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9/01/2025
Montana Renewables won’t publicly commit to underground injection
A long-pending application to inject wastewater from the Montana Renewables biorefinery into unused oil wells in Pondera County will get a new public hearing next month.
After the public expressed concerns about the wastewater, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency attempted to predict the spread of the material over 10,000 years. The findings indicated that the wastewater could drift as far as two miles, deep underground in the Madison Aquifer, although the agency claims that drinking water sources in the area will not be affected.
The plan has received sustained scrutiny from locals, particularly the three Pondera County commissioners who worry there are too many unknowns to risk contaminating current water wells and any future use of the aquifer.
“We just don’t trust they have all the information they need to make a real, solid conclusion on how far this water will travel,” Commissioner Zane Drishinski told Montana Free Press last week.
The application concerns two unused oil wells about five miles southwest of Lake Frances. The owner of the wells, Montalban Oil and Gas Operations, applied for a permit in 2022 to dispose of industrial wastewater from Montana Renewables. The request calls for injections of wastewater around 3,500 feet underground in the Madison Aquifer at an amount of up to 84,000 gallons per day.
The wastewater comes from Montana Renewables’ pre-treatment unit about 80 miles away in Great Falls, which washes the raw materials the facility uses to make biofuels. Those raw materials can include seed oils, vegetable oils and beef tallow. Montana Renewables currently ships the wastewater by truck and rail to an out-of-state disposal site at a cost of $12 million annually.
On Aug. 20, the EPA announced a new public hearing to discuss the estimated migration of the wastewater underground. Following the announcement, Montana Renewables issued a statement saying that it appreciated the EPA’s increased scrutiny after hearing the public’s concerns.
Still, the company has tried to keep the wastewater injection plan at arm’s length. In its recent statement and in other settings, Montana Renewables has repeated that the wells are not owned by the company. Montalban Oil and Gas owns the wells and is requesting the disposal permit, but the permit documents say that this project is specifically for Montana Renewables wastewater.
MTFP asked a Montana Renewables spokesperson last week if the company is committed to using the wells to inject wastewater if the EPA grants the permit. The spokesperson, Lanni Klasner, would not say one way or the other before adding that the company is committed to transparency.
“I can say any water management approach we adopt will meet or exceed applicable environmental standards,” Klasner wrote in an email.
Pondera County officials have raised concerns that Montana Renewables’ wastewater characteristics remain relatively unknown. Documents filed with the EPA still say that the facility’s pre-treatment unit is “currently under construction” and that water quality data aren’t available, although the unit has been operational and the plant has been producing biofuels for several years.
A previous statement from the Pondera County sanitarian office said that the wastewater contains “potentially unacceptable levels of nutrients, heavy metals, residual pesticides or other contaminants.” In an email to MTFP, an EPA spokesperson said that final approval of the permit will require a sample of the wastewater to be analyzed by the agency.
Permit documents filed with the EPA note that the water currently at the proposed injection site is already of poor quality and that the wells have been used in the past to dispose of wastewater from oil and gas operations. That wastewater contained oil and grease, as well as detectable levels of the harmful chemical benzene.
Furthermore, the permit documents note that the deepest drinking water well in the region is 310 feet deep — far from the 3,500-foot depth of the injection well. No public or private users tap this part of the Madison Aquifer for drinking water.
Patrick Montalban, CEO of the company that owns the wells, said they were drilled nearly 15 years ago and didn’t produce. Shortly thereafter, the wells were permitted as waste injection sites. He operates 17 other injection wells in Montana and said there are 28 active injection wells in Pondera County.
“If you see an oil and gas well, 90% chance you’re going to see an injection well,” he said.
Pondera County commissioners told MTFP that it’s unknown what the region’s water needs will be decades from now. There might come a time when the aquifer will need to be tapped for agricultural or drinking use.
“We live in a pretty arid part of the state here,” Commissioner Drishinski said. “And there are other areas in Montana that are digging wells down close to that range that are finding good sources of water down there.”
Officials have urged Montana Renewables to prioritize wastewater treatment on-site in Great Falls. The company has long planned a treatment facility as part of a $1.6 billion expansion, but it hasn’t said when construction will commence and whether the wells in Pondera County will be used in the interim.
The forthcoming public hearing will address an “aquifer exemption expansion,” which would allow that region of the aquifer to be used as a disposal site with the new EPA projections for wastewater spread.
The hearing will be Sept. 23, 5:30 p.m., at Conrad High School.
Property taxes to decrease for countywide levy
Cascade County has tightened its spending slightly since last year as commissioners work to set the county’s 2026 budget.
Property owners can expect a decrease in the 2026 general mill levy for Cascade County, according to a draft budget that’s open for public comment through Sept. 4. The proposed levy will be $152.60 less than the previous year on a $300,000 property and $215.24 less on a $600,000 property, according to county documents.
Overall budget revenue is expected to be flat for 2026, and spending is expected to decrease.
Elected officials won’t receive an increase in pay for 2026 based on a previous decision by the Cascade County Compensation Board.
In addition to the countywide mill levy, all properties in Cascade County will also pay a share of the public safety levy, which voters approved in 2022. That levy is expected to raise $3 million in 2026, though an estimate for individual properties wasn’t immediately available.
Due to new property tax legislation, the public safety mill levy had to be recalculated to avoid a drop in revenue, similar to the action taken by Great Falls on the library mills. While voters approved a specific number of mills (14) in 2022, the recalculation establishes a new maximum number of mills based on the revenue made in 2025. The county finance office has recommended that the levy be tied to inflationary increases allowed by statute for each budget after recalculation.
Property owners outside of Great Falls pay into the county road mill levy, which will raise $2.9 million. They also pay into the rural mill levy, budgeted at $1.6 million, which supports the health department, library services, roads and planning.
