Title 85, Title 85

(1) Except as provided in subsections (2) and (3), nothing in this chapter relieves an owner of a dam or reservoir of any legal duty, obligation, or liability incident to its ownership or operation, including any damages resulting from leakage or overflow of water or floods cause…

No municipality or county may regulate, supervise, or provide for the regulation or supervision of any dam or reservoir in this state or the construction, maintenance, or operation thereof or limit the size of any dam or reservoir or the amount of water that may be stored therein…

All penalties and costs collected under this chapter, other than those collected in a justice's court, must be deposited in the state general fund.

An owner of a dam with an impounding capacity of 50 acre-feet or greater measured at the maximum normal operating pool who fails to comply with a provision of this chapter or a rule or order of the department adopted or made pursuant to this chapter is subject to a civil penalty …

Any person or persons owning land bordering upon any of the navigable waters within the state are granted a license and permit to build docks and wharves over, across, and upon the lands under water belonging to the state. Such docks and wharves shall be extended out into such na…

All docks and wharves built on any of the navigable waters of the state shall be public docks and wharves, and all boats, vessels, and steamboats plying such navigable waters shall have a right to land thereat and take on and discharge their cargoes and passengers thereon. The ow…

The license granted in 85-16-101 to build docks and wharves over and upon the lands under the navigable waters of this state conveys no title in such lands, and such license may be revoked by the state of Montana at any time.

By the term "land under water" is meant all land under any navigable waters of this state extending from high-water mark, or from the meander line where the shores of lakes or streams have been meandered, to the lake or stream.

The Compact entered into by the State of Montana and the Fort Belknap Indian Community of the Fort Belknap Reservation and filed with the Secretary of State of the State of Montana under the provisions of 85-2-702, MCA, on April 16, 2001, is ratified. The Compact is as follows: W…

(1) It is the policy of the state to seek negotiated settlements of federal and Indian reserved water rights claims in Montana under Title 85, chapter 2, part 7. (2) Pursuant to this policy, the reserved water rights compact commission commenced negotiations with the Gros Ventre …

The definitions provided for in 85-20-1001 apply to 85-20-1002 through 85-20-1008. The absence of capitalization of defined terms in 85-20-1002 through 85-20-1008 does not affect the meaning or application of a defined term.

(1) A private purpose trust account, called the mitigation account, is established, as provided for in 17-2-102, for deposit of funds and interest on funds appropriated by the state for mitigation measures required by Article VI of the compact. (2) On approval of a final decree p…

(1) A permanent fund account, called the state Milk River watershed improvement trust, is established, as provided for in 17-2-102, for deposit of funds appropriated pursuant to the compact for a permanent trust. Interest income may be used by the Milk River coordinating committe…

A Milk River watershed improvement trusts loan is subject to the following terms and conditions: (1) Except for loan agreements with an Indian tribe, the DNRC shall obtain a security interest in real estate that would be obtained by a reasonable, careful, and prudent lender. (2) …

(1) A state special revenue account, called the Peoples Creek minimum flow account, is established, as provided for in 17-2-102, for deposit of funds and interest on funds for efficiency improvements and bypass structures for irrigation upstream from the Fort Belknap Reservation …

(1) The DNRC is directed to facilitate development of an economic development plan focused on future use of water and currently irrigated land, including but not limited to use of water and irrigated land for irrigation, industrial, recreational, fisheries, and habitat purposes i…

The legislative assembly of the state of Montana hereby approves and ratifies the compact designated as the "Yellowstone River Compact", dated at the city of Billings, state of Montana, on the 8th of December, 1950, signed by Fred E. Buck, A.W. Bradshaw, H.W. Bunston, John Herzog…

Under the provisions of the Yellowstone River Compact (Chapter 39, Laws of Montana 1951), all appropriative rights to the beneficial uses of the waters of the interstate tributaries of the Yellowstone River existing in each signatory state as of January 1, 1950, have been recogni…

Unless the context requires otherwise, in this part the following definitions apply: (1) "Department" means the department of natural resources and conservation provided for in Title 2, chapter 15, part 33. (2) "Divert" and "diversion" mean the taking or removing of water from an…

(1) A person claiming an appropriative right to the use of any water of any interstate tributary that was acquired after January 1, 1950, shall, within 60 days after February 25, 1953, or before the person diverts any water, file with the department at its office in Helena, Monta…

A person claiming an appropriative right to use any waters of any interstate tributary of the Yellowstone River that was acquired after January 1, 1950, shall, after February 25, 1953, and before the person diverts any water, install in the person's ditch or other means of divers…

Each claimant shall measure all the water being diverted by the claimant, keep accurate records of the diversion on forms prescribed and furnished by the department, and, within 15 days after November 1 of each year, file the written records with the department at its office in H…

The rights to the beneficial use of any water of any interstate tributary of the Yellowstone River acquired prior to and including January 1, 1950, shall not be impaired by or subject to this part.

