28 June 2016
CSKT Compact implementation technical team & website
While the political dispute over the CSKT water compact, approved last year by Montana’s legislature, has moved to Congress, the practical steps needed to implement the compact are being made, quietly. One is the formation of the CSKT Compact Implementation Technical Team, which now has its own website where those interested can subscribe to announcements (I just did).
The Compact Implementation Technical Team (CITT) is the entity established by the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT)-Montana Compact (Compact) to plan and advise the Project Operator on the implementation of the Flathead Indian Irrigation Project (FIIP) Operational Improvements, Rehabilitation and Betterment, and Adaptive Management. The CITT duties and responsibilities are defined in more detail in Appendix 3.5 to the Compact.
The initial focus of the CITT is to develop recommendation to CSKT, Montana, and the United States (Compact Parties) on the use of available funding for water measurement, a stock-water program, and an on-farm efficiency program. Some of the CITT functions identified in the Compact will need Federal Congressional and Tribal approval to be effective. The Compact Parties are currently authorized to participate in the CITT for those functions where additional Congressional and Tribal approval is not required.
Appendix 3.5 of the Compact states that each Compact Party and the Project Operator shall assign a technical team member to the CITT; FIIP irrigators may also assign an irrigator to the CITT.
The team’s members are technical experts who understand the science that forms the foundation of the compact.
The April, 2016, Flathead Indian Irrigation Project Modernization Plan’s documents are available for downloading at the CITT’s website.
This is the level at which things get done. If you have an interest in the implementation of the compact, and in the FIIP (history, PDF), you’ll want to bookmark CITT’s website.