**Mr. Wesley Randal "Randy" Reed**

**Co-Chair St. Mary Rehabilitation Working Group**

**Senate Committee on**

**Energy and Natural Resources.**

**Water and Power Subcommittee Hearing:**

**testimony on the increasing number of issues associated with aging
water resource infrastructure that are operated and maintained, or
owned, by the United States Bureau of Reclamation (SD-366)**

## April 17, 2008

Mr. Chairman, distinguished members of the Committee, my name is Randy
Reed. I am a fourth generation agricultural producer from northern
Montana and serve as Co-Chair of the St. Mary Rehabilitation Working
Group with Montana Lt. Governor John Bohlinger. I would like to thank
the Committee for the opportunity to provide testimony concerning the
critical issue of the Bureau of Reclamation\'s aging water resource
infrastructure. The example I bring before the Committee is the Milk
River Project and the associated St. Mary Diversion and Conveyance
Works.

In 1903, Congress authorized construction of the Milk River Project as
one of the first five reclamation projects built under the Reclamation
Act of 1902. Development of the Milk River Project required construction
of the St. Mary Diversion & Conveyance Works to divert and transport
water from the St. Mary River Basin to the Milk River Basin.

The crisis we are facing today is the potential loss of the St. Mary
Diversion & Conveyance Works. After over 90 years of service, many
components of the system have exceeded their 50-year design life, and
are in critical need of repair or replacement. Engineering
investigations, an increase in the frequency and cost of extra-ordinary
maintenance needs, and recurrent delivery interruptions indicate the
system is on the verge of collapse.

In an average year approximately 70% to 90% of the water diverted from
the Milk River for municipal and agricultural use originates in the St.
Mary River Basin. Without this imported water, the Milk River would run
dry six out of ten years. The stable supply of water provided by the
system secures the "backbone" of the region's agricultural economy

For the last 7 years I have worked with the State of Montana and
stakeholders in the Milk River Basin to engage the Bureau of Reclamation
to develop a solution for rehabilitating the St. Mary Diversion and
Conveyance Works before the system suffers catastrophic failure.
However, rather than taking a leadership role, Reclamation officials
have deferred to pressure by the Office of Management and Budget and
initially resisted our efforts. Even today, they are playing a passive
role in the rehabilitation of one of the nation's original reclamation
projects.

Reclamation's position is confusing to contract holders and basin
residents who do not understand why the federal agency that owns and
operates the facilities is not leading the rehabilitation effort. Not
only is it confusing for the owner/operator not to be fully engaged in
the process, it has been detrimental to the overall effort.

Reclamation appears to be paralyzed in the face of the tidal wave of
aging infrastructure issues they face across the West. It appears that
without direction from Congress, the Department of Interior will not
allow Reclamation to actively participate with project irrigators and
the State of Montana to rehabilitate the St. Mary system. Through
inaction at the federal level, the federal government is missing an
opportunity to work with stakeholders and the State of Montana to find a
workable solution for ensuring the continued viability of the Milk River
Project. This federal inertia may also impact the federal government's
ability to settle federal reserved water rights claims with the
Blackfeet Tribe and Ft. Belknap Indian Community and jeopardize the
ability of the United States to access water from the St. Mary River
under terms of the 1909 Boundary Waters Treaty. Certainly, lack of
leadership by federal agencies is a threat to my business and has forced
me to get out and lead.

I believe that the Bureau of Reclamation must be given the ability to
develop new tools for addressing the challenges presented by aging water
resources infrastructure. One challenge we face in the Milk River Basin
is how the Bureau of Reclamation views capital expenditures for
rehabilitation projects. According to a 2006 engineering study
undertaken by the state of Montana the cost to rehabilitate and replace
the St. Mary Diversion & Conveyance Works is estimated at \$130 million
to \$140 million. Reclamation considers such work to be part of
operation and maintenance and requires the cost to be paid back in the
year they are incurred. This presents an insurmountable financial
obstacle to irrigators in the Milk River Project. Irrigators within our
Project would benefit from the development of a program that enables
water users to modernize or rehabilitate their projects and payoff those
costs over time under reasonable terms and conditions. Another option
would be to encourage partnerships of federal agencies with
complementary resources and interests.

