Board to meet on water-use agreement

The Flathead Joint Board of Control, an entity made up of three irrigation districts on the Flathead Reservation, will meet today to vote on a controversial water-use agreeement in St. Ignatius.

The board was set to vote at 11 a.m. on the agreement, which was ruled unconstitutional by Lake County District Judge C.B. McNeil in February. But that decision was more recently vacated by the Montana Supreme Court.

The water-use agreement is one of three major components in a water-rights compact for the Confederated Salish-Kootenai Tribes that failed to get legislative approval this year. Because the Legislature did not ratify the compact, tribal officials have announced that they will be taking legal action to enact tribal water-rights claims.

McNeil found that the water-use agreement was unconstitutional because the Joint Board of Control has no authority to transfer irrigator water rights to the tribes. McNeil also ruled that agreement needed to be reviewed by a court and be approved through a vote by irrigators.

A group that opposes the compact and the water-use agreement sent out an e-mail alert Monday urging irrigators to attend the meeting in St. Ignatius.