SEDIMENT CONTROL 

 IN MONTANA 



"It is hereby declared to be the 

 policy of the legislature to provide 

 for the conservation of soil and soil 

 resources of this state, and for the 

 control and prevention of soil ero- 

 sion, and for the prevention of flood- 

 water and sediment damages, and for... 

 of this state." The foregoing is a 

 direct quote from the declaration of 

 policy in the Montana Conservation 

 Districts Lav; in its present form. 

 Substantially the same policy was 

 stated in the original Soil Conser- 

 vation Districts Law enacted in 1939. 

 Most of the 3024 soil and water con- 

 servation districts over the country 

 are based on similar principles. 

 Sediment control is not a recent 

 concern of conservation districts. 

 It has, in fact, been a basic tenet 

 on which they were founded. 



The long-time concern for sedi- 

 ment pollution has generally not 

 been shared by society. Only recently 

 has the general public become aware of 

 the need for sediment control at the 

 source -- on the land. This general 

 public awareness has been accentuated 

 by a growing public concern for clean 

 water. The result has been support 

 for, and passage of, federal legisla- 

 tion such as the Federal Water Quality 

 Act of 1965, the Clean Air Act Amend- 

 ment of 1970, and the Water Pollution 

 Control Act amendments of 1972. These 

 actions, in turn, prompted several 

 states to enact similar legislation. 

 States that now have some kind of 

 legislation aimed at controlling sedi- 

 ment include: Colorado, Florida, 

 Vermont, Maine, South Carolina, Iowa, 

 Illinois, Ohio, Wisconsin, Pennsyl- 

 vania, and Maryland. 



In March of 1972, the National 

 Symposium on State Environmental 

 Legislation held in Washington, D.C. 

 by the Council of State Governments 

 adopted two important resolutions. 

 They said that the responsibility for 

 an erosion and sediment regulatory 



program should be placed in the conser- 

 vation districts. The second resolu- 

 tion suggested state erosion and sedi- 

 ment control legislation should be 

 drafted in the form of an amendment 

 to existing conservation district 

 enabling laws. This is the route 

 that many states have gone. 



The Federal Water Pollution Control 

 Act Amendments of 1972 requires states 

 to develop a comprehensive and contin- 

 uing planning process for water quality 

 management. Plans must include not 

 only point source controls, such as 

 municipal waste water treatment plants, 

 but also controls for diffuse land 

 runoff and other nonpoint sources. Be- 

 ginning in 1975, the states must sub- 

 mit annual reports to the Environmental 

 Protection Agency (EPA) that inventory 

 all point sources of pollution, assess 

 existing and anticipated water quality, 

 and propose programs for nonpoint 

 source control . 



It is at this point where Montana 

 finds itself today. Conservation dis- ^ 

 tricts have the opportunity to back f 

 legislation that will carry forward a 

 job they started many years ago. Such 

 legislation could help them complete 

 this job. It appears that one of the 

 best ways to do this would be to amend 

 the Montana Conservation Districts Law 

 to strengthen it in the areas of soil 

 erosion and sediment control. 



Last year Senator Gordon McGowan 

 introduced Senate Bill 401 which would 

 have amended sections of the Montana 

 Conservation Districts Law to provide 

 for stronger soil erosion and sediment 

 control. This bill was held over for 

 consideration at the upcoming legis- 

 lature. At the recent six area meet- 

 ings of Montana Conservation Districts 

 a poll taken at each meeting showed 

 that conservation districts strongly 

 support such legislation. If enacted, 

 it will mean that districts will take 

 a big step toward soil erosion and 

 sediment control in Montana. 



By: O.M. Ueland, Editor 



