Meeting Information:
The September 2026 Gallatin Water Collaborative meeting focused on how water topics get introduced into legislative sessions, which topics have come up recently, and which are likely to come up during the upcoming session. The panel included Toni Henneman (Deputy Research Director, Water Policy Interim Committee); Clayon Elliott (Lobbyist, Montana Trout Unlimited); and Carolina Canarios (Land & Water Policy Advocate, Montana Environmental Information Center).
The public panel took place at the Gallatin Gateway Community Center on September 29 from 1:00-2:15 pm, followed by a closed discussion from 2:15-3:00 pm.
Key Takeaways:
The 2027 legislative session will be extremely busy, and many water-related topics will be discussed, especially relating to exempt wells, mitigation, permitting and change reforms, the water court, water storage and reuse, and data centers.
Convening with and engaging legislators outside the legislative process and presenting shared knowledge about complex issues in a distilled, digestible, and impactful way are paramount to effective collaboration and policy change.
Meeting Resources:
Water in the 2027 Legislative Session Resources:
WPIC final report summary on HJ 74: Study Analyzing Water Reuse in Montana
LC0377 - Extend the termination of Water Court for water right adjudication
LC0378 - Allow water rights to certain subdivisions (grandfathering bill)
LC0380 - Study of the water rights permitting process by DNRC
Exempt Wells: Constitutional challenges and questions - MEIC
Meeting Slides - Clayton Elliot, Basin Strategies Group
Meeting Slides - Caroline Cararios, Montana Environmental Information Center (MEIC)