What is the Reserved Water Rights Compact Commission?
The Reserved Water Rights Compact Commission (Commission) was created by the Montana legislature in 1979 in the same legislation that established the Montana Water Court . The Commission has nine members appointed by the governor, legislature and attorney general. Its sole mission is to negotiate settlements of federal reserved water rights claims with Tribes and federal agencies. This alternative to litigation has produced compacts with five Indian Tribes as well as several federal agencies (National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service) in Montana . These compacts will be integrated into the final decrees in Montana ‘s state-wide water adjudication.
