Northern Plains Resource Council

Clean Energy: We elevated the voices of Montanans impacted by Montana-Dakota Utilities' proposed 19.2% increase and reduced the final increase to 9.1% which saved Eastern Montanans over $4.5M. We worked with the Montana Facilities Finance Authority to bring the total number of counties adopting CPACE to 12 and helped another five counties start the process. In conjunction with our affiliates, our Solarize campaigns have helped 300 residences in Montana through solar assessments which resulted in over 120 installations and increased the total solar installed through our efforts to over 700kw. We recruited, trained, and supported two candidates for rural electric co-op boards. Our work kept one co-op from effectively ending net metering and helped another raise its cap on installation size and adopt a more consumer-friendly true-up policy. Finally, we coordinated powerful member testimony at climate policy listening sessions hosted by the Montana Department of Environmental Quality and stood up for DEQ's authority to reject permits that infringe upon our constitutionally-protected right to a clean and healthful environment.

Coal Transition: We petitioned the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation & Enforcement to investigate Signal Peak Energy's ongoing violations, finances, and legality of cancelling long-held grazing leases near the longwall mine they operate in the Bull Mountains. We filed a formal complaint against Signal Peak with the Montana DEQ requesting investigation into the company's ongoing violations and, following inaction, we requested the DEQ revoke Signal Peak Energy's mining permit. We expanded our membership base in the Bull Mountains and developed a strategy to ensure area ranchers and communities are well-informed and can plan around the mine's activities, trajectory, and timeframe.

Oil & Gas: We amplified the voices of concerned Laurel community members to combat NorthWestern Energy's methane-fired power plant on the banks of the Yellowstone River. We generated an outpouring of letters to the editor in opposition to the zoning changes required for the plant to become operational and we flooded the Montana DEQ with hundreds of comments about the plant's dangerous pollution during the public comment period. We conducted a canvass in Laurel to provide information about the proposed plant and learn more about community concerns and attitudes toward the plan, then organized people to push the Laurel City/County Planning Board to reject efforts to rezone the land where the plant was built. We also continued our efforts to stop air pollution from orphaned and abandoned oil and gas wells in Montana. We helped the state secure $25M in federal funding to plug identified orphaned wells across the state, roughly half of which were completed in 2023 and the rest should be complete by fall of 2024. We oversaw the finalization of the EPA's Methane Rule which aimed to cut 80% of methane emissions from oil and gas development over the next 15 years.

Agriculture: We organized ranches and key stakeholders to support rulemaking related to the Packers and Stockyards Act and the American Beef Labeling Act, requiring country-of-origin labeling (COOL) at the federal level. We expanded the audience of those who care about agricultural issues and united ranchers, consumers, and conservationists around livestock and COOL reform. We hosted the 8th annual Montana Local Food Challenge in August, including an event in Glendive with our affiliate group, Dawson Resource Council. Healthy Soils: We passed a joint resolution during the 2023 legislative session establishing a Montana Soil Health Week and Day. The inaugural Soil Health Week will take place the first week of April 2024. We hosted two Soil Crawl events and one virtual gathering that covered soil health tools and principles such as rotational grazing, soil tests and amendments, invasive species management, cover crops, and more. Good Neighbor Agreement: We pushed back on mine expansion activities, ensuring traffic safety and minimizing the mine's footprint wherever possible in the Stillwater and Boulder valleys. As a result of GNA member involvement and technical advisor input, the Stillwater mine has implemented state-of-the-art, satellite-linked survey equipment to measure ground movement and groundwater pore pressure changes for the Stillwater mine tailing and storage facilities. Diversity, Equity & Inclusion: Northern Plains worked closely with Western Native Voice and several other organizations to organize a showing of Murder in the Bighorn, a docuseries from Showtime about the Missing and Murdered Indigenous People crisis. Roughly 300 people attended the screening and the discussion panel featuring Blackfeet Nation filmmakers Ivy and Ivan MacDonald and family members of the victims. We supported and collaborated with Western Native Voice as they lead Indigenous Peoples Day activities and celebrations. We continued our Lessons from Indigenous Organizing series with Native American speakers who are doing powerful organizing work across the state. Protecting Montana's Constitution: We mobilized thousands of Montanans on the Montana Constitution as several proposals came up at the Montana legislature. While there were 69 proposed amendments to the constitution, ZERO passed. We organized a rally, "We the People: A Rally for the Montana Constitution" that brought together Montanans from all walks of life to tell the state legislature that our constitution should stand to protect our rights as currently written.