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Permit overturned for Creston water bottling plant

Posted at 6:24 PM, Mar 29, 2019
and last updated 2019-04-01 11:51:31-04

HELENA – A Montana judge has overturned a controversial state decision to allow a Creston water bottling facility to begin production near the Flathead River.

Lewis and Clark County District Judge Kathy Seeley ruled Friday against the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, who granted a permit to the Montana Artesian Water Company to produce more than 1 billion bottles of water per year.

The order is a big victory for two nonprofit groups, the Flathead Lakers and Water for Flathead’s Future, who asked for this review last year. This after a group of landowners appealed the granted permit in a contested hearing in 2017, which they ultimately upheld.

The court order now derails plans by the company and Egan Slough landowner Lew Weaver, who was awarded the permit in 2015.

The company and the DNRC have 30 days to file a notice of appeal to the Montana Supreme Court.

You can read the full ruling here.