LAUREL — A Yellowstone County judge has granted an injunction stopping all construction on a proposed forensic mental health facility in Laurel.
Judge Ed Zink granted the injunction Wednesday, halting all on-site construction on 114 acres of land the state purchased in June. The state may continue with off-site design and planning.
The court granted the injunction after finding the state's water analysis did not adequately show the city of Laurel had the capacity in its water system for the forensic facility. The state must now conduct another environmental assessment, including another public comment period, according to the ruling.
The attorney for Laurel C.A.R.E.D. Elizabeth Foster told the judge the people of Laurel are concerned about the demand on the city water and sewer system. Laurel C.A.R.E.D is the community activist group that formed to oppose the siting of the facility and sued to block it.
The ruling pushes back construction of the 32- to possibly 64-bed forensic facility but does not kill the project.
The state says the facility is needed to treat people who are already in the legal system but need psychiatric treatment and evaluation to be fit for trial.
UPDATE 6 p.m. Laurel C.A.R.E.D attorney Liz Forster released a statement in response to the ruling:
"The Court's ruling vindicates what the citizens of Laurel have been demanding from the State for months: a full and transparent analysis of the impacts that the proposed forensic mental health facility will have on the Laurel community. It is difficult to imagine a more fundamental question than whether the proposed facility will have access to water to operate. Yet, as the Court ruled today, the State failed to provide the Laurel community with a reliable answer before spending $4.25 million in taxpayer money to purchase the property. The Court's order rightly requires the State to comply with our laws and conduct that analysis before any construction can be approved, if at all."
Related:
Citizen group argues to halt state mental hospital in Laurel
Laurel considers joining lawsuit against state as forensic mental health facility work progresses
Laurel group files lawsuit seeking to block state mental forensic facility