As originally authorized, the St. Mary Diversion & Conveyance Works are
operated for the single purpose of irrigation. As such, nearly 100% of
the cost to rehabilitate and replace the system must be borne by small
irrigators, like me, within the irrigation districts holding water
delivery contracts. Today the beneficiaries extend far beyond this
original intent. The Bureau of Reclamation's 2005 "Current Use Benefits
Analysis" showed large public benefits accrue from the existence of the
St. Mary system. In addition to providing water for irrigated
agriculture, the system provides water to communities and industry,
water to the Bowdoin National Wildlife Refuge, and water that supports a
wealth of recreational opportunities in north-central Montana. The
system is also integral to settlement of federal reserved water rights
with the Blackfeet Tribe and Ft. Belknap Indian Community, and
implementation of the 1909 Boundary Waters Treaty. Amending the original
authorization for the Milk River Project and St. Mary Diversion and
Conveyance Works to reflect the extensive public benefits they provide
would relieve irrigators of the burden of subsidizing the federal
government for the benefits enjoyed by others.

My great grandfather homesteaded in the Milk River Valley and was among
the founders supporting construction of the Milk River Project and St.
Mary Diversion & Conveyance Works at the turn of the 20^th^ century.
Irrigation allowed my great grandfather to settle in Northern Montana
and endure. Today, my family benefits from these same water resource
facilities and we are able to raise irrigated certified seed potatoes,
alfalfa hay and malt barley. We also rely on the project for our
drinking water and enjoy the many recreational opportunities supported
by the water system.

Failure of the St. Mary Diversion & Conveyance Works would economically
devastate communities and businesses along the Hi-Line and likely have
economic repercussions across the state. Aging infrastructure threatens
my family\'s future, the future of the Milk River Basin, and the future
of farm-based economies across the West.

I urge the Committee to remember that many of these Reclamation projects
are federal assets owned and operated by the federal government.
Investment in these projects will preserve our Nation's ability to
conserve, enhance, and efficiently manage our most precious natural
resource, WATER!

I would like to thank the Chairman, and the Committee for their
recognition of the aging infrastructure problem and timely attention to
finding a solution. Again, I appreciate this opportunity to testify.

**Supplemental Written Testimony**

**Mr. Wesley Randal "Randy" Reed**

**Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.**

**Water and Power Subcommittee Hearing: to receive testimony on the
increasing number of issues associated with aging water resource
infrastructure that are operated and maintained, or owned, by the United
States Bureau of Reclamation (SD-366)**

## April 17, 2008

**INTRODUCTION**

A century ago local and national leaders developed a vision to build an
economy along the Hi-Line of north central Montana. Implementation of
this vision required construction of the St. Mary Diversion & Conveyance
Works to divert and transport water from the St. Mary River Basin to the
Milk River Basin. Water imported from the St. Mary River provides
supplemental water to the Bureau of Reclamation's Milk River Project.

Today this marvel of ingenuity and early 20th Century engineering is the
keystone to the economic vitality of Montana's Hi-Line region. In
addition to fulfilling the original intent of providing water for
large-scale irrigated agriculture along the Milk River, the system also
provides water to communities and industry, water to Bowdoin National
Wildlife Refuge, and water that supports recreational opportunities for
fishing and hunting along 650 miles of river and at two major reservoirs
in north-central Montana. In short, the St. Mary Diversion & Conveyance
Works is truly "the lifeline of the Hi-Line". The system is also
integral to settlement of federal reserved water rights with the
Blackfeet Tribe and Ft. Belknap Indian Community, and implementation of
the 1909 Boundary Waters Treaty between the United States and Canada.

However, after 90 years of service, many components of the system have
exceeded their 50-year design life, and are in critical need of repair
or replacement. Engineering investigations, an increase in the frequency
and cost of extra-ordinary maintenance needs, and recurrent delivery
interruptions indicate the system is on the verge of collapse.

In an average year approximately 70% of the water diverted from the Milk
River for municipal and agricultural use originates in the St. Mary
River Basin. Without this imported water, the Milk River would run dry
six out of ten years. The stable supply of water provided by the system
secures the "backbone" of the region's agricultural economy. Failure of
the St. Mary Diversion & Conveyance Works would economically devastate
communities and businesses along the Hi-Line, and likely have economic
repercussions across the state. Failure of the canal, siphons, or drop
structures may also result in environmental damage on the Blackfeet
Reservation and in southern Alberta. Loss of the system would also
curtail the United States ability to access its share of water from the
St. Mary River in accordance with the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909.

