NEWS

U.S. House poised to pass Blackfeet water compact

David Murray
dmurray@greatfallstribune.com

Following more than 30 years of negotiation and litigation, a settlement over water rights between the Blackfeet people and the U.S. government appears to be on the verge of congressional approval.

“This labyrinth of litigation, which has gone on for years and years and years, is nearing an end,” Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., said on Wednesday. “Now it’s to the point where the conference report will be voted on in the House, and the votes are there.”

Zinke has lobbied hard for approval of the Blackfeet Water Compact during his tenure as a member of the House Natural Resources Committee. Passage of the compact is supported by all three members of Montana’s congressional delegation, including Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., who has been a vocal advocate for the bill since his time as Senate president of the Montana Legislature.

“This is a big step,” Tester said Wednesday. “It’s a big step for the Blackfeet, it’s a big step for the entire region as far as it comes to jobs and the quality of life and the economy overall.”

A floor vote in the House on the Blackfeet Water Compact is expected Thursday. If approved, the bill will move back to the U.S. Senate for final approval, before returning to the Blackfeet people who themselves must ratify the agreement before its final passage.

“It was completed in a voice vote without opposition,” Zinke said of the Blackfeet Water Compact’s passage from House committee on Wednesday. “What happens is the House passes their version, the Senate passes their version and it goes to a conference.”

“We’re voting on a conference report – finally,” Zinke added. “It is now really up to our senators to make sure they use their influence to get this thing passed.”

Confirmation for the bill in the U.S. Senate seems likely. The Senate approved an earlier version of the bill in August by a 95 to 3 vote.

But a flap over additional funding for water projects in California could stall the approval process. The Blackfeet Water Compact is just a single component of a larger federal water projects bill, which includes a controversial $558 million for desalination, recycling and water storage projects in drought-stricken California.

“The contentious part, quite frankly, is the California water deal,” Zinke said. “It pits, to a degree, the San Francisco folks against the growers.”

If final passage does take place, the legislation would guarantee tribal water rights to the roughly 1.2 million acre-feet of flow that leaves the reservation annual, including water on the Milk River, St. Mary River, Two Medicine River, Birch Creek, Cut Bank Creek and Badger Creek drainages.

It would also provide for rehabilitation and upgrades on the aging Four Horns Dam south of Browning and for the 100-year-old Blackfeet Irrigation Project in exchange for a release of the Blackfeet Tribe’s water rights claims against Montana and the U.S. government.

“It’s not only going to help the Blackfeet, it’s going to help those areas around the reservation in a big, big way – to help their economies and their quality of life,” Tester said.

All this comes at a price – one that remains as yet unfunded by the federal government.

The cost of the compact is projected at $422 million in federal dollars, with an additional $35 million thrown in by the state of Montana. Where all that money will come from has yet to be determined.

“$420 million bucks is a lot of money, and we’re going to have to work very, very hard for it,” Tester admitted. “It’s a lot to ask, but it isn’t all coming at once, it’s going to be spread out over a number of years. It’s going to be a challenge to find it, but we do have some options out there to go get the dough and we’re going to use them.”

Still, both Zinke and Tester argue that passage of the Blackfeet Water Compact would be a good deal for all Montanans.

“It’s critically important to the Blackfeet Nation, but also to the Hi-Line in general and for the Milk River,” Zinke said. “If they have a sever in the St. Mary’s bypass, which was built at the turn of the last century, the Milk River is going to become Milk Creek. I’m calling on both my senators to make sure they use their influence to pass this, because its important.”

“The reason we have these compacts is so it doesn’t end up in court,” Tester added. “If that happens, then you have the cost of a court fight and the uncertainty of a decision. The fact that we have this authorization done is a very good sign, but we need to know that the job isn’t done yet, we need to find the money.”