Senator tries to add St. Mary bill to defense authorization

Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., announced he is trying to add a change to how the St. Mary Diversion and Conveyance is funded to a must-pass defense bill.

Daines announced Wednesday he was trying to add the St. Mary’s Reinvestment Act as part of the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA.

The action comes as work has started to repair two drop structures on the 29-mile diversion that takes water from the St. Mary River and transports it to the Milk River.

One of those structures collapsed in May, shutting down the century-old system that provides much of the water in the Milk River.

The syste...