Calumet’s Got Lawyers and Politicians

Calumet’s Got Lawyers and Politicians

by | Apr 1, 2025 | Legislature, Taxes

Like most large corporations, Calumet/Montana Renewables hires law firms with well-connected lawyers. Here in Montana, it is Browning, Kaleczyc, Berry and Hoven (BKBH), a Helena-based “silk stocking” law firm. Their attorneys use law and politics to help the corporation comply with the law, maximize profits, and avoid paying taxes.

Calumet Gets Property Tax Breaks Every Year

A prime example is Calumet/Montana Renewables’ repeated appeals of their property tax valuations. They have appealed their property valuations every single year since 2017. These appeals have resulted in significant reductions to their valuations resulting in lower property taxes in every case. In five separate appeals between 2017 and 2021, the average valuation reduction Calumet/Montana Renewables received each year was $107,123,622. There are currently appeals still pending for the last three years.

When a large business like Calumet/Montana Renewables, the largest property taxpayer  in Cascade County, files a property tax appeal, local governments are forced to delay adopting budgets. They cannot be sure how much revenue will come in based on new valuations. But when an appeal is settled through negotiation, as these have been, there is no complete record of findings. The parties (Department of Revenue and Calumet/Montana Renewables) simply agree on a number.

Fitzpatrick’s Special Tax Legislation

More concerning is the activity of a BKBH attorney and Republican state Senator representing Great Falls, Steve Fitzpatrick. To our knowledge, Fitzpatrick is not directly employed by Calumet. But he is a “shareholder ” in the firm, which derives significant revenue from Calumet.

In the 2023 legislative session, Fitzpatrick introduced Senate Bill 510, titled “Provide Property tax incentives for alternative fuel production.” This new law changed the process for receiving tax “abatement” for Calumet/Montana Renewables. Now only the county has the authority to approve forgiving property taxes. But requests for abatement cannot be denied by the county commissioners.  The county can only decide to give up 80%, 90% or 100%.  In March, the county commission voted to give Calumet/Montana Renewables the minimum, 80%. The abatement phases out after five years.

https://theelectricgf.com/2025/03/11/county-approves-80-percent-tax-abatement-for-calumet/

This year’s action comes on top of a 50% abatement Montana Renewables is already receiving. The city estimates that the previous abatement cost the city $2.77 million in lost revenue.  No figures were available from the county for the same period.

https://montanafreepress.org/2024/10/21/a-closer-look-at-calumets-tax-benefits/

The Whole Plant is Air Pollution Control Equipment?

Fitzpatrick’s bill also added language which defined virtually all of  Montana Renewables’ plant as tax-exempt  “air pollution control equipment.” Naturally, Montana Renewables then applied to the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) for the exemption of the $430 million plant. DEQ denied the application, approving only 8% of their request.  Calumet/Montana Renewables appealed DEQ’s decision to the Montana Tax Appeals Board.  A decision is pending.

These Special Breaks Cost The Rest Of US

The stakes in this game are very high. A full tax exemption for Montana Renewables could erase more than $1.5 million in proceeds to schools, $1.8 million for the City of Great Falls, and $1.1 million for Cascade County. If this case is resolved by “negotiated settlement,” we may never know what justifies this huge tax give away.

https://montanafreepress.org/2025/02/10/calumet-applies-for-new-tax-benefit/

The Law Firm’s Influence For Calumet

As mentioned before, Fitzpatrick is a “shareholder” in  (BKBH).  Many of the principals  in this firm are well established figures in the legal community with numerous connections in both political parties. BKBH provides lobbying services to clients as well as legal representation.

One of Calumet’s attorneys at BKBH is Kimberly Beatty, the wife of the current director of the Montana Department of Revenue, Brendan Beatty.  The Department of Revenue website says he operates the family ranch as well.  Brendan Beatty filed a potential conflict of interest disclosure with the Montana Commissioner of Political Practices as required by administrative rules.

