Water rights FAQS

A team of Montana, CSKT and United States officials created this Frequently Asked Questions document. On August 1, there will be a public information meeting at 4 p.m. at the KwaTaqNuk Resort. The session will be an open house event with presentations and a chance to pose public questions and comments.

Q. What’s this all about?

A. Water compacts for the six other reservations in Montana have been negotiated and approved by the Montana Legislature. Representatives from the state of Montana, Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, and the United States governments have been meeting to develop a water rights settlement for the Flathead Reservation. This document addresses a number of the questions about this process.

Q. How will the settlement agreement potentially affect individual lands and rights?

A. One of the goals in developing a settlement is to protect existing, valid water users. Protections for irrigators are also being developed. For new water uses, the draft Ordinance provides for new domestic and stock water uses with an expedited permitting process and a permitting process for larger new water uses.

Q. How would water be administered?

A. The draft Ordinance and Compact would create a Water Management Board with two representatives appointed by Montana and two appointed by CSKT; a fifth member would be appointed by the other four. The Board would oversee the implementation of the settlement within the Flathead Reservation. It would ensure that new water uses do not have an adverse effect on existing water users. Water use within the Flathead Indian Irrigation Project would be operated under an agreement being developed by the CSKT and the Flathead Joint Board of Control.

Q. How will recreational opportunities be affected (fishing, boating, camping, etc.)?

A. The draft Ordinance and Compact do not have any effect on recreational opportunities.

Q. What is the schedule for the settlement process?

A. Representatives of Montana, CSKT, and the United States are working to complete a final draft of the Ordinance and Compact and other documents that would be part of the settlement. There will be public meetings to explain the draft documents and an opportunity for the public to comment on the drafts. In the fall, the settlement parties will review all the comments and work to finalize a settlement agreement. If the settlement parties agree on a final settlement, they will request that the Montana Legislature review it during the 2013 session. Final approval requires action by the Legislature, the United States, and the CSKT.

Q. Why is there an off-Reservation component and what are the major components of the Montana proposal?

A. Language in the Hellgate Treaty provides the CSKT with the right to “take fish” in the Tribes’ “usual and accustomed” locations. The CSKT are the only tribes in Montana with this treaty language. Language in similar treaties in the Pacific Northwest has been interpreted to secure to tribes the right to use of water outside the Tribes’ reservation to maintain fisheries flows. The State of Montana has prepared a proposal to address this issue and the CSKT have prepared a response. Copies of the Montana and CSKT materials are on the websites. The parties are working to complete work on this issue.

Q. What happens if there is not a settlement?

A. Without a settlement, pressures on water use will only increase. For example, there is likely to be increased focus on increasing instream flows. Without a settlement, the CSKT will file their water claims with the Montana Water Court. Water users will then need to participate in Water Court adjudication process to defend their water right claims, which is time-consuming and costly. The results of the litigation are uncertain and may pose risks for current water users and will take many years to sort out in the court process. The Montana water adjudication process would likely result in different water priority dates for different water users on the Reservation. Delivering water based on a variety of priority dates could require expensive modifications to the canals and irrigation ditches. The Montana water adjudication process cannot provide for fixing the irrigation project infrastructure or improving water supplies on the Reservation.