DEQ Releases Draft Dryland Opencut Programmatic Environmental Assessment for Comment

• Madison McGeffers
• February 19 2026 The Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has prepared a draft programmatic Environmental Assessment (EA) for Dryland Opencut Mining Permit Applications and is accepting public comment through March 23, 2026. Information about how to submit public comment is available on DEQ’s website.

Opencut operations that qualify for a Dryland permit are those where mining activities do not affect ground water or surface water, including intermittent or perennial streams and water conveyance facilities, and where less than ten occupied dwelling units are located within one-half mile of the operation’s permit boundary. This programmatic EA would provide coverage for proposed sites that have a lifespan of less than 25 years and with permit areas that are 50 acres or smaller.

Because the potential impacts resulting from these dryland mining operations are similar across Montana, DEQ has prepared a programmatic EA that examines the proposed action, alternatives, and impacts that are common to most dryland opencut operations of this size and duration. A programmatic EA is an analysis of the impacts on the quality of the human environment of a proposed action, program or policy used when the activity has similar environmental impacts regardless of where it occurs.

If adopted, the programmatic EA would take the place of case-by-case EAs that DEQ has historically prepared for individual proposed dryland permits. Applicants proposing a new and/or amended dryland operation would still be required to submit an opencut mining permit application to DEQ for review. DEQ would assess the opencut mining application against applicable statutes and rules and would determine whether the proposed project has potential impacts that align with those identified in the programmatic EA. DEQ staff would complete the assessment upon receipt of each application, and applications with anticipated impacts that fall outside the scope of the programmatic EA would require additional review by DEQ.

The Montana Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) provides agencies discretion to determine when preparation of a programmatic review is appropriate for related or repetitive actions, programs, or policies. The programmatic EA will be used by DEQ to appropriately disclose impacts associated with dryland permit applications and will allow DEQ to function more efficiently.

References and links in this press release may not work once public comment periods and documents are no longer active. Please submit an information request if you are looking for documents that are not available through the DEQ website.

Tags: MEPA, Press Release and Opencut