County could oppose water compact

The Flathead County commissioners on Thursday will consider signing a letter to state officials that adamantly opposes the proposed tribal water rights compact.

Commissioner Phil Mitchell drafted the letter to Gov. Steve Bullock and Attorney General Tim Fox, stating Flathead County is opposed to the compact and that “it will be harmful to Flathead County as well as to the rest of Montana and neighboring states.”

The commissioners will discuss and vote on the letter at 9:45 a.m. Thursday.

The letter reverses the commissioners’ earlier support of the compact process and is the third such letter to emerge during the past year regarding a compact to quantify the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes’ water rights. The tribes and the Montana Reserved Water Rights Compact Commission have been negotiating terms of the compact that will be considered by the Legislature during the session that began this week.

In January 2014 the commissioners drafted and approved a letter of support for the compact. Commissioner Pam Holmquist, however, didn’t support the compact as it was proposed at the time and voted against the letter.

That initial letter later was soft-pedaled to indicate Flathead County’s support for a compact process rather than the compact as proposed.

The commissioners at one point planned to hold a public comment session on the proposed compact, but the session was canceled and never rescheduled.

In October 2014 a second letter emerged, drafted by Commissioner Gary Krueger, outlining Flathead County’s priorities as negotiations continued. Holmquist voted against that letter, too. Krueger said his letter aimed to make sure negotiators addressed the big-picture question: Does the compact protect Flathead County’s water?

Now time is of the essence, Mitchell said, to get Flathead County’s viewpoint across to legislators tasked with making a decision on the water compact, perhaps as early as next week.

“I’ve been to eight or nine compact meetings and not one person has been in favor of it,” Mitchell said. “I’d say the ratio of people opposed to it is 20 to 1.

“I feel I’ve done my due diligence,” he continued. “I’ve yet to see a county commissioner at the meetings I’ve gone to.”

A revised version of the proposed compact is expected to be released this week as the Compact Commission holds public meetings in Ronan, Kalispell and Helena.

“If they address the issues I address, then my letter is moot,” Mitchell said, adding that he expects any proposed changes to be “unbelievably minor.”

Holmquist said she has talked to a couple of local legislators who have indicated the revised compact makes only minor changes. She said she remains opposed to the compact as it’s written.

Mitchell’s letter points out that under the proposed Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes compact, the average acre feet per tribal member is 6,827 acre feet of water, which is 77 times more water than the average outlined In compacts for the other six Indian reservations in Montana.

The letter also notes the proposed compact may violate the Montana Constitution.

“The state Constitution says that in Montana water belongs to the people,” Mitchell told the Inter Lake. “We need to honor that ... my issue is long-term. I want our legislators to make the decision, not the tribe. The tribe has chosen not to say what their water needs are; they’re forcing us to do it.”

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.