Comment sought on St. Mary/Milk rivers study

A board is looking for public comment on and is holding a virtual webinar this week about a work plan to be submitted to the commission that oversees the waters that flow between the U.S. and Canada about how to apportion waters of the St. Mary and Milk rivers, a release about the study said.

The work plan is being written as work progresses to rehabilitate the system that diverts water into the Milk River, the very issue that led to the creation of the International Joint Commission that oversees water on the borders of the two countries.

As part of its ongoing public consultation process, the International St. Mary and Milk Rivers Study Board is holding a virtual webinar Thursday, Aug. 18, at 7 p.m. to outline its draft work plan and provide the public with an opportunity to share feedback directly with the board. 

The board is welcoming public input on its work plan, with the comment period open to Monday, Aug. 29.

People can register for the webinar at https://bit.ly/3SRtAHz .

The board’s websiste says the study, “launched in November 2021, is exploring options to improve access to apportioned waters by each country, in recognition of climate change and challenges to apportionment since the original 1921 order was issued. The effort includes a desire to achieve long-term resilience in accessing the shared waters of the St. Mary and Milk Rivers.”

The work plan describes the history leading up to the St. Mary and Milk Rivers study and the study’s objectives. It explains how the the board intends to conduct its work and achieve its objectives. The work plan also includes details about public engagement activities, how the board’s advisory groups and technical teams are organized, and how its study findings will be reviewed. 

The International St. Mary and Milk Rivers Study Board is conducting study and analyzing data to develop recommendations to improve each country’s access to apportionment — share of the natural flow of these watersheds. These recommendations will then be submitted to the International Joint Commission at the study’s conclusion in 2025. 

The public is invited to share feedback on the work plan by visiting the study board’s website at https://www.ijc.org/en/smmr/st-mary-and-milk-rivers-study-board-draft-work-plan .

The St. Mary and Milk Rivers originate in the mountains and foothills of the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains, flowing northeast across the international border from Montana into Alberta, Canada. The St. Mary River continues north, while the Milk River turns east and parallels the international border for 70 miles before turning south back into Montana.

The St. Mary Diversion and Conveyance Works was one of the first projects the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation was authorized to build when it was created at the start of the last century. It stores water at Sherburne Dam on Swiftcurrent Creek, which is then diverted through 29 miles of canals, dikes, siphons and drop structures into the north fork of the Milk River.

After 20 years of work to find a way to rehabilitate the diversion and conveyance works — it was shut down for the summer two years ago when a drop structure at the end of the system collapsed — major funding is finally being put to the rehabilitation effort. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Act passed last year allocated $100 million for work on the system, and the members of Montana’s congressional delegation are pushing for passage of the St. Mary’s Reinvestment Act, which would authorize $52 million for rehabilitating the system and require an ability-to-pay study on what the users of water in the Milk River can afford and set the cost share accordingly.

Disputes over the ownership of the water in question is what led to the creation of the International Joint Commission to oversee water apportionment between the two countries.

The dispute led to the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909, which the IJC website says is “perhaps the most important bilateral agreement between Canada and the United States. Over the past century, it has provided a foundation for cooperation on shared natural resources on the basis of equality between the two countries.

Signed at a time when disagreement over the shared waterways — in several regions — could have divided the nations, the Boundary Waters Treaty established an organization, the International Joint Commission, to investigate, resolve and prevent boundary water disputes between the two countries,” the website says.

It says that, since holding its first meeting in 1912, the IJC has resolved more than 100 matters raised by the U.S. and Canadian governments

The IJC provides direction for the measurement and apportionment — sharing — of water that crosses the international boundary in the St. Mary and Milk River basins, in accordance with the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909 and the IJC Order of 1921.

The 1921 order provided instructions on how the measurement and apportionment of water from these two rivers will be managed by the accredited Irrigation and Reclamation Officers — now known as the Accredited Officers — appointed by each country.

Associated links 

• International St. Mary and Milk Rivers Study Board Work Plan  — https://ijc.org/sites/default/files/ismmrsb_draft_work_plan.pdf

• International St. Mary and Milk Rivers Study Board — https://www.ijc.org/en/smmr

• Accredited Officers of the St. Mary and Milk Rivers — https://ijc.org/en/aosmmr .