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s SASKATCHEWAN 333.91 SUMMER 2006 N7MRWN SUMMER2006 it. mmmm MikeDailey, St.MaryRehabilitation Field Coordinator nJune14,membersoftheSt. MaryRehabilitationWorking Groupreachedconsensusondraft federallegislationauthorizingthe rehabilitationoftheSt.MaryDiversion Systemandaddressingassociated issuesoftheBlackfeetandFort BelknapTribes,andtheMilkRiver Basin.The"St.MaryDiversionand ConveyanceWorksandMilkRiver ProjectActof2006"wasintroduced bySenatorConradBurns,and CO-sponsoredbySenatorMaxBaucus, ESxeencauttoirveCoDinrreacdtorBufronrsthsepeSatkiMnagryatRethhaebiMlairtactti)onSWMoRrkWiGngmGereotuipn,gPianulChAizneovoekd,o,MTS.ta(tle-r)CoLaorrrdyinMaitroers, asSenateBill3563onJune23,2006. forthe St MaryRehabilitationProject, RandyReed, Co-Chairforthe StMaryRehabilitation ItwasreferredtotheSenateEnergy Working, Group, andU.S. SenatorConradBurns. andNaturalResourceCommittee. CommitteeChairmanPeteDomenici plan;and$2millionforirrigation fundingtogettheprojectstartedas (R-NM)hasagreedtoconductafield investigationsontheBlackfeetand soonaspossible." hearingonthelegislationinMontana FortBelknapReservations. "We've sometimeinlatesummerorearlyfall. beeninconstantcontactwiththe I "AspecialthanksandsalutetoSenator rTDehecenennHtyoluRyesihenbtvererorgds.uicoen,dbHyRC5o7n0g5r,ewsassman iBarlsrawicgekalftleoeratss,ttrtihbheeesS,FtoaarnttdeBlooefclMaklongnaotvpaenarann,mdetnots, II BiasdasduurceeussssanfBodlratschekefceuSter.tinMeganvfreiydreoSrniamplehfnoutnnaBdlrsitdoge Inarecentpressrelease.SenatorBums dreelpiavierrStt.heMabreys'tsl.egTihslearteioinspaossseinbsleetoof I! iCnon20g0r5e;ssamnadntoReShebneatrogrfoBrucrrnasftainngdthe aaes$ne5nncgndmuioirMnuleeilndelicrkfoeionRrdnfigtotvhraheenaereStdntPmv.$drei7MeorrjvamogeeirnecllmytnloeciRfpnooyemtrnhaerahFlnbea,tYisslpo2iofbt0neaa0sent7ein:on ubssetoferayffgipsooedatrrntseSecssmeyiasn,naoacgdnftaaudtotrhea,rwisstaBetonluretndroghenpiIehessai.dldcami"atsfIifrapo'uielnmllpalauapynrnircerdioonouosmcfpdemclctuioauhrtfcrseteoi,eun"dgr IjiIjI MbnpLtehiaeeeglrrwikrmSnlyaRMeninMgiRviienesrWnglretaGsoPt,ff.riiovaExjex"letleTocoacthntsnuightgsiepiunriSvaost2egc.j0eeuD0Mssi6tastr,o.re""tpychrSteoaaovinriddfdoera IN)SIDE Thelegislationincludesauthorization ; fortheUSBureauofReclamationto ANewCoursefortheMilkRiverBasin: performthenecessaryengineeringand WhereWilllrrigatorsLand? Page2 jI environmentalstudiesforSt.Mary IJCHearsArgumentsontheSt.Mary/MilkRiver'sTaskForce Page4 DiversionandMilkRiverProject MilkRiverProjectJointBoardofControlMullsProjectManager ..Page6 facilities,developanemergency MilkRiverWaterSupply PageS responseplan,enterintocooperative (continued) (frompagel) agreementswiththeJointBoardof sin: Where Will Irrigators Land? Control,BlackfeetTribeandState,and initiaterehabilitationoftheSt.Mary DiversionandConveyanceWorks. EditorialBy: MattMcCann interestinthestabilizationoftheSt. Thelegislationalsoincludesacost- Marywatersupply. SMRWGsuccesses shareformula,andprovisiontodevelop uiltoveraspanof50years,the havebeenmeasurable!thebasinhas pBreoljkenctaspoRnestehrevBaltiaocnksf.eetThaendSFMoRrtWG chao'tMiiclbkrReiwvoefrdPirvoisjieocnts,harsesbeervcaotmioenas, pStoantieedofuMpoonvtearn$a20h0a,s0t0o0dsaotefadr.eliTvh-e