Water Compact Commission should fulfill its responsibilities
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Editor,
On February 26, the Montana Reserved Water Rights Compact Commission approved a water rights Compact that had been negotiated by representatives of the state of Montana, the U.S. government and the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT). That Compact was brought to the Legislature but was tabled at a committee level. Governor Bullock recently made a wise decision when he directed the Commission to prepare a report addressing the questions raised about the Compact.
This provides a cooling off opportunity during which all involved can step back, study the bill and hopefully reconsider positions that hardened. It also provides an opportunity to complete the approval process for a Water Use Agreement (WUA) that had been under negotiation between the Tribes and Flathead Joint Board of Control (FJBC) but never formally approved and included in the Compact.
Unfortunately conflicts over the WUA are heating up and fracturing the FJBC. As a result of the recent election in the three districts that make up the FJBC, the balance of power within the FJBC shifted from those elected commissioners who favor the WUA to those who oppose the WUA by a slim six to five majority. The new majority made decisions that hardened differences within the FJBC and two districts have taken steps to withdraw from the FJBC.
I have long held the view that farmers and ranchers should have their water right issues settled by the open Compact negotiating process that was established by the Montana legislature and not by FJBC politics. Thus the Compact Commission should ask the three official parties to take responsibility for the WUA and clarify and complete sections that remain open. For example, and given the concerns that many farmers and ranchers have because they would not have a direct water right, it is especially important to clarify that the delivery of water to the project and to individual farmers and ranchers would be legally protected for the long term under a well-defined water delivery system.
During this process the three official parties should draw on the irrigation experiences of individual farmers and ranchers in this large and diverse irrigation project.
Dick Erb
Moiese
