Jackson begins water battle

By MIKE RICHESON Bigfork Eagle

State Senator Verdell Jackson is following up on a campaign pledge concerning Montana’s water rights.

In a letter to Mary Sexton, director of the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, Jackson calls for an amendment to Avista’s water right certificates for the Clark Fork River.

Avista Corporation is an energy company that owns the Noxon Rapids Hydroelectric Project on the Clark Fork River. The dam is located 20 miles upstream of the Cabinet Gorge project. The Noxon Rapids site is Avista’s largest generating hydro project and was built in 1959.

Jackson contends that Avista’s agreement with the state violates 85-1-122, Montana Code Annotated, which protects Montana’s water for use by Montana’s citizens by subordinating power generation rights in the Clark Fork Basin.

The last sentence in 85-1-122, MCA, states that “Any present or future appropriations of water in the watershed in the state of Montana for irrigation and domestic use above said dam shall have priority over water use for power use at said dam.”

Jackson argues that Avista’s water right certificates give the company rights to more than double of the Clark Fork’s usual volume. This essentially gives Avista complete control over other water users who rely on the Clark Fork River. Avista could legally deny water access to Montana citizens.

“Everybody needs to know about this, and we need to hold government accountable,” Jackson said. “If anybody is going to stand up to Avista, it’s got to be the state of Montana. Individuals don’t have the money. The state should have protected our water, and they didn’t.”

The ensuing battle could be long and expensive, but Jackson said his goal was to return Montana’s water rights back to Montanans as intended by the Constitution and state law.

This topic is hardly new for Jackson, who has been arguing this cause for more than six years when he was legislator in the House. After being elected to serve as the senator for Senate District 5 last Fall, Jackson is again addressing the issue.

This time, he may have the ammunition he needs. Comments made by former Governor John W. Bonner during the 32nd Legislative Assembly in 1951 show that the State government ascribed to the philosophy of “Montana waters for Montana people.”

Governor Bonner praised Senate Bill 9, which gave citizens’ use of Clark Fork waters for irrigation and domestic use priority over water use for power use by any subsequent dams.

“Senate Bill No. 9 clearly demonstrates that Montana has the right to claim and does claim the right to waters within the State of Montana and an interest to the waters that originate and flow out of the State of Montana,” Gov. Bonner said. He then approved and signed the bill.

Sen. Jackson also stated that he submitted his written evidence to the Code Commissioner, and the commissioner has concurred with his interpretation of the statute. Sen. Jackson hopes to meet with Gov. Brian Schweitzer and other lawmakers to resolve the issue but isn’t sure what kind of responses he will get.

“At this point, the government bureaucracy itself is not excited to take on the bully,” Sen. Jackson said.