A newly created Water Policy Interim Committee of the Montana Legislature will meet for the first time July 9 in Helena.
The committee will gather at 9 a.m. in Room 172 of the Capitol. The meeting is open to the public, and individuals will be invited to tell the committee what water issues they consider to be important to the state.
The 2009 Legislature created the permanent water policy committee with passage of Senate Bill 22. All issues related to water policy - including water use, quality, quantity, and permitting - fall within the committee's purview.
At its inaugural meeting, committee members will elect officers and decide what issues to tackle over the next several months leading up to the 2011 session. They also will hear presentations from government agencies that deal with water, including the state Departments of Environmental Quality, Natural Resources and Conservation, Fish, Wildlife and Parks, and the Water Court.
An audio summary of the committee's work, entitled "Water World," will be posted on the WPIC Web site at leg.mt.gov/water.
Members of the WPIC are Sens. Debby Barrett, R-Dillon; Bradley Hamlett, D-Cascade; Terry Murphy, R-Cardwell; and Dave Wanzenried, D-Missoula. House members are Russell Bean, R-Augusta; Bill McChesney, D-Miles City; Walter McNutt, R-Sidney; and JP Pomnichowski, D-Bozeman.
For more information, visit the committee Web site or contact Joe Kolman, legislative research analyst, at (406) 444-9280 or jkolman@mt.gov.