Any appropriation of water from any interstate tributary of the Yellowstone River made for domestic or stock water uses will not come within the provisions of this part whenever the capacity of a reservoir for stock water does not exceed 20 acre-feet.

The department of natural resources and conservation shall adopt and enforce reasonable rules consistent with this part and the Yellowstone River Compact.

The provisions of this part shall apply to both adjudicated and nonadjudicated waters of the interstate tributaries of the Yellowstone River.

The Compact entered into by the State of Montana and the United States of America, Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Fort Keogh Livestock and Range Research Laboratory and filed with the Secretary of State of the State of Montana under the provisions of 85…

The department shall furnish and make available to the Yellowstone River Compact commission, from the records filed in its office, all appropriative rights acquired after January 1, 1950, to the use of the waters of the interstate tributaries of the Yellowstone River in the state…

The county attorneys of the state shall perform such legal services and bring such proceedings in carrying out the purposes of this part within their respective counties as the department shall require.

Any person who violates or refuses or neglects to comply with any provision of this part or any order or rule adopted by the board or department pursuant thereto or the Yellowstone River Compact is guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be fined not less than $25 or mo…

The Compact entered into by the State of Montana and the United States of America, Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Sheep Experiment Station, and filed with the secretary of state of the State of Montana under the provisions of 85-2-702, MCA, on March 27,…

Nothing contained in Chapter 280, Laws of 1965, shall in any manner impair the obligations of the state of Montana under the Yellowstone River Compact.

The compact entered into by the State of Montana and the United States of America to settle for all time any and all claims to federal reserved water rights for the Bowdoin National Wildlife Refuge administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service within the State of Montana and…

The compact entered into by the state of Montana and the United States of America, Department of Agriculture, Forest Service and filed with the secretary of state of the state of Montana under the provisions of 85-2-702 on April 17, 2007, is ratified. The compact is as follows: W…

The compact entered into by the Blackfeet Tribe, the State of Montana and the United States of America to settle for all time any and all claims to federal reserved water rights for the Blackfeet Tribe within the boundaries of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation within the State of …

As used in 85-20-1503 through 85-20-1506, the following definitions apply: (1) "Blackfeet Tribe" means the Blackfeet Tribe of the Blackfeet Indian reservation of Montana; and (2) "Department" means the department of natural resources and conservation provided for in Title 2, chap…

(1) There is an account within the state special revenue fund called the Blackfeet Tribe water rights compact mitigation account. The department shall administer the account. All interest and other income earned on money in the account must be deposited in the account. (2) The Bl…

(1) There is an account within the state special revenue fund called the Blackfeet Tribe water rights compact infrastructure account. The department shall administer the account. (2) The Blackfeet Tribe water rights compact infrastructure account may be used only for water-relate…

(1) The department shall adopt reasonable rules for implementing and administering 85-20-1503 through 85-20-1505. (2) In proposing rules, the department shall: (a) consult with affected stakeholders, including the Pondera County conservation district and the Glacier County conser…

(1) Subject to subsection (3) and upon request of the director of the department of natural resources and conservation, the board of examiners may issue and sell general obligation bonds in a principal amount not exceeding $16.15 million, of which $16 million is to pay the state'…

This Compact is entered into by the State of Montana and the United States of America to settle for all time any and all claims to federal reserved water rights for the National Bison Range administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service within the State of Montana. ARTICLE I …

This compact is entered into by the State of Montana and the United States of America to settle for all time any and all claims to federal reserved water rights for the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service within the State…

This Compact is entered into by the state of Montana and the United States of America to settle for all time any and all claims to federal reserved water rights for the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument administered by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management within the sta…

This Compact is entered into by and among the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Reservation, Montana, the State of Montana, and the United State of America to settle all existing claims to water of or on behalf of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes …

CHAPTER IWATER RESOURCES CONSERVATION, DEVELOPMENT AND ADMINISTRATION PART 1 - GENERAL PROVISIONS 1-1-101. Authority. 1. This Ordinance parallels legislation adopted by the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes pursuant to Tribal approval of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai…

The compact entered into by the state of Montana and the Assiniboine and Sioux tribes of the Fort Peck Indian reservation and filed with the secretary of state of the state of Montana under the provisions of 85-2-702 on May 15, 1985, is ratified. The compact is as follows: FORT P…