Compact will fund repairs
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Editor,
In his July 31 Valley Journal letter, Michael Gale blames the irrigation project’s “long-time physical degradation and disrepair” on “fraud, waste, abuse and mismanagement of federal funds” by the “federal government (Bureau of Land Management/Bureau of Indian Affairs).” Oddly enough, he somehow believes that “irrigators did not assume financial responsibility for the conditions of the ditches and canals and head gates, etc., until four years ago.” But since the early days of the project the federal government has required irrigators to pay, through the three irrigation districts, project operating and maintenance costs.
If there was fraud, waste, and abuse when the project spent irrigator money, the three districts should have sounded alarm bells through their participation in the Flathead Joint Board of Control. The physical degradation of the irrigation project can be attributed primarily to the failure of the FJBC to support higher irrigation fees to pay for rehabilitation. Polson water users were not alone in putting off fundamental rehabilitation expenditures.
Mr. Gale also incorrectly stated that irrigators “repaid the construction costs to the US government.” I often hear that claim and usually it is stated with great emotion: “We paid for this project.” In reality, the US government arranged for the electric power project to pay off the irrigation project debt in the late 1940s. As a consequence anyone who paid a Mission Valley Power electric bill, most of whom are not irrigators, contributed to paying off the irrigation project debt.
By the way, the Water Compact provides Federal and State funding to reverse project degradation and disrepair.
Dick Erb
Moiese