waschargedwithprovidinginputto districts,waterrights,contracts,and ered,withmanpoweranddollars, theStateonfindinga"workable nationsoperatingindependentofone about$15million. Allofthishas solution"torehabilitatetheSt.Mary another. Atbest,thechaoshas earnedtheattentionofourWashington Facilitiesbeforethesystemsuffers inhibitedorganization;atworstitisa D.C.Delegation. Throughthehelpof catastrophicfailure. Theinterestsof setupfordisintegration. Theunholy ourCongressionalDelegation,wehave allmajorstakeholdersinthebasin messhasleftalegacyofmistrust, procured$8.5milliontoaddressa werebroughtintothislegislation. It legalwrangling,deterioratingfacilities multitudeofenvironmentalissues, couldnothavehappenedwithoutgive andhobbledprogressinlargepartdue andbuildabridgethatwill,literally andtakebyallpartiesinvolved. toourfragmentation. Wehavesetup andfiguratively,supportfuture ourfarmstosurviveinanunhealthy constructionactivities. Draftlegislation Thebillscanbereadintheirentirety competitionforwaterbasedoncentury- hasbeensubmittedtothetuneof andtrackedonlineat oldfacilitiesandauthorization. This $183millionforcompletionof http://thomas.loc.gov/ leadsustotherealizationthatthe engineeringandenvironmental bytypinginthebillnumber. authorizationliketheprojectfacihties, investigations,reauthorizationand areoldandoutmoded. constructioncosts. Toadvocateour undertakinginD.C.,theSMRWG Beyondthefragmenteddispositionof becamemembersoftheFamilyFarm theirrigationprojectareunresolved AlUanceandtheMontanaWater issuesincludingconcernsvoicedby ResourceAssociationtokeepourproject theBlackfeetTribe,whereupontheir frontandcenter,andshedlighton reservationtheentireSt.Mary aginginfrastructurecrisesacrossthe portionoftheprojectislocated,and west. TheSMRWGisamicrocosmof theFortBelknapIndianReservation thebasinandtheexemplificationof Compact,whichispredicatedona whatcanbeaccomphshedwhenvaried reliablewatersupplyfromSt.Mary. interestscometogethertosolvea Currently,thestipulationsofthe commonproblem. BoundaryWaterTreatyActof1909 canonlybefulfilledthroughtheSt. Maryfacilities. Itbecomesclearthat theMilkRiverProjectisthepivot uponwhichallotherissuesrevolve andlooktoforresolutionswhile irrigatorsstillpaynearlythefullcost ofoperationandmaintenance(O&M). Shouldaseriousfailureoccurona majorprojectfacility,ascurrently authorized,irrigatorswouldbeforced withthedecisiontopaytoreconstruct ordowithout. Neitheroptionisviable. Idescribethisbleakscenarionot So what does this mean to the becauseitishopeless,butbecausewe average irrigator? mustseebeyondourheadgatesand Wehavewitnessedoverthelast10 O&M tailwaterifwearetofindasolution. years,afour-foldincreaseinour TWhoartkiisnwgheGrreotuhpe(StS.MMaRrWyGR)ehcaobimleistaitni.on bOiullr,wOh&icMhdiosltlhaerstiapreofbtehiengicsepbeenrtg.on triagemaintenance. Thereisnoplan TheSMRWGwasformedinearly beyondfixingproblemsbasedon 2004andcomprisedofstateandbasin urgency,norareourdollarsbeing stakeholderstosquareuponthe spenttomaximizetheireffectiveness. dilemmasfacingtheMilkRiverProject. Reclamationhassuggestedweturnto Thegroupformedunderthesimple thestatetosupplementO&Mfora premisethatweallhadacommon federalproject. Thestatehasinvested MontanaStateLibrary