Tester Defends Rural Ratepayers, Takes on Forest Service for Unwarranted Fines on Montana ­Electric Co-op

Tester: “This appears to be a situation where the federal government determined a small, rural cooperative is guilty until proven innocent”

After the United States Forest Service (USFS) stuck Vigilante Rural Cooperative, a Montana electric cooperative, with a more than $5 million bill, U.S. Senator Jon Tester today sent a letter to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, calling on him to find a solution that wouldn’t punish Montana ratepayers.

Following the Deep Creek Canyon Fire, which occurred in the Helena National Forest in 2021, USFS is seeking to fine Vigilante Rural Cooperative for fire suppression costs. This decision is based on a questionable determination of fault and fails to recognize the potential for this bill to jack up costs for Montana ratepayers. Senator Tester is calling on Secretary Vilsack to reverse the fine.

“I write to express my concern that the United States Forest Service (USFS) errored in its determination to assess an approximately $5 million bill to Vigilante Electric Cooperative in Montana,” wrote Tester. “From day one, this appears to be a situation where the federal government determined a small, rural cooperative is guilty until proven innocent.  The USFS’s management of the area where the Deep Creek Canyon Fire occurred likely contributed to the cause and severity of the fire.”

Tester specifically noted the importance of cooperatives to Montana’s communities, and the potential for this cost to be passed onto Montana ratepayers: “Small electric cooperatives like Vigilante are nonprofit entities established to provide electricity to rural areas that investor-owned power companies are unable to serve at a profit.  If required to pay a multi-million-dollar bill, a small electric cooperative like Vigilante would likely have no choice but to pass this cost on to its customer-members.”

Tester concluded his letter by calling on Secretary Vilsack to find a solution that would work for Montana: “I am certain there is a reasonable way to resolve this issue that recognizes the critical and necessary service rural electric cooperatives provide across rural America, protects public lands from any high-risk activities, and doesn’t punish ratepayers.”

Tester’s full letter to Secretary Vilsack can be read HERE.