St. Mary Working Group meets, infrastructure concerns grow

The St. Mary Rehabilitation Working Group (SMRWG) met on Wednesday April 19 to continue the discussion about repairing the 110-year-old irrigation and municipal water system.

The good news for the SMRWG is that the former coordinator, Alan Mikkelsen, has now been appointed as Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) Deputy Commissioner and is stationed in Washington, DC.

Lt. Governor, Mike Cooney lead a discussion of refocusing the SMRWG on it three goals within the Strategic Plan, which are:

• Adjust cost allocation formula. Currently irrigators are responsible for 74% of all maintenance, repairs and rehabilitation. The ability of irrigators to repay the costs associated with rehabilitation of the St. Mary Diversion has been exceeded. It is proposed that an allocation of 15%-25% of reimbursable funds for irrigators is more realistic and in line with their ability to pay.

• Determine realistic costs of rehabilitation. Will require coordination, cooperation with

Blackfeet, State of Montana, Bureau of Reclamation and Milk River Joint Board of Control. A $3.7 million feasibility study for the St. Mary Diversion rehabilitation is contained in the Blackfeet Compact legislation.

• Seek funding sources, federal, state, and local for rehabilitation of the St. Mary Diversion.

The SMRWG will be coordinating a tour of the facility in August of 2017. The idea is to recruit policy advisors in the BOR as well as having members of Montana’s Congressional Delegation attend and see the state of the 110-year-old facility. Additionally, a one day tour is proposed of the Canadian system which is over 500,000 irrigated acres in Alberta.

With the move of Mikkelsen to D.C. the SMRWG needed an interim coordinator. Co-Chair Marko Manoukian and Milk River Joint Board of Control Manager (MRJBOC) Jennifer Patrick volunteered to be co-coordinators. Manoukian has been on the SMRWG since its inception in 2002 and Patrick joined in 2007 and has great familiarity with the BOR. The SMRWG welcomed their volunteering.

Gerald Lunak from the Blackfeet Tribe told SMRWG that the tribe will vote on their water compact on April 20, 2017. The tribe has been working to inform the members of the tribe details of the water compact passed by congress. The vote will require enrolled members to vote in person on the Blackfeet Reservation. The Blackfeet passed their water compact. The passage of the compact by the Blackfeet will aid in the SMRWG initiate its feasibility study.

Patrick reported for the MRJBC that the Nelson Dikes construction is over budget by a minimum of $1.4 and possible as much as $2.4 million when construction is complete later in fall of 2017. Irrigators are responsible for 15% of the over charge. The good news is that Nelson Reservoir is 75% full and irrigators can expect 2.3 acre feet of irrigation for 2017.

Manoukian provided some information on the growing infrastructure problem in the US. American Society of Civil Engineers’ Report Card for America’s Infrastructure http://www.infrastructurereportcard.org/, details that the US grade is a D+ and the funding gap is $2 trillion. If the US was going to invest into its infrastructure and do so to remain “Globally” competitive it should do so by 2020 per recommendation by the American Society of Civil Engineers. Without comprehensive tax reform for funding, it would cost every man, woman, and child in the US $2,050 per year over the next three years to meet this goal.

Additionally, Manoukian reported on the news that Brazilian beef exporters have been caught bribing meat inspectors to allow the exportation of rotten beef product. USDA assures that none of the 5.5 million pounds of beef being shipped to the US per month is tainted. Lastly, Manoukian reported on the deadly fires, to humans and livestock, that occurred last month in Colorado, Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas. Over two million acres burned causing loss of life, structures, and livestock. There could be a minimum of 2 million head of livestock either killed by the fires or displaced due to lack of forage after the fire. These are reasons why the US should be investing into its resources to produce food to feed people.

The next St. Mary Rehabilitation Working Group will be Wednesday, May 17, 2017 at 10 a.m. in Havre at Bear Paw Development.