Daines Fights to Provide Southwestern Montana Irrigation District With Needed Certainty

Press Release

Representative Steve Daines has introduced legislation to provide farmers and ranchers in southwestern Montana with much-needed certainty as the East Bench Irrigation District works to negotiate a new contract to support its water needs.

H.R. 4508, the East Bench Irrigation District Contract Extension Act, will extend the Bureau of Reclamation contract on the Clark Canyon Dam and Reservoir near Dillon--providing the East Bench Irrigation District with needed certainty as it works to negotiate a long-term contract.

"Montana's farmers and ranchers rely on a stable water supply, but all too often, it's uncertain where that water will come from. It makes no sense to needlessly add to that uncertainty," Daines stated."The East Bench Irrigation District provides a critical source of water for 28,000 acres of land--it's critical that the district has the time it needs to negotiate a long-term contract that will ensure Montana farmers and ranchers have a steady source of water for years to come."

This federal project annually supplies irrigation water for 28,000 acres within the East Bench Irrigation District (EBID) in Beaverhead and Madison Counties. The contract for the irrigation district was executed in 1958--however, it expired on December 31, 2005 and the district has since been operating under a short term extensions of a 2006 contract which has not yet been finalized by the Montana Water Court.

Daines' bill will extend the contract for through 2019, which will allow the irrigation district time to continue to negotiate the contract, while also keeping the dam in operation and ensuring irrigation for 28,000 acres of farmland.

H.R. 4508 is similar to S. 1965, legislation introduced earlier this year by former Montana Senator Max Baucus.

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