St. Mary Working Group seeking funds from American Recovery Plan
Last updated 5/6/2021 at 11:50am
A group trying to rebuild the system that supplies much of the water to the Milk River each year talked Wednesday about how money from the latest COVID-19 relief bill might help. A major topic at the meeting of the St. Mary Rehabilitation Working Group was House Bill 632, the bill the Legislature passed to set up use of relief funds from the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act, or ARPA, passed by Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden in March. The St. Mary Diversion and Conveyance Works, part of the irrigation Milk River Project and one of the first projects Bureau of Reclamation was authorized to build when it was created at the start of the last century, diverts water into the North Fork of the Milk River and supplies much in drought years almost all of the water flowing through the Milk River.
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Resolution supporting St. Mary Diversion repair passes Montana House
Transmitted to Senate; congressional delegation expresses support
Courtesy photo/File photo
The site where work is being done in late August on Drop 5 of the St. Mary Diversion and Conveyance Works next to the North Fork of the Milk River is seen from overhead.
The Montana House of Representatives unanimously sent to the Senate a resolution urging authorization of funding and work to repair the lifeline of the Hi-Line. The bill, with primary sponsor Rep. Casey Knudsen, R-Malta, and 23 other sponsors including Rep. Jonathan Windy Boy, D-Box Elder, and Sens. Mike Lang, R-Malta, and Russ Tempel, R-Chester, directs the state government to support funding for the repair and replacement of the St. Mary Diversion and Milk River Project immediately and ask for appropriation funding to complete the much-needed repairs and replacement of the diversion a.
St. Mary Diversion, a remarkable success in a trying year
Courtesy photo
Construction crews work on Drop 5 of the St. Mary Diversion and Conveyance Works in August.
One of the more remarkable stories of the year is that of the St. Mary Diversion and it s 22-week-long repair after experiencing a catastrophic failure back in May. Nearly all involved with the effort called it a remarkable example of teamwork and inter-organizational cooperation in a year plagued by social isolation. U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Brenda Burman said this project is an example to the nation of what they can do when they work together.