Lake County halts irrigation repairs, considers traffic problems
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LAKE COUNTY – The Lake County Commissioners have put the brakes on further repairs or replacement of structures, including bridges and culverts, that it deems the responsibility of the Flathead Indian Irrigation Project.
In a letter dated June 8, the commissioners asked Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen “to help determine the best path forward in resolving the issues we raised at least two years ago.”
Basically, the commissioners believe the Montana Water Rights Protection Act, signed into law last year, raises jurisdictional issues that have yet to be clarified. Among these is the question of who takes care of project infrastructure that county roads traverse.
Two problems illustrate the standoff. Last December, the Montana Department of Transportation ordered the county to close a portion of Mollman Pass Trail and replace two large culverts. The county refused, insisting MDOT has no authority over county roads, and that the culverts are part of irrigation project infrastructure that “the county has no right or obligation to replace.”
A bridge crossing an FIIP canal also shows signs of deterioration, and while residents who live across the canal have asked the county to replace it, the commissioners have refused. “The bridge does not belong to the county and we will not replace it,” states the letter to Knudsen.
The commissioners are also writing a Resolution of Intent that would end the county’s collection of irrigation fees, which are dispersed to the three irrigation districts that operate in Lake County.
Again they cite language in the MWRPA, giving the Secretary of the Interior or the tribes, acting on the Secretary’s behalf, the authority to allocate revenues derived from the irrigation fees. “The county does not feel obligated to collect or disperse irrigation fees for the Secretary or CSKT moving forward,” commissioners contend in their letter to Knudsen.
Commissioners also question the legitimacy of the project’s irrigation districts, minus a cooperative agreement between the tribes, the Secretary of the Interior and the districts, which is called for under the MWRPA.
According to the letter, “The county is unaware of any agreement or talks of an agreement,” and lacking that framework, “the county believes that any call for an election to seat district board members is invalid.” (The county historically runs those elections).
According to the letter, the county raised these issues during a January Zoom session with MDOT, CSKT, Montana Lieutenant Governor Kristen Juras and the state’s Director of Indian Affairs Misty Kuhl. Commissioners were assured another meeting would be scheduled regarding irrigation project infrastructure and county roads, but so far, no meeting has materialized.
In an email last week, Commissioner Gale Decker wrote: “The county is reluctant to replace infrastructure that we don’t own and that the CSKT has been awarded $1.9 billion for replacement, repair and rehabilitation.”
He noted that the standoff creates a conundrum for the Department of Transportation “because their federal highway funding is in jeopardy if they cannot mandate that the county perform replacement and repair of project infrastructure.”
During a meeting with MDOT representatives last Monday, the commissioners also expressed concerns about traffic congestion on state highways in Lake County. According to Decker, they learned that the department is lacking money and manpower to address these issues.
“The entire Highway 93 corridor from Post Creek to Lake’s Corner has become so expensive that all work has been pushed farther and farther out,” says Decker.
While the department hopes to begin construction next spring on the short section from the Boys and Girl’s Club in Ronan to Lake’s Corner, building a couplet through Ronan is at least four or five years down the road and will cost an estimated $40 million.
Widening the more complex section of highway that traverses Ninepipe National Wildlife Refuge would cost an estimated $100 million, says Decker. Meanwhile, “Traffic congestion in the Ronan and Polson 93 corridor is a real problem,” he says. “Until money materializes nothing can be done.”
Commissioners vote down controversial zoning amendment
Traffic congestion also figured into the commissioners’ unanimous vote last Tuesday to reject an amendment to the Upper West Shore zoning regulations that would have allowed construction of an outdoor adventure park south of Lakeside.
The proposal drew the ire of residents in the area and well beyond, with upwards of 36,000 people signing a petition opposing the park. The commissioners hosted a rowdy public hearing in May and then scheduled a second public comment period, limited exclusively to residents of Sub-district C, the area affected by the proposed amendment.
“This has been a really interesting ride – we’ve only had one other incident or topic that generated this much public comment,” said Decker at last week’s meeting. He noted that residents of the area were almost unanimously opposed to the zoning variance.
“I think there was a way to mitigate a lot of the problems that would come up if this proposal was approved – the noise, the light, the fire hazard, the emergency services,” he said. “The big one I kept coming back to was the traffic.”
Commissioner Bill Barron echoed that concern in opposing the amendment. For the former county sheriff, “the big issue is traffic.”
“We’ve got a real problem in western Montana and they (the Department of Transportation) don’t know how we’re going to address it,” he said. “It can take you 45 minutes to go eight blocks in Polson on the weekends and that’s not going to be nominated for anything for at least 10 years. Money is a big issue; they don’t have any.”
Barron also praised the last round of nearly 50 comments from property owners in the sub-district. “They were thoughtful and they were courteous and we really respect and appreciate that,” he said.
After all three commissioners voted against the amendment, the chambers erupted in a cheer.