**BACKGROUND**

On March 14, 1903, Secretary of Interior Ethan Allen Hitchcock
authorized construction of the Milk River Project (Project) as one of
the first five reclamation projects built by the newly created
Reclamation Service (now Bureau of Reclamation) under the Reclamation
Act of 1902. The Project's objective was to provide a stable source of
water for irrigation of the lower Milk River valley, and settlers moved
to the valley on that promise. Early settlers had learned that natural
flows in the Milk River did not provide a reliable water source for
irrigation in the downstream end of the watershed. Consequently, a plan
to divert water from the St. Mary River to augment flows in the Milk
River was a key component of the Milk River Project. In 1905, Secretary
Hitchcock authorized construction of the St. Mary Diversion & Conveyance
Works to provide supplemental water to the Milk River Project.
Construction of the diversion dam and canal began on July 27, 1906.
Diversion and delivery of supplemental water to the Milk River Project
started in 1916.

The St. Mary Diversion & Conveyance Works are located entirely on the
Blackfeet Reservation in Glacier County, Montana. The system annually
diverts approximately 160,000 acre-feet of water from the St. Mary River
east of Glacier National Park to the North Fork of the Milk River via a
90-year old, 29-mile long facility. Separate components include:

-   Sherburne Reservoir -- located on Swiftcurrent Creek just outside
    the eastern boundary of Glacier National Park;

-   Swiftcurrent Creek Dike;

-   Diversion dam and canal headgates on the St. Mary River;

-   St. Mary River Siphon -- Two 7.5 ft (dia.), 3,200 foot long riveted
    steel barrels with a combined discharge capacity of 850 cubic feet
    per second (cfs);

-   Hall Coulee Siphon - Two 6.5 ft (dia.), 1,405 foot long riveted
    steel barrels;

-   Check and wasteway structures -- most are currently inoperable;

-   Five hydraulic drop structures -- combined vertical drop of 214 ft;
    and

-   Approximately 29 miles of single bank, unlined, earthen canal.

The system is owned by the U.S. Government and is operated and
maintained by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) with funds
paid by holders of water delivery contracts in the Milk River Basin.

The St. Mary Diversion & Conveyance Works are approaching 100 years old,
and are still dependent on the same basic infrastructure built by the
Reclamation Service in the early 1900's. Continued degradation of the
system has resulted in a loss of capacity from 850 cubic feet per second
(cfs), to 670 cfs. The steel siphons are plagued with slope stability
problems and leaks, and the concrete in the hydraulic drop structures is
severely deteriorating. Landslides along the canal and deteriorated
condition of the structures make the canal unreliable as a water source.

Failure of a hydraulic drop structure in 2002 resulted in the canal
being shut down for approximately 2 months during the irrigation season.
On July 21, 2004, Reclamation was forced to shut down the canal for a
week to repair a leak in the left barrel of the St. Mary River Siphon.
The leak was attributed to a failed weld associated with repair work
completed in 2001. Within 3 days of starting water deliveries in March
2005, Reclamation was once again forced to shut down the system for
another repair on the left siphon barrel.

Operation of the St. Mary Diversion & Conveyance Facilities has had a
series of negative environmental impacts on the Blackfeet Reservation.
Operation of the system has led to flooding and erosion below the
confluence of Swiftcurrent and Boulder Creeks, and the formation of a
delta into Lower St. Mary Lake. As currently designed, the outlet works
on Sherburne Dam are incapable of passing low flows during the winter
months. As a result, Swiftcurrent Creek dries up and important wintering
habitat for the threatened bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) is lost.
In addition, the St. Mary diversion dam and canal headgates are having a
negative impact on Blackfeet Tribal fishery resources. The diversion dam
acts as a barrier to fish moving upstream and a large number of fish
become entrained in the canal through the headgates during the
irrigation season.

**[LIFELINE OF THE HI-LINE]{.underline}**

The St. Mary Diversion & Conveyance Works are the foundation of
large-scale irrigated agricultural production in Montana's Milk River
Basin. The system provides water to irrigate over 110,000 acres through
contracts with Reclamation. An additional 5,000 acres within the Ft.
Belknap Indian Irrigation Project (BIA) and 25,000 acres of private
irrigated land benefit from the supplemental flows. Together these farms
produce approximately 8.7% of all cattle/calves produced in the state,
approximately 8.2% of all irrigated hay, and 8.6% of all irrigated
alfalfa produced in Montana.

In a normal irrigation season (May through September), approximately 70
% of Milk River flow near Havre originates from the St. Mary River
Basin. In dry years the imported water may account for up to 90 % of the
Milk River flows past Havre. During the drought of 2001, 95 % of
available water in the Milk River originated in the St. Mary River
Basin!

