Repealed Water Quality Standards

Money over Science: Repeal of Numeric Nutrient Water Quality Standards

by Derf Johnson

Montana is known for its independent streak and, generally speaking, it’s something to be proud of. But actions by the 2021 Legislature have made Montana the first and only state in the nation to adopt numeric nutrient standards for water and then completely repeal them. This move is extremely likely to compromise the ecological health of our rivers and streams and Montana’s $7.1 billion outdoor recreation industry.

The bill in question is SB 358 (Sen. John Esp, R-Big Timber). It amounts to the most radical shift in water quality regulation in Montana in several decades. Any avid angler who relies upon cool, clean water for their day’s catch, should be disappointed, to say the least. And anyone who cares about or needs clean water (which is all human beings) should be very concerned about the impact of this bill.

Montana became one of the first states to adopt numeric nutrient standards, receiving approval to do so from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2015. This put a hard number and limit on discharges of nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) into Montana’s waterways. Nutrients come from a variety of sources, including wastewater treatment plants, septic systems, mining, and agricultural runoff. Excess nutrients in water causes algae blooms, which can have dire consequences on the aquatic health of rivers and streams. It kills micro-invertebrates, takes the oxygen needed by fish to survive out of the water, and makes streams and rivers less biologically diverse and more susceptible to the impacts of a warmer climate.

Before Montana had numeric nutrient criteria, it largely relied upon a narrative approach intended to evaluate site-specific needs and design appropriate standards for nutrients in rivers and streams. Time and experience have shown that the design of effective narrative standards for specific waterways requires a large amount of resources and an intensive evaluation process. While this approach may, in theory, be admirable,

in practice it is painstaking, resource-intensive, and never adequately funded. The result is that our rivers and streams ultimately suffer from nutrient pollution because there are no easily enforceable regulations. This is one of the motivating reasons that the state adopted numeric criteria.

Numeric nutrient standards were established after a long, consensus-driven process. The standards were designed to protect and restore designated uses of Montana’s water bodies, such as assuring that they are fishable, swimmable, and drinkable. Ultimately, over the past few years, we have learned that having a clear, numeric standard backed by science has enabled more effective monitoring of water bodies, established a threshold for compliance for both dischargers and the public, and facilitated the expedited