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Reserved Water Rights Compact Commission
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The Reserved Water Rights Compact Commission was created by the Montana legislature in 1979 to:
- conclude compacts for the equitable division and apportionment of waters between the State and its people and the several Indian Tribes claiming reserved water rights within the state(MCA 85-2-701), and
- between the State and its people and the federal government claiming non-Indian reserved waters within the state (MCA 85-2-703).
A federal reserved water right is a right to water that is created when Congress or the president reserves land out of the public domain. These rights must be resolved as part of Montana's statewide adjudication process.
The Compact Commission includes nine members, each serving a four-year term. Two are appointed by the Speaker of the House, two by the President of the Senate, one by the Attorney General's office and four by the Governor's office. The Commission negotiates on behalf of the Governor's Office. A five-member legal and technical staff, attached to DNRC for administrative purposes, supports the Commission.
In 2009-2013 the Commission is focusing on negotiating compacts with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Reservation; the US Bureau of Land Management for the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument; and the US Fish & Wildlife Service for the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge. The Blackfeet compact was passed by the 2009 legislature and signed by the governor. Federal legislation for the Blackfeet compact has been introduced in Congress. The Commission and staff are working on federal legislation for the Fort Belknap (2001) compact. The Crow (1999) federal legislation was approved by Congress in 2010 and ratified by the tribal members in March 2011.
Since its inception the Commission has completed 15 compacts with six tribes and five federal agencies in Montana. Completed tribal compacts are with: Assiniboine & Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Reservation; Northern Cheyenne Tribe; Crow Tribe; Gros Ventre & Assiniboine of the Fort Belknap Reservation; the Chippewa Cree of the Rocky Boy's Reservation, and the Blackfeet Tribe. Federal compacts have been completed with: National Park Service, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Agricultural Research Service, and the U.S. Forest Service.
The 2009 legislature approved a four year extension of the Commission to July 1, 2013. The governor signed this into law on February 17, 2009.
