HR907-119

Introduced

To provide for the settlement of the water rights claims of the Fort Belknap Indian Community, and for other purposes.

119th Congress Introduced Jan 31, 2025

Summary

What This Bill Does

The bill provides montana Water Rights Settlement Act, provides fort Belknap-Montana water rights compact dated April 16, 2001, and provides ratification of Compact and environmental compliance requirements. It relies on appropriations, compliance mandates, reporting requirements, and procurement rules. The main policy areas are Civil Rights, Environment, Social Welfare, and Energy.

Who Benefits and How

Fort Belknap Indian Community could gain revenue opportunities, Fort Belknap Indian Community (Aaniiih Nakoda and White Clay nations) could gain revenue opportunities, and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation could gain revenue opportunities.

Who Bears the Burden and How

Fort Belknap Indian Community could lose revenue opportunities, Gaming operators could face higher barriers, and Mining companies (on withdrawn federal lands) could face higher barriers.

Key Provisions

  • Provides montana Water Rights Settlement Act.
  • Provides fort Belknap-Montana water rights compact dated April 16, 2001.
  • Provides ratification of Compact and environmental compliance requirements.
  • Provides tribal water rights ratification and management act.
  • Authorizes federal-state land exchanges and direct federal land transfers to be taken into trust for the Fort Belknap Indian Community (Aaniiih Nakoda and White Clay nations), expanding their Reservation by tens...

Evidence Chain:

This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.

At a Glance

What This Bill Does

The bill provides montana Water Rights Settlement Act, provides fort Belknap-Montana water rights compact dated April 16, 2001, and provides ratification of Compact and environmental compliance requirements.

Key Policy Areas

Civil Rights, Environment, Social Welfare, Energy

Primary Purpose

The bill provides montana Water Rights Settlement Act, provides fort Belknap-Montana water rights compact dated April 16, 2001, and provides ratification of Compact and environmental compliance requirements.

Policy Domains

Civil Rights Environment Social Welfare Energy

Whole bill

Identified Gains
  • Fort Belknap Indian Community
  • Fort Belknap Indian Community (Aaniiih Nakoda and White Clay nations)
  • U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
  • Fort Belknap Indian Community and its members
  • Blackfeet Tribe of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation
Model: codex-gpt-5:bulk-repair | Version: bill_summary_v2 | Source: ih
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation:
Fort Belknap Indian Community: , , ,
Fort Belknap Indian Community and its members:
Blackfeet Tribe of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation:
Fort Belknap Indian Community (Aaniiih Nakoda and White Clay nations):
Identified Costs
  • Fort Belknap Indian Community
  • Gaming operators
  • Mining companies (on withdrawn federal lands)
  • Bureau of Indian Affairs
  • U.S. Forest Service
Model: codex-gpt-5:bulk-repair | Version: bill_summary_v2 | Source: ih
Gaming operators:
U.S. Forest Service:
Bureau of Indian Affairs:
Fort Belknap Indian Community: ,
Mining companies (on withdrawn federal lands):

Legislative Progress

Introduced
Introduced Committee Passed
Jan 31, 2025

Mr. Zinke (for himself and Mr. Downing) introduced the following …

Stakeholder Effects

cui bono?

How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.

Tribal Nations
11 mentions across 11 clauses
+9 positive -1 negative ?1 uncertain

Blackfeet Tribe of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, Fort Belknap Indian Community, Fort Belknap Indian Community (Aaniiih Nakoda and White Clay nations)

Fort Belknap Indian Community faces effects in multiple directions

Government
5 mentions across 2 clauses
+1 positive -3 negative ?1 uncertain

Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation

Positive-direction: Fort Belknap Indian Community and the State of Montana

Negative-direction: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Land Management, Forest Service

State & Local Government
3 mentions across 2 clauses
+1 positive -2 negative

Local county governments in Montana, Montana State Government, State of Montana (for land exchange)

Positive-direction: State of Montana (for land exchange)

Negative-direction: Local county governments in Montana, Montana State Government

Water, Sewage, And Other Systems
1 mention across 1 clause
?1 uncertain

Malta Irrigation District

Agriculture
1 mention across 1 clause
?1 uncertain

Existing leaseholders and permit holders on transferred lands

Mining
1 mention across 1 clause
-1 negative

Mining companies (on withdrawn federal lands)

Gambling Industries
1 mention across 1 clause
-1 negative

Gaming operators

-1 negative

U.S. Department of the Interior (Secretary)

15/18
sections analyzed
Full impact breakdown

Bill Structure & Actor Mappings

Who is "The Secretary" in each section?

Domains
Civil Rights Environment Social Welfare Energy
Actor Mappings
"the_commission"
→ The commission identified in the operative section
"secretary_of_energy"
→ Secretary of Energy
"secretary_of_treasury"
→ Secretary of the Treasury
"secretary_of_agriculture"
→ Secretary of Agriculture

Key Definitions

Terms defined in this bill

1 term
"Secretary" §H95C0811C51094B7D9A61287D21319A76

the Secretary of the Interior. The term St. Mary Unit means the St. Mary Storage Unit of the Milk River Project authorized by Congress on March 25, 1905. The term St. Mary Unit includes— Sherburne Dam and Reservoir

We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.

Learn more about our methodology