HELENA — The U.S. Bureau of Land Management says it’s conducting an “accelerated review” of a proposed natural gas pipeline between Helena and Three Forks, in response to the Trump administration’s call for speeding up energy projects.
NorthWestern Energy is seeking to build the 74-mile underground pipeline. The company says it will link the western and eastern sections of their natural gas system, with the goal of increasing capacity and improving service reliability during extreme cold weather.
The proposed route crosses almost nine miles of BLM land in the Limestone Hills area west of Townsend. In an initial report, the BLM said the new line would run parallel to an existing pipeline.
Earlier this year, President Donald Trump declared a “national energy emergency,” saying delays in approving energy development had created “significant risks to the nation’s economic stability, national security, and foreign policy interests.” He ordered federal agencies to speed up their permitting process for energy projects, including coal, oil and natural gas.
The BLM said a project that would normally go through an environmental assessment of up to a year will now be reviewed in 14 days.
Construction on the pipeline could begin in 2026, and the project could be completed by 2029.
Some of the land the pipeline will cross is part of the Limestone Hills Training Area, which BLM owns but which is leased to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and used for Montana National Guard training. The BLM says the Army can use the same environmental analysis, but will have to make a separate decision on approving the project.
