Montana’s senators in a bipartisan effort Thursday backed the Fort Belknap Indian Community Water Rights Settlement Act, days after a massive siphon broke on the Milk River Project just outside Babb, putting drinking water and irrigation for tens of thousands of acres at risk.
The water rights settlement is the final compact to be ratified with tribes in Montana, following the final approval of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Water Compact in 2021. The FBIC compact would put $1.3 billion toward infrastructure and economic development projects and improve the efficiency of the Milk River Project, which irrigates 121,000 acres of tribal and non-tribal land. It also has $275 million to rehabilitate the St. Mary’s canal. Additionally, it will restore 38,462 acres of state and federal land to tribal management.
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The compact passed the Senate earlier this term as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act with support from Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Tester and Republican U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, but it was stalled as Republicans in the House stripped out the provision.
The compact has been in negotiations for decades and was approved by the Fort Belknap Indian Community in 2001, and OK’d by state lawmakers that same year.
Kristal Hawley-Fox, the water resources director for the Ft. Belknap Water Resources division, said of the action: “It was a good day for Fort Belknap today.”
“I was a little disappointed that they would use this catastrophe to do it. They should’ve done this a long time ago. They knew how dire things were. We look forward to better days,” Hawley-Fox said during the Milk River Irrigation Project Joint Board of Control meeting Thursday evening.
On the Senate floor Thursday, Tester, the state’s senior senator who brought the bill to the floor and cleared it through unanimous consent, said: “This is no time to play politics. The siphon bursts that we saw earlier this week have left Montana families reeling. Congress can do its job. The Senate will do its job. It’s time for the House to act responsibly too.”
Tester said the timing of the break near Babb “could not be worse, because there are literally hundreds of farmers and ranchers who are currently depending on the Milk River Project to irrigate their crops.”
“The siphon failure caused thousands of gallons of water to flood the surrounding area, leading to extensive damage to local businesses in that area, and will damage irrigation opportunities for 120,000 acres… It is a vital source of water for north-central Montana water users and to so many farmers that feed the world,” Tester said.
He urged the House to act: “I want to be clear: the House needs to pass this bill. The House needs to put aside politics and pass this bill. Farmers’ operations that have been generational in this region’s livelihood are on the line. Water for municipalities is on the line. This is no time to play politics.”
Separately Tester, has requested money for the Milk River Project in the Biden Administration’s domestic supplemental package, as well as requesting more immediate relief from the White House.
In a press release, Daines welcomed the passage of the bill in the Senate.
“This is a huge win for the Tribe, farmers and ranchers and the entire state of Montana. As the final Indian water rights settlement in Montana, this bill will help provide clean drinking water to Montanans on the Hi-Line, invest in critical ag irrigation and help prevent costly litigation by codifying existing water rights,” Daines said. “Especially after the catastrophic siphon failure at St. Mary’s this week, we must get this done. After years of hard work with the Fort Belknap Indian Community and local leaders on the ground, I’m glad to see this come one step closer to becoming law.”
In the House, Montana Rep. Ryan Zinke, a Republican, on Tuesday introduced a House version of the water rights settlement, with $300 million to rehabilitate the St. Mary and Dodson South Canal, $250 million for a wastewater treatment facility and $416 million to rehabilitate, modernize and expand the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ Fort Belknap Indian Irrigation Project.
“President Stiffarm and the entire team with the FBIC has worked diligently with me and my staff for over a year to make this legislation possible which meets long-overdue treaty obligations and delivers clean and reliable water to the great nation,” Zinke said in a release. “The settlement honors commitments to the tribes while also meeting the needs of Montana’s ag producers, private property owners, and other stakeholders along the Hi-Line.”
Jeffery Stiffarm, the president of the Fort Belknap Indian Community, said he supports Zinke’s effort.
“Our water settlement bill is our top priority and will help to address urgent water infrastructure needs on our reservation and across the Montana Hi-Line. Just this week another siphon on the St. Mary Canal blew out. The canal provides critical water resources to our Reservation and surrounding communities. Congressional passage of our bill will finally protect our water rights and provide the funding we all need to secure our future for generations to come,” Stiffarm said in a release.
Montana Republican U.S. Rep. Matt Rosendale is a sponsor of the House legislation as well.
In a statement on X, he said: “I am glad the FBIC Water Rights Settlement has officially gotten one step closer to becoming law. Now, let’s get this through the House, so critical water infrastructure can be developed for the people of north-central Montana.”
A joint press release from Tester and Daines said that the FBIC water compact bill is supported by the Blaine County Conservation District, Hill County, Phillips County, Valley County, St. Mary Rehabilitation Working Group, Milk River Joint Board of Control, Rocky Mountain Tribal Leaders Council, The Wilderness Society, Montana Farmers Union, Bear Paw Development Corporation, Blaine County, Montana Farm Bureau, Montana Stockgrowers Association and Wild Montana.
— Missoulian reporter Joshua Murdock contributed to this story.
