Montana Gas Power Plant Can Resume Construction, Judge Rules

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) NorthWestern Energy will resume construction of a natural gas power plant along Montana's Yellowstone River following a two-month delay, a company spokesperson said Friday, after a state judge revived a pollution permit for the project despite lingering concerns over its climate-changing emissions.

Work on the $250 million plant was largely halted in April when Judge Michael Moses cancelled its permit and said officials had failed to adequately consider the 23 million tons of greenhouse gases it would emit over several decades.

But Moses reversed his earlier order late Thursday while an appeal from NorthWestern is pending before the Montana Supreme Court. The judge cited a changing legal landscape that includes a new state law that eliminated a requirement for state officials to look at climate impacts from emissions.