r/ForwardMontana

Access to clean drinking water is a basic human right. 

Environmental groups joined Pondera County officials to challenge an underground wastewater-disposal permit that benefits the Montana Renewables biorefinery in Great Falls, potentially affecting the drinking water. The petition focuses on two unproductive oil wells near Lake Frances. 

They also called for information on what exactly is in Montana Renewables’ wastewater. 
Injection sites, at more than 3,400 feet below ground in the Madison Aquifer, have been used to dispose of wastewater from oil and gas operations. The EPA said this part of the aquifer is not a valuable source of drinking water. 

Pondera County officials are asking for more information from Montana Renewables on what they are doing related to safe drinking water wells. The group claims their wastewater is nonhazardous. However, the wastewater contains phosphorus, nitrogen, salts, and other impurities.

More here: https://montanafreepress.org/2026/06/16/groups-challenge-epa-decision-on-montana-renewables-wastewater-site/.

Glacier National Park employees have voted to unionize, ahead of Trump’s plans to drastically cut the Park Service budget in 2027 and following cuts made last year. 

The vote took place in late May and early June, with ballots due on June 16. The final tally was 317 to 11. NTEU Chapter 347 will include about 650 non-supervisor employees across the National Park Service’s Intermountain Region, including Glacier. 

This is historic for these employees, and they plan to use this to advocate for themselves amidst job and budget cuts.

More here: https://montanafreepress.org/2026/06/25/glacier-national-park-employees-vote-to-unionize/. 

On Thursday, thousands of people and 19 tribes gathered in Crow Agency, MT to commemorate Greasy Grass, a battle where the Lakota Sioux, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho defeated Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer. 

Custer planned a large-scale attack on tribes gathered along the Little Bighorn River. But, with strong leaders in Sitting Bull and warriors like Crazy Horse, Native Americans overwhelmed Custer’s men, killing all of them. 

After news spread in America, the federal government used force to end the resistance from Native Americans, bringing years of hardship and upheaval.

Dozens of horse riders re-enacted the battle, while spectators war-whooped and trilled at them. Indigenous people from across the country celebrated the victory of their people.

More here: https://ictnews.org/news/mountain-bureau/we-changed-history-by-defeating-custer/.

The U.S. Supreme Court upheld a Mississippi law that allows the state to receive mail-in ballots up to five days after Election Day. Trump faces another setback in his plans to restrict voting by mail. 

SCOTUS voted in a 5-4 decision with Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. and Justice Amy Coney Barrett joining the three liberal judges, Justices Ketanji Brown Jackson, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan. 

18 states and territories allow for late ballots, including Washington and Oregon. In 2024, at least 725,000 ballots were postmarked by Election Day but arrived within five days after the Election.

In Montana, mail ballots must be received by Election Day. In the most recent primary election, over 513,000 Montanans received absentee ballots, which is about 65% of registered voters.

Despite this not meaning much for Montanans, it is a huge win for voting rights in general.

More here: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/29/us/politics/supreme-court-mail-ballots-grace-period.html.   

P.S. We got rid of the emojis for you whimsy-less people.

❗ The Missoula City Council is considering a $366,390 contract to purchase new security cameras for several parks 🛝. Citizens have raised concerns 🗣 about potential use of AI tools like facial recognition and license plate reading, causing a delay in voting ✅ at a previous city council meeting. 

The contract would be with Pine Cove Consulting to upgrade security cameras 📸 at Currents Aquatics Center 🏊‍♂️, Splash Montana 💧, Mobash skate park 🛹 and Fort Missoula Regional Park 🌳. 

📢 On Monday, council members 🧑‍⚖️ decided to hold off on voting ✅ whether they should purchase the Verkada security cameras  📸. The committee hasn’t determined when the next public comment 💬period for this will be. 

🔗 Submit a comment to Missoula city council members here: http://www.ci.missoula.mt.us/FormCenter/City-Council-9/Contact-City-Council-330/.

❗On Monday, the Trump administration proposed the relaxation of environmental 🌱 rules related to the extraction of oil, gas ⛽, and coal from public lands. The plan would reduce costs 💲 and make it easier for companies to operate.

One of the proposals would lower the costs 💰 companies need to pay to the Interior Department from $500,000 to $25,000. This money is used to clean up 🧹 environmental damage left from drilling, which would now fall to taxpayers.

👀 Another proposal would eliminate a requirement that fossil fuel companies share their plans to limit methane emissions when applying for drilling permits.

📢 About 30% of Montana is public lands 🌳 managed by the federal government. These proposals could affect drilling on this land. 

🔗 More here: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/22/climate/trump-drilling-public-lands.html.