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carbon emissions from coal- red power plants, including the Colstrip plant, the second-largest west of the Mississippi River.
Montana’s target emission-rate cuts are the steepest in the nation at 47 per- cent by 2030.
The subcommittee had met only twice — in September and January.
HELENA
4. State Task Force Begins Looking
into Protocols for Rape Kits
Authorities across Montana have more than 1,400 rape kits, —some dating back to 1995 — that remain unprocessed because they have not been submitted to the state’s crime lab for testing.
Attorney General Tim Fox estab- lished a task force last fall to delve into the issue, after a national uproar over a backlog of untested rape kits across the country. The task force convened for the rst time last week to begin its work in drafting guidelines that law enforcement agencies can use in their handling of DNA evidence.
Fox said the state does not have a back- log at its forensic laboratory, but it was important to nd out how many rape kits are not being forwarded to the lab — and why.
“There are 1,400 rape kits hanging out there, and we don’t know enough about these 1,400 and are they indeed a problem?” asked Rep. Christy Clark, R-Choteau, a member of the nine-mem- ber task force.
Last year, the state’s crime lab handled 182 sex-related cases — the largest num- ber in the past 10 years, according to data presented to the task force.
Deputy Attorney General Jon Ben- nion, who chaired the task force meet- ing, left open the question of whether the kits that haven’t been submitted to the lab posed a problem.
“We still need a little more informa- tion so we can best address this issue going forward,” Bennion said. “It’s important for people to understand that some of these case may still be active, so they aren’t just sitting in refrigerators in evidence rooms.”
The attorney general’s o ce said all but one of Montana’s 109 law enforce- ment agencies submitted an inventory of untested rape kits. Nearly half of the kits that the agencies did not submit for testing were collected during the past ve years, according to the survey.
GREAT FALLS
5. Montana Tribes Receive $3.1
Million for Housing
Three Montana tribes have received more than $3 million in federal funds to improve reservation housing conditions for low- and moderate-income families.
The Great Falls Tribune reports the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced that its award would also help stimulate community development on tribal lands. The three recipients are the Blackfeet Tribe, the Northern Cheyenne Tribe and Confed- erated Salish-Kootenai Tribes.
The awards are made through a federal
program that supports various commu- nity development and a ordable hous- ing projects in Indian and Alaska Native communities.
The Blackfeet Tribe is receiving $1.1 million to rehabilitate 29 housing units and the Northern Cheyenne Tribe will get $900,000 to improve 27 substan- dard units. Confederated Salish-Koote- nai Tribes will get $1.1 million to x up 20 homes and drill a new well.
BILLINGS
6. Removing Dam to Help Prehistoric Fish Could be Costly
A proposal to remove a rock dam from Montana’s Yellowstone River so an endangered, prehistoric sh species can reach its spawning grounds could cost far more than government plans to con- struct a new dam and sh bypass at the site for $59 million.
Environmentalists who back the no-dam proposal say it would be worth the added expense to ensure the recov- ery of a small population of endangered pallid sturgeon on the lower Yellowstone.
Federal o cials last week said they would review the proposal in coming months to determine if it’s feasible.
The existing, low-pro le dam near the Montana-North Dakota border for decades has prevented an aging popula- tion of about 125 sturgeon from swim- ming upriver to their historic spawning grounds
A federal judge recently blocked plans from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Interior Department to build a new dam and a concrete channel for stur- geon to get around the structure. Pro- posed northeast of Glendive, Montana, the project also would provide irriga- tion water for more than 50,000 acres of cropland in eastern Montana and west- ern North Dakota.
Environmentalists had sued over the government’s plans last year, claiming there was no proof sturgeon would use the bypass.
BILLINGS
7. U.S. Enters Settlement Talks Over
Coal Mines in West
Federal judges have suspended law- suits that challenged coal mining proj- ects in Colorado, Wyoming and New Mex- ico after government attorneys asked for time to negotiate potential settlements.
The judges’ rulings give the U.S. Jus- tice Department until April 1 to negotiate with New Mexico-based environmental group WildEarth Guardians.
The sides also are seeking to settle a lawsuit involving coal lease in Utah.
WildEarth Guardians prevailed in similar cases against coal mines in Mon- tana and Colorado. The group did not stop mining but forced the government to re-analyze its environmental impacts.
The move to settle the group’s remain- ing lawsuits comes after Interior Secre- tary Sally Jewell last month blocked new sales of taxpayer-owned coal reserves.
Jewell wants to review the program’s contribution to climate change and whether mining companies are paying a fair price.
FEBRUARY 24, 2016 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM
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