Approves the water rights settlement between the Fort Belknap Indian Community and the State of Montana, allocates the Tribe 20,000 acre-feet per year of Lake Elwell storage, transfers federal and state land into trust for the Tribe, and authorizes about $1.4 billion in funding for irrigation, water, and sewer projects.

Official title: Northern Montana Water Security Act of 2025

Next stop Senate floor: awaiting a vote

Timeline each lane is a chamber; dates pull from congress.gov actions

Senate

Introduced 24-JAN-2025

Referred 24-JAN-2025

Approved by committee 05-MAR-2025

Key points

Ratifies the Fort Belknap-Montana water rights compact and directs the Interior Secretary to sign it
Allocates 20,000 acre-feet per year of Lake Elwell water to the Fort Belknap Indian Community and authorizes land exchanges and transfers into trust for the Tribe
Authorizes funding for rehabilitating the Fort Belknap Indian Irrigation Project, Milk River Project mitigation, and domestic water and sewer systems, and creates a trust fund for the Tribe
Authorizes $250,000,000 for Blackfeet Tribe wastewater and water distribution facilities under Title II

AI-generated from the Introduced in Senate text of 24-JAN-2025 · verify · report an error

Official CRS summary

Current. The Congressional Research Service's summary covers the bill's latest wording (Introduced in Senate, 24-JAN-2025).

CRS is the Library of Congress's nonpartisan research office. Read it on congress.gov

Committee referrals (1)

Policy area

Native Americans

Sponsor Steve Daines (R-MT) Cosponsors · 1

■ 1 R

1 Republican

congress.gov page Introduced in Senate (24-JAN-2025)