Although the St. Mary Diversion & Conveyance Works were initially built
to provide supplemental water for irrigated agriculture, the
beneficiaries extend far beyond this original intent. Reclamation's 2005
"Current Use Benefits Analysis" showed large public benefits accrue from
the existence of the St. Mary Diversion & Conveyance Works. A
preliminary economic study commissioned by the State and conducted in
consultation with Reclamation indicates that 32% of the annual economic
benefit associated with the supplemental water supplied by the system
accrues to irrigated agriculture. The remaining 68% accrues to the
public in the form of municipal, residential and industrial water,
recreation, fish and wildlife, and extensive riparian areas. Over the
last 90 years beneficiaries of water imported from the St. Mary River
have expanded to include the following.

-   Reclamation has contracts to deliver 4,664 acre-feet per year of
    municipal and industrial (M&I) water to the entities shown in
    Table 2. The communities of Havre, Chinook and Harlem serve
    approximately 14,000 customers

**Table 2**

Municipal and Industrial Water Contracts Associated with Milk River
Project

  --------------------------------------------------- -------------------
  **Entity**                                          **Contract Amount
                                                      (Acre-Feet)**

  City of Chinook                                     700

  City of Harlem                                      500

  City of Havre                                       2,800

  Hill County Water Users                             500

  North Havre County Water District                   100

  Grand View Cemetery                                 14

  Horizon Hills Golf Course LLC                       50
  --------------------------------------------------- -------------------

-   Bowdoin National Wildlife Refuge located 7 miles east of Malta,
    contracts with Reclamation for approximately 3,500 acre-feet per
    year of supplemental water from the St. Mary River. This 15,550-acre
    refuge provides food and habitat for an estimated 100,000 waterfowl
    each spring and fall.

-   Fresno and Nelson Reservoirs were created as storage components
    within the Milk River Project. Today these reservoirs support
    tremendous tourism and public year-round recreational benefits
    including boating, camping, and fishing. According to a 2002
    Reclamation study, the Milk River Project provides approximately
    \$15 million per year in recreational benefits to the Milk River
    Basin.

-   The Fort Belknap Water Rights Compact is predicated on the continued
    viability of the St. Mary Diversion & Conveyance Works to deliver
    water to the Milk River Basin. The Compact is a delicate negotiated
    balance of water rights, including the Gros Ventre and Assiniboine
    Tribes' right to essentially all of the natural flow of the Milk
    River, subject to the claims of the Blackfeet Nation.

-   The State of Montana and Blackfeet Tribe have reached agreement on a
    water rights compact which includes claims for water from the St.
    Mary and Milk Rivers. The parties are seeking federal and state
    ratification of the settlement. Rehabilitation of the St. Mary
    Diversion & Conveyance Works affords potential benefits to the
    settlement.

-   Implementation of the 1909 Boundary Waters Treaty between the United
    States and Canada is dependent on the existence of the St. Mary
    Diversion & Conveyance Works. Without the system, the United States'
    share of water from the St. Mary River under the 1909 Treaty would
    be lost to Canada.

-   Numerous endangered, threatened, and proposed species with the Milk
    River Basin, including the Piping Plover (threatened) and Pallid
    Sturgeon (endangered), benefit from augmented flows in the Milk
    River.

-   Water imported to the Milk River Basin through the St. Mary
    Diversion & Conveyance Works may prove to be a critical component of
    U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recovery efforts for the endangered
    pallid sturgeon *(Scaphirhyncus albus)*. As the first major
    tributary entering the Missouri River below Ft. Peck Dam, the turbid
    water of the Milk River may provide critical pallid sturgeon
    spawning habitat.

