State must conduct another environmental assessment open to public comment
A Yellowstone County District Court judge on Wednesday halted construction of a 32-bed forensic psychiatric facility planned just west of Laurel, Montana, siding with a community group that had challenged the state’s environmental review of the project.
Judge Ed Zink granted a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit brought by Laurel CARED — Community Advocates for Responsible Economic Development. The preliminary injunction does not resolve the underlying lawsuit; it halts construction while the lawsuit progresses, including a new environmental assessment that the state must complete and open to public comment.
The proposed 32-bed facility was intended to treat and rehabilitate people in the criminal justice system. The site sits just west of the city of Laurel.
Laurel CARED’s central concern was whether the state had adequately studied whether Laurel had enough water to serve the facility. The group’s attorney, Liz Forster, said in a phone call with Montana Free Press Wednesday: “There are serious questions as to whether Laurel can host this facility.”
Construction was set to begin next week, Laurel CARED member Shawna Hopper said.