The Department of Environmental Services proposed to readopt, with amendments, regulations governing water conservation. The amendments would reorganize the regulations to provide better clarity and better align the requirements with advancements in the water conservation field that have been made since the regulations were originally adopted. A hearing will be held January 9, 2024. Comments are due January 17, 2024.

The Governor’s Office of Montana adopted an amendment to regulations governing sage grouse habitat. The amendment corrects a technical error in the habitat quantification tool regarding unsuitable lands, which provides an updated and accurate basemap for Montana citizens.

The Department of Environmental Quality proposed amendments to regulations governing asbestos project permitting and management. The amendments would, among other things, incorporate updates to federal regulations, refine definitions, address inspection requirements for demolition and renovation activities, refine requirements pertaining to permits, and clarify air clearance methods and requirements. A hearing will be held January 11, 2024. Comments are due January 12, 2024.

The Division of Aquaculture proposed amendments to the Aquaculture Best Practices Manual. The amendments would revise provisions regarding prohibited and restricted nonnative species and penalties. Comments are due December 29, 2023. See https://www.flrules.org/Gateway/View_notice.asp?id=27841636.

The Department of Agriculture adopted amendments to regulations governing administration and enforcement of the Pesticide Applicator’s Act. The amendments incorporate new federal certification and training requirements pursuant to 40 C.F.R. Part 171.

The Department of Agriculture adopted amendments to regulations governing administration and enforcement of the Pesticide Act. The amendments, among other things, designate any pesticide containing one or more listed neonicotinoid active ingredients to be a state-limited pesticide that may only be distributed by licensed dealers and exempt certain pesticide products containing those neonicotinoid active ingredients from designation as a state-limited use pesticide based on specific use patterns identified on the pesticide product label.

The Air Quality Control Commission proposed amendments to regulations governing open burning. The amendments would clarify general open burning requirements. Hearings will be held February 14-16, 2024. Comments are due January 30, 2024.

The Department of Environmental Quality proposed to issue a second Alaska Pollutant Discharge Elimination System general permit modification to the Onshore Seafood General Permit. The proposed modification would establish a 10-piece threshold for evaluating compliance with the seafood waste size limitation in the permit. Comments are due January 24, 2024. See https://aws.state.ak.us/OnlinePublicNotices/Notices/View.aspx?id=213549.