-300x200.jpg?t=1)
By Josh Margolis
HAVRE, Mont. (NMB) – With the replacements of drop structures 2 and 5 now in the rearview mirror, the St. Mary’s Rehabilitation Working Group convened in Havre on Thursday morning to discuss necessary repairs to the diversion dam at the head of the canal.
The design for the dam is expected to be completed this summer, and an updated project cost estimate will be provided by the fall. Previous projections for the cost of the project were around $50 million.
The current cost sharing allocation would put around 74 percent of that burden on stakeholders and the remaining 26 percent on the federal government, but the Working Group agreed on Thursday to begin an ability to pay study. This study could take up to nine months and will change the cost sharing agreement based on how much irrigators and other stakeholders can afford. The final results will be binding.
In addition, the Working Group discussed potential legislation that would authorize the federal government to appropriate up to $60 million to use for projects related to the diversion dam through the 2031 fiscal year.
This legislation, titled the “St. Mary’s Reinvestment Act” will be introduced by Senator Jon Tester next week, and Montana’s entire congressional delegation, which each briefly appeared virtually at Thursday’s meeting, is on board with ensuring it becomes law. This legislation also requires an ability to pay study, but the Working Group decided to get a head start on that before the legislation is introduced.
“All the arrows are pointed in the right direction,” Senator Steve Daines, who sits on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee that this legislation will be discussed in, said in his call with the working group. “This is one situation where we have complete unity across Montana to get this done. And thanks for (starting the ability to pay study). I think that’s going to help us back here sell this legislation.”
“You guys have been driving the bus on this,” Tester said on his call with the working group. “But we were able to roll up our sleeves because you guys are driving the bus and craft legislation that I think is going to end up making rehabilitation more affordable for the downstream users, and it’s going to ensure that this system will provide much valued water in an area where, quite frankly, it would be a disaster not to have for farmers, ranchers, municipalities, tribes, you name it.”
On the House of Representatives side of things, Congressman Matt Rosendale expressed his support, but said that this piece of legislation may be unable to be discussed in his chamber in the near future.
“Regular order has not commenced yet,” Rosendale said on his call with the working group. “And we don’t see regular order being restored (soon). After April 1st, it is my understanding that we will begin the process of trying to restore regular order. But until that time, Speaker (Nancy) Pelosi has directed all legislation to basically bypass the committee process and go straight to the floor. So we’re hoping maybe, as we begin to work on an infrastructure package, that we could restore regular order. But for now through April 1st, it has already been made clear that there will not be regular order.”
If Congress does work on an infrastructure package, it is the entire delegation’s goal to make sure funding for the project is included.
“There is a chance, this is all prospective, but there is a chance we could have an infrastructure bill come out of Congress sometime between now and the first of July,” Tester said. “And I can guarantee you, if we have an infrastructure bill, St. Mary’s, the North-Central Water Project, Northeastern Water Project, I’m going to fight like hell to make sure all three of those are in.”
Tester is also trying to get St. Mary’s funding included in the current COVID relief bill making its way through Congress, but this is unlikely to be successful. Rosendale tried a similar move on the House side of things, but it was determined to not be germane to the bill.
“Senator Tester is going to put an amendment in the COVID package,” Daines said. “That won’t be germane, just so everybody knows. So that won’t achieve an outcome, but perhaps it raises some visibility, but it’s not a germane amendment so it doesn’t stand a chance (of) passing and actually get into law.”
The next Working Group meeting will take place in April, but a date and time have not yet been determined.
Fresno Safety of Dams Project
Another topic brought up at the meeting relates to the Fresno Safety of Dams Project that is in its beginning stages.
This project will feature repairs to Fresno Dam. Steve Darlinton of the Bureau of Reclamation says the rough estimate for the cost of this project is $65 million, 15 percent of which will have to be paid back by stakeholders.
Design of the project is about 60 percent complete, and dirt is scheduled to begin moving in 2023 and construction will last three full seasons, although Reservoir restrictions are not anticipated.
Work that will be completed includes adding a sand layer on the face of the damn and gravel and weight on top.
Darlinton said Reclamation is “moving forward with the project no matter what,” due to the potential risk of catastrophic flooding and loss of life in Havre and surrounding areas if the dam, which has seen cracking due to settlement, were to fail.
Potential failure is extremely unlikely, but Darlinton says is currently about a 1 in 5,000 chance-per-year, which places it below the 1 in 10,000 chance-per-year cutoff that Reclamation uses when deciding whether projects are necessary.
Public meetings will be held in the near future along the Hi-Line to allow the public to speak with the Bureau of Reclamation about this project. More information on these meetings is expected in the coming days.
Resolution in the Montana Legislature
During the meeting, an update was provided on HJ 7, a resolution introduced by Representative Casey Knudsen of Malta.
This resolution made it out of the House Agriculture Committee on a 17-0 vote, and cleared the House floor 100-0.
“It’s just a letter, a resolution to the federal government saying from the legislature and the state of Montana how important it is to change the cost share to fund the project and help the irrigators (and other stakeholders) keep the basin going and equitable,” said Jennifer Patrick, Project Manager for the Milk River Joint Board of Control.
The resolution is scheduled for a hearing in the Senate Agriculture Committee on Tuesday, March 9th at 3 PM.
