Pinocci: Montana Supreme Court 'wrong to rule the way they did'

Republican Public Service Commission candidate Randy Pinocci said Thursday that the Confederate Salish and Kootenai Water Compact violates the Montana Constitution, adding that the Montana Supreme Court was "wrong to rule the way they did."

Sun River-resident Pinocci called the Havre Daily News Thursday to rebut what was said by his opponent state Rep. Rob Cook, R-Shelby another Republican Public Service Commission candidate in this year's election.

Cook, who is terming out of the House of Representatives, Pinocci, who served a term in the House in 2015-16, Mark Wicks of Inverness and Cory McKinney of Great Falls are facing off in the PSC race in the Republican primary. The winner will face Havre Democrat Doug Kaercher in the general election.

Pinocci has made the CSKT water compact a major issue in his campaign. He voted against the compact, while Cook was one of 11 Republicans who helped pass it.

Pinocci said that the CSKT water compact was in direct violation of the Montana Constitution.

"The waters of Montana belong to the people of Montana, not the Salish-Kootenai," he said.

Pinocci said Cook and the other Republicans who voted for the compact joined the Democrats and backed Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock to push through the CSKT water compact - in a bill introduced by Sen. Chas Vincent, R-Libby - after being instructed by Speaker of the House Austin Knudsen, to vote it down.

"Anyone who voted for the compact, those 11 Republicans, should be replaced and never allowed in office again," Pinocci said. "They stood against the Republican party platform and leadership."

Pinocci said that this is important to the PSC candidacy because the PSC members "are all Republicans, they expect a Republican to be elected. They don't want a Republican that has a record of turning his back on all the Republicans."

"I'm defending myself against a man who's a buffoon, he's a bloviating buffoon who just spews nonsense and lies in an effort to get me to have to try to defend myself," Cook said when called for comment.

"My list of priorities is my conscience, my constituents and my caucus," he added, "and I'm going to do what's best for Montana every time ... if doing what's best for Montana means I have to depart from rigid ideology (I will)."

Pinocci said the reason the Republican leadership opposed the bill was that the compact is against property and water rights and it would create a large tax increase.

Pinocci added that the compact will cost "$2.3 billion in federal taxes and $55 million to the Montanan taxpayer."

When asked to specify the costs, Pinocci declined to comment, referring the Havre Daily News to another source.

Cook said the water compact did not raise taxes in Montana.

The compact cost $55 million and "we ratified the compact and no taxes were put in place," Cook said.

He added that without the compact, water claims made by the CSKT - including possibly east of the divide - could have cost taxpayers $73 million, if not more. In addition, the $55 million was paid out of an ending fund balance and is currently being paid in installments.

Pinocci said his opponents may believe the PSC has nothing to do with the water compact, but "it absolutely does."

The PSC says it does not have much involvement.

"We don't have a lot to do with the compact. We were involved for about a year when NorthWestern Energy owned the Kerr Dam," PSC Spokesman Bowen Greenwood told the Havre Daily News.

The CSKT now own the dam and it is no longer regulated by the PSC, Greenwood said.

"What (the Salish-Kootenai Tribes) bought the dam for was a joke," Pinocci said, adding, "They didn't buy it, it was given to them."

Pinocci said he completely disagrees that the water compact protects water rights. He said it gives the CSKT the right to sell the water not only off the reservation but out of the state of Montana.

"(The CSKT water compact) that they have had is having reservations across the United States re-assessing their water rights and making claims and lawsuits," Pinocci said.

He did not know which tribes.

All of the other tribes in Montana already have water compacts with the state.

Cook said water compacts have treaty status and require the tribe, state and federal government in order to approve a compact. Once approved, all parties must agree to reopen the contract. A single entity cannot reopen the contract alone, he said.

"How does one entity of three get to unilaterally renegotiate a treaty? ... You don't," Cook said.

Pinocci said that "the amount of water that the CSKT have won is more acre-feet than all the reservation and tribes in the U.S. combined."

He could not say what was the amount of acre-feet of water he described.

"The Native Americans want control of the water that leaves Montana, all the way to the ocean," he added.

Cook said that is impossible. Once the water is out of the area of the water right owner, they have no right to it.

"I have to use it or lose it," Cook said.

Pinocci said that with this water compact, there is nothing preventing the CSKT from demanding electricity from the dams that the water powers downstream.

"Let's talk about a hydroelectric dam that's between Montana and the Pacific Ocean," Pinocci said. "How about the Bonneville Power Plant (located between Oregon and Washington State). That supplies electricity clear to the bottom of California, are (the CSKT) going to turn around and go, 'Hey, wait a minute, that's our water and we want a portion of the power generated at Bonneville.' I said that in judiciary, it's on record."

"We need a water compact, ... but not this compact," Pinocci said.

Cook said, again, that is impossible. Without immense change in national water laws, the tribes could not demand anything from the water once it leaves their area.