Montana State Legislature

HJ37 draft report (committee staff, June 2022)

Note: Public comments may be submitted . All comments are due Aug. 31.

HJ37 study materials

• Study resolution
• Letter to EQC requesting formation of special committee
• Memo on EQC appointments to HJ37 Special Committee on Selenium Standards for Lake Koocanusa (staff; Sept. 15, 2021)

Special Committee for Selenium Standards on Lake Koocanusa

Special committee members are Sen. Walt Sales (presiding officer), Sen. Jill Cohenour, Rep. Willis Curdy, Rep. Steve Gunderson, Rep. Rhonda Knudsen, Sen. Ryan Lynch, Rep. Marilyn Marler, Sen. Cary Smith

July 5, 2022 special committee meeting:

• Agenda
• Draft HJ37 report (committee staff, July 2022)
• Legal status of Montana site-specific selenium water quality standard (Teck Resources Ltd., April 2022)

Follow-up materials to Feb. 28 meeting

• DEQ response to special committee questions (2022)
• DEQ spreadsheet of Selenium dataset (2022)
• DEQ notice of draft written findings re: BER stringency review and 75-5-203 (DEQ, April 3, 2022)
• Draft written findings for the site-specific water column selenium standard for Lake Koocanusa, MT (DEQ, March 2022)
• Final agency action and order, 757-3-203 stringency review (BER, April 2022)

 Feb. 28, 2022 special committee meeting

• Agenda
• Letter from EPA Region 8 to special committee (Feb. 17, 2022)
• Meeting notes from Nov. 2021 meeting of Monitoring and Research Committee Teleconference (Nov. 21, 2022)
• Selenium in Idaho (Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, Feb. 2022)
• Lake Koocanusa Fish Tissue Selenium (2008-2021) (Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, Feb. 2022)
• Presentation on selenium in water quality (Teck Resources, Feb. 2022)
• Background paper for selenium in water quality (Teck Resources, Feb. 2022)
• Summary of Feb. 25 BER decision (Teck Resources, Feb. 2022)
• CSKT perspectives on the Lake Koocanusa site-specific selenium criteria development (CSKT, Feb. 2022)
• CSKT comments for Feb. 28 meeting (Feb. 2022)
• Elk Valley coal mining and the Kootenai River: Impacts of selenium on the biota (KTOI, Feb. 2022)

Jan. 27, 2022 special committee meeting:

•   Agenda (updated Jan. 24, 2022)
• Final administrative rule on selenium standards for Lake Koocanusa and the Kootenai River (17.30.632)
• Public notice for hearing on selenium rule (Oct. 2020)
• DEQ responses to comments on selenium rule (Dec. 2020)
• LSO memo on selenium rule (Oct. 2020)
• DEQ handout on selenium rule (Oct. 2020)
• Proposed HJ37 work plans
  • DEQ (Dec. 2021)
  • Teck (Dec. 2021)
• Request for stringency review (Board of Environmental Review, Nov. 2021)