> **Working With Reclamation**
>
> For many years, Milk River irrigators, State of Montana water resource
> staff, and Reclamation staff have been working together on water
> management issues in the Milk River. It was not until the mid-1990
> that the potential catastrophic failure of the St. Mary Diversion
> Facilities was recognized by the State and irrigators as a significant
> risk. At the time, the Chinook Irrigation Division had received a
> grant of \$300,000 to improve water use efficiency. However, an
> emergency repair of the St. Mary Siphons arose and the Chinook
> Division requested that the State funds be used to pay for the
> emergency repair rather than on water use efficiency. The funds were
> transferred and an additional \$100,000 was added so that the siphons
> could be repaired and returned to use. The following year the same
> scenario played out where districts requested emergency funding for a
> repair of the St. Mary Siphon. This time the State met with irrigators
> and Reclamation on the St. Mary diversion site to discuss the reasons
> that the emergency arose. It was at this on-site meeting that concern
> over the potential catastrophic failure of the system was recognized.
>
> The State then began to work with Milk River irrigators and
> Reclamation to find solutions so that a major rehabilitation project
> could proceed. Through the Rocky Boy water compact (P.L.106-163), the
> Montana Congressional Delegation was able to gain support for a \$3
> million appropriation for Reclamation to conduct the North Central
> Montana Regional Feasibility Study (2004). As part of the study,
> Reclamation examined 18 alternatives to resolve water supply, water
> use and management, and other major water-related issues in north
> central Montana. Reclamation identified rehabilitation of the St. Mary
> Diversion & Conveyance Works as the only feasible alternative that
> would address water supply and related issues in north-central
> Montana, and produce positive economic benefits.
>
> Reclamation's conclusion supported State and local efforts to find a
> way to rehabilitate the St. Mary Diversion Facilities. However,
> Reclamation rather than taking a leadership position to rehabilitate
> the system, stated publicly that they would not support a
> rehabilitation plan if it involved the use of federal funds. The only
> acceptable approach to the agency was for the irrigators to pay for
> the entire cost. During the initial public meetings announcing the new
> Water 2025 initiative, Commissioner of Reclamation, John Keys made it
> clear to Montana representatives that Reclamation could not support a
> rehabilitation effort that involved federal funding.
>
> **PROTECTING THE MILK RIVER BASIN'S TOMORROW.......TODAY**

The dilemma of knowing that the entire water supply of the Milk River
basin was at risk and the only option that Reclamation would support
would be impossible for the irrigators to support forced the State of
Montana to act. On November 18, 2003, former Lt. Governor Karl Ohs held
a forum in Havre, Montana, on the need to rehabilitate the St. Mary
Diversion & Conveyance Works. An outcome of this meeting was the
formation of the St. Mary Rehabilitation Working Group. This 15-member
Working Group represents a broad coalition of basin interests including
the Milk River Irrigation Districts, the Blackfeet Tribe, the Tribes of
the Ft. Belknap Indian Community, municipalities, business interests,
and recreational and fishery interests in the Milk River Basin. The
Working Group's goals are:

1)  Find a \"workable\" solution for rehabilitating the St. Mary Works
    before the system suffers catastrophic failure.

2)  Work with the Blackfeet Tribe to address environmental impacts
    associated with the operation of the St. Mary Works, and provide
    workable enhancements and mutual benefits from a rehabilitated St.
    Mary Canal.

3)  Explore options for restoring Fresno Reservoir to its original
    capacity and reauthorization and funding opportunities to
    rehabilitate the Basin infrastructure.

> Though Reclamation attends all Working Group meetings, the agency has
> chosen to take a role limited to monitoring the discussion and
> providing technical information. This limited role is confusing to
> basin residents who do not understand why the agency that owns and
> operates the facilities is not at the front leading the discussion.
> Instead, the State of Montana has had to take the leadership role to
> move this project forward. Not only is it confusing for the
> owner/operator not to be fully engaged in the process, it is
> detrimental to the overall effort.
>
> Reclamation appears to be paralyzed in the face of the tidal wave of
> aging infrastructure issues they face across the West. It appears that
> without direction from Congress, the Department of Interior will not
> allow Reclamation to actively participate with project irrigators and
> the State of Montana to rehabilitate the St. Mary system.

Through inaction at the federal level, the federal government is missing
an opportunity to work with stakeholders and the State of Montana to
find a workable solution for ensuring the continued viability of the one
of the Nation's first reclamation projects. This federal inertia may
also impact the federal government's ability to settle federal reserved
water rights claims with the Blackfeet Tribe and Ft. Belknap Indian
Community and jeopardize the ability of the United States to access
water from the St. Mary River under terms of the 1909 Boundary Waters
Treaty.

**Local and State Support**

Over the last four years, the State of Montana and St. Mary
Rehabilitation Working Group have raised substantial non-federal funds
to initiate the rehabilitation effort. Since 2004, the State has spent
over \$1.6 million on professional engineering services and personnel
services in support of the project. The 2005 State Legislature
recognized the importance of this project to Montana by approving \$10
million in bonding authority to serve as seed money for the non-federal
cost share. In 2007, the State Legislature reconfirmed their commitment
to the project by approving a \$300,000 grant to the Department of
Natural Resources and Conservation for engineering design and project
coordination.

