July 17, 2008

 

City of Great Falls loses public document case

State District Judge E. Wayne Phillips of Lewistown has ruled the city of Great Falls should not have refused to give drafts of documents to members of an environmental group last year.

The documents related to the city’s relationship with the Southern Montana Electric Generation & Transmission Cooperative. SME and the city of Great Falls have been trying to build a coal-fired power plant east of Great Falls.

At one point in his ruling, Phillips called one of the city’s positions on the documents “disingenuous.” Phillips dated his ruling June 12, but due to a mixup the parties were not notifed of the decision until this week.

Anne Hedges, program director for the Helena-based Montana Environmental Information Center, said she expected a positive ruling and wondered “how the city could argue this case with a straight face.”

“It’s a wake-up call to the city of Great Falls,” Hedges said Thursday. 

City of Great Falls officials could not be reached for immediate comment. For more about the ruling, see the Tribune Friday in print or online.