over$1milliontowardon-the-ground repairsoverthelast10yearsonMilk RiverProjectfacilities. Thatisone milliondollarswewouldhavehadto spend,butthestateisnotgoingto fundthisprojectforever. Thechecks wewritetoReclamationdonothing toimprovethefacilitiesuponwhich ourlivelihoodsdepend. Aquicksoul searchaffirmswesimplycannot affordtodoitalone;thatwemust teamupwithnewpartners. Itis unlikelythatthefederalgovernment wouldappropriateasubstantialsum toadepressedirrigationprojectthat providesnoadditionalbenefits. But multiplebenefitsindeedexist;they simplyaren'trecognizedinthelaw, whichiswhytheprojectneedstobe reauthorized. Reauthorizingthe projectwillspreadthecostsofboth O&Mandconstructionrepayment. What is Reclamation doingto help? Afternumerousmeetingswith Reclamationofficials,itbecamequite addresstheissuesinourowndistricts controlandhydropoweraretheonly clearthatwewereonourown. thathavebeenfesteringforyears. authorizedusesoftheproject. Under Reclamationwillnotassistfor newauthorization,thecostswould numerousreasons^ Will the fix come free? alsobespreadamongmunicipalities, 1)Theyhavetooperateunderthe No,norshouldit,butitwillbe recreation,fishandwildlifeconservation currentauthorization, significantlyreduced. Therehabilitation andwaterconservationbenefits. 2)Theirparticipationwouldhavea andreauthorizationwillbring Thesewouldbeconsideredadditional significantimpactontheirbudget, predictabilityandstabilitytocosts. publicbenefitsandcostsallocated and Allindicationspointtoastabilization accordingly. O&M 3)Theydonotwanttosetaprecedent orpossiblyareductionin costs, forotherprojectsinsimilarstraits. coupledwithamodestconstruction Inthelargerscheme,andperhaps WearebypassingReclamationand repaymentcontractcurrentlyestimated mostimportant,reauthorizingthis engagingCongressdirectly. at$2to$3peracreover40years. In projectopensthedoorforbasin recentyears,wehaveseenannual self-relianceandempowermentto Will irrigators lose control of jumpsinourO&Monthisorder. internalizeourmanagementand the water supply? revenues. Despiteourpropensityfor Controlisaperception. Wehaveno ruggedindividualism,wehave controloverendangeredspecies developedanunhealthydependencyon requirements,tribalwaterrights StateandFederalAgenciesforour settlements,waterasitisconveyed needs. Werealizeourdiresituation throughAlberta,illegalpumpsinthe andneedaplanthatdeliversusfroma river,nordowehavecontrolover futureofvulnerabilityanddependency. costs. Ifwehadahandleonthis HopefullywecanusetheState'shelp project,itwouldnotbeinitscurrent asaspringboardforself-sufficiency condition. Thenewauthorization andeconomicandenvironmental languagestatesexplicitlythatthe viability. Ifwearesuccessfulwith projectistobeoperatedprimarilyfor Who pays for project facilities reauthorization,theonuswillfall thepurposeofirrigation. Inmany now, and who would pay after uponallofustoimproveoursituation wayswewillhavemorecontrolover reauthorization? andlaytoresttheoldproblemsof thewatersincereliabilitywillbe Thereare110,000"Project"acresthat fragmentationthatworkagainstus. enhanced,resultinginfeweremergency currentlypaythebulk,andseveral Circumstances,astheyexist,arenot shutdowns,attenuatingdrought municipalwatercontractsthatpaya inourfavor,butwedohavethepower effects,andaddressingendangered smallportiontowardfacilitiesO&M. topilotabetterfuture. Quitesimply, speciesissues,whichwearecurrently Thefederalgovernmentalsopaysa wecannot,asalegacytoourchildren, onthehookformitigating. Itwill calculatedsharethatisbasedonflood allowthemiscalculationsofourpast giveustheabilitytoplanhowto controlbenefits. Irrigation,flood imperiltheirfuture. " oo the St. Mary/Milk .