Daines, Tester Pass Bill Settling Water Dispute
U.S. Senators Steve Daines and Jon Tester today celebrated Senate passage of their bipartisan bill, the “Montana Water Rights Protection Act,” Dec. 21. The bill will permanently settle the century long CSKT water dispute, support Montana jobs, modernize rural infrastructure and protect the water rights of all Montanans.
“After years of hard work, the U.S. Senate just passed our bipartisan bill that permanently resolves the century long CSKT water dispute, and will soon become law. Without our bill, thousands of Montanans would be forced into very expensive litigation and our ag economy would’ve taken over a one billion dollar hit,” Daines said. “That’s why we’ve worked so hard to pass our bill that protects the water rights of all Montanans, saves taxpayer dollars, creates jobs, modernizes rural infrastructure projects, protects Montana agriculture and prevents very costly litigation. This is a win for all Montanans.”
“This victory has been decades in the making, and is a huge win for Montana taxpayers, ranchers, farmers, and the Tribes,” Tester said. “Water is among our most valuable resources, and ratifying this Compact honors our trust responsibilities, creates jobs and invests in infrastructure while providing certainty to water users everywhere. I’m thankful we were able to work together to get this critical legislation across the finish line.”
“I am glad we were able to get this done to bring certainty to Montana’s farmers, ranchers, the Salish and Kootenai tribes, and all the water users across the state,” Congressman Greg Gianforte said. “Thank you to my colleagues in the Senate for their work on this legislation.”
The bill passed the House of Representatives Dec. 21 and will now head to the President’s desk to be signed into law.
Back in June, in a U.S. Senate hearing, the Trump administration expressed support for the bipartisan bill with the Department of the Interior Assistant Secretary Tim Petty discussing the benefits of the bill, including job creation and modernizing infrastructure needs.
Without the efforts of Senator Daines and Senator Tester, Montana’s agriculture economy would face a $1.3 billion hit. Thousands of Montanans would be forced to litigate their water rights, causing a substantial uncertainty for Montana’s farmers and ranchers.
