Tribes, state reach new deal on water

Montana officials have reached a new agreement on a water compact with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, Montana Gov. Steve Bullock and Attorney General Tim Fox announced Thursday.

Fox and Bullock said the new compact will protect the tribe’s rights while ensuring irrigators and residents on or near the Flathead Indian Reservation have a reliable water supply. 

The agreement would set up a $30 million fund in part to pay for pumping water to meet irrigation demands.

It also establishes a technical team that includes irrigators to put into effect provisions of the compact that protect historic uses of the reservation’s water while making sure the tribe’s stream-flow targets on the Flathead River are met.

The compact needs further approval from the state Legislature, Congress and the Northwest Montana tribes.

The Montana Legislature last year rejected a prior agreement that was the product of more than a decade of negotiations. At least four lawsuits have been filed since then over claims to the water flowing on or through the reservation.

Those cases are still pending.

How much of the reservation’s water goes to farmers, ranchers and others through the Flathead Indian Irrigation Project has been at the core of the dispute.

After the prior agreement was rejected, Bullock and tribal leaders opened negotiations that were limited to agreements between the tribes and irrigation 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 Legislature has approved compacts for Montana’s other reservations.