•Lethbridge Task Force Report MikeDailey, St.MaryRehabilitation ALBERTA Field Coordinator InApril2003,Montanarequestedthe InternationalJointCommission(IJC) reviewtheIJC1921Order(Order), whichspecifieshowtheMilkandSt. MaryRiverwatersaretobedivided betweenCanadaandtheUnitedStates, arguingitdoesnotmeettheintentof ArticleVIofthe1909BoundaryWaters Treaty. InDecember2004,aftera seriesofpublicmeetingsintheaffected basins,theIJCappointedfourmembers fromeachcountrytoformtheSt.Mary LIBERTY /MilkRiversAdministrativeMeasures TaskForce. TheTaskForcewas Montanaconsidersanannual directedto^ accountingperiodagoodfirststepto itisentitledtoinallyears,and "...examineandreporttothe utihzeagreaterportionofour especiallyduringdryyears. InternationalJointCommissionon entitlementundertheOrder. Butthe measuresforimprovementstoexisting heartoftheproblemliesintheOrder • Noattemptwasmadetoimplement administrativeproceduresoftheSt. itself. TheStateofMontanastill thethirdprovisionofthefirst MaryandMilkRiversapportionment firmlymaintains,asitdidwhenit sentence.Thatis,togivemore toensuremorebeneficialuseand requestedtheIJCtoreviewtheOrder thanhalfofthewaterfromone optimalreceiptbyeachcountryof in2003,thattheOrderneedstobe rivertoonecountryandlessthan apportionedwaters." openedforthefollowingreasons^ halffromtheotherbyeither countrysoastoaffordamore TrmeehleeetaTisanesgdksinwFoAeprrrceielhRe2el0pd0oi6rn\tHtOaovntrhMee,aIyMJTC24w-a2an5sd, fA1ir.rtTsithcsleeetnVhtIreenoecfetphroeifmtTahrereyaftipryrsotavrpieasriigaongnosrraoepfdhtihonef 2.bUenndefeircitahleu1s9e2t1oOeradcehr.,theUnited Lethbridge,ABallowingthepublicto the1921Order. Statesentitlementofthecombined expresstheircommentsonthereport. Itstates: flowoftheMilkandSt.MaryRivers Theformalcommentperiodended "...theSt.MaryandMilkRiversand andEasternTributariesdoesnotmeet June30,2006. theirtributaries(intheStateof theabovelanguageoftheTreaty. MontanaandtheProvincesofAlberta BasedontheTaskForceReport,the The123-pagedocumentisbrimming andSaskatchewan) UnitedStatesentitlementaveraged withhistory,documentationanddata, [l]aretobetreatedasonestreamfor 45%ofthecombinedflowoftheMilk andthoughitdrawsnoconclusion,what thepurposeofirrigationandpower, andSt.MaryRiversandEastern isclearlyevidentisMontanaisnot [2]andthewatersthereforeshallbe tributaries,whichdecreasedto38%to receivingitsentitlementunderthe apportionedequallybetweenthetwo 40%duringdroughtyearsforthe currentapportionmentprocedures.The countries, 1950-2004periodofrecord(pg.24of reportsuggestedthatadministrative [3]butinmakingsuchequal TaskForceReport). TheCanadian procedurescouldbechangedtocompute apportionmentmorethanhalfmaybe entitlementaveraged55%andincreased thenaturalflowoftheMilkandSt.Mary takenfromoneriverandlessthan to60%to62%duringdroughtyears. Rivermoreaccurately.Italsoexamined