State panel OKs tribal water compact

The nine-member Montana Reserved Water Rights Compact Commission unanimously approved the proposed water compact for the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes on Jan. 12. The proposal will now head to the Montana Legislature.

About 200 people attended the state commission’s meeting in Helena, the last of four public meetings held to explain the revised water rights compact and receive public comments. Commissioner Gene Etchart was unable to attend, and commissioner Mark DeBruyker sent a representative in his stead.

A revised version of the proposal that failed to pass the legislature in 2013, the water compact aims to quantify the tribes’ water rights and calls for spending $55 million to upgrade the Flathead Indian Irrigation Project on the Flathead Indian Reservation and to cover related expenses of the agreement.

To take effect, the compact must be approved by the Montana Legislature, the U.S. Congress and the tribal leadership before it can be incorporated into a decree of the Montana Water Court.

Changes to the compact were made to address concerns raised by irrigators and legislators in 2013. The new version also incorporates recommendations from an interim committee created to study the agreement after the last legislative session.

Sen. Dick Barrett, D-Missoula, a compact commissioner, said supporters are still deliberating their legislative strategy, but the bill would likely head to the Senate first.

“Senate President Debby Barrett was on the commission and voted for it last night, so I assume it has support from the Senate leadership,” he said. “I think it will probably get off to a good start being introduced in the Senate.”

Sen. Chas Vincent, R-Libby, is expected to introduce the bill, but he was still reviewing the language and said he wouldn’t make a decision until later in the week.

“I’m still … making sure the compact contains the recommendations the Interim Water Policy Committee required the commission and tribes to consider in their negotiated settlement,” Vincent said.

Debby Barrett said she expects to send the bill to the Natural Resources Committee, but it could end up in the Judiciary Committee.

Rep. Dan Salomon, R-Ronan, also a compact commissioner, said he wasn’t yet committed to introducing the bill and hopes to have it sent to the Natural Resources Committee.

“I expect it will take a few weeks before it gets drafted and run through the legal department and all the things that a bill has to go through before it gets introduced,” he said.

Catherine Vandemoer, who heads the board of the Montana Land and Water Alliance, vowed to fight the proposed water compact to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary.

“There are ripe targets for litigation — the creation of a new water right, the transfer of a title of other people’s water rights to the CSKT and the Unitary Management Board, which is in clear violation of the Montana Constitution,” she said.

Vandemoer added that the revised compact language ignored the wishes of many irrigators who will be affected.

“They’ve added a couple things that are really unnecessary, and overall the commission has refused to listen to the public, to thousands of comments,” she said.

Dick Barrett disagreed, noting that 33 of the 41 people who offered comments at the meeting expressed support.

“I think a number of people felt the protections for irrigators have been strengthened as a result of those changes,” he said.

In attendance at the meeting were ranchers, farmers, landowners and water users from across Montana in support of the water compact.

“The Montana Farm Bureau supports the compact and supports Montana’s farmers and ranchers,” said Chelci Cremer, a spokesperson for the Montana Farm Bureau Federation. “It protects the property and water rights of Montanans and provides the certainty necessary for our agriculture industry to flourish.”

Walt Sales, co-chairman of Farmers and Ranchers for Montana, said the Farm Bureau had conducted a rigorous review of the water compact.

“They came to the same conclusion that has already been voiced by our agricultural community —that the compact provides secure and reliable access to critical water resources and should be approved,” Sales said. “Our agricultural economy is essential to the livelihood of our state, and the compact is essential to preserving that livelihood. We need to make sure that Montanans know the facts about the tremendous benefits of the water compact.”