County commissioners will meet on Sept. 4 to consider the public safety levy and the final budget for 2026.
17 acts, no cover charge
Amid the busy season schedule at the Mansfield Center for the Performing Arts is an artist showcase that’s free and open to the public.
On Oct. 11, the Montana Performing Arts Consortium will host the showcase featuring comedians and musicians playing rock, country, jazz, bluegrass and more. The event is part of the consortium’s annual conference, which helps event planners from around the state see potential acts to book for their communities.
Here is the performance schedule for the day:
9 a.m.
John Roberts y Pan Blanco from Montana (Global Music)
Rocky Peter from California (Popular Music)
Clayton Parsons from Montana (Country Music)
Jason Lyle Black from Tennessee (Classical Music)
Lucas Miller from Texas (Singing Zoologist Family/Young Audience)
John Heffron from Michigan (Comedy)
Saint of Soldiers from Montana (Folk/Bluegrass/Americana)
1:15 p.m.
Sterling Drake from Montana (Country Music)
Tap Into Soul from Florida (Popular Music / Dance)
Keith Alessi from British Columbia (Folk/Bluegrass/Americana, Storytelling)
Empire Trio (formerly O Sole Trio) from New York (Popular Music)
Luca Stricagnoli from Tennessee (Rock)
4 p.m.
Larry & Joe from North Carolina (Folk/Bluegrass/Americana)
Matt Baker from Washington (Comedy, Family/Young Audience)
Phoenix from Oregon (Folk/Bluegrass/Americana)
Acoustic Eidolon from Colorado (Global Music)
Decades in Duet from New York (Popular Music)
More information about the event is here.
5 things to know in Great Falls
Cascade County Attorney Josh Racki announced that he’s switching political parties and registering as a Republican. In a social media post, Racki said that attacks on law enforcement had gone too far and that Republicans put “the safety and freedom of law-abiding citizens first by standing with law enforcement.” Racki’s most recent political contributions for partisan races were in 2022, when he donated $150 to state House candidate Barbara Bessette, a Democrat. That same year, he donated to Cascade County Sheriff Jesse Slaughter’s campaign. Slaughter also switched parties in 2021, moving from Democrat to Republican.
On Aug. 25, the Great Falls Public Schools Board of Trustees enacted a new policy that dictates what kinds of flags can be shown on school property. The policy explicitly allows the Gadsden flag and flags honoring law enforcement but bans flags that “express a political viewpoint.” According to the policy, that includes flags representing sexual orientation or gender, which is widely viewed to prevent the Pride flag from being shown. School trustees didn’t specifically discuss the policy before passing it. The policy reflects a law that was passed earlier this year at the Montana Legislature.
The Great Falls Animal Shelter will hold a free rabies vaccination clinic Sept. 28 in conjunction with World Rabies Day. It’s a walk-in event for dogs and cats. Pets must be leashed or kenneled at the event, which is from noon to 2 p.m.
Two hours of free summer parking has ended at the north parking garage in downtown Great Falls. The program, which started last year, intended to draw visitors to use the parking structure. Garage parking remains available at 50 cents per hour, which is half the price of on-street parking. The garages are free after 6 p.m. and on weekends.
A Denton-area landowner has sued NorthWestern Energy, alleging negligence for the 2021 West Wind Fire that burned more than 30,000 acres and damaged the town. The company has acknowledged that overhead power lines may have sparked the fire. The plaintiff in this case, Clifford Edwards, owns 234 acres east of Denton and described the land as an animal and plant sanctuary. The land was destroyed in the fire. There have been at least four other lawsuits against NorthWestern related to the West Wind Fire, according to the Lewistown News-Argus. Two were settled earlier this year. This spring, Gov. Greg Gianforte signed a wildfire liability law that was drafted by NorthWestern Energy. Opponents included victims of the West Wind Fire, who argued that the law didn’t go far enough to ensure accountability. An attorney in the Edwards case told MTFP in an email that the new law doesn’t apply to this lawsuit because the fire happened in 2021.
Public notice
In 2009, developers of the Eagles Crossing neighborhood on the far north end of Great Falls received a two-year extension to finish upgrades to water and sewer infrastructure. Some of that work was never completed.
On Sept. 2, the Great Falls City Commission will consider giving a new developer, Cascade Communities LLC, until 2026 to complete the infrastructure to support the development of 20 lots. Cascade Communities purchased the undeveloped lots from Eagles Crossing LLC in May.
Commissioners will also consider enacting a pilot program to fund the replacement of some lead and galvanized water lines. Replacement of those lines is mandated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The $300,000 pilot program will aim to replace up to 20 water lines and take advantage of a state loan fund that offers 60% forgiveness. The city’s water fund will cover other expenses.
The city has been working to identify lead water lines in private properties.
The city commission meets Sept. 2 at 7 p.m. The agenda is available here.
Dept. of corrections (and clarifications)
The Aug. 25 edition of Great Falls This Week misspelled Deputy City Manager Bryan Lockerby’s first name.
In that same newsletter edition, MTFP reported that proposed workforce housing that benefits from tax increment financing would need to be monitored for income eligibility in perpetuity. After that newsletter was published, Planning and Community Development Director Brock Cherry reached out to clarify that there is a time limit to that eligibility.
Cherry said that rental projects that are supported by TIF must remain “affordable” for 30 years, not in perpetuity and that property owners submit compliance reports annually. For-sale projects supported by TIF must remain affordable for 75 years.
Affordability in this context means homeowners who make between 60% and 140% of the area’s median income. For Great Falls, that’s between $36,120 and $84,280 for one person or $46,440 to $108,360 for a family of three, according to a city presentation. City officials have explored using TIF to support the development of workforce housing in vacant or older downtown properties.
