# Montana HB 685: Feasibility allowance for nondegradation policy Montana HB 685, Feasibility allowance for nondegradation policy, is a 69th Legislature, Regular Session (2025) House bill sponsored by Steve Fitzpatrick (Republican); status signed, last action 2025-05-19 (Chapter Number Assigned) (as of 2026-10-19). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MT-HB685-2025 - As of: 2026-10-19 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: Montana HB 685 - State: Montana - Session: 69th Legislature, Regular Session (2025) - Title: Feasibility allowance for nondegradation policy - Status: signed - Chamber: House - Introduced: 2025-02-24 - Last action: 2025-05-19, Chapter Number Assigned - Sponsor: Steve Fitzpatrick (Republican) - Cosponsors: 1 - Subjects: Environmental Protection, Water, Rule Making - Touches household money: no - Roll calls: 4 (178 yes, 120 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 7 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - Applicants count as interested persons: benefit, low. If you request a feasibility allowance, the law treats you as an interested person. You can take part in agency proceedings tied to water quality decisions. - CO2 storage in reservoir not pollution: benefit, low. Contamination inside a permitted CO2 geologic storage reservoir is not treated as pollution. This applies to CO2 injection wells with permits under Title 82, chapter 11, part 1. The existing exclusion for in‑situ coal gasification within a permitted mine remains. - Septic and nitrate rules for homes: mixed, medium. Groundwater nitrate changes are nonsignificant if predicted nitrate at the mixing‑zone edge stays within set limits and surface water is not degraded. The limits are 7.5 mg/L for non‑sewage sources; 5.0 mg/L for sewage without level‑two treatment where background is 5.0 mg/L or less; and 7.5 mg/L f… - Water permit and dredge fees update: mixed, medium. Application fees are capped at $5,000 per discharge point. Annual fees are capped at $3,000 per million gallons per day. If you discharged 50% or less of the limit last year, you get a 25% cut, unless it is your first year or you had a violation. If you discharged between 50% and 100%, you get a sm… - New feasibility allowances for projects: mixed, medium. The law creates a formal path to allow limited lowering of water quality in high‑quality waters. An applicant must prove there is no feasible project change to avoid degradation, the project brings important local economic or social benefits, current and expected water uses stay fully protected, an… - Outstanding waters: guardrails and costs: mixed, medium. Outstanding resource waters get strong protection. No feasibility allowances are allowed, and no new or bigger point‑source discharges may permanently change their quality. If you petition to designate an outstanding resource water, you must pay all costs to gather data and complete the EIS. You mu… - Tighter mixing zones and standards: mixed, low. Mixing zones must be the smallest practicable size and have clear boundaries. Human‑health cancer standards are set at 1 x 10^-3 for arsenic and 1 x 10^-5 for other carcinogens. If that conflicts with a federal drinking‑water limit, the federal limit applies. Aquatic‑life standards do not apply to… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Steve Fitzpatrick (Republican), House - Cosponsor: Wylie Galt (Republican), Senate ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2025-04-18 | Senate | Do Concur | pass | 33 | 17 | | | 2025-04-17 | Senate | Do Concur | pass | 33 | 17 | | | 2025-03-07 | House | Do Pass | pass | 56 | 43 | | | 2025-03-05 | House | Do Pass | pass | 56 | 43 | | ## Actions (23) - 2025-05-19: Chapter Number Assigned (House) - 2025-05-13: Signed by Governor (House) - 2025-05-07: Transmitted to Governor (House) - 2025-05-06: Signed by President (Senate) - 2025-05-02: Signed by Speaker (House) - 2025-04-24: Returned from Enrolling (House) - 2025-04-18: Sent to Enrolling (House) - 2025-04-18: 3rd Reading (Senate) - 2025-04-17: 2nd Reading (Senate) - 2025-04-12: Committee Report (Senate) - 2025-04-11: Committee Executive Action (Senate) - 2025-03-27: Hearing (Senate) - 2025-03-17: Referred to Committee (Senate) - 2025-03-14: 1st Reading (Senate) - 2025-03-07: Transmitted to Senate (House) - 2025-03-07: 3rd Reading (House) - 2025-03-05: 2nd Reading (House) - 2025-03-03: Committee Report (House) - 2025-03-03: Committee Executive Action (House) - 2025-02-24: Hearing (House) - 2025-02-24: 1st Reading (House) - 2025-02-24: Referred to Committee (House) - 2025-02-24: Introduced (House) ## Bill text - Enrolled, 2025-04-22: [PDF](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=f061e861-a4f3-49c9-bf59-0a7e39a96e46) - Introduced, 2025-02-24: [PDF](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=497885de-542e-4651-83fa-e132d00d5fa3) ## 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=f061e861-a4f3-49c9-bf59-0a7e39a96e46) - [Introduced (PDF)](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=497885de-542e-4651-83fa-e132d00d5fa3) ## 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-HB685-2025 (as of 2026-10-19).