Water Compact: Good Faith Negotiation???

When the United States set aside land for Indian Reservations in 1855, water was reserved to fulfill the purposes of the reservations. In Montana, the Reserved Water Rights Compact Commission directed by Chris Tweeten negotiated a Compact with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) for water both on and off their reservation. The Compact was submitted to the Legislature and a hearing was held on March 27 in House Judiciary.

During the Compact hearing, Chris Tweeten made the alarming statement that the State of Montana proposed the off reservation Tribal water rights that set minimum flows on rivers and streams in 11 counties. During low flows these senior Tribal water rights target irrigators using surface or ground water, by exempting most other existing uses such as non irrigation wells, businesses and municipalities. Farming and future development will be negatively impacted in an area that affects more than 350,000 people in western Montana because the over reaching off reservation water rights give authority to stop existing irrigation and new water rights.

Montana citizens who made the trip to Helena expect the State of Montana to protect their water rights as consistent with the State Constitution, not to negotiate them away. To add insult to injury, the abstracts for these tribal water rights in the Compact are made out to the Federal Government, in trust for CSKT. Either the Federal Government or the Tribe can stop irrigators from using water during a drought. The Federal Government has been a relatively quiet party to this 3 way negotiation, but it is now obvious that they are taking authority over water in Western Montana through this Compact in violation of the 10^th Amendment of the US Constitution and Montana’s Constitution.

Time is critical. Contact your state legislators and ask them to vote against the Compact bill, HB 629, carried by Democrat Representative Kathleen Williams from Bozeman. My bill, SB 265, extends the Compact Commission and provides more time to develop a fair and equitable Compact if HB 629 fails. This issue should not be partisan since water is important to all of us, yet I received little support from Democrats in passing my bill in the Senate.

Senator Verdell Jackson

Kalispell






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		Water Compact: Good Faith Negotiation???



		When the United States set aside land for Indian Reservations in 1855, water was reserved to fulfill the purposes of the reservations. In Montana, the Reserved Water Rights Compact Commission directed by Chris Tweeten negotiated a Compact with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) for water both on and off their reservation. The Compact was submitted to the Legislature and a hearing was held on March 27 in House Judiciary. During the Compact hearing, Chris Tweeten made the alarming statement that the State of Montana proposed the off reservation Tribal water rights that set minimum flows on rivers and streams in 11 counties. During low flows these senior Tribal water rights target irrigators using surface or ground water, by exempting most other existing uses such as non irrigation wells, businesses and municipalities. Farming and future development will be negatively impacted in an area that affects more than 350,000 people in western Montana because the over reaching off reservation water rights give authority to stop existing irrigation and new water rights. Montana citizens who made the trip to Helena expect the State of Montana to protect their water rights as consistent with the State Constitution, not to negotiate them away. To add insult to injury, the abstracts for these tribal water rights in the Compact are made out to the Federal Government, in trust for CSKT. Either the Federal Government or the Tribe can stop irrigators from using water during a drought. The Federal Government has been a relatively quiet party to this 3 way negotiation, but it is now obvious that they are taking authority over water in Western Montana through this Compact in violation of the 10^th Amendment of the US Constitution and Montana’s Constitution. Time is critical. Contact your state legislators and ask them to vote against the Compact bill, HB 629, carried by Democrat Representative Kathleen Williams from Bozeman. My bill, SB 265, extends the Compact Commission and provides more time to develop a fair and equitable Compact if HB 629 fails. This issue should not be partisan since water is important to all of us, yet I received little support from Democrats in passing my bill in the Senate. Senator Verdell Jackson Kalispell