Mni Sose Intertribal Water Rights Coalition

PROGRESS REPORT

by

Richard Bad Moccasin, Executive Director

August 11, 1999

Since the last Mni Sose Intertribal Water Rights Coalition's Board of Directors meeting in Flandreau, South Dakota, on June 16-18, 1999, the Coalition has addressed, or is in the process of addressing, the following activities.

A. Executive Committee Conference CallJune 26, 1999

The Executive Committee held a conference call on June 26, 1999, to discuss issues that needed review and approval prior to action by the Coalition staff.

B. Proposal to the Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha Division, Regarding Impacts of Missouri River Operations on the Indian Tribes of the Missouri Basin

The Corps of Engineers is currently revising a Preliminary Revised Draft Environmental Impact Statement (PRDEIS) for the operation of the Missouri River system of dams and reservoirs, commonly known as the Pick-Sloan Project. Dams in the system include Fort Peck, Garrison, Oahe, Big Bend, Fort Randall, and Gavins Point.

The Coalitions Proposal on the Impacts of Missouri River Operations on the Indian Tribes of the Missouri River Basin was produced by the Mni Sose Technical Team. The proposal, which will allow the Coalition to accumulate and analyze data, will be guided and concurred by the Mni Sose member Tribes. The impacts on the Tribes will be summarized by three geographical areas: the Yellowstone River and tributaries above Fort Peck Dam, the Missouri River mainstem and tributaries from Fort Peck Dam to Gavins Point Dam, and the Missouri River mainstem and tributaries from Gavins Point Dam to its union with the Mississippi River.

C. Comments for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Missouri River Master Water Control Manual Revised PDEIS

This document was distributed at the June 1999 Board of Directors meeting. The Coalition submitted the document to the Army Corps of Engineers Omaha Division for their information and review.

The Coalition's Master Manual technical team will develop a final draft for the Board of Directors to review and adopt at the September Board meeting.

The Coalition's Technical Team for the Master Water Control Manual includes Pete Caposella, Gary Collins, Tom Escarcega, Jim Stone, and Mike Watson. The Mni Sose Board of Directors designated this team to draft the position paper for presentation to the Army Corps of Engineers.

D. Missouri River Basin Association MeetingAugust 2, 1999, Denver, Colorado

President Dave Archambault, technical team member Peter Caposella, and I attended the Missouri River Basin Association meeting held on August 2, 1999, in Denver, Colorado.

President Archambaults presentation to the MRBA included remarks about contributions the Coalition and Tribes can make on water resources issues and the need to work together to improve economic conditions in the basin, especially for Tribes experiencing problems in the development of economic benefits. His comments were well received by the audience, and the Executive Director of MRBA stated, "MRBA has supported the issues that the Coalition has presented to them and will continue to do so."

My comments to the MRBA addressed the concerns and issues the Coalition has presented since Mni Soses involvement with the MRBA, beginning in the fall of 1994. Of special concern for the Coalition Tribes is the issue of "reserved water rights" and its implications for the basin and the Army Corps of Engineers as the Corps drafts the PDREIS. I also included the Tribes concerns as it relates to cultural resources.

Pete Caposellas presentation was directed at the issues outlined in the draft PRDEIS which was discussed at the June 1999 Board meeting. His comments, which drew considerable attention, expounded on the fact that the Tribes in the basin do not enjoy any benefits of the Pick-Sloan project.

E. Mni Sose/Bureau of Reclamation/Tribal Pick-Sloan Power Rate MeetingAugust 3, 1999, Rapid City, South Dakota

Mni Sose hosted a meeting with the Bureau of Reclamation/Billings Area Office and Missouri River Basin Tribes on Pick-Sloan Pumping Power Rates. Representatives from the following Tribes were invited: Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, Crow Creek Sioux Tribe, Lower Brule Sioux Tribe, Omaha Tribe of Nebraska, and Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. Tribes represented at this meeting were the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska and the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.

The purpose of the meeting was to explain and gain feedback on the direction the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) is headed regarding pumping power and wheeling issues of the Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Project. Can, and should the Pick-Sloan irrigation pumping power rate be raised to reflect present-day costs, and if so how? The question is timely because one pumping power contract has expired and several more will expire in 1999. Under the terms of the March 26, 1980, separation agreement with Western Area Power Administration, the BOR retained the responsibility for setting this rate.

BOR officials attending the meeting informed the Tribes of the need for further meetings to gain tribal feedback on the issues outlined in the draft Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program. Mni Sose will continue to host these meeting and will provide minutes to the attendees.