Daines pushing to fund reservation irrigation projects

Sen. Steve Daines is pushing for legislation that would bring funds to many Indian irrigation projects, including on the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation.

The bill would allocate almost $8.4 million to Fort Belknap to help the reservation fund projects.

Also included in the bill are is Blackfeet Indian Irrigation Project, which would receive around $25.6 million, Fort Peck with $12.7 million, Crow with $16.9 million and Flathead with $82.2 million.

“The bill would authorize $35 million each year from (fiscal year) 2015 to 2036, in order to address the deferred maintenance needs of certain Bureau of Indian Affairs irrigation projects,” wrote Alee Lockman, communications director for Daines, in an email. “Regarding rural water projects, such as the Rocky Boy/North Central Regional Water System — that funding would be addressed in separate legislation.”

Daines joined Sens. John Barrasso, R-Wyoming, Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, Mike Enzi, R-Wyoming, and Jon Tester, D-Montana, to introduce the act, “which will fix critical maintenance backlog issues” with the projects.

“We need a long-term strategy to maintain and address the needs of our Tribes’ irrigation systems,” Daines said in a press release. “For far too long, perpetual delays and maintenance backlogs have cause inefficient water delivery and damaged infrastructure on Montana’s reservations.”