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VIII. EVALUATION OF EXISTING STATUTES 



Si Ivi cultural practices in Montana are regulated by a number of laws, 

 regulations, and guidelines. Such federal, state, and local acts 

 relevant to water quality will be reviewed and evaluated in the following 

 text. 



The most applicable federal laws deal with flood prevention and control, 

 public water supplies, and forestry management. There are several 

 programs that provide technical and financial assistance to public 

 agencies and private landowners for mitigation and/or prevention of water 

 quality impacts from forestland management. 



The Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNR&C) and the 

 Department of Health and Environmental Sciences (DHES) are the agencies 

 responsible for administering state laws relevant to water quality and 

 forestland management. Erosion control and maintenance of public water 

 supplies are stressed in the applicable state laws. Several regulations 

 and guidelines are administered on a local level through the Conservation 

 Districts. Public education, technical services, and financial assistance 

 are available to forestland managers. There are few laws instituted by 

 local government that affect forestry practices and water quality. 



A fairly comprehensive framework exists for regulating silvicultural activities 

 within Montana. However, the mechanism for implementing these statutes 

 does not operate adequately. The primary deficiencies are in the areas of 

 problem/violator identification and legal enforcement; these aspects could 

 be improved with additional staffing of field and legal personnel. Public 