It Should Make You Go, “Hmmm”

Beatty certainly is paid for her work for Calumet/Montana Renewables. We can’t say if Fitzpatrick has ever received direct payment from Calumet/Montana Renewables. Even if he did, it likely would not be illegal. Fitzpatrick and Beatty are “shareholders” in BKBH. In theory both benefit from the firm’s work for Calumet/Montana Renewables. In these times of political influence peddling and big corporations dodging taxes, it’s just one of those things that makes you go hmmm. . . .

Guest Opinion: Oppose Montana Renewable’s Wastewater Permit

Guest Opinion: Oppose Montana Renewable’s Wastewater Permit

by | Jan 30, 2024 | Energy/Utilities, Guest Articles

Why I Oppose Montana Renewable’s EPA Wastewater Permit

By Lisa Schmidt For WTF406

I raise cattle and sheep on my ranch that, fortunately, has 16 natural springs. Those springs are vital to my livelihood so I protect them fiercely. Contamination of the groundwater would cause irreparable harm to my natural resources and livelihood. Montana Renewables, a subsidiary of Calumet, produces biodiesel in Great Falls. The most efficient method to dispose of the wastewater is to treat it at the refinery. No-brainer.

Instead, the company currently trucks the wastewater 85 miles to load it on railcars and haul it to out-of-state waste sites. This is a temporary disposal plan. Montana Renewables has contracted with Montalban Oil and Gas Operations, hoping to inject that wastewater into two abandoned oil wells at the end of a gravel road 91 miles from the refinery and about five miles as the crow flies from my springs. These wells are within a half mile of Dupuyer Creek, which flows into Lake Francis. Lake Francis is the source for drinking water in Conrad, Valier and Brady, along with irrigation water for 77,000 acres of cropland.

To inject wastewater, owner Patrick Montalban needs a Class V permit from the Environmental Protection Agency. I’m concerned about this plan for three important reasons.
First, Montalban’s permit application describes the injectate materials as “including, but not limited to” vegetable oils and animal fat, among others. In other words, anything could go down those wells. Montana Renewables has never provided comprehensive test results of the wastewater to the Pondera County commissioners, Great Falls water treatment managers or the public, despite repeated requests.

A basic test of potential wastewater reveals that it is contaminated with trace amounts of arsenic, barium and lead, among other things, along with sky-high levels of salts and phosphorus. Water treatment managers normally treat water that contains 3 to 5 parts per million of phosphorus. Montana Renewables wastewater contains 250 ppm. Water treatment managers estimate rates would have to increase by $3 million to $4 million each year if they had to pull that much phosphorus from the water they treat.

Second, the permit application states that 171 times more material will be injected under pressure into the ground than was originally removed. Two containment layers of rock are supposed to maintain separation between the injectate and groundwater. Those layers are limestone and shale. Limestone is known to crack under pressure and shale is only semi-permeable, not impermeable, under pressure.

The permit application requires monitoring with the quarter-mile Area of Review. But Montalban and Montana Renewables corporate officer Bruce Fleming note that the Madison sandstone layer where they want to inject materials runs from Canada to North Dakota, so they have lots of space to fill with contaminated wastewater. But the Madison layer is also a source of groundwater past the quarter-mile, monitored Area of Review. Either the injectate remains within a quarter mile of the wells and builds incredible pressure or it is allowed to flow beyond the Area of Review and potentially contaminate groundwater.

Third, Fleming says people can drink this wastewater. This declaration that people can drink wastewater that contains more than 50 times the amount of phosphorus is only true because the federal government doesn’t have a drinking water standard for phosphorus, yet water treatment plants are required to remove it. Excessive phosphorus can cause diarrhea and hardening of organs and arteries. Fleming is not quite lying, but he certainly is not answering questions in the public’s best interests or being transparent about the process. One has to wonder why.
Montana Renewables has developed an exciting new process to produce biodiesel. They have a unique opportunity to demonstrate to the entire world how to handle wastewater the right way. They should embrace that opportunity.

The deadline for comments to the EPA is February 15.
Learn more at https://www.epa.gov/uic/mogo-jody-field-34-1-34-2-disposal-well-glacier-county-montana-permit-s-mt52443-12513-mt52439