# 119-hr-907: Northern Montana Water Security Act of 2025 119-hr-907, Northern Montana Water Security Act of 2025, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Zinke, Ryan K. [R-MT-1] (R-MT); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-08-26). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-907 - As of: 2026-08-26 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: 119-hr-907 - Congress: 119 - Title: Northern Montana Water Security Act of 2025 - Status: introduced - Introduced: 2025-01-31 - Sponsor: Rep. Zinke, Ryan K. [R-MT-1] (R-MT) - Cosponsors: 2 - Policy area: Native Americans - Touches household money: yes - Last recorded action: 2026-08-26 ## Summary **Fort Belknap water settlement and land trust transfers** would ratify a negotiated water-compact, convert specific federal parcels into trust for the Fort Belknap Indian Community, and fund major irrigation, mitigation, and domestic water projects across the region. - Fort Belknap households and tribal government would gain a 20,000 acre-foot per year Lake Elwell storage allocation and new Trust Fund accounts to finance irrigation, water administration, and community water and sewer projects. - Farmers, allottees, and irrigation users would see rehabilitation and expansion of the Fort Belknap Irrigation Project, including a Milk River unit and a project obligation ceiling of $415.8 million for planning and construction. - The bill would require mitigation work on the Milk River Project to restore canal capacities with mitigation obligations capped at $300 million and would authorize $250 million for Blackfeet Tribe wastewater and water distribution facilities. *Would authorize and direct deposits and appropriations of hundreds of millions of dollars, including mandatory appropriations and up to $300 million for mitigation, thereby increasing federal outlays.* ## Cosponsors (2) - Rep. Downing, Troy [R-MT-2] (R-MT), 2025-01-31T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Simpson, Michael K. [R-ID-2] (R-ID), 2026-08-24T00:00:00.000Z ## Provisions PRIA read - 20,000 acre-feet for Fort Belknap: benefit, high. The Fort Belknap Indian Community would receive 20,000 acre‑feet per year of Lake Elwell storage for use on or off the Reservation. The Tribe would sign a perpetual allocation agreement and could lease or exchange this water within the Missouri River Basin, but could not permanently give it away. T… - Fort Belknap irrigation upgrades and debt relief: benefit, high. The Secretary would fix, modernize, and expand the Fort Belknap irrigation project, with total obligations capped at $415.8 million before indexing and oversight costs capped at 3% per project. A project management committee would be formed within one year, costs to the Secretary would not be reimb… - Upgrade St. Mary and Milk River canals: benefit, high. The Secretary would work with the State and tribes to restore the St. Mary Canal to 850 cubic feet per second and enlarge the Dodson South Canal to 700 cubic feet per second. Total federal obligations would be capped at $300 million before indexing. The requirement would be met if the capacities ar… - Funding and rules for Fort Belknap water: benefit, high. If enacted, this would set up a Settlement Trust Fund and a separate Implementation Fund with two accounts for irrigation and Milk River mitigation. It would direct $89.6 million to the Tribal Irrigation account and $331.9 million to the Clean and Safe Domestic Water account, authorize up to $187.1… - Water and sewer funds for Blackfeet: benefit, medium. The bill would authorize $250 million, subject to appropriation, for planning, building, operating, maintaining, and replacing community water and wastewater systems for the Blackfeet Tribe. Funds would be available only if Congress later appropriates them. - Fort Belknap land transfers and access: mixed, medium. Federal parcels would be taken into trust for the Tribe on the enforceability date, and exchanged lands would be taken into trust within 10 years. The Secretary would provide $10 million to help with appraisals and exchange work, and the State would contribute $5 million plus interest when a final… - Fort Belknap settlement steps and deadlines: mixed, medium. The bill would ratify the Fort Belknap–Montana water compact and direct the Secretary to execute it, while following environmental laws; signing would not itself count as a major federal action under NEPA. The settlement would take effect only after six steps, including a tribal vote, court approva… ## Related bills - 119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025 - 119-hr-6644: 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act - 119-hr-9535: Securing Agriculture's Workforce Act of 2026 - 119-hr-9298: Stopping Harmful and Outrageous Torts Act - 119-hr-1383: Secure Rural Schools Reauthorization Act of 2025 - 119-hr-987: Fair Access to Banking Act ## Sources - [119-hr-907 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/907) ## Related - [119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3151) - [119-hr-6644: 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-6644) - [119-hr-9535: Securing Agriculture's Workforce Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9535) - [119-hr-9298: Stopping Harmful and Outrageous Torts Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9298) - [119-hr-1383: Secure Rural Schools Reauthorization Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1383) - [119-hr-987: Fair Access to Banking Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-987) - [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-907 (as of 2026-08-26).