Falcon Copper Welcomes Montana's FAST-41 Permitting Agreement for the Blue Copper Project Near Avon in Powell County: Montana Becomes the 11th State to Sign
On October 29, 2026, Falcon Copper Corp. welcomed the FAST-41 permitting agreement reached between Montana and the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council. The agreement was announced on October 28 by Governor Greg Gianforte and the Permitting Council, making Montana the 11th state to enter into such an agreement.
Under the agreement, Montana and the Permitting Council will coordinate state and federal reviews for participating projects with the aim of completing them at the same time. State permitting actions will be tracked alongside federal actions on the Federal Permitting Dashboard, so the public can see milestones, target dates and progress.
The Montana Department of Environmental Quality will continue to review and decide Falcon Copper's applications under Montana law, and FAST-41 does not change the applicable environmental requirements or public participation procedures. Falcon Copper's proposed expansion of its Blue Copper exploration project, near Avon at the junction of Powell and Lewis and Clark counties, is under review by the U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management and Montana DEQ, and the project is already listed on the Federal Permitting Dashboard as a FAST-41 Transparency Project. The company said its Montana team has worked in the Avon area since 2022 and is committed to strengthening the U.S. copper supply chain.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 蒙大拿州议会大厦，位于海伦娜 / The Montana State Capitol in Helena. Photo: R. Sieben, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
