Montana Water Laws and Regulations
DISCLAIMER
Before purchasing, review the rules of your licensing or certifying entity. It is your responsibility to confirm this course meets your CE requirements. See the credit tab on the course page for details.
What’s Included: Full webinar recording, written course materials, expert instruction, a mandatory quiz, and a certificate upon completion.
Deliverability Timeline: All courses are generally available within 1-2 weeks after the live presentation.
CE Credits: AIA and/or LA/CES accreditation is available by request for courses recorded prior to March 11, 2026. All courses after that date include those accreditations by default, if applicable. With these accreditations, our courses qualify for credit in nearly all states for engineers, surveyors, architects, and landscape architects.
Learn more about the on-demand format in our FAQ or contact us at (715) 835-5900 or customerservice@halfmoonseminars.org
Agenda
Webinar instructions will be emailed before the date of the webinar.
Log into Webinar
8:00 – 8:30 am MST
Morning Session
8:30 – 11:45 am MST
Break
11:45 am – 12:45 pm MST
Afternoon Session
12:45 – 4:30 pm MST
Development of Water Laws: Quantity, Quality and Usage
Development of the common law of water rights
Statutory and regulatory limits on the exercise of water rights
Federal, state and local regulators
Development of the law on water quality preservation
Comprehensive water planning
Understanding Montana Surface Water Rights
Ownership of surface water
Regulation of surface water rights
Obtaining surface water rights
Application and permitting process
Amending surface water rights
Current issues in surface water rights
Understanding Montana Groundwater Rights
Ownership of groundwater
Regulation of groundwater rights
Obtaining groundwater rights
Application and permitting process
Current issues in groundwater rights
Agricultural Water Use
Wells for agricultural use
Irrigation
Water quality and agricultural runoff
Groundwater impacts
State and Regional Water Management and Planning
Surface water resources
Groundwater resources
Regional water planning
Montana v. Wyoming and other disputes
Tribal water rights
Future projections and challenges
Current Issues with the Clean Water Act
Status of “waters of the US” rule
Implications for future use of water
Changes in rules
Political influence on CWA
Webinar Instructions
All attendees must log-on through their own email – attendees may not watch together if they wish to earn continuing education credit. HalfMoon Education Inc. must be able to prove attendance if either the attendee or HalfMoon Education Inc. is audited.
Certificates of completion can be downloaded in PDF form upon passing a short quiz. A link to the quiz will be sent to each qualifying attendee immediately after the webinar. The certificate can be downloaded from the Results page of the quiz upon scoring 80% or higher.
Webinars are presented via GoToWebinar, an easy-to-use application that can be run on most systems and tablets. Instructions and login information will be provided in an email sent close to the date of the webinar. It is highly recommended that you download, install and test the application before the webinar begins by clicking on the link in the email.
GoToWebinar App requirements:
Windows 7 – 10 or Mac OSX Mavericks (10.9) – macOS Catalina (10.15)
Web Browser:
The two most recent version of the following browsers:
Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Microsoft Edge
Internet Explorer v11 (or later) with Flash enabled
Internet connection: Minimum of 1Mbps Hardware: 2GB RAM or more
For more information, visit the Support section at www.gotowebinar.com
Credits
Montana Attorneys & Paralegals
6.0G CLE Approval
Montana Professional Engineers
6.5 PDHs
6.5 MSE Hours
Montana Geologists
Non-Mandatory CE
Continuing Education Credit Information
This webinar is open to the public. State Bar of Montana has approved this course 6.0 general CLE hours for Attorneys and Paralegals . The application is under review, and the credit determination is pending. Current course status can be found at www.halfmoonseminars.org.
This course offers 6.5 PDHs to Montana engineers. The Montana Society of Engineers has recommended acceptance 6.5 PHDs for course. Professional engineers licensed in most other states will be able to claim continuing education credit for completing this seminar. Refer to specific state continuing education rules to determine eligibility or contact HalfMoon Education for assistance.
This course offers a continuing education opportunity to Montana geologists. Continuing education is not required for license maintenance in Montana.
Completion certificates will be awarded to participants who complete this event, respond to prompts and earn a passing score (80%) on the quiz that follows the presentation (multiple attempts allowed).
Speakers
Christopher Scoones
Lund Law PLLC in BozemanMr. Scoones holds a major in Economics and a minor in French Studies from the University of Florida. He graduated from Vermont Law School with a J.D. degree and Master’s of Environmental Law and Policy. In law school, he was a member of the Vermont Law Review. His article analyzing water rights and Fifth Amendment taking claims was published in the Seattle Journal of Environmental Law. After law school, Mr. Scoones clerked for the Honorable Daniel A. Boucher of Montana’s 12th Judicial District Court in Havre. He then served as a Water Master with the Montana Water Court before joining Lund Law PLLC in Bozeman. His practice emphasizes water and property rights. He is admitted to the State Bars of Montana and Vermont. Most recently Mr. Scoones and Hertha Lund co-authored an article on property interests in water rights that was published in the Public Land & Resources Law Review at the University of Montana
Benjamin Sudduth
Sudduth Law, PLLC in BozemanMr. Sudduth entered private practice after working at the Montana Water Court as a Water Master for six years. At the Court, he attained an intricate knowledge of water law and the issues within it, as well as the ability to address those issues efficiently and effectively. During law school, Mr. Sudduth worked for the University of Montana’s Land Use Clinic, interned at a personal injury firm, and was an editor of the Public Lands & Resources Law Review. At the Land Use Clinic, he had the opportunity to argue the constitutionality of a county land use statute before the Montana Supreme Court. Prior to law school, Mr. Sudduth worked for a Livingston, MT, water resources engineering firm where he conducted topographical surveys, environmental assessments, and environmental monitoring for large resource companies. In addition to his legal and consulting experience, he also interned for a land trust and worked construction as a timber framer. Combined, these legal and work experiences provide a diverse array of experience that Mr. Sudduth draws upon in his representation of his clients.