Tester's Bill to Finalize the Fort Belknap Water Compact Clears Key Hurdle, Heads to Senate Floor

After more than a decade of work to finalize Montana’s last water settlement, U.S. Senator Jon Tester’s bipartisan bill to finalize the Fort Belknap Water Compact today passed through the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, setting it up for a full vote on the Senate floor.

Tester’s Fort Belknap Indian Community Water Rights Settlement Act is the product of more than a decade of work by the Senator in collaboration with Tribal leaders, the Montana delegation, state legislators, federal agencies, irrigators, and local stakeholders. The legislation will prevent costly litigation by resolving out...