Blackfeet set April 20 for water compact vote

by David Murray.

The Blackfeet Tribal Business Council passed a resolution Jan. 6 that sets the date for a referendum election for tribal members to vote on whether to accept the Blackfeet Water Compact and the Blackfeet Water Rights Settlement Act.

“Today the Blackfeet Tribal Business Council continued its path forward in the ongoing and historic Blackfeet Water Compact,” said Harry Barnes, chairman of the Blackfeet Tribal Business Council. “We have stated all along that it will ultimately be the tribal members that vote to accept or reject the water compact.”

Negotiations over the extent of Blackfeet water rights on the streams flowing eastward through the reservation began nearly 40 years ago. In 2007, the state of Montana struck a deal with Blackfeet tribal officials establishing the tribe’s rights to water on the St. Mary, Milk and Two Medicine rivers, as well as from Badger, Birch and Cut Bank creeks. The Montana Legislature approved the agreement in 2009.

Further progress toward a comprehensive water compact subsequently stalled in the U.S. Congress. Blackfeet Water Compact legislation was introduced to the Senate Indian Affairs Committee in 2010, 2011 and 2013, but failed on each occasion despite consistent support from Montana’s congressional delegation.

In August 2016, the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly approved a reduced version of the bill, which cut federal obligations for the agreement by around $100 million. In December, the House Natural Resources Committee approved the compact as part of the broader Water Infrastructure Improvements Act for the Nation (WIIN) Act. A final vote for approval passed the full House on Dec. 8 and the full Senate two days later.

On Dec. 16, 2016, President Barack Obama signed the Settlement Act into law, finalizing federal approval of the compact and authorizing $422 million in federal funding for water and water-related projects on the Blackfeet Reservation.

The tribe must now approve the compact and the settlement act by vote April 20

If the compact and settlement act are approved by a majority of the voters casting ballots in the referendum election, the tribe’s water rights and jurisdiction to manage those rights will become final. Hundreds of millions of dollars will be made available to the tribe for upgrades to community water systems, new irrigation projects, improvements to existing irrigation projects, environmental improvements, land acquisition, fisheries, water-related recreation and other purposes.

If a majority of tribal members voting in the referendum election vote to deny the compact and settlement act, the tribe’s water compact will not become final, and the Blackfeet’s water rights will be determined in the Montana Water Court. The court would then rule on the quantity of the tribe’s water rights and the tribe would not receive funding for water and water-related projects on the reservation.

“To get where we are today has taken decades of hard work by people who have served on our tribal council and staff,” Barnes said. “We could not have made it this far without them or without the help of Senator Jon Tester, Senator Steve Daines and Representative Ryan Zinke.”

The Blackfeet are currently making plans for a public information campaign in anticipation of the tribal vote and will be providing further information about the compact, settlement act and details around the vote.

Information is available on the tribe’s website, blackfeetnation.com/watercompact.
Questions can also be directed to the Water Resources Department at 406-338-7522.

Source: http://www.greatfallstribune.com/story/news/local/2017/01/10/blackfeet-set-april-water-compact-vote/96420142/