Teams jump back into water rights negotiations

PABLO — The technical side of negotiations took precedence last week during the first water rights meeting since the passage of Senate Bill 39.

State, federal and tribal representatives sat down this month with five extra years of breathing room thanks to the passage of the bill extending the Reserved Water Rights Compact Commission until July 2014.

“It’s good to be back,” state Compact director Chris Tweeten said. “We’re looking forward to taking the (Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes) compact to the legislature.”

The update on technical issues was the only major point on the agenda, showing the focus the negotiations will take in the  upcoming months.

 Tribal spokesman for the technical team Seth Makepeace outlined three major technical aspects ongoing in the process.

First, Makepeace gave the councils a modeling update on Hungry Horse Reservoir and how the crucial water source could play into the compact as mapping of existing and provisional water sources on the reservation are researched. Hungry Horse is a substantial storage reservoir in the Columbia River Power System used to supplement water supply in the area.

The acceptable amount of supplemental water, how much is “drafted” for continued multipurpose water use in the final compact, must be agreed upon.

Anywhere from 250,000 to 60,000 acre feet of water per year could be recommended to be drawn from Hungry Horse, depending on the scenario deemed most appropriate. Crews are using projections of water usage based on water depletion models to make recommendations on the final amount. Plans must be made for the driest years, and take into consideration how the supplemental water drawn from the reservoir will impact that entire Columbia River Power System, which stretches across the Northwest.

The Bureau of Reclamation will prepare a full report and model for the negotiation teams in September, Makepeace said. Regulatory agencies rules, growth issues and fishery impact factors all must be considered as this portion of the compact is drawn up.

An extensive and time consuming water level and well mapping process is also ongoing, Makepeace said. Footwork involved in the mapping process for pre-1973 claims, pre-1910 “secretarial” claims and identifying and correctly labeling wells on the land is complicated by the inconsistencies found in many existing versions.

All the wells need to be mapped and logged into updated and congruent databases.

“This is going to be a really important tool to finding out water uses,” Makepeace said.

Finally, Makepeace gave a brief update on the Level I hydrograph flows, which are being identified so current stream flows remain intact in the compact agreement. The technical crew is working to develop a reliable procedure to calibrate measuring patterns. The “forecast tool” would be a way to track streamflow patterns. “Tools” will vary based on the area being measured. Jocko and Mission valleys’ tools are good, Makepeace said, but more investigation is needed for accurate measurements to be taken in most other areas. The 2009 water year will be used by the crew to make further refinements, he said.

After Makepeace concluded his report, Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes Department of Natural Resources head Clayton Matt said it was apparent how much work was yet to be done.

Because of this, Matt said it was recently decided that the policy side of the negotiations would take a backseat to allow time to focus on the huge amount of technical aspects involved in the process.

Work on the Tribe’s Unitary Administration and Management Ordinance is temporarily on hold, he said, but comments are being accepted on the document. Matt said as the technical side evolves, the legal and policy sides will come back into play and “that will be the settlement.”

No one spoke during the question and answer period, but Matt said it would remain as an agenda item for each meeting. One public comment was made, a voice of support for the negotiations from the Flathead Building Association.

In other notes, it was reported that the National Bison Range Compact is moving through the Legislature. It passed the Senate unanimously and will be heard in House committees in April. Tweeten noted early in the meeting that the Blackfeet Indian Reservation’s compact had passed through the Montana Legislator House during the session and looks to be become law before adjournment in later April.

Department of the Interior representative and chair of the federal negotiation team Duane Mecham said the agency is still awaiting appointment nominations from Congress, once the positions are set work in the agency should be in better position to move forward.

The February meeting was canceled, at the request of the state delegation, which proposed to move meetings to a bimonthly schedule. Matt said at last week’s meeting the Tribe would like to keep the monthly meeting schedule. The next water rights meeting is scheduled for April 29, the meeting place is yet to be determined.