Stakeholder‑led repair of Milk River siphon held up as a model for speeding Reclamation projects

Jennifer Patrick, project manager for the Milk River Joint Board of Control, told the subcommittee that the Milk River Project — authorized in 1905 and serving roughly 121,000 acres — relies heavily on trans‑basin transfers and century‑old federal infrastructure. She said the June 2024 catastrophic failure of the Saint Mary’s siphon threatened deliveries across 729 river miles and initially looked like a multi‑year reconstruction under traditional federal procurement.

Patrick said local stakeholders, the Joint Board and the Reclamation area office worked in partnership to coordinate and deliver repairs much faster than standard federal processes. When asked how long the same repair would have taken under the standard procurement model, she replied, "If I'm being honest, 5 years," and contrasted that with the roughly one‑year timeline the partnership produced.

Witnesses and members described the repair as an example of the kinds of outcomes Secretarial Order 3446 intends to enable: allowing qualified local operators to lead project delivery where they have technical capacity, which can reduce contractor contingency costs and inflationary price escalation tied to long delays. Patrick and other witnesses cautioned that partnerships are not about bypassing legal requirements but about improving coordination, reducing duplicative reviews, and using programmatic agreements where appropriate to streamline Section 106/NHPA and other consultations.

Members asked for follow‑up details about the Saint Mary’s siphon replacement costs and how the model could be scaled to other rural projects. The subcommittee left the record open for written questions and responses and did not take a formal vote.