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Water Court and DNRC brief Water Policy Interim Committee on adjudication progress under 85-2-281, MCA
Summary
DNRC and the Montana Water Court updated the WPIC on ongoing water-rights adjudication activity under 85-2-281, MCA; the briefing included public comment from conservation and agricultural stakeholders and committee questions about administration and enforcement.
Dr. Anna Pakenham Stevenson, administrator of the Water Resources Division at the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, and Hon. Stephen Brown, chief judge of the Montana Water Court, briefed the Water Policy Interim Committee on adjudication progress and procedural matters tied to 85-2-281, MCA.
The presenters summarized current case-processing status, technical and administrative challenges, and next steps for completing adjudications. Public comment during the segment included perspectives from Clayton Elliott of Montana Trout Unlimited and Raylee Honeycutt of the Montana Stockgrowers Association, who raised conservation and agricultural concerns about how adjudication outcomes and timelines affect water use and streamflows.
Committee members asked procedural questions about case backlog, court processes and coordination between DNRC and the Water Court. The committee did not take a formal vote on adjudication policy but recorded the update for future oversight and potential legislative direction.
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