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joint resolution NO. _____________
By Request of the ****
A joint resolution of
the Senate and the House of Representatives of the state of montana opposing
article 13 of the columbia river treaty and any right to divert 1,500,000 acre-feet
of water from the kootenai river to the columbia river at canal flats, british
columbia.
WHEREAS, negotiations on the Columbia River
Treaty are ongoing prior to automatic changes in the release of water based on
the original agreement that was ratified in 1964 and has served both the United
States and Canada well; and
WHEREAS, a new agreement is expected before
September 2024.
WHEREAS, Article 13 of the treaty gives Canada
the "right" to divert up to 1.5 million acre-feet of water a year
from the Kootenai River to the headwaters of the Columbia River at Canal Flats,
British Columbia, about 100 miles above the United States border. The diversion
would occur where the Kootenai is pure snowmelt from the Rocky Mountains west
of the Continental Divide; and
WHEREAS, Lake Koocanusa is the reservoir behind the
Libby Dam and is mostly filled by inflow from the Kootenay River, as it is
spelled in Canada. The Elk River, which carries a significant amount of
selenium from the coal mines in southeast British Columbia, enters the upper
portion of Lake Koocanusa just north of the international border. The diversion
of 26% of pure flow would greatly increase the concentration of selenium in
Lake Koocanusa, most of which lies in Montana; and
WHEREAS, the concentration of selenium in Lake
Koocanusa and the Kootenai River is a subject of serious concern to both
nations, Montana, and Idaho. Restrictive standards are currently in the process
of being established or implemented. Clearly this is of major environmental
concern, even involving the International Joint Commission on Boundary Waters,
and any diversion would be detrimental; and
WHEREAS, a diversion would be devastating to
terrestrial and aquatic life in and around the Columbia River, the Kootenai
River, and Lake Koocanusa. Losing 26% of the Kootenai River volume would lead
to a serious reduction in hydropower from the Libby Dam, negatively impact
recreation on and around Lake Koocanusa, harm fishing on the Kootenai River,
and add to reproductive problems for the white sturgeon, which spawn below
Kootenai Falls near Libby, Montana.
Now, therefore, be it resolved by the Senate
and the House of Representatives OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:
That the 68th Montana Legislature, representing all
citizens of Montana, requests that Article 13 and the right to divert water
from the Kootenai River to the Columbia River at Canal Flats be removed in the
modernization of the Columbia River Treaty language.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of State send
copies of this resolution to President Joe Biden, the Montana Congressional
Delegation, the United States Secretaries of the Interior and Energy, the
United States Army Corps of Engineers, Chief Negotiator Jill Smail at the
United States Department of State, Bill Leady at the Bonneville Power
Administration, Governor Greg Gianforte, and Mike Milburn and Doug Grob at the
Northwest Power and Conservation Council.
INTRODUCED
BY _________________________________________________