Glacier Country News

Today, the House Natural Resources Committee's Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries held a hearing on various water rights bills, including Congressman Zinke’s bills H.R. 8791 "Fort Belknap Indian Community Water Rights Settlement Act of 2024" and H.R. 8953 "Crow Tribe Water Rights Settlement Amendments Act of 2024."

The Fort Belknap Indian Community Water Rights Settlement Act of 2024 aims to achieve a fair and final settlement of claims to water rights in Montana for the Fort Belknap Indian Community. Senator Daines and Senator Tester have sponsored a similar bill in the Senate.

The bill includes:

- $300 million to rehabilitate the St. Mary Canal and Dodson South Canal, part of the federal Milk River Project, for non-tribal water users in northcentral Montana.

- $250 million for an upstream wastewater treatment facility on the Blackfeet Reservation.

- $416 million to rehabilitate, modernize, and expand the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ (BIA) Fort Belknap Indian Irrigation Project and to restore and develop irrigation systems.

The Crow Tribe Water Rights Settlement Amendments Act of 2024 proposes cost-free adjustments to the Crow Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act of 2010 to ensure that the Tribe has the needed flexibility to complete critical energy development projects.

The bill includes:

- Providing flexibility for water projects.

- Bolstering energy development.

- No additional costs or changes to water rights.

“President Stiffarm and the entire team with the FBIC has worked closely with my staff and I 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,” said Congressman Zinke. "The settlement honors long-time commitments to the tribes while also meeting the needs of Montana’s ag producers, private property owners, and other stakeholders along the hi-line. I am also grateful for the Crow Tribe for working with me and my staff as well to amend their existing Water Rights Settlement to provide much-needed energy development.”