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Nonprofit sues the Forest Service over fire retardant in water bodies

BLM Montana/Dakotas

A nonprofit organization made up of past and current U.S. Forest Service employees is suing the agency.

The complaint filed by Forest Service Employees For Environmental Ethics accuses USFS of violating the Clean Water Act by dropping fire retardant into water bodies during firefighting efforts.

The complaint was filed last Tuesday in federal court in Montana.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Forest Service says it is agency policy to not comment on pending or ongoing litigation.

Andy Stahl, the nonprofit’s executive director, says this is the organization’s third lawsuit against the Forest Service regarding fire retardant.

“The Forest Service view is, it’s sort of a war," he said. "We’re waging war here, against fire. And when you wage war, you don’t let the niceties of law get in the way.”

The nonprofit’s complaint says that for seven years the Forest Service dropped more than 761,000 gallons of retardant into water bodies on public land.

The nonprofit is asking a federal judge to declare the U.S. Forest Service violated the Clean Water Act and require the agency comply with it.
Copyright 2022 Montana Public Radio. To see more, visit Montana Public Radio.

Freddy Monares
Freddy Monares is a reporter and Morning Edition host at Montana Public Radio. He previously worked for the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, covered the 2017 Legislature for UM Legislative News Service and interned with the station as a student. He graduated from the University of Montana School of Journalism in 2017.