HELENA — State senators are expected to take action on a negotiation of water use rights on the Flathead Reservation.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Scott Sales says committee members will vote on Senate Bill 262 before any other executive action, but after the committee hears testimony on five other bills Friday morning.
On Monday, the committee heard three hours of testimony for and against the proposed water agreement among American Indian tribes, the state and the federal government.
The proposal would recognize the water use rights of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes in northwest Montana. It would cap the amount of irrigation water at levels consistent with current use and fund improvements to the irrigation system used by hundreds of farmers and ranchers there.