Montana Code Annotated

Mont. Code Ann. § 75-5-101 (2026)

Policy

✓ current as of May 2026

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TITLE 75. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

CHAPTER 5. WATER QUALITY

Part 1. General Provisions

Policy

75-5-101. Policy. It is the public policy of this state to:

(1) conserve water by protecting, maintaining, and improving the quality and potability of water for public water supplies, wildlife, fish and aquatic life, agriculture, industry, recreation, and other beneficial uses;

(2) provide a comprehensive program for the prevention, abatement, and control of water pollution; and

(3) balance the inalienable rights to pursue life's basic necessities and possess and use property in lawful ways with the policy of preventing, abating, and controlling water pollution in implementing the program referred to in subsection (2).

History: En. Sec. 121, Ch. 197, L. 1967; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 21, L. 1971; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 455, L. 1975; R.C.M. 1947, 69-4801(1); amd. Sec. 9, Ch. 361, L. 2003.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 6 cases, 1986–2011 · leading case: Montana Trout Unlimited v. Beaverhead Water Co., 2011 MT 151 (Mont. 2011).

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Montana Trout Unlimited v. Beaverhead Water Co., 2011 MT 151 (Mont. 2011). · cites it 4× “ing water uses and the level of water quality necessary to protect those uses must be maintained and protected, including existing and anticipated uses); § 75-5-101, MCA (it is the public policy of the state to conserve water by protecting, maintaining and improving water…”

Ash Grove Cement Co. v. Jefferson Cnty., 943 P.2d 85 (Mont. 1997). · cites it 2× “…XX-XX-XXX, MCA; the Clean Air Act of Montana, §§ 75-2-101 through 75-2-123, MCA; and Montana's water quality laws, §§ 75-5-101 through XX-X-XXXX, MCA. The LVP sets forth the following goals and objectives: To preserve and enhance water quality.... To preserve and enhance…”

Pennaco Energy, Inc. v. Montana Bd. of Env't Review, 2008 MT 425 (Mont. 2008). “The court cited § 2-4-506(2), MCA, which is within the Judicial Notice and Declaratory Rulings section of MAPA, and provides that a court may declare an administrative rule invalid only if “the rule was adopted with an arbitrary or capricious disregard for the purpose of the…”

Malta Irrigation Dist. v. Montana Bd. of Health & Env't Sciences, 729 P.2d 1323 (Mont. 1986). · cites it 2× “As to water quality matters, the duties and responsibilities of these two administrative entities are recited under the Montana Water Quality chapter, Section 75-5-101 et seq., MCA. A complete reading of this statutory chapter illustrates that the legislature intended the Board…”

Hi-Line Sportsmen Club v. Milk River Irrigation Districts, 786 P.2d 13 (Mont. 1990). · cites it 4× “It is the public policy of this state, under § 75-5-101, MCA, to conserve water by protecting, maintaining, and improving the quality and potability of water for, among other purposes, "fish and aquatic life, .”

Hi-Line Sportsmen Club v. Milk Rive (Mont. 1989). · cites it 2× “It is the public policy of this state, under § 75-5-101, MCA, to conserve water by protecting, maintaining, and improving the quality and potability of water for, among other purposes, "fish and aquatic life, .”

Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.