative or secondary impacts from (greenhouse gas emission) without regard to the nature or volume of the emissions absent a requirement by federal law.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Thus, the court wrote, the MEPA limitation is unconstitutional and permanently stopped. However, the court added that its decision only means the Constitution does not allow for the Legislature to prohibit environmental reviews from evaluating those emissions, and wrote that \u201cother issues will be discussed in the context of specific permitting cases.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>    <\/p>\n<h4 class=\"editorialSubhed\"> Rice dissents while Republicans accuse Supreme Court of legislating from the bench <\/h4>\n<p>\t<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Justice Dirk Sandefur wrote a separate concurrence in which he agreed with \u201cthe Court\u2019s ultimate issue holdings in this case.\u201d But he said the majority did not address how MEPA reviews and projects that would otherwise comply with state and federal regulations could be considered in the face of global warming<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He said he believed that even eliminating all fossil fuel projects in Montana could not reduce the injuries to the plaintiffs, which he said were shared by everyone in Montana and \u201cinhabitants of planet earth\u201d because of climate change\u2019s global nature.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sandefur wrote that it is undisputed that climate change is harming Montana\u2019s environmental life support system but that the majority\u2019s focus on that was \u201cno more than a political and public policy statement of the obvious.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He said while he still had questions about judicial standing for the plaintiffs, he agreed they at least had \u201cminimally sufficient\u201d standing to make their claims and agreed that the Legislature\u2019s limitation to MEPA were unconstitutional. He also criticized the state\u2019s request at the district court level to conduct psychiatric evaluations of eight of the plaintiffs, a request that Seeley denied but which the state appealed, \u201cpatently ridiculous and overly intrusive.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rice\u2019s dissent rested almost solely on the question of whether the plaintiffs had standing in the case, and he largely agreed with the state\u2019s arguments that they did not because he said the state took no action to directly injure the plaintiffs.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cAn alleged injury cannot be a theoretical observation that the challenged MEPA framework is insufficient; rather, for standing purposes, a concrete current or impending violation of the constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment\u2014the injury\u2014by way of the government\u2019s application of the framework to the Plaintiffs\u2014the cause\u2014is required,\u201d Rice wrote.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He warned that not only did the majority\u2019s holding open the door for \u201cad hoc judicial natural resources management,\u201d and warned it could be viewed as legislating from the bench.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThe Court\u2019s thumps (sic) up or thumbs down decisions in response to such lawsuits will truly allow the Court to act as an ad hoc legislative body for policy ideas never directly applied in a concrete way to the litigants,\u201d Rice wrote.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_27874\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width:100%;width:467px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/dailymontanan.com\/leg-leadership-caucus-3\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-27874\" src=\"https:\/\/dailymontanan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/leg-leadership-caucus-3-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"467\" height=\"311\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dailymontanan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/leg-leadership-caucus-3-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dailymontanan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/leg-leadership-caucus-3-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/dailymontanan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/leg-leadership-caucus-3-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/dailymontanan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/leg-leadership-caucus-3-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dailymontanan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/leg-leadership-caucus-3-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/dailymontanan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/leg-leadership-caucus-3-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 467px) 100vw, 467px\"\/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><i class=\"fas fa-camera\"\/>  Senator-elect Matt Regier thanks the Senate Republican caucus after choosing him to be Senate President for the 2025 session. (Photo by Blair Miller, Daily Montanan)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Incoming Senate President Matt Regier, R-Kalispell, and incoming House Speaker Brandon Ler, R-Savage, issued a joint statement telling the court to \u201cbuckle up\u201d for the upcoming session. Republicans plan to bring forth dozens of bills attempting to strip power away from the Supreme Court and judiciary branch, and others that attempt to make a more conservative court possible, following years of displeasure with the court\u2019s rulings that have largely gone against their wishes. They, too, maintained the court was stepping on their powers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThe Montana Supreme Court turned the courtroom into a legislative policy committee, drastically overstepping its constitutional boundaries into the Legislature\u2019s role and violating the separation of powers,\u201d Regier and Ler said in the statement. \u201cMontanans will continue to suffer decades of economic and social harm if we don\u2019t turn our activist and overreaching courts around.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The plaintiffs said they are happy and hopeful that the court\u2019s decision is now forever in the record despite what one of them, Grace Gibson-Snyder, called \u201crhetoric of denial\u201d from Montana\u2019s Republican leadership.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cDespite the incompetence and disrespect of our state government towards our shining light of a constitution, justice and hope prevails,\u201d plaintiff Lander Busse added in an interview. \u201cThis decision should be a beacon of hope for those across the globe who see the impacts of a man made changing climate every day, and a cornerstone of judicial achievement for what makes our state the last best place.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/dailymontanan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Opinion-Published.pdf\" class=\"pdfemb-viewer\" style=\"\" data-width=\"max\" data-height=\"max\" data-toolbar=\"bottom\" data-toolbar-fixed=\"off\">Opinion \u2013 Published<\/a>\n                                <\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><div data-type=\"_mgwidget\" data-widget-id=\"1660802\">\r\n<\/div>\r\n<script>(function(w,q){w[q]=w[q]||[];w[q].push([\"_mgc.load\"])})(window,\"_mgq\");\r\n<\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/dailymontanan.com\/2024\/12\/18\/montana-supreme-court-affirms-decision-in-held-historic-youth-climate-case\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Montana Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld a district court ruling in the nation\u2019s\u00a0first constitutional climate change trial , affirming that the youth plaintiffs have a \u201cfundamental constitutional right to &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=138720\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8629],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-138720","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-u-s","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138720","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=138720"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138720\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=138720"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=138720"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=138720"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}