Larry Kline
Havre Daily News
lkline@havredailynews.com
The push to fix the deteriorating St.
Mary diversion now sits squarely on
the shoulders of Montana’s congressional
delegation.
U.S. Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont.,
late Wednesday received proposed legislation
that would make the cost of the
diversion’s repair largely the responsibility
of U.S. taxpayers. A spokesman
today said the senator’s office is working
to incorporate the latest changes
and introduce the bill “as early as next
week.”
A field hearing of the Senate Energy
and Natural Resources Committee, of
which Burns is a member, will likely be
held in Montana in July or August, St.
Mary Rehabilitation Working Group
executive director Larry Mires said
Wednesday.
U.S. Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., is
prepared to co-sponsor the bill, state
Department of Natural Resources and
Conservation bureau chief John Tubbs
said. U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg, RMont.,
will introduce the bill in the
House, Tubbs said Wednesday.
In what Lt. Gov. John Bohlinger
called “a historic day,” working group
members held a conference call
Wednesday to finalize changes to the
proposed federal legislation that would
shift the cost estimated to exceed
$130 million of repairing the ailing
diversion, which keeps the Milk River
flowing year-round with water transferred
from the St. Mary River, to the
federal government. That burden is
now borne by Milk River irrigators,
who are required by law to pay for
repairs.
The legislation calls for a cost share
that caps the state and local contribution
at $25 million. It calls for the federal
government to complete necessary
studies within two years of the law’s
passing. No more than six months
later, design and construction must
begin. The project must be “substantially”
completed by Jan. 1, 2018. The
proposal also includes a catastrophic
failure provision, which forces the government
to repair the diversion facilities
possibly to the specifications of
the new, updated designs in the
event of a major problem.
Late requests by Blackfeet tribal
officials caused working group members
to postpone their teleconference
until Wednesday. Tribal officials raised
16 proposed additions, Tubbs said.
Some were easily included, while others
took time to work through, he said.
The tribe wanted to ensure that the
proposal did not limit their water compact
negotiations, he said.
“We addressed almost every item
that the Blackfeet raised,” Tubbs said.
Blackfeet officials could not be
reached for comment today.
The proposed legislation includes
measures for the rehabilitation of the
Blackfeet Irrigation Project; tribal
involvement in the planning, design
and construction; hiring preference for
qualified Blackfeet members; and the
inclusion of unspecified Blackfeet projects
in the rehabilitation.
The system also has caused environmental
concerns on the Blackfeet
Indian Reservation, where the entire
facility is located, including large
deposits of sediment in Lower St. Mary
Lake.
The diversion was one of the first
five projects recognized under the 1902
Reclamation Act, and construction
began in 1906. Water was first carried
from the St. Mary River through the 29-
mile system of canals, siphons and drop
structures to the north fork of the Milk
River in 1916. Before the system was
built, the Milk River ran dry six out of
every 10 summers.
The system supplies 17,000 northern
Montana residents with water and irrigates
roughly 140,000 acres in the basin.
In recent years, concern that the
structures could suffer catastrophic
failure has grown. Leaks have sprung
in the 8-foot siphons steel pipes that
bring St. Mary water from one basin to
the next and have been patched with
old tractor tires in some cases. A crucial
bridge carrying the siphons has
been damaged, and the five concrete
drop structures have crumbled, exposing
support beams.
Mires was pleased with the outcome
of Wednesday’s teleconference. He
called the efforts of the working group
members, Burns’ staffers and state officials
“instrumental.”
“From the overall perspective, it
allows this project to move forward to
a level it hasn’t in 100 years,” he said.
“I think in the end everyone is going to
be better off and we’re going to have a
much better system.”
