Page 6 - Flathead Beacon // 2.11.15

6 | FEBRUARY 11, 2015 NEWS FLATHEADBEACON.COM Libby Senator Introduces Flathead
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Tribal Water Compact Bill
Lawmaker hopes to clarify misunderstanding over con- troversial water rights bill
By TRISTAN SCOTT of the Beacon
State Sen. Chas Vincent, R-Libby, last week introduced a contentious bill to rati- fy the state water rights compact with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, providing lawmakers a detailed explana- tion of how the water compact works in an effort to better inform the Legislature.
The CSKT water compact is expected to be one of the most significant and far- reaching decisions the state Legislature makes this session.
Vincent, who represents Senate Dis- trict 1 and chaired the legislative panel charged with reviewing the compact for the past 18 months, said he hopes lawmak- ers can have an educated discussion about the complex measure, which has been at the center of negotiations between the state and tribes for the past decade.
The compact was negotiated through the Reserved Water Rights Commission and includes recommendations from the Legislature’s Water Policy Interim Com- mittee, which Vincent chaired, but needs approval from the state Legislature, Con- gress and the Northwest Montana tribes.
Much of Vincent’s 140-page Sen- ate Bill 262, introduced before the 2015 Montana Legislature on Feb. 3, contains the language of the compact, though he is also distributing an explanatory packet of information on the compact to all 150 Montana legislators. He said he hopes the packet will help clear up misunderstand- ings that have beset the compact in con- troversy.
The bill would establish a $30 mil- lion fund to help cover the costs for water pumping to meet agricultural irrigation demands. It also establishes a technical team whose oversight helps protect his- toric uses of the Flathead Indian Reserva-
Irrigation equipment near Charlo. GREG LINDSTROM | FLATHEAD BEACON
tion’s water while making sure the tribe’s stream-flow targets on the Flathead River are met.
The Montana Legislature last session rejected a prior agreement that was the product of more than a decade of negotia- tions. At least four pending lawsuits have been filed since then over claims to the wa- ter flowing on or through the reservation.
At the core of the dispute has been de- termining what amount of the reserva- tion’s water goes to farmers, ranchers and others through the Flathead Indian Irriga- tion Project. Critics say it gives too much control to the tribes and doesn’t provide safeguards to existing water users, a point of contention that supporters dispute.
After the prior agreement was reject- ed, Gov. Steve Bullock and tribal leaders re-opened negotiations that were limited to agreements between the tribes and ir- rigation districts in western Montana.
The 2015 session is the final chance for lawmakers to approve a compact with the tribes. If they fail, the tribes will have to assert their water rights by filing claims in a state stream adjudication court by June
30, 2015.
The compact negotiated two years ago
drew fire from property rights advocates, but proponents of the new compact – in- cluding some farmers, ranchers and law- makers who opposed the earlier bill – say the latest version contains major improve- ments, and that signing a compact is bet- ter than the alternative, which could yield years of expensive litigation.
The Legislature has approved water compacts for Montana’s other reserva- tions, and both Bullock and state Attorney General Tim Fox have urged swift passage of the new agreement.
The bill has been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Vincent said he believes lawmakers will support the com- pact after taking time to understand its finer points and details.
His packet also explains the conse- quences the state faces if the measure fails, including a deluge of litigation by the tribe over their water rights in the state Water Court, which would cost the state millions of dollars to defend.
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