Governor Schweitzer's new multi-million dollar "blue collar" mansion on Georgetown Lake is a perfect example of one type of growth that radical environmentalists tried to shut down during the last legislative session.  What's interesting, though, is that the Schweitzer administration actually supported the so-called "streamside setback" legislation that would have prohibited his home from being built.  Are we the only ones that see a little bit of hypocrisy in supporting bans on certain types of building near bodies of water during the legislative session, and then buying a huge mansion next to a lake just a few months later?

The bill in question, SB 345, ended up in a version that would have applied only to major rivers in Montana, but an early plan also included reservoirs and lakes.  This bill would have prohibited building within 250 feet of the body of water; judging by the photo included in the Great Falls Tribune article (linked above) it appears that the Schweitzer residence would fall inside this limit.  The bill also requires a "vegetation buffer" within 100 feet of the water; that means no walking path, no law, no out buildings, etc. within that limit.

The bill failed on a 20-30 vote in the Senate, but not before Schweitzer's chief policy advisor Hal Harper showed up in committee as a proponent of the measure.   We're left wondering if BS's supporters in the leftist environmental community are at all concerned about the gov's double-standard on streamside setbacks. 

Just one more example of the gov's tendency to practice "do as I say, not as I do."