MT Legislators Try to get Funding for Milk River Infrastructure

HAVRE, Mont. (NMB) – U.S. Senators Jon Tester and Steve Daines, along with Congressman Greg Gianforte on Thursday introduced legislation to increase critical investments in the Milk River Infrastructure Project that thousands of Montana farmers rely on for access to reliable irrigation water in north central Montana.

A press release says that the St. Mary’s Reinvestment Act will ensure that the federal government picks up 75 percent of the costs for upgrades to the century-old water project. Currently, the federal government only funds 26 percent of the project, leaving local users with the responsibility to pay the rest of the tab.

The delegation’s bill will cover 75 percent of the cost of upgrading and operating the Sherburne Dame and Reservoir, Swift Current Creek Dike, Lower St. Mary Lake, St. Mary Canal Diversion Dam, and the St. Mary Canal.

The Milk River Water Project provides water to 18,000 Montanans and irrigates enough cropland to feed one million people.