Public commenter says CMR withdrew change applications affecting Rock Lake irrigation; board hears explanation of ditch-rider enforcement

Keegan Nashan told the Park County Planning Board at its Jan. 16 meeting that Mike de Kuegne and CMR had submitted three change applications to the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC) in March 2023 to alter irrigation practices and the lands covered by their water claims. Nashan said those applications triggered review in the Montana Water Court and were contested by neighboring water users. According to Nashan, CMR subsequently withdrew all three change applications from the DNRC, which requires CMR to rely on the irrigation methods and land uses specified in their existing water claims while a new process begins.

"They withdrew all three change applications from DNRC," Nashan told the board, and "they are only allowed to water with the particular irrigation techniques and on the particular land that their water claims say they are allowed to water on," adding that he wanted to place the matter on the public record. Nashan also said he filed complaints with multiple agencies after observing irrigation on golf-course greens last fall that he believed exceeded authorized uses.

A county staff member responding to Nashan said, as the board was informed, that two of the change applications had not been withdrawn and one re-adjudication had been completed: "Two of them were the first one went through... those objections were withdrawn by the other two water shareholders," the staff member said, and the re-adjudication adjusted Rock Lake's recorded size and acreage. The staff member explained the local enforcement mechanism: when water becomes short, users can petition for a ditch rider on a tributary; the clerk and recorder swears in the ditch rider, who is a deputized official and works with the sheriff's department.

Nashan pressed the board on who would monitor compliance; the staff member said neighbors, the ditch rider, and law enforcement share enforcement duties and that monitoring arrangements have existed on Rock Creek for years. Nashan said he had submitted packets and a running timeline of documents to the county; the board clerk confirmed that the packet was attached to earlier minutes.

The board did not take formal action on the comment; the exchange was recorded as public comment and informational staff response. The discussion identified involved agencies and processes: DNRC, Montana Water Court, ditch riders appointed via petition and sworn by the clerk and recorder, and potential involvement of the county sheriff. Nashan also mentioned filing complaints with DEQ and other unnamed agencies.

Board members said they would note Nashan's packet and the public comment in the record and proceed with staff follow-up as appropriate.