Montana Code 15-38-102. Legislative policy
15-38-102. Legislative policy. It is the policy of the state of Montana to indemnify its citizens for the loss of long-term value resulting from the depletion of its mineral resource base and for environmental damage caused by mineral development. This policy of indemnification is achieved by establishing a permanent resource indemnity trust, as required by Article IX, section 2, of the Montana constitution, by supporting ground water assessment programs from the proceeds of a tax levied on mineral extraction, and by allocating spendable revenues:
Terms Used In Montana Code 15-38-102
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Indemnification: In general, a collateral contract or assurance under which one person agrees to secure another person against either anticipated financial losses or potential adverse legal consequences. Source: FDIC
- Mineral: means any precious stones or gems, gold, silver, copper, coal, lead, petroleum, natural gas, oil, uranium, talc, vermiculite, limestone, or other nonrenewable merchantable products extracted from the surface or subsurface of the state of Montana. See Montana Code 15-38-103
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Montana Code 1-1-201
(1)to protect and restore the environment from damages resulting from mineral development;
(2)to support a variety of development programs that benefit the economy of the state and the lives of Montana citizens; and
(3)to assess the state’s ground water resources.