Page 20 - Flathead Beacon // 3.4.15

20 | MARCH 4, 2015
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WATER
Continued from page 5
Eleven Republicans voted alongside 20 Democrats to support the measure.
Vincent, who chaired the Water Pol- icy Interim Committee and has worked on the legislation for more than two years, said while people may disagree with the tribes’ rights to water off the reservation, past court rulings have up- held these rights for other tribes under similar treaties.
“I have read all the case law central to this negotiation. All of it,” Vincent said. “And I have come to the conclusion that, even if we don’t agree with some of the decisions that the courts have made, that is the law. The Supreme Court has already answered many of the questions that some folks fundamentally disagree with. But disagreeing with the courts isn’t going to provide wet water on some- body’s field. We crafted this legislation within the confines of what we had to work with, and the result is a strong, fair bill.”
Most of the opposition has come from some irrigators and other water-users on and around the Flathead Indian Res- ervation. They say that the agreement gives the tribes too much water and too much power over water administration on the 1.3 million-acre reservation.
Rep. Keith Regier, R-Kalispell, said the changes to the compact are minor and the tribes’ concessions don’t go far enough.
“The changes in the CSKT Water Compact from the compact presented last session are small. The compact still appropriates $55 million from the state of Montana, still gives off-reservation water rights to the tribe and still puts non-tribal, tax-paying land owners un- der a different water court than the rest of the state,” Regier said. “It is hard to predict what the outcome in the House will be. We will know in 45 legislative days. The tribes do not appear willing to accept any changes. It is still a forever document that cannot be changed by fu- ture legislatures if there are any flaws in it.”
Supporters disagreed, saying the agreement protects existing water uses, while settling the tribes’ water rights, thus avoiding years of litigation in Water Court over those rights.
The Legislature has approved water compacts for Montana’s other reserva- tions, and both Gov. Steve Bullock and state Attorney General Tim Fox have ex- pressed support for the new agreement.
Sen. Bruce Tutvedt, R-Kalispell, a farmer and compact supporter, said the compact “does a good job of being a good neighbor” and is a fair resolution for both tribal members and non-tribal residents.
“All the water compacts start out
with controversial issues. But then saner heads prevail and they move forward,” Tutvedt said. “The reason this is the last one to be resolved is it’s the biggest one and the most complex. None of the others have a reservation with the larg- est freshwater lake on it. And then there are nonnatives owning a lot of land, and whites and Indians living next to one an- other in this checkerboard situation. But this is a fair compact for both sides.”
To help usher the compact through the Senate, Vincent distributed an ex- planatory packet of information on the compact to all 150 Montana legislators in hopes it would clear up misunder- standings that have beset the compact in controversy.
The bill would establish a $30 mil- lion fund to help cover the costs for wa- ter pumping to meet agricultural ir- rigation demands. It also establishes a technical team whose oversight helps protect historic uses of the Flathead In- dian Reservation’s water while making sure the tribe’s stream-flow targets on the Flathead River are met.
The compact was negotiated through the Reserved Water Rights Commission and includes recommendations from the Legislature’s Water Policy Interim Committee, which Vincent chaired, but ultimately needs approval from the state Legislature, Congress and the North- west Montana tribes.
The Montana Legislature last ses- sion rejected a prior agreement. At least four pending lawsuits have been filed since then over claims to the water flow- ing on or through the reservation.
At the core of the dispute has been determining what amount of the reser- vation’s water goes to farmers, ranchers and others through the Flathead Indian Irrigation Project.
In his packet, Vincent explained the consequences the state faces if the mea- sure fails, including a deluge of expen- sive litigation by the tribe over their wa- ter right in the state Water Court, which would cost the state millions of dollars to defend.
With the measure now bound for the House, Vincent said he’d continue to ed- ucate his fellow lawmakers in hopes of encouraging an educated discussion de- void of rhetoric.
My tact will be exactly the same,” he said. “I wasn’t asking for senators’ votes until the final debate. I was asking for their time, for them to sit down with an open mind, sort out the rhetoric and misinformation and make their own ed- ucated decision. And that’s exactly what I am going to do with the House. The two biggest worries that I have are that the decision will be made either in blind faith or blind opposition. But both posi- tions are blind, and it doesn’t allow for an educated discussion about the sub- stance of the policy.”
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“ALL THE WATER COMPACTS START OUT WITH CONTROVERSIAL ISSUES. BUT THEN SANER HEADS PREVAIL AND THEY MOVE FORWARD.” Sen. Bruce Tutvedt
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