Moncure Tipi · Photo: JERRYE AND ROY KLOTZ MD · CC BY-SA 3.0Living in Busby, MT: what to set up and who to call
Busby has no town government of its own, so Big Horn County runs its elections and most services, and its children attend Lame Deer High School District. Power in Busby comes from Big Horn County Elec Coop, a cooperative utility rather than a private company.
I’m new in town
What to set up in Busby, and who provides it. Tap an answer for the details and where they come from.
Power, water and internet
Who to call to start service at a new address in Busby.
Power comes from Big Horn County Elec Coop
Big Horn County Elec Coop (Big Horn County Elec Coop, Inc), a cooperative utility, serves 73.4% of Busby residents.
Start or move service: www.bhcec.com · (406) 665-2830
Service territory: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map dated Aug 2023). Prices and customers: EIA-861, 2025.
Water comes from Busby Community Water System
Busby Community Water System supplies Busby: about 66% of residents live in its service area. About 34% of homes are outside any mapped community water system, most likely on private wells, which EPA doesn’t regulate. It draws ground water and serves 535 people in all.
No health-based violations reported to EPA in the five years to October 2026, like 78% of the 5,327 systems serving 501–1,000 people.
The latest lead result on file, the 90th percentile of homes sampled in Jan–Dec 2025, was 2.0 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. The highest in five years was 14.0 ppb. That’s higher than 70% of similar systems’ latest results.
The system’s full record: EPA ECHO report
EPA SDWIS via Envirofacts (violations pulled Oct 9, 2026) and ECHO (lead samples, 2026Q3); service area: EPA Community Water System Service Area Boundaries v3.0. Violations are counted by the start of their compliance period. 083090063.
2 home internet providers serve Busby
58% of 182 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 41% can get fiber.
| Provider | Technology | Addresses | Fastest (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Range Telephone Cooperative | DSL, Fiber | 90% | 1,000/1,000 |
| T-Mobile | Fixed wireless | 33% | 100/20 |
FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025. Availability as providers report it, not speeds people get.
We don’t have Busby’s trash rules yet
Pickup rules, the dump and recycling in Busby.
Where your child goes to school
Public school districts and the school path by grade.
Busby is in two districts that split the grades: Lame Deer High School District and Hardin Elementary School District.
Test scores and every school: see Schools →U.S. Department of Education, NCES Common Core of Data, 2024–25. Enrollment rules and registration are the district’s.
No town hall: the county runs things
Busby is unincorporated, so Big Horn County is the local government.
Election office: FVAP local election office directory, updated Jun 2023; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Busby is in ZIP code 59016
ZIP codes where Busby residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of Busby | ZIP’s residents in Busby |
|---|---|---|---|
| 59016 | Busby, MT | 100% | 69% |
Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, by census block; post office names: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). ZIPs created since 2020 are missing.
Getting around, the ER and the library
One line each; the subject pages have the rest.
ER: CMS hospital data. Library: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024.
Questions about living in Busby
Who supplies Busby’s drinking water, and has it had violations?
Busby Community Water System (EPA ID 083090063). It reported no health-based violations to EPA in the five years to October 2026; 78% of systems its size had none. Its latest lead 90th percentile was 2.0 ppb (Jan–Dec 2025), against a 15 ppb action level.
Who provides electricity in Busby?
Big Horn County Elec Coop (Big Horn County Elec Coop, Inc), a cooperative utility.
What internet providers serve Busby?
Range Telephone Cooperative, T-Mobile (FCC, as of December 2025).
What ZIP codes are in Busby?
59016. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Busby in?
Lame Deer High School District and Hardin Elementary School District. Parts of the city are in Lodge Grass Elementary School District.
How do I register to vote in Busby?
Montana has no online registration; you can register in person up to and including Election Day or by mail (postmarked 30 days before). Elections here are run by the Big Horn County Election Administrator. Check your registration at prodvoterportal.mt.gov.
Sources & dates
Every answer above names its source. Here they are with their dates.
- Water: EPA SDWIS (Envirofacts, pulled Oct 9, 2026), ECHO SDWA 2026Q3, EPA CWS Service Area Boundaries v3.0.
- Power: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map Aug 2023); EIA-861 final 2025.
- Trash: OpenStreetMap, Geofabrik extract of Oct 9, 2026. © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
- ZIP codes: Census 2020 ZCTA relationship files; GeoNames postal codes (CC BY 4.0).
- Schools: NCES Common Core of Data, 2024–25.
- Registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024 (read Oct 10, 2026). Official sites and area codes: Wikidata.
- Election office: FVAP local election office directory (fetched Oct 10, 2026; each record dated), EAC EAVS 2024 jurisdictions; registration and lookup links from vote.gov’s state data, checked Oct 10, 2026.
- Internet: FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025.