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Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes

The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (Tribes), the State of Montana and the United States (collectively the Parties) have agreed to a series of revisions to the proposed water rights settlement released to the public in October and updated in November 2012. These revisions have been made in response to public comments that were made to the Parties in writing or during the roughly two dozen meetings across western Montana that the Parties have held over the past few months. The settlement is comprised of a proposed Water Rights Compact (Compact), which includes a series of appendices, and a proposed Unitary Administration and Management Ordinance (the Law of Administration or Ordinance). The documents below are the final set that the Parties expect to seek to have ratified by the 2013 Legislature.

Please note that the water rights abstracts that make up several of the Compact appendices continue to be marked as “draft.” This is because these abstracts will not become enforceable until after the Water Court approves the Compact and issues a decree including these rights. These draft abstracts are the set of abstracts that the Parties intend to have the Water Court approve at the appropriate time and they spell out the proposed quantification of the Tribes’ water rights in great detail.

Please also note that several of the appendices have been renumbered since the November document release. For ease of reference a table correlating the old and new appendix numbers is available here.

Next Steps

  • The Montana Reserved Water Rights Compact Commission met on February 26, 2013, and voted 8-1 to recommend taking the proposed settlement to the Legislature for approval during the current session.
  • The proposed settlement has been introduced as HB629, sponsored by Representative Kathleen Williams. The bill text and hearing schedule information can be found at: http://laws.leg.mt.gov/legprd/law0203w$.startup?P_SESS=20131
  • Links to Summaries of the compact, ordinance, and water use agreement and a Frequently Asked Questions document can be found on the left margin.
  • After State ratification, both the US Congress and the Tribes would need to approve the settlement. After the three Parties act to ratify the settlement, it would be submitted to the Water Court for final approval.
  • If you have questions regarding the documents, or the negotiations more broadly, please email us.

    Submit written comments on the proposed Compact or Ordinance to Mr. Chris Tweeten, Chair, MT RWRCC, 2705 Spurgin Road, Building C, Missoula, MT  59804 or dnrcwrcc@mt.gov  Comments will be shared with all parties.

    Adobe Acrobat Reader Needed to view PDF FilesPDF files viewable only with the Acrobat Reader.

February 13, 2013

 

November 8, 2012

  • Compact Public Meeting Notice
  • Water Right Administration Comparison
  • Proposed Administrative Ordinance
  •  

    October 24, 2012

    Negotiating Session Presentation

    October 10, 2012

    Summary of the Compact and Ordinance

    October 3, 2012

    Negotiating Session Presentation (Draft Compact & Ordinance)

    October 1, 2012

    Public Review Draft Water Rights Compact
    Entered into by the Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes, the State Of Montana, and United States of America

     

    September 5, 2012

    Review of Key Components of a CSKT-Montana Water Rights Settlement

    September 4, 2012

    Public Information Meeting

    Technical basis for Flathead Indian irrigation Project Water Use Agreement

    Background of the EvapoTranspiration Mapping Procedure

    August 20, 2012

    FJBC Information Meeting

    August 1, 2012

    Public Information Meeting

    July 20, 2012

    Question & Answer  -- CSKT-State Compact Negotiations

    June 27, 2012

    June 5, 2012

    • Draft Agreement Between CSKT, BIA and Flathead Joint Board of Control
      This draft Stipulation agreement is a proposed private agreement among the Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes, the Flathead Joint Board of Control and the United States regarding the exercise of the consumptive use water right for the Flathead Indian Irrigation Project and the instream flow water rights pertaining to various streams within the FIIP service area that are expected to be quantified as part of the Tribal Water Right recognized in a comprehensive water rights settlement among the Tribes, the State of Montana and the United States.  The State of Montana is not a party to the draft Stipulation, but posts this agreement here as a convenience to the parties to the draft Stipulation and the public.

      Summary of Agreement

    State of Montana’s Proposal for the Resolution of the Off-Reservation Water Right Claims of the CSKT

    May 30, 2012

    May 15, 2012

    March 7, 2012

    January 30, 2012

    July 20, 2011

    Draft Administrative Ordinance Provisions

    March 19, 2012

    September 22, 2011

    June 29, 2011

    April 27, 2011

    Proposed New Permits and Changes Flow Chart 

    January 7, 2011

    September 23, 2008

    Hungry Horse Reservoir

    Below are links to a cover letter and a report detailing the State's response to the Tribes' proposal for access to up to 90KAF of releases from Hungry Horse Reservoir as a component of a comprehensive water rights settlement. Below is also a link to the Bureau of Reclamation's report modeling the possible effects of the Tribes' proposal.

    Montana DNRC

    Contact

    • Dept. of Natural Resources & Conservation
    • 1625 Eleventh Ave.
    • Helena, MT 59601
    • Phone: (406) 444-2074
    • Fax: (406) 444-2684
    • dnrc.mt.gov