Committee hears bill to extend water‑reservation perfection deadlines for municipalities (SB 357)

Senator Wiley Galt opened the hearing on Senate Bill 357 as a measure to extend perfection deadlines for existing water reservations held for future municipal and conservation uses.

"This bill is just moving back a sunset," Galt said, asking the committee to give stakeholders additional time to perfect water rights in the face of permitting, technical and financial hurdles.

City officials and water interests told the committee that the reservations were granted to secure future municipal supply but that the law’s perfection deadline—set by an earlier board order for some reservations at Dec. 31, 2025—risks lapsing before the cities can complete technical work, testing and permitting.

Ryan Leland, public works director for the City of Helena, said his city had spent years and millions of dollars on test and production wells and that an identified contamination plume could force re‑sampling and additional work. "We could lose $2,000,000 that we've already spent," Leland said, urging an extension so municipalities do not forfeit reserved rights they need to meet growth.

Jennifer Olson, government affairs director for the Montana League of Cities and Towns, said the bill "will extend these water reservations for these cities and districts to ensure reliable and sustainable water for current and future needs." Supporters argued the measure helps communities avoid overbuilding infrastructure while ensuring water is available for housing and business growth.

Brian Heaston, senior water resources engineer for Bozeman, described the reservation in the Missouri River basin above Fort Peck and said a missed perfection deadline could eliminate the reservation. He told the committee Bozeman’s reserved volume could supply the equivalent of more than 2,600 single‑family homes and said the city supported a clarifying amendment intended to correct drafting errors.

Anna Pakenham Stevenson, water resources division administrator at DNRC, testified as an informational witness that the department supports a technical amendment and that the bill mirrors language used previously to extend a Yellowstone Basin reservation deadline in 1997 (House Bill 507). She said the department had a friendly amendment for clarity and confirmed the proposal follows established precedent for extending reservation deadlines.

Committee members asked procedural and drafting questions. Senator Gillespie asked whether the bill’s language and procedures were acceptable to DNRC; Pakenham Stevenson replied they were and recommended the friendly amendment.

Sponsors and proponents described the bill as status quo maintenance to preserve future municipal water options rather than a substantive change to water‑allocation policy. The committee did not take a final vote at the hearing; proponents asked for a do‑pass recommendation and noted a drafting amendment would be offered for committee consideration.