Montana says, ‘Nyet!’ to Wyoming

Montana’s governor showed an appalling lack of leadership last week when he summarily rejected an agreement on water quality between his state and Wyoming.

Gov. Brian Schweitzer brought no alternative solutions to the table, and he didn’t even bother to notify our state about his decision. He simply told a reporter, who contacted Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal for a comment.

We certainly don’t discourage public officials from talking to newspapers. But Schweitzer’s approach put Freudenthal in an unnecessarily awkward position. He didn’t know if Schweitzer objected to a Nov. 20 agreement between the states, to some proposed new language, or to any agreement that might be reached in the future.

At the time of Schweitzer’s unilateral action, the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality was waiting for a response from its Montana counterpart. As Freudenthal dryly noted, "I guess we have our answer."

Star-Tribune Editorial Board

Full Story: http://www.trib.com/articles/2008/01/11/editorial/editorial/96b008687e65b213872573cd000184e0.txt