Legislation addresses border issues

The Daily Inter Lake

Two bills sponsored by state Sen. Dan Weinberg, D-Whitefish, have cleared the Senate.

The legislation passed the Natural Resources Committee on unanimous votes last week before clearing the full Senate.

Weinberg, a freshman senator, introduced a joint resolution with the House of Representatives that urges the governor of Montana to negotiate an operating agreement with the premier of British Columbia concerning the Flathead-Kootenai watersheds.

The resolution calls for the implementation of a 2003 environmental cooperation arrangement between Montana and British Columbia to resolve transboundary issues.

It also urges that a complete environmental assessment be conducted by the International Joint Commission prior to a final decision on coal-bed methane leasing and development in the Flathead watershed shared by British Columbia and Montana.

The second bill permanently attaches the Flathead Basin Commission to the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation for administrative purposes only and increases the number of commission members. The commission has been an adjunct of the governor's office since it was established in the early 1980s.

"I am truly pleased and excited to have such a positive start in the Senate," Weinberg said. "But this is only the beginning and I am committed to working for the people in my district and all of Montana."

Also last week, Weinberg and Rep. Mike Jopek, D-Whitefish, testified before the Joint Long-Range Planning Subcommittee on behalf of the city of Whitefish for grant funding to install a new water main joining north and south Whitefish.

The new water main would replace a water main that has deteriorated.