Splitting districts would be expensive
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The water cost for 2017 will be $26/acre, same as 2015 and 2016. Administration costs are the same as 2015-16 at $5/acre. The Bureau of Indian Affairs has requested a $7.50 increase the last two years, with 121,000 acres times $7.50 equaling $907,500. This is unacceptable in these low farm-income times. Two members of the Flathead District voted in favor of the $7.50 increase. The leader of the Flathead District remarked at the BIA meeting in Pablo last spring that maybe $7.50 is not enough, they should ask for $10/acre, a $1,210,000 increase. As you know, Flathead District has 85,000 acres, Mission 15,000 acres, Jocko 10,000 acres, and this increase also includes 11,000 acres of tribal individually- owned land. All you irrigators, including Tribal irrigators, need to call these Flathead commissioners as well as the Flathead Irrigation Office in St. Ignatius and say “enough.” We have halted this increase for now; the BIA is trying it again next year in 2018. FJBC’s Project Manager, working with us on Flathead Project Turnover, can deliver our Irrigation water for $26/acre. Without itemized employee cost and project operating cost, we will refuse this for 2018.
It was reported in the last few weeks that appealing the Federal Energy Commission (FERC) judge’s decision on the Low Cost Block of Power that benefits the users of the FIP and MVP would cost $300,000; this is not correct, its $30,000 per appeal, which has already been done. We do owe some money for the legal work done in 2016, which should be paid off this spring within four or five months. We hope that’s it as far as Block of Power costs in 2017. This is a 20-year investment for Flathead pumping costs at $400,000 per year.
FJBC is in the process of hiring a consultant to go over our water rights filed on time by Mr. Evertt Foust in April, 1982, Chairman of the FJBC, for the Irrigators of the Flathead Irrigation Project. This work has to be done before June of 2018. This is a very large and intense undertaking, and we, the Districts, are very confident of the people we have interviewed for this project. We hope to get them to work as soon as possible.
For the record, regarding the 2016 FJBC election, the FJBC feels the right to vote is one of our most important rights in America. In the Mission District alone, two of the largest farms did not get a ballot, another large farm did not get all their ballots, two former FJBC members and their family and three of their neighbors did not get a ballot. One owner of those large farms went to Lake County two years ago and did the proper paperwork and still did not get a ballot. Out of 2,500 irrigators, 400 to 500 did not get a ballots. I looked at more than 200 irrigators’ unsent ballots.
Do the math — what percentage of irrigators were disenfranchisedin this election? The decision from the Court came down that the large Flathead Districts Irrigators could not be disenfranchised, but what about these 400-500 taxpayers? FJBC’s goal was to extend the election date, to get ballots to all irrigators, and fix this problem for next year. Instead of solving the problem, Lake County handed us a lawsuit.
The vote on the CSKT Water Compact by the 2015 Montana Legislature was declared unconstitutional. You remember it takes a two-thirds majority for Montana Legislature to give up its immunity. This is only one of the many unconstitutional issues in this compact. This will be before the Montana Supreme Court.
In our February FJBC meeting, it was revealed that the Mission Valley irrigators’ goal was to break up the FJBC. As it stands, the leader of this group is the one who told the BIA that a $7.50/acre increase maybe should be $10/acre. I urge the Flathead District Irrigators and others district irrigators, Tribal irrigators as well, to call this group and their Commissioners. If the FJBC, formed by all the Irrigation Districts, goes away, there will be no Irrigator Control of Flathead Irrigation Project. This came from the U.S. Interior Dept. and that does mean a $7.50 increase in irrigation water. Also, there is no Low Cost Block of Power help to pay the Flathead pump costs. One note on the make up of the FJBC: a lot of wisdom was spent, the smaller Districts refused to be lorded over by the bigger District. Compromise was stuck by member make up: three members Jocko, three members Mission, five members Flathead, and the last few years we choose to give Camas the Member at Large, so that’s six for the Flathead. Encourage this group to back off. Splitting the FJBC Districts will only cost us all more problems and expense.
