Laserfiche WebLink
4816 N. PLAINS RESOURCE v. FIDELITY EXPLORATION <br />ing lessee, CX Ranch, in livestock watering ponds and stock <br />tanks. <br />In August 1998, Fidelity contacted the MDEQ about the <br />possibility of discharging its CBM water into the Tongue <br />River and Squirrel Creek. By letter, the MDEQ told Fidelity <br />that it did not need a permit from the MDEQ to discharge into <br />the Tongue River because the discharge was exempt under <br />Montana Code section 75- 5- 401(1)(b), which provides: <br />Discharge to surface water of groundwater that is not <br />altered from its ambient quality does not constitute <br />a discharge requiring a permit under this part if- <br />(i) the discharge does not contain industrial waste, <br />sewage, or other wastes; (ii) the water discharged <br />does not cause the receiving waters to exceed appli- <br />cable standards for any parameters; and (iii) to the <br />extent that the receiving waters in their ambient state <br />exceed standards for any parameters, the discharge <br />does not increase the concentration of the parame- <br />ters. <br />The MDEQ, however, warned Fidelity in the same letter <br />that "the EPA, which provides state program oversight under <br />the federal Clean Water Act, does not agree with the [Mon- <br />tana] Water Quality Act permit exclusion under 75-5 - <br />401(1)(b). Therefore, they may ask at some point that you <br />obtain an [Montana Pollution Discharge Elimination System <br />( MPDES)] permit from us, or an NPDES permit from them. "' <br />The EPA told MDEQ that section 75- 5- 401(1)(b) of the Mon- <br />tana Code conflicts with the CWA because it exempts some <br />discharges otherwise subject to the CWA from NPDES per- <br />mitting requirements. The EPA stressed that "the fact that a <br />'Congress has authorized both the EPA and states to implement CWA <br />permit programs. See 33 U.S.C. § 1342(a) -(b). The EPA issues NPDES <br />permits, whereas Montana issues MPDES permits. <br />