DNRC to schedule hearing on water rights protections
Several Montana ranchers and water users who petitioned the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation over a water rights issue were notified Monday that the matter will get a closer look.
In their petition, filed last December, the water users argue that a DNRC ruling fails to protect their senior water rights from the impacts of subsequent well development. They claim that the rule definition for “combined appropriation,” which exempts small wells from needing a permit, allows developers to supply water to entire subdivisions without regard to the impacts on existing water rights. The ranchers, three of whom live in the Absarokee area, cite as concerns that the cumulative effect of dozens or hundreds of wells could deplete surface water in streams and threaten the security of their senior water rights.