Sec. 7. Storage allocation from Lake Elwell
1,002 words·~5 min read·
/bill/116/s/3113/is/section-7A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
The Secretary shall permanently allocate to the Fort Belknap Indian Community 20,000 acre-feet per year of water stored in Lake Elwell for use by the Fort Belknap Indian Community for any beneficial purpose on or off the Reservation, under a water right held by the United States and managed by the Bureau of Reclamation for the benefit of the Fort Belknap Indian Community, as measured— by direct diversion from the Reservoir or at the outlet works of the Tiber Dam; or through direct release to the Marias River from the Tiber Dam. For each applicable year, the Fort Belknap Indian Community shall take the allocation under paragraph
(1)from the active conservation pool or the joint-use pool of the reservoir in such quantities as are sufficient to satisfy the total annual allocation. The allocation under paragraph
(1)to the Fort Belknap Indian Community shall take priority over any and all instream flow and recreational uses of the applicable water. The allocation under subsection
(a)to the Fort Belknap Indian Community shall be considered to be a part of the Tribal water rights. The priority date of the allocation under subsection
(a)to the Fort Belknap Indian Community shall be the priority date of the Lake Elwell water right held by the Bureau of Reclamation. The Fort Belknap Indian Community shall administer the water allocated under subsection
(a)in accordance with— the Compact; this Act; and Tribal law. In accordance with subsection (d), the Fort Belknap Indian Community may temporarily transfer off the Reservation, by service contract, lease, exchange, or other agreement, the water allocated under subsection (a), subject to— the approval of the Secretary; and the requirements of the Compact. Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), paragraphs
(1)through
(3)of article IV.A.5.b. of the Compact shall not apply to any annual allocation under this subsection, except to the extent that article limits the use of the allocation to a location within the Missouri River Basin. As a condition of receiving an allocation under this section, the Fort Belknap Indian Community shall enter into an agreement with the Secretary to establish the terms and conditions of the allocation, in accordance with the Compact and this Act. The agreement under paragraph
(1)shall include provisions establishing that— the agreement shall be without limit as to term; the Fort Belknap Indian Community, and not the United States, shall be entitled to all consideration due to the Fort Belknap Indian Community under any lease, contract, or agreement entered into by the Fort Belknap Indian Community pursuant to subsection (d); the United States shall have no obligation to monitor, administer, or account for— any funds received by the Fort Belknap Indian Community as consideration under any lease, contract, or agreement entered into by the Fort Belknap Indian Community pursuant to subsection (d); or the expenditure of those funds; if the capacity or function of Lake Elwell facilities are significantly reduced, or are anticipated to be significantly reduced, for an extended period of time, the Fort Belknap Indian Community shall have the same storage rights as other storage contractors with respect to the allocation under this section; the costs associated with the construction of the storage facilities at Tiber Dam allocable to the Fort Belknap Indian Community shall be nonreimbursable; no water service capital charge shall be due or payable for any water allocated to the Fort Belknap Indian Community under this section or the allocation agreement, regardless of whether that water is delivered for use by the Fort Belknap Indian Community or under a lease, contract, or agreement entered into by the Fort Belknap Indian Community pursuant to subsection (b)(3)(B); the Fort Belknap Indian Community shall not be required to make payments to the United States for any water allocated to the Fort Belknap Indian Community under this section or the allocation agreement, except for each acre-foot of stored water leased or transferred for industrial purposes as described in subparagraph (H); for each acre-foot of stored water leased or transferred by the Fort Belknap Indian Community for industrial purposes— the Fort Belknap Indian Community shall pay annually to the United States an amount necessary to cover the proportional share of the annual operation, maintenance, and replacement costs allocable to the quantity of water leased or transferred by the Fort Belknap Indian Community for industrial purposes; and the annual payments of the Fort Belknap Indian Community shall be reviewed and adjusted, as appropriate, to reflect the actual operation, maintenance, and replacement costs for Tiber Dam; and the Fort Belknap Indian Community has the right to divert the water that is diverted or released under subsection (a)(1) directly from the Reservoir or from any point in the Missouri River to the Reservation to any point, as determined by the Fort Belknap Indian Community. The Fort Belknap Indian Community may use, lease, contract, exchange, or enter into any other agreement for the use of the water allocated to the Fort Belknap Indian Community under subsection
(a)if— the use of water that is the subject of such an agreement occurs within the Missouri River Basin; and the agreement does not permanently alienate any water allocated to the Fort Belknap Indian Community under subsection (a). The allocation under subsection
(a)takes effect on the enforceability date. The allocation under subsection
(a)shall not be increased by any unused Fort Belknap Indian Community Tribal water rights from year-to-year carryover storage. Except as otherwise provided in this Act, the United States shall have no obligation under this Act to provide any facility for the transport to the Reservation or any other location of the water allocated under this section to the Fort Belknap Indian Community relating to the release of Tribal water rights from Lake Elwell Dam and Reservoir in accordance with a request from the Fort Belknap Indian Community. Except for the use of Federal amounts made available under section 8, the United States is not required to pay the cost of developing or delivering to the Reservation any water allocated under subsection (a).