halffromtheotherriverbyeither hbaolwancchiannggipenrgitohde—apfproormtitohnemceunrtrent countrysoastoaffordamorebeneficial 3re.vTiheewe1d92i1n8O3rdyeearrhs.asTnhoetUbneietned usetoeach. bi-monthlyperiodtoaweekl—y,monthly, StatestriedtohavetheOrderreviewed seasonal,orannualperiod would • Thetworiversarenottreatedas in1930,butwasunsuccessful.At affecttheamountofitsapportioned onestream;theyareapportioned thattime,theIJCsaidthatnot flowthateachcountryreceived. The separately. enoughtimehadelapsed. Thecurrent annualbalancingperiodwasfoundto reviewistimely,andtheflowdatain offerthebestpotentialforeachcountry • Thewatersarenotapportioned theTaskForcereportindicatesthat toreceivemoreofits1921Order equallyastheOrdergivesUnited the1921Orderisnotdividingthe allocatedshare. Statesconsiderablelesswaterthan flowsofthetworiversequally. 4 UnitedStateswatershortagesare . gettingworseandCanadacontinues highestflowsintheMilkRivercan tousemoreMilkandSt.MaryRiver occurasearlyasMarchwhentheflows ofsurplusflowsandthemaintenance waterfornewirrigation.The1921 mustbesharedequallywithCanada. ofinstreamflowsintheStMary Orderwasnegotiatedduringatime RiverattheInternationalBorder.(A whenhydrologicalconditionsmay 7.WebeUeveareviewofthe1921Order largeportionofthisanalysishasbeen havebeenwetterthantheyaretoday shouldinclude: completedintheTaskForceReport) andtheinformationlessaccurate thanitistoday. a.AnevaluationoftheexistingOrderin d.Anassessmentonhowtobetter lightofthepast80yearsofhydrologic addresswaterrightsofNative 5.LeeandRolphcreeksare recordsandapportionmentinformation. AmericansandFirstNations. internationaltributariestotheSt. IntheTaskForceReport,theTask MaryRiverandareexcludedfromthe Forceagreedonthelast25yearsof e.Anassessmentonhowtoaddress Order.Theflowofthesestreamsshould historicalrecord. thewaterneedsofendangeredspecies, beincludedintheapportionment criticalhabitats,recreation,and calculations. b.Adeterminationonhowtobetter waterquality. meetthelanguageofthetwo 6fr.eTqhueenMtilylkgoReisvedrr,yaduprrianirgitehsetsrueammm,er ainppliogrhttioofntmheenetvsaelnutaetnicoensoofftAhretihcilsetoVrIic fa.ddArnesassstheessdmieffnetreonncehsoiwnttohbeentatteurral whiletheSt.MaryRivernevergoes record. Thatis,howtodividethe hydrographsoftheMilkandSt.Mary dry.Duringdroughtyears,theflowof watersequallybetweenCanadaand Riversinlightofprojectedclimatic theSt.MaryRivercanbe10times theUnitedStates,butstillprovidea changeintheseriverbasins. greaterthanthatoftheMilkRiver. As priorrighttoeachcountryfroma important,theSt.MaryRiverflows differentriver. Theentirereportcanbeviewedat: highestduringMay,JuneandJuly http://www.ijc.org/rel/pdf/ whenirrigationdemandsarehigh c.Anassessmenttodeterminethebest SMMRAM.pdf, whenCanadaisentitledtothefirst methodforeachcountrytofullyutilize orfollowthelinksfrom 500cfsor%oftheflowwhereas,the theirentitlementsincludingtheuse http://dnrc.mt.gov/ MikeDailey, St. MaryRehabilitation Thecommitteewillcontinueto August2,2006 Field Coordinator workonajobdescriptionand ByJeremyGiovando, USER advertiseforapplicantswitha 'heMilkRiverProjectJointBoard goaltohaveamanagerby 'hestoragefortheMilkRiver ofControl(JBC)isformed January2007,providingtheright Projectiscurrentlyaboveaverage