WRDA

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. DAINES. Mr. President, I wish to recognize today as a historic day for Montana and the Blackfeet people. With the passage of the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act, the Blackfeet Water Rights Settlement Act is ready to be sent to the President's desk. We thank Chairman Barrasso, Chairman Inhofe, Ranking Member Boxer, Leader McConnell, and Leader Reid and their counterparts in the House of Representatives for working with the Montana delegation throughout this process to enact this long-awaited water settlement.

The Blackfeet tribe has been working for better access to quality water and a better livelihood for decades. In 1989, the tribe initiated negotiations with the Montana Compact Commission. Shortly thereafter in 1990, the Department of the Interior appointed a Federal negotiation team to assist in achieving a negotiated settlement of the tribe's reserved water rights claims. The State of Montana and the tribe then reached an agreement in 2007 in the form of a compact which settled the tribe's water rights to avoid costly litigation, allow the tribe to build and repair much-needed water infrastructure, and protect access to water for neighboring communities like Birch Creek water users off the reservation.

On March 16, 2009, the Montana State House passed the agreement by an
overwhelmingly bipartisan vote of 87-12, and on March 20, 2009, the Montana State Senate passed the agreement by a nearly unanimous vote of 48-2. Critical to ensuring strong bipartisan support in the State legislature was ensuring potential impacts to all water users could be adequately mitigated pursuant to the Birch Creek Agreement. Federal legislation to authorize the Compact was first introduced in 2010 and has been reintroduced every Congress since, including in the 114th Congress by Senator Tester and myself and Representative Zinke. Since its initial introduction, the administration has been negotiating with the tribe and the State to resolve important Federal concerns relating to cost, cost sharing, Federal interests, and Federal responsibilities.

On February 3, 2016, the legislation passed the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs for the first time, marking the first committee vote on Indian water rights legislation in more than 5 years. On May 24, 2016, the House Committee on Natural Resources held a hearing on the legislation, and on July 22, 2016, the Department of the Interior and Justice issued a letter to House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Rob Bishop certifying that enacting the much needed Blackfeet Water Rights Settlement Act was a net benefit for the American taxpayer.

On November 15, 2016, through the diligence of the entire Montana delegation, the House Committee on Natural Resources passed the legislation out of committee, and on September 15, 2016, the Senate passed the legislation as part of the Water Resources Development Act.

Today's action, final passage of S. 612, the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act, marks the first time legislation authorizing the water rights settlement has passed both Chambers of Congress. Indeed, it has been a long road for this water compact. I am proud to get it over the finish line today.

The Blackfeet water settlement will not only establish the tribe's water rights but will also facilitate real, tangible benefits for the Blackfeet and surrounding communities. The bill will improve six significant drainages and several Federal water structures that are some of the oldest and most in need of repair in the country. The compact will also keep wildlife and fish habitat healthier and municipal water supplies cleaner. Furthermore, it upholds agreements by the State that will strengthen irrigation for neighboring farmlands called Montana's golden triangle for its wheat, barley, and hay production.

In order to ensure nearby productive farmlands remain productive well into the future, early drafts of the Federal legislation provided funding for the Four Horns infrastructure and for a mitigation fund for Pondera County Canal and Reservoir Company, PCCRC, and other water users on Birch Creek. As farming investment decisions require certainty for the long-term, these funds remain necessary to ensure neighboring families have the certainty necessary to mitigate any impacts if the tribe's ability to exercise its Birch Creek water rights impact communities' access to water.

In 2015, the State, tribe, and PCCRC agreed to additional changes to the legislation to address the Department of the Interior's position that the Federal Government should not provide mitigation funds as a matter of Federal policy, and as a result, Federal mitigation funding was eliminated from the Federal legislation.

I appreciate the State of Montana's commitment to ensure that potential impacts to Birch Creek water users will be fully mitigated by the State as called for by the Birch Creek Agreement and the Blackfeet Water Compact. I trust that the State of Montana will uphold this commitment, as doing so remains an important aspect of the passage and implementation of the Blackfeet Water Rights Settlement.

I also recognize that Blackfeet Nation is not the only Indian tribe to hold reserved water rights in the Milk River Basin. The Gros Ventre and Assiniboine Tribes of the Fort Belknap Indian Community have long awaited settlement of their water rights as well. This bill includes language to protect the ability for the two Tribes to reach an agreement regarding each Tribe's rights on the Milk River, and I look forward to working with stakeholders on an agreement moving forward.

I commend the Blackfeet Tribe and Chairman Harry Barnes, who have been diligent and patient in seeing this settlement forward. I commend our State for its commitment to the Blackfeet tribe and Indian Country in Montana.

I am thrilled to get this through Congress and look forward to the President's signature and to working with the tribe and local community next year to finally put it into action, starting with securing the Federal funding necessary to ensure much-needed water infrastructure authorized in this settlement becomes a reality.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source