The city of Billings has tentatively agreed to pay a $5,000 penalty to the state of Montana after the burning of meth led to the contamination of the Yellowstone Valley Animal Shelter.
Up to 14 workers were hospitalized Sept. 10, 2025, when the FBI was burning meth and Billings failed to properly operate its incinerator. As a result, toxic fumes were sucked into vents in the facility, instead of being filtered through a chamber meant for pollution control.
Before that September day, similar crematory failures happened 17 times between 2023 to 2025, according to a proposed Montana Department of Environmental Quality consent order obtained via a record request last week by the Billings Gazette.
“Billings had control of the violations, yet did not take reasonable precautions to prevent them,” the DEQ stated in its April 10 order. “Billings should be aware of operational requirements and should have been able to foresee that failing to operate air pollution control equipment to provide maximum air pollution control would result in a violation.”
Those violations of maintaining air pollution equipment happened on 35 days, but in the penalty assessment the city was only charged for one day, greatly reducing their fine. DEQ stated in the order that including every day in the penalty would have been “more than necessary” to deter future violations.
The newly acknowledged past incidents align with what YVAS director Triniti Halverson has previously said about the animal shelter repeatedly reporting smoke entering the building from the attached incinerator. In 2024, Billings established a protocol to prevent smoke from entering the building. It seemed to have worked even though the incinerator failed to be properly operated 11 times in 2025 prior to the September incident.
Former City Administrator Chris Kukulski previously told the Gazette that a shutdown of ventilation wasn’t done quickly enough on the day of the incident. Meth residue was cleaned up over the span of roughly 3 months.
On Monday evening, the Billings Police Department announced that animals will again return to the former shelter on 1735 Monad Road under the city's animal control program.
A memorandum of understanding with YVAS was once renewed on a month-to-month basis after the incident, but it fell through in June. Interim City Administrator Kevin Iffland stated Billings failed to reach an agreement with YVAS on continuing animal control service.
According to Halverson, the animal shelter tried to increase the reimbursement fee for boarding animals, but couldn't reach an agreement with the city. The end of the agreement marks an end to a relationship between the two that's been in place for 18 years.
"Since the city no longer has a safe facility to offer YVAS, we calculated the market value of that discounted rent and added it to our monetary fee," Halverson said online. "In our minds, this was a reasonable request. The city knew these services would cost more. The problem isn’t that the price went up. The problem is the city didn’t set aside enough money to keep providing the same level of care this community has counted on for nearly 20 years."
Unmentioned online by Halverson was that the increase requested by YVAS was from $30,000 a month to $54,000 a month, according to council member Tony O'Donnell. It's an 80% increase for the city during an already difficult budget year. Council members will discuss the animal shelter and what to do about related services Monday.
Meanwhile, a BPD press release noted that stray animal drops-offs are not available as the city tries to build capacity at the facility once again.
"This transition represents an important step in the city’s commitment to animal welfare and public safety, and we are grateful to the entire Billings community for your ongoing support," the press release stated.
The DEQ order states the city of Billings shall provide a comprehensive compliance plan if it intends to use the incinerator again. Additionally, the order asks for a ventilation specialist to evaluate the necessary controls needed to prevent a future incident. Such actions would need to be approved by DEQ, which granted the initial permit to operate the crematory. Without these and other actions, the city cannot operate its incinerator again.
Although the building will house animals once again — just without YVAS — the city is still uncertain about the incinerator’s future. In a June 18 response to the state agency, the city affirmed it would like three years to evaluate using the incinerator once again.
“We're saying give us a three-year window," interim City Administrator Kevin Iffland told the Gazette Monday afternoon. "If we need to use the incinerator, then we'll basically come into compliance with their decree.”
If the city decides not to use the incinerator anymore, then Billings will give up its permit. Iffland said Billings had not received a response to its latest letter, with the order having not been finalized. The administrator didn’t dispute other elements of the order.
DEQ spokesperson Madison McGeffers said the parties are still discussing the details with no timeline on a finalized agreement.
Currently, the city and its related law enforcement entities burn most obtained drug-related paraphernalia at Montana Highway Patrol’s incinerator near the airport.
DEQ’s fine of $5,000 came from an assessment that considered the incident as severe as possible. The total fine calculated was $10,200, but the agency waived it to only include $5,000. Kukulsi previously said the city had spent more than $50,000 to clean the facility after the incident.
“Billings retained a contractor to conduct surface contamination sampling and voluntarily opted into DEQ’s Methamphetamine Cleanup Program, receiving a Certificate of Fitness from DEQ on Nov. 12, 2025," the order stated. "In addition, Billings committed to retraining its employees on the Operation and Maintenance Plan for the incinerator and stated it would increase the supervision and review of incineration data, and maintenance of the incinerator."
The Gazette previously reported that the incident has already forced a procedural change for the city. Drug or alternative burn requests now go through DEQ rather than the city-county health department, as had been the case for years.