pursuantMontanaCodeAnnotated applicantisfound. andappearsveryfavorablefortherest Title85WaterUse. TheJBChas ofthisirrigationseason. Storagefor authoritytohireamanagertoperform allthreereservoirs,LakeSherburne, dutiesassetoutbytheJBC. The FresnoandNelsonReservoirs,are JBChasactivatedaProjectManager neartoabovenormalforthistimeof Committeetolookintothefeasibility year.ReleasesfromLakeSherburne ofhiringaprojectmanager,determine wereinitiatedonMarch3,whileSt. hisduties,anddevelopanappropriate MaryCanaldiversionswereinitiated pay/benefitspackagethatwoulddraw onMarch10. FresnoReservoir qualitycandidates. Thegoalsare releaseswereincreasedonApril4to pendingunanimousdistrictsupport. beginmovingwaterdownstreamto NelsonReservoir.Waterdeliveriesfrom TheManagerPlanningCommittee NelsonReservoirbeganonApril25. submittedthefollowingproposalto theJBConJune20,2006: MarchthroughJulystreamflow conditionshavebeenneartoabove • TheCommitteeagreedto averageintheSt.MaryBasin,dueto recommendthatwesetasidethe improvedsnowpack. Duringthis $100,000reimbursementfromthe timeperiodtheinflowintoLake FresnoDamgrantbeusedas Sherburnewas105%ofaverage,while seedmoneyforamanager. inflowtoFresnowasapproximately • Thatwereducethe$1.00peracre 95%ofaverage. earmarkedfortheSt.Mary Thewatersupplyandstreamflowswere RehabilitationWorkingGroupto alsoimprovedduetotheprecipitation $0.50peracre,andappliesthe eventthatoccurredinmid-Junein other$0.50towardhiringa theSt.Marybasinwhichtotaled projectmanager. St.Mary'sCanal approximately4-6inchesoverafew • TahReenceowmambiltteeReeswoaunrtcsetGoraapnptlyinfor TTihlelCeomamnmi(tZtureiechisIcDo)m,pDroinseGdroefeBnrad dinaysst.reTahimsflcoawusseadndsicgnaiufsiecdanLtaikncereases 2008tohelpestablishthemanager (MaltaID),WesPankratz(Glasgow Sherburnetoriseover4feetinthree position. ID),andJeffWarburton(Paradise days. Overallwatersupplyconditions • Topheeragtoiaolnissatnodtamkaeinotveernatnhceeof VparlolveiydiInDg).teDchNnRicCalaansdsiUstSaEncRe.arCeall fsohrotuhledMailllokwRfiovrearfPurloljwecattewratseurppulseyrs. projectfacilitiesfromFresnoDam yourrepresentativewithcomments, toGlasgow. questionsorsuggestions. Representatives on storageasofAugust2, 2006 Ifyou haveideasfor articles ornews items, please contact: MichaelDailey - MTDNRC Glasgow WaterResourcesRegionalOffice 222SixthStreetSoutti P.0.Box1269 Glasgow,MT59230-1269 (406)228-2561 DebyMurcli 292AshleyCtE P.0.Box231 Billings,MT59105 RandyReed Co-ChairSt.MaryRehabilitation WorkingGroup STATF nw^MMrNTS COLLECTION Rt.1-Box8B Chinook,MT59523 AUS 2 4 2006 (406)357-3468 MONTANA STATE LIBRARY KayBlatter 1515 E. 6th AVE. Chaimian,MilkRiverJoint HELENA. MONTANA 59620 BoardofControl Rt.1-Box105 Chinook,MT59523 (406)357-2931 MilkRiverWatershedNews ispreparedandpublishedby DNRC—WaterManagementBureau. HelenaMT(406-444-6637) ' Editor: RichMov 1,200copiesofthisdocumentwerepublishedatatotalcostof$806.00whichincludesM56.00forprintingand'350.00fordistribution. Personswithdisabilitieswhoneedanalternative,accessibleformatofthedocumentshouldcontactDNRCattheaddressbelow, phone(406)444-6601orfax(406)444-0533. l09l-0Z969ilM'VN313H 109102X09 Od 68 ONllWUBd NoisiAiasaoynosaay3iVM-oaNa in'VNaiBH USMNa3HSH31VAVT*' QiVd 3ovisod sn QlSXUSUd