Local contributions have raised approximately \$416,632 to support the
efforts of the St. Mary Rehabilitation Working Group (as of 12/07). The
eight Irrigation Districts within the Milk River Project have assessed
themselves to support the rehabilitation effort. Counties, communities,
recreationists, and private citizens within the Milk River Basin have
also raised funds. Since 2004, Working Group members have donated more
than \$156,000 (as of 10/07) of in-kind support in the form of time and
travel to attend meetings and promote the project within the basin.

**Federal Support**

The Working Group's efforts have also benefited from support provided by
Montana's Congressional Delegation. Senator Max Baucus secured \$8.5
million (FY06) from the Senate Transportation Committee. These funds are
being used to construct a new bridge across the St. Mary River and
address environmental concerns of the Blackfeet Tribe. Senator Conrad
Burns secured \$500,000 (FY06) for the project from the Energy and Water
Appropriations Subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Through the use of cooperative agreements, the U.S. Bureau of
Reclamation, Blackfeet Tribe, and Montana DNRC used these funds on
technical and environmental data collection efforts in preparation for
National Environmental Policy Act compliance activities. The Bureau of
Reclamation received an additional \$500,000 in FY07 under the
continuing funding resolution. Reclamation has used these funds to enter
into an agreement with the Bureau of Land Management to conduct a
cadastral survey along the canal route. This effort is part of a
multiphase endeavor to settle outstanding right-of-way issues.

**Potential Solutions**

The State of Montana and St. Mary Rehabilitation Working Group have put
in a tremendous effort to raise non-federal funds to initiate the
rehabilitation project. To date, State and local funds committed to
rehabilitation of the St. Mary Diversion and Conveyance Works exceed
\$12.5 million. What is missing at this point is active participation by
Reclamation to find a workable solution. Even with the grass roots
support of the basin and the leadership and financial support of the
State, we cannot succeed without the support of Congress and, in turn,
Reclamation.

Bureau of Reclamation must be given the ability to develop new tools for
addressing the challenges aging water resources infrastructure. One
challenge we face in the Milk River Basin is how the Bureau of
Reclamation views capital expenditures for rehabilitation projects.
According to a 2006 engineering study undertaken by the state of Montana
the cost to rehabilitate and replace the St. Mary Diversion & Conveyance
Works is estimated at \$130 million to \$140 million. The Bureau
Reclamation considers such work to be part of operation and maintenance
and requires the cost to be paid back in the year they are incurred.
This presents an insurmountable financial obstacle to irrigators in the
Milk River Project. Irrigators within our Project would benefit from the
development of a program that enables water users to modernize or
rehabilitate their projects and payoff those costs over time under
reasonable terms and conditions.

As originally authorized, the St. Mary Diversion & Conveyance Works are
operated for the single purpose of irrigation. As such, nearly 100% of
the cost to rehabilitate and replace the system must be borne by small
irrigators like me, within the irrigation districts holding water
delivery contracts. Today the beneficiaries extend far beyond this
original intent. The Bureau Reclamation's 2005 "Current Use Benefits
Analysis" showed large public benefits accrue from the existence of the
St. Mary system. In addition to providing water for irrigated
agriculture, the system provides water to communities and industry,
water to Bowdoin National Wildlife Refuge, and water that supports a
wealth of recreational opportunities in north-central Montana. The
system is also integral to settlement of federal reserved water rights
with the Blackfeet Tribe and Ft. Belknap Indian Community, and
implementation of the 1909 Boundary Waters Treaty. Amending the original
authorization for the Milk River Project and St. Mary Diversion and
Conveyance Works to reflect the extensive public benefits they provide
would relieve irrigators of the burden of subsidizing the federal
government for the benefits enjoyed by others.

The Working Group and the State are eager and willing to work with
Reclamation and Congress to find acceptable solutions for federal
support to the project. We understand that National priorities make it
extremely difficult to find federal funds for the rehabilitation of the
St. Mary Diversion Facilities. The tremendous amount of authorized, but
not completed Reclamation projects also places a heavy burden on the
agency. It is important to remember that many of these Reclamation
projects are federal assets owned and operated by the federal
government. Investment in these projects will preserve our Nation's
ability to conserve, enhance, and efficiently manage our most precious
natural resource, WATER! There is not time to simply wait for the
federal funding environment to change.