Environment

Montana youths win landmark lawsuit over state’s energy policies

The court ruled as unconstitutional a provision of the Montana Environmental Policy Act.
Smoke rises from a coal-burning power plant in Colstrip, Montana. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File)

A group of 16 youths won a groundbreaking lawsuit against Montana that sought to push the state to act against climate change. 

In a first-of-its-kind ruling delivered Monday, the Montana First Judicial District Court in Lewis and Clark County agreed with the youths that the state’s fossil-fuel energy policies and actions violate young people’s state constitutional rights, which include a “clean and healthful environment.”

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