The timetable for the final adjudication of all water 

 rights in the Clark Fork drainage is uncertain for several 

 reasons. First, it is uncertain if and when compacts 

 regarding Indian and federal reserved rights will be reached. 

 Second, because of the controversy over the adequacy of the 

 present adjudication, a legislative study (Water Policy 

 Committee) of the adjudication by out-of-state consultants 

 is presently underway. That study, due to be completed in 

 the late fall of 1988, is to recommend possible legislative 

 changes. It is unclear at this time what changes, if any, 

 might be recommended or enacted and how they might affect the 

 timing of the adjudication. Third, litigation over the 

 adequacy of the adjudication continues and could increase. 

 The federal government has recently been before the Water 

 Court claiming that the present adjudication is not adequate 

 as currently applied. Additionally, the Confederated Salish 

 and Kootenai Tribes are currently before the Montana Supreme 

 Court arguing that the Supreme Court's adoption of the new 

 examination rules, which allow total control of the DNRC by 

 the Water Court, violates due process and separation of 

 powers principles. 



Provisional Permits Issued Since 1973 



The Montana Water Use Act of 1973 requires that an 

 application for a provisional water use permit be filed with 

 DNRC for any new or additional development of water made 

 after July 1, 1973. Applications for permits can be made at 

 the DNRC Water Rights Field Offices located in Helena, 

 Missoula, and Kalispell. Before the Department can issue a 

 provisional permit, the applicant must show that the new use 

 will not adversely affect senior users holding water rights. 

 The statutes (85-2-311, MCA) outline the criteria that must 

 be met before a provisional permit can be issued. 



Table 3-4 identifies the number of provisional permits 

 issued since 1973 for each major category of use. Irrigation 

 accounts for the largest percentage of the diversionary uses 

 of surface water. The number of domestic use permits issued 

 is increasing because of many new rural subdivisions. Indus- 

 trial uses include both commercial and mining. There were a 

 number of provisional permits issued for fish and wildlife 

 purposes, and many of these were for fish farms. The largest 

 new-user category is hydropower. However, it should be noted 

 that 15,000 cfs of the total flow rate under the hydropower 

 category is associated with the provisional permit issued to 

 the Washington Water Power Company. The remaining 26 

 provisional permits for 441 cfs are for small-scale hydro- 

 power developments. Because of the projected need for 

 additional power during the early 1980s and tax-related 



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