1. Determine the status of large hydropower water rights. 



Determine the status of WWP's total water right (claim 

 for 35,000 cfs and provisional permit for 15,000 cfs) at 

 Noxon Rapids. If the Water Court decides that WWPs ' 

 claimed rights are accurate, and if WWP chooses to 

 exercise its right to object to new uses on the basis 

 of adverse effects, then little or no water may be 

 available to upstream users for appropriation in most 

 years (without storage) . This information is essential 

 for existing and prospective water users to assess the 

 impacts of new water use permits on the availability of 

 water. 



2. Determine the physical and legal availability of water 

 in the basin. 



Complete the water availability analysis. DNRC and 

 other cooperators (WWP, BOR, MPC, MSU) are currently 

 conducting a study to determine whether hydropower 

 interests have been or would be unreasonably affected by 

 the granting of additional provisional water use 

 permits. Once this water availability analysis is 

 complete, it may be possible to reach a mutually 

 acceptable decision regarding the physical and legal 

 availability of water in the basin. 



3. Complete an accurate adjudication in the Clark Fork 

 Basin. 



The adjudication will establish the owner and amount of 

 the water right, the priority date, the point of 

 diversion, and the place of use. This is important 

 because present information suggests irrigation claims 

 made to the Water Court may be inflated. If adjudicated 

 as claimed, this could have a significant effect on the 

 legal availability and future use of surface water in 

 the basin. 



4. Encourage settlement of the reserved water right of the 

 Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. 



Determine the extent of the aboriginal fishing and 

 cultural water rights claimed by the Confederated Salish 

 and Kootenai Tribes in the Flathead Basin. The BIA has 

 submitted claims, on behalf of the tribes, for water 

 rights and instream flows on streams in the Flathead 

 system. These issues could affect water availability 

 for new uses in the Clark Fork Basin. 



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