# Montana HB 48: Exempt wastewater ponds from dam safety act

Montana HB 48, Exempt wastewater ponds from dam safety act, is a 69th Legislature, Regular Session (2025) House bill sponsored by Ken Walsh (Republican); status signed, last action 2025-04-18 (Chapter Number Assigned) (as of 2026-10-12).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MT-HB48-2025
- As of: 2026-10-12
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Montana HB 48
- State: Montana
- Session: 69th Legislature, Regular Session (2025)
- Title: Exempt wastewater ponds from dam safety act
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2024-12-09
- Last action: 2025-04-18, Chapter Number Assigned
- Sponsor: Ken Walsh (Republican)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Subjects: Water, Environmental Protection
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 4 (290 yes, 8 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 1

## Summary

No summary available.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Public sewage ponds exempt from dam safety: benefit, low. The law exempts dams used for a public sewage or sewage disposal system from the Montana Dam Safety Act. These facilities are instead regulated by the Department of Environmental Quality under state water and sanitation laws (Title 75, chapter 6, part 1, and Title 76, chapter 4, part 1). City and c…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Ken Walsh (Republican), House
- Cosponsor: Bruce "Butch" Gillespie (Republican), Senate

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2025-03-27 | Senate | Do Concur | pass | 45 | 5 |   |
| 2025-03-26 | Senate | Do Concur | pass | 47 | 3 |   |
| 2025-01-21 | House | Do Pass | pass | 99 | 0 |   |
| 2025-01-20 | House | Do Pass | pass | 99 | 0 |   |

## Actions (23)

- 2025-04-18: Chapter Number Assigned (House)
- 2025-04-17: Signed by Governor (House)
- 2025-04-09: Transmitted to Governor (House)
- 2025-04-09: Signed by President (Senate)
- 2025-04-07: Signed by Speaker (House)
- 2025-03-28: Returned from Enrolling (House)
- 2025-03-27: Sent to Enrolling (House)
- 2025-03-27: 3rd Reading (Senate)
- 2025-03-26: 2nd Reading (Senate)
- 2025-03-24: Committee Report (Senate)
- 2025-03-21: Committee Executive Action (Senate)
- 2025-03-07: Hearing (Senate)
- 2025-02-04: Referred to Committee (Senate)
- 2025-01-22: 1st Reading (Senate)
- 2025-01-21: Transmitted to Senate (House)
- 2025-01-21: 3rd Reading (House)
- 2025-01-20: 2nd Reading (House)
- 2025-01-16: Committee Report (House)
- 2025-01-15: Committee Executive Action (House)
- 2025-01-06: Hearing (House)
- 2025-01-06: 1st Reading (House)
- 2024-12-20: Referred to Committee (House)
- 2024-12-09: Introduced (House)

## Bill text

- Enrolled, 2025-04-15: [PDF](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=5592c673-b23c-4e57-b8f9-0ec3c84823ed)
- As Amended (Version 2), 2025-03-28: [PDF](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=3d84e518-0a56-402c-9a9e-6661fe9bda79)
- Introduced, 2024-12-09: [PDF](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=4168ddc3-d65e-401b-ba29-99e2777543c8)

## Related bills

- SB 437: Revise definition of sex in Montana law (signed)
- HB 831: Increase elderly homeowner and renter income tax credit (vetoed)
- HB 628: Revise early literacy targeted intervention laws (vetoed)
- SB 410: Provide for Montana genomic security act (vetoed)
- SB 424: Revising the disabled veteran property tax assistance program (vetoed)
- SB 422: Generally revise laws relating to insurance coverage relating to cancer (vetoed)

## Sources
- [Enrolled (PDF)](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=5592c673-b23c-4e57-b8f9-0ec3c84823ed)
- [As Amended (Version 2) (PDF)](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=3d84e518-0a56-402c-9a9e-6661fe9bda79)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=4168ddc3-d65e-401b-ba29-99e2777543c8)

## Related
- [SB 437: Revise definition of sex in Montana law](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MT-SB437-2025)
- [HB 831: Increase elderly homeowner and renter income tax credit](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MT-HB831-2025)
- [HB 628: Revise early literacy targeted intervention laws](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MT-HB628-2025)
- [SB 410: Provide for Montana genomic security act](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MT-SB410-2025)
- [SB 424: Revising the disabled veteran property tax assistance program](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MT-SB424-2025)
- [SB 422: Generally revise laws relating to insurance coverage relating to cancer](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MT-SB422-2025)
- [Montana bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/montana/bills)
- [Montana state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/montana)
- [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MT-HB48-2025 (as of 2026-10-12).