If Held Holds: Held v. Montana and the Future of Constitutional Environmental Litigation

Authors

Leonora Owsley, Southern Methodist University, Dedman School of LawFollow

Abstract

The State of Montana is one of three states whose constitutions presently contain a “green amendment[.]” These amendments, enshrined in their respective Bills of Rights, protect a citizen’s fundamental right to a clean and healthy environment, ideally ensuring that the state’s government cannot infringe upon that right. However, following the green amendment’s adoption in 1972, Montana’s law still prioritized its extractive energy and hard rock mining industries over its citizens’ environmental rights. Now, that landscape is beginning to change. In 2011, Montana adopted an amended State Energy Policy Act, which expressly forbade its agencies from considering the effects of climate change and emissions when submitting environmental impact statements to the Montana Environmental Protection Agency. In 2023, sixteen Montanan youths won in their suit for declaratory and injunctive relief against that act based on their constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment, changing the trajectory of constitutional climate litigation across Montana and the country. As the Montana Supreme Court considers the fate of the State’s appeal, all while increasingly more states consider adopting green amendments into their constitutions, Held v. Montana merits intense analysis to prepare for the future of constitutional environmental litigation.

Recommended Citation

Leonora Owsley, If Held Holds: Held v. Montana and the Future of Constitutional Environmental Litigation, 27 SMU Sci. & Tech. L. Rev. 377 (2024)