April 11, 2009

Shameful voting

I believe it is unfortunate that two of the past leaders of the Montana Stockgrowers Association are using that organization's reputation for protecting property rights in order to mislead the public and other legislators by carrying water (pun intended) for the coal bed methane industry. Sens. Keith Bales and Jim Peterson (past president, and past executive vice president of the MSGA) both sit on the Senate Finance and Claims Committee. Bales is committee chairman. A recent hearing on SB 505 was held by that committee. Sen. Bales sponsored SB 505.

Under the guise of providing stock water for six landowners, Sen. Bales' bill deceitfully changes the classification of groundwater to surface water, rendering senior water rights useless. This change would allow the methane industry to impact our senior water rights, with no recourse because the water would now be considered surface water. In effect, this bill overturns a recent court decision and effectively throws out 140 years of Montana water law which has consistently defended historic ground water rights.

Every Montana landowner with a historic water right should be made aware of, and concerned by, this blatant taking of historic water use rights, and Sen. Bales and Sen. Peterson should be ashamed for being tools of the methane industry by sponsoring and voting for SB 505.

Although I imagine he caught grief from his party for his vote on the floor, another agricultural leader, Sen. Taylor Brown should be commended for opposing SB 505.

— Wallace McRae