The Flathead County commissioners on Monday reversed their earlier opposition to a water rights compact involving the Confederated Salish-Kootenai Tribes, voting 2-1 to draft a letter of support for the compact.

The letter, subject to personalized “tweaks” by the commissioners before it’s finalized, will be forwarded to the Montana Legislature’s interim Water Policy Committee.

Commissioner Pam Holmquist voted against sending a letter, saying she believes there needs to be a compact, but not the compact “as it’s written today.

“I can’t tweak the letter to where I’ll support it,” she said.

As of Thursday, the letter was still being finalized.

The proposed water rights compact would quantify the tribes’ water rights and spend millions of dollars to improve the Flathead Indian Irrigation Project, but opponents argue it could impair landowners’ water rights and usage.

Commissioner Cal Scott said although he opposed the compact a year ago and even proposed a letter rejecting the compact during last year’s Montana Association of Counties convention, he now supports a compact.

Scott said his vote for a letter of support has begun a public discussion about the water-rights issue that is needed before the Legislature considers ratifying the compact and sending it to Congress.

“I felt in order to proceed with due process and full public engagement we need to create an environment of public interaction,” Scott said.

Scott said the commissioners’ vote of support unleashed a flurry of phone calls and emails from people who don’t support the compact.

Holmquist agreed with the need for public input, but said she wanted a public town-hall meeting held before the commissioners voted on the matter.

Consideration of the water rights compact was put on the commissioners’ agenda during a holiday week when most people weren’t tuned in to local government, according to state Sen. Verdell Jackson, R-Kalispell.

“I don’t know how they got it on the agenda so fast,” Jackson said, adding that he believes compact supporters Sen. Bruce Tutvedt, R-Kalispell, and Rep. Dan Salomon, R-Ronan, pushed for Flathead’s support so it could be presented at Monday’s Water Policy Committee meeting in Helena.

Both legislators are irrigators.

“They got lobbied by Dan Salomon and Bruce Tutvedt with the objective of getting the counties to endorse it,” said Jackson, whose proposed bill for extending compact negotiations for two more years failed despite overwhelming support from Republican legislators. “Obviously they’re pushing for it [the letter of support] this week so it can go to the water policy meeting.

“I’m concerned there wasn’t adequate public input,” Jackson said. “They [the commissioners] may have met the requirement of the law for public notice but the public really wasn’t informed and with a decision of this magnitude, the general public has a right to be informed and give their input.”

Salomon and Tutvedt were at Monday’s commissioner proceedings to make their case for Flathead’s support. They’re also attempting to get written support from Lake and Missoula counties.

“Flathead County is the big county that sits at the head of this,” Tutvedt told the commissioners. “We can’t afford to punt. We need to step up and say we’re going to do the right thing.”

Tutvedt further commented that as a large water user in Flathead County, he supports the compact.

“I’m very much in favor of this pact,” Tutvedt said. “It protects my water rights. Early on when we didn’t understand it, we had lots of questions and there was a lot of confusion. ... I’ve sat down with tribal officials and haven’t had one irrigator come forward and say they have problems with this.”

Tutvedt said the counties’ support of the compact is crucial.

“Your stamp of approval will mean a lot in moving this forward,” he said.

Commissioner Gary Krueger, who made the motion to send a letter of support from Flathead County, said that early on the commissioners “saw a lot of information that was partial or maybe not even correct information.

“I believe our commissioners have done a good job of searching through the information to get the wheat away from the chaff,” Krueger said. “I’ve gone from the point of wondering if the compact is good for us to the point of it is good for us ... a lot of people are looking at the other person to start the ball rolling. Flathead County has a lot to gain from this compact; it is time for us to start the ball rolling.”

A newly released report from the Montana Reserved Water Rights Compact Commission — requested by Gov. Steve Bullock — attempts to answer concerns from compact opponents and provide lawmakers with more information in advance of the next legislative session.

While the report provides more details about the compact, Jackson said he still believes the compact document as it’s currently written violates both the Montana and U.S. constitutions.

“The Montana Legislature has not had the research necessary to properly and responsibly review this proposed compact ... because the compact commission has not required legal, environmental, regulatory or economic assessments to reveal the impacts of this compact on private property values, future growth and economic development,” Jackson said. “Without impact studies, no legislator in good conscience could pass a document of this magnitude with a $55 million state contribution and the suspicious participation of the federal government.”

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.