Title: Establishes Water Rights Compact
Vote to pass a bill that establishes a water rights compact between the Confederated Salish and Kootenai tribes, the State of Montana, and the United States.
Establishes a compact that guarantees the following water rights for the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes on the Flathead Reservation (Sec. 1):
To have naturally occurring water sources on the reservation; and
To have certain off-reservation instream flows to maintain the aquatic environment of the reservation.
Appropriates $55 million for the following projects associated with the compact (Sec. 1):
$30 million to offset pumping costs;
$13 million to aquatic and terrestrial habitat enhancement;
$4 million for improving on-farm efficiency; and
$4 million for water measurement activities.
Establishes the “Flathead Reservation Water Management Board” to be comprised of (Sec. 1):
2 members appointed by the Governor;
2 members appointed by the Tribal Council; and
1 member selected by the other four members.
Defines “call” as the right of the holder of a water right with a senior priority date and an immediate need for a use of water to prohibit a holder of a water right with a junior priority date to refrain from appropriating water otherwise physically available until the senior water right is “satisfied” (Sec. 1).
Prohibits the Tribes from making a “call” over the following groups (Sec. 1):
Those using water for non-irrigation purposes;
Those using groundwater for irrigation purposes with flow rates of less than or equal to 100 gallons per minute; and
Those within the Federal Indian Irrigation Plan area as irrigators.
Title: Establishes Water Rights Compact