Permitting & Operator Assistance
More Information on SBEAP >>
The mission of the SBEAP is to assist Montana businesses in understanding and complying with environmental regulations and to go beyond the regulations to prevent pollution and improve environmental quality.
- Underground Storage Tanks - Program Overview
- Underground Storage Tanks - Operator Training and Tankhelper
- Underground Storage Tanks - Compliance Inspection Forms and Guidance
- Water - Permitting and Operator Assistance
- Mining - Permitting and Operator Assistance
- Tanks, Waste & Recycling - Permitting and Operator Assistance
- Wind Permits Administered by DEQ
- BLM Wind Energy Development Programmatic EIS
- Local Government Wind Ordinances
- Bozeman Unified Development Ordinance
- City of Great Falls Official Code
- 17.20.7.110 - Wind Powered Electricity System
- Missoula Municipal Code
- 20.45.080 - Wind Energy Conversion Systems
- Madison County Ordinance
- No. 1-2011 - Establishing a permitting process for wireless communication facilities, wind energy conversion systems (WECs), and other tall structures in Madison County.
- General siting guidance from the National Wind Coordinating Collaborative
- Montana Sage Grouse Habitat Conservation Program
Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) >>
You may apply for assistance at any time during the year by contacting the energy assistance LIHEAP eligibility office or tribal LIHEAP office serving your community. Click on "LIHEAP eligibility office" to access phone numbers.
If you cannot reach your local LIHEAP eligibility office, call Montana's toll-free LIHEAP number at 1-833-317-1080.
Energy Audits
A home energy audit is the first step to determine how much energy your home consumes, and to evaluate what measures you can take to make your home more energy efficient. An audit will show you problems that may, when corrected, save you significant amounts of money over time. During the audit, you can pinpoint where your house is losing energy. Audits also determine the efficiency of your home's heating and cooling systems. An audit may also show you ways to save on lighting costs, conserve hot water and reduce other electricity uses. You can perform a simple energy audit yourself, or have a professional energy auditor carry out a more thorough audit.
A professional auditor uses a variety of techniques and equipment to determine the energy efficiency of a structure. Thorough audits often use equipment such as blower doors, which measure the extent of leaks in the building envelope, and infrared cameras, which reveal hard-to-detect areas of air infiltration and missing insulation.
Do-It-Yourself Energy Audit Resources
Utilities and Other Contacts
Many utility companies offer programs that promote energy efficiency. Energy efficiency, or conservation is like a new source of energy for utilities. Every unit of electricity or natural gas that is conserved is a unit of energy that does not have to be purchased. That is good for the utility as well as the consumer. Some utilities offer rebates for furnaces, boilers and programmable thermostats. Others may provide energy efficiency compact fluorescent light bulbs and technical assistance.
- Northwestern Energy - Provides home energy audits for Northwestern Energy Customers
- Montana-Dakota Utilities
- Montana Electric Cooperatives' Association
- Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) - A program run by the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services
Wind Generation Facility Decommissioning and Bonding Information
House Bill 216 (HB216) passed the Legislature and was signed by the Governor in May 2017. The bill requires owners of wind generation facilities 25 megawatts and greater to submit decommissioning plans and bonds to the Department of Environmental Quality and requires DEQ to adopt rules prescribing:
- The standards and procedures for the submission of reasonable bonds with good and sufficient surety by the owners of wind generation facilities
- The collection of penalties;
- Criteria and the process for releasing the bond;
- DEQ's use of a bond in the event that the owner of a wind generation facility fails to decommission a wind generation facility;
- Information required by DEQ to determine bond requirements, and;
- Any additional requirements to ensure compliance with the bill
Resources for Wind Generation Facilities
- Final Wind Bonding Rules
- Facility Information and Land Owner Interest Form
- Decommissioning Plan Checklist
Solar Facility Decommissioning and Bonding Information
Senate Bill 93 was approved by the 2019 Legislature and signed by the Governor in May 2019. The bill modifies MCA 75-26-301 to requires owners of solar facilities of 2 megawatts and greater to submit decommissioning plans and bonds to the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), and requires DEQ to adopt rules prescribing:
- Standards and procedures for the submission of reasonable bonds with good and sufficient surety by the owners of solar facilities
- Collection of penalties
- Criteria and the process for releasing a bond
- DEQ’s use of a bond in the event that the owner of a solar facility fails to decommission its facility
- Information required by DEQ to determine bond requirements
- Any additional requirements to ensure compliance with the bill
Resources for Solar Generation Facilities
Transmission and Energy Facility Siting
The Montana Major Facility Siting Act (MFSA) provides for state agency review of certain facilities engaged in the generation, conversion, or distribution of energy. MFSA provides for comprehensive review of the siting and construction of such facilities, recognizing both the need to meet energy demands and the constitutional objective of maintaining a clean and healthful environment.
