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The proposed Flathead Water Compact wasn't endorsed by the Legislature. However the agreement
between the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, the state and federal government is
continuing to cause turmoil among farmers, ranchers and property owners.
Last summer, commissioners from two of three irrigation districts voted to withdraw from
the Flathead Joint Board of Control, which has been split over endorsing the compact,
or fighting the proposed agreement. That 90-day clock for withdrawal was re-set in September
over procedural issues, but potentially the JBC could disappear in December, fracturing
water users into smaller groups.
Now, the commissioners supporting future talks to iron out concerns over the compact will
ask both non-tribal and tribal owners of fee land within the irrigation project boundaries
to vote on a non-binding referendum to keep the JBC in place, thereby supporting the position
of further negotiations...
JERRY LASKODY/FJBC COMMISSIONER "Now we're asking everybody, we've said we've
gone through our process. We've done due diligence, we've come up with these issues, we've checked
it with people in meetings in every district. We think it's the right thing to do and now
we want the support of the irrigators. And hopefully with that support we can prevent
the Joint Board from being disbanded."
The majority on the Joint Board have boiled those concerns over the water compact down
to three issues... the ownership of water rights, verification of water amounts covered
in the compact and the structure of the board that will jointly manage water under the compact...
BOONE COLE/FJBC CHAIR "Our goal is to sit down with them in calm
discussions and see if we can gain a little ground in coming to a resolution that works
for everyone in this process."
WAYNE BLEVINS/FJBC COMMISSIONER "It will be a lot of good info if we get the
results back. We'll be able to plan for the irrigators and get things done that way.
DB STANDUP "The ballots will be mailed out October 25th
and have to be returned by mid-November.
In the Mission Valley, Dennis Bragg, MTN News."
LIVE TAG
About 2-thousand land owners will receive ballots for the referendum, with the number
of votes based on actual acreage covered under the irrigation project.