Montana's Supreme Court has reversed a lower-court ruling that struck down a water pollution permit for a large coal mine near Colstrip. District Judge Kathy Seeley in 2016 ordered the state Department of Environmental Quality to reconsider the permit for the Rosebud strip mine, which fuels the nearby Colstrip power plant. She said regulators showed errors of judgment in allowing reduced monitoring of pollution into some waterways. Yesterday's unanimous ruling, written by Chief Justice Mike McGrath, says regulators have the flexibility to allow pollutants to be released into ditches that run dry for the majority of the year.
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