About Us
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Rosebud Protective Association is an affiliate and founding member of Northern Plains Resource Council. RPA organizes in the Colstrip and Forsyth areas on coal issues. The last two years, RPA has been working on addressing the leaking coal ash ponds at the Colstrip power plant.
By joining you can:
- Help protect water quality in the area;
- Help us identify and work on issues of concern in our community;
- Receive reliable and timely information through newsletters, e-mail alerts, factsheets, reports, and more;
- Join us in Helena during the Montana Legislature to advocate for legislation that protects our clean air and water, supports family farms and ranches, and encourages responsible development.
Issues:
Stopping the leaking coal ash ponds in Colstrip
- The coal ash storage ponds at the Colstrip Power Plant have been leaking for over 30 years!
- These ponds were supposed to be completely sealed according to the permit granted by the Board of Health;
- Montana Power Company, the owner at the time, petitioned the Board of Health to allow for some seepage
- This “seepage” has allowed for damages to groundwater and surface water of more than 50 homeowners and landowners in the vicinity. At this point, there is still no remedy in place to stop the leaking. Instead there are 800 pumpback and monitoring wells that capture the contamination and pump it back into the leaking ponds;
- RPA has been actively meeting with State agencies and commenting on federal proposed rules to address the problem.
Rancher Clint McRae’s testimony to government agencies about the leaking coal ash ponds at Colstrip
History
Rosebud Protective Association was a founding affiliate of Northern Plains Resource Council. RPA along with ranchers from the Bull Mountains got together to form Northern Plains in 1972 because of concerns about expanding coal development. RPA was instrumental in fighting the Colstrip power plants in the ’70s and ’80s. Since then, RPA has tackled agriculture issues, the Tongue River Railroad, coal bed methane, and of course, coal issues surrounding the mine and power plant in the Colstrip area.