As outlined in 75-20-102, Montana Code Annotated (MCA), the purposes of MFSA, include:
- ensuring the protection of the state's environmental resources;
- ensuring the consideration of socioeconomic impacts;
- providing citizens with an opportunity to participate in facility siting decisions; and
- establishing a coordinated and efficient method for the processing of all authorizations required for regulated facilities.
Under MFSA, a certificate of compliance may be required from DEQ for certain types of energy-related projects, including:
- Pipelines (except water pipelines) greater than 25 inches in inside diameter and 50 miles in length.
- The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has primacy over permitting of interstate natural gas pipelines. In the case of natural gas pipelines that meet the diameter and length requirements of MFSA, DEQ must file a state recommendation with FERC
- Electric transmission lines with a design capacity of more than 69 kilovolts.
- Facilities using geothermal resources to produce, or hydroelectric facilities capable of generating, at least 50 megawatts of power.
- Associated facilities such as transportation links, pump stations and other facilities associated with the delivery of energy are also included.
A person who proposes to construct an energy-related project that is not defined as a facility under MFSA may petition DEQ to review the project under MFSA.
The following types of facilities are explicitly exempted from MFSA:
- Electric transmission lines of a design capacity of 230 kilovolts or less and 10 miles or less in length.
- Electric transmission lines or pipelines that would otherwise be covered, but for which the person planning to construct the line has obtained right-of-way agreements or options for a right-of-way from more than 75% of the owners who collectively own more than 75% of the property along the centerline.
- Certain electric transmission lines that are collectively less than 150 miles in length and required under state or federal law for certain electrical generation or storage facilities to interconnect to a regional transmission grid or secure firm transmission service to use the grid.
- Upgrades to existing transmission lines to increase capacity.
- Energy storage facilities.
- Transmission substations, switchyards, voltage support, or other control equipment.
The definition of a facility under MFSA does not include wind farms, solar farms, or natural gas or coal fired electrical generating units.
An applicant for a certificate under MFSA must file an application with the DEQ. Facilities covered by MFSA are listed in 75-20-104, MCA. The application must include information concerning the need for the transmission line or pipeline, the proposed location, baseline data and reasonable alternate location. See 75-20-211, MCA, Circular 1 and Circular 2 for details.
MFSA statutes require certain timeframes for review and subsequent construction of an approved project, as follows:
- The DEQ must notify the applicant within 30 days that the application is either complete or incomplete. If the application is incomplete and the applicant corrects it for resubmission, the department then has 15 days to advise the applicant that the application is complete and accepted.
- The DEQ must issue a report describing alternatives and impacts within 9 months of the date of acceptance of a completed application.
- Within 30 days following issuance of the report, DEQ must approve a facility if certain findings are made. See 75-20-301, MCA for details.
- The certificate must include the requirement that construction of a linear facility be completed within 10 years following certification (five years for transmission lines 30 miles or less in length). Construction of a geothermal facility must be intitiated within 6 years of certification.
Links to additional associated statutes and rules can be found by clicking the button below:
On September 18, 2024, the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) received an application for a Major Facility Siting Act (MFSA) Certificate of Compliance for the North Plains Connector Project, which proposes to construct and operate a new transmission line extending from Colstrip, MT, into North Dakota. The proposed project would need to receive a MFSA Certificate of Compliance prior to construction and operation.
The proposed project would consist of the following in Montana.
- Two separate, parallel 500 kilovolt (kV) alternative current (AC) lines each extending approximately three miles from the existing Colstrip Substation to a new AC/direct current (DC) converter state to the east and,
- A 172-mile 525 kV high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission line extending east from the new converter state near Colstrip to the North Dakota state line. The proposed HVDC transmission line would traverse Rosebud, Custer, and Fallon Counties,
- Most of the land crossed is in private ownership, while just under about 21 miles in Montana is in federal ownership, including Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service, and U.S. Department of Agriculture managed lands. The proposed project crosses approximately 14 miles of state lands in Montana.
DEQ is partnering as a co-lead with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to prepare a joint environmental review document in compliance with the Montana Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), respectively. DEQ will be the lead agency for MEPA and the DOE will be the lead agency for NEPA.
MFSA North Plains Connector Alternatives Web Mapper
Application submittal on September 18, 2024:
Physical Address: 1520 E 6th Avenue, Helena, MT 59601
Mailing Address: DEQ Major Facility Siting, P.O. Box 200901, Helena, MT 59620-0901
Phone: (406) 444-0514
Fax: (406) 444-1499
Email: crajones@mt.gov