Hearing canceled, entities reach agreement in irrigation turnover suit
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MISSOULA – The Flathead Joint Board of Control dropped a pending motion for a temporary restraining order on Oct. 2, four days before a hearing that was scheduled to come before Judge Dana Christensen on Monday.
Flathead Joint Board of Control Chairman Wayne Blevins said the board will pursue the rest of the federal lawsuit, which asks that operation of the Flathead Indian Irrigation Project be turned over to the irrigation districts it serves. The Bureau of Indian Affairs has had control of the project since spring, after a Cooperative Management Entity of tribal and non-tribal representatives that had control since 2010 fell apart because of the dissolution of the previous Flathead Joint Board of Control.
Blevins said the board is pursuing the lawsuit to obtain local control of the project to provide better management.
The reason the temporary restraining order was dropped is because the Bureau of Indian affairs agreed to share monthly hydrological reports with the board, Blevins said.
“The BIA is agreeing to have a person at our monthly meeting to give us information on water storage and maintenance and all that stuff,” Blevins said.
Representatives for the Bureau of Indian Affairs were not available for comment as of press time.
