# Fort Belknap Indian Community Water Rights Settlement Act of 2024

This bill settles a long-standing water rights dispute involving the Fort Belknap Indian Community in Montana. The Fort Belknap tribe has been fighting for decades to secure reliable water access for their reservation, and this legislation finally resolves those claims by officially recognizing their water rights and providing the resources to make those rights meaningful.

Here's what actually happens: The bill gives the Fort Belknap Indian Community formal legal recognition of their water rights from the Milk River and other water sources in the region. This is huge because water rights in the West are incredibly valuable and contested—they determine who can use water for drinking, farming, and other essential needs. By settling this dispute through legislation rather than endless court battles, the tribe gets certainty about how much water they can access going forward. The bill also provides federal funding to help the tribe build and maintain the infrastructure they need to actually use that water, like dams, pipelines, and irrigation systems.

The settlement affects the Fort Belknap tribe most directly, giving them the water security they need for their community's survival and economic development. It also impacts other water users in Montana who have competing claims on the same water sources, as the settlement establishes clear boundaries about who gets what. The federal government commits money to make this work, which means taxpayer funding goes toward implementing the agreement. For most people outside Montana, this is primarily significant as an example of how the federal government resolves Native American treaty and water rights issues, but for those living in the region who depend on these water sources, it clarifies the rules everyone must follow.

Fort Belknap Indian Community Water Rights Settlement Act of 2024

Tester, Jon

Fort Belknap Indian Community Water Rights Settlement Act of 2023 This bill modifies and ratifies a specified water rights settlement agreement entered into by the United States, Montana, and the Fort Belknap Indian Community (i.e., the Gros Ventre and Assiniboine Tribes). The bill requires the community's water rights to be held in trust for the benefit of the community and its allottees. The community must enact a tribal water code to regulate its water rights. Additionally, the bill authorizes the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture (as applicable) to enter negotiations with Montana to exchange certain state lands for federal lands to be held in trust for the benefit of the community. The bill also <ul> <li>establishes the Aaniiih Nakoda Settlement Trust Fund (and specified accounts) for purposes of carrying out this bill,</li> <li> establishes the Fort Belknap Indian Community Water Settlement Implementation Fund (and specified accounts) for purposes of carrying out this bill, and</li> <li>provides funding for specified accounts established by the bill.</li></ul>