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S. 399: Blackfeet Water Rights Settlement Act of 2011

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S. 399: Blackfeet Water Rights Settlement Act of 2011

112th Congress · introduced 2011-02-17 · Native Americans · Latest: Committee on Indian Affairs. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 112-492.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

  1. Where it came from: introduced 2011-02-17 · official record
  2. Who proposed it: Sen. Baucus, Max [D-MT] · what a sponsor is
  3. What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
  4. Where it stands now: Committee on Indian Affairs. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 112-492. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
  5. If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Blackfeet Water Rights Settlement Act of 2011

Plain summary

Blackfeet Water Rights Settlement Act of 2011 - Directs the Secretary of the Interior, in providing to the Blackfeet Tribe of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation of Montana the St. Mary River water right, to allocate to the Tribe 50,000 acre-feet per year of stored water in Lake Sherburne Reservoir as part of the tribal water right. Exempts the Tribe from any requirement to pay any costs associated with the allocation. Prohibits the allocation from being increased by any year-to-year carryover storage. Requires the Tribe and the Secretary to enter into an agreement to lease the water allocated to the Tribe for use by the Secretary for the Milk River Project. Requires, as part of the tribal water right, the Secretary to allocate permanently to the Tribe all remaining unallocated water in Lake Elwell. Exempts the Tribe from any requirement to pay any costs associated with the allocation. Prohibits the allocation from being increased by any year-to-year carryover storage. Directs the Secretary to carry out activities necessary to: (1) planning, design, and construction for rehabilitation and improvement of the Blackfeet Irrigation Project; (2) the completion to authorized acreage of the Blackfeet Irrigation Project; and (3) planning, design, and construction for rehabilitation and improvement of the Four Horns Dam and Reservoir and associated delivery systems of the Blackfeet Irrigation Project. Authorizes, ratifies, and confirms a specified compact and the Birch Creek Agreement. Holds the tribal water right in trust by the United States for the benefit of the Tribe. Establishes: (1) the Blackfeet Land and Water Development Fund, and (2) the Birch Creek Mitigation Fund. Sets forth requirements concerning: (1) water rights in the Lewis and Clark National Forest, and (2) Milk River water rights.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Blackfeet Water Rights Settlement Act of 2011

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Baucus, Max [D-MT] · 1 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (1)
Authorization
A law that creates or continues a government program and says what it may do, often with a suggested spending ceiling. An authorization alone does not provide money; a separate appropriation does.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Record fed-us-cong112-s399 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong112 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong112