Montana Approves $5.5M in Bonds for Water Projects

Montana will issue $5.5 million in coal-severance tax bonds as part of a $40.5 million financing package for a dozen drinking water and wastewater projects across the state.

Gov. Steve Bullock's office announced the package Friday, nearly a year after the Republican-led Legislature rejected a disputed infrastructure bill because they would have been partly financed through bonds. Conservative lawmakers said they opposed the idea of going into debt to pay for the projects.

Bullock budget director Dan Villa says the bonds approved by the state Board of Examiners on Wednesday were authorized under separate legislation passed by the 2015 Legislature for renewable resource projects.

Villa says the package includes State Revolving Fund loans and a mix of other state and local money, and will trigger additional matching federal money for a total of $95 million.