Montana Water Court
The Montana Water Court has exclusive jurisdiction over water rights claims. It was established by legislation in 1979 to facilitate the settlement of disputes over water rights.
Jurisdiction
The Montana Water Court has sole jurisdiction over the adjudication of pre-1973, or "existing," water right claims. Existing water rights are those that legally originated prior to July 1, 1973, the date the Montana Water Use Act took effect. The act created a statewide system for administering water rights.[1]
Oversight
The Montana Supreme Court oversees all water judges, water masters and water court staff. The chief water judge and associate water judge are appointed to four-year terms by the chief justice of the state supreme court and confirmed by the legislature.[2]
Water judges
- Russell McElyea (Chief water judge)
- Douglas Ritter (Associate water judge)[3]
The chief water judge assigns cases, directs adjudication statewide and supervises the state’s four division water judges. Current or retired district court judges serve as water judges and handle claims arising within the boundaries of their division. Historically, division water judges have been used to a limited extent.[1]
Geographical divisions
The Montana Water Court is divided into four water divisions according to geographical drainages:
- Lower Missouri River Basin
- Upper Missouri River Basin
- Yellowstone River Basin
- Clark Fork River Basin[2]
Division water judges
- Robert Deschamps (Clark Fork River Basin)
- Katherine M. Bidegaray Yellowstone River Basin)
- Loren Tucker (Upper Missouri River Basin)
- David Cybulski (Lower Missouri River Basin)[4]
Water masters
Water masters are appointed by the chief water judge to assist the water judges.
Former judges
Other state entities
The Montana Water Court is one of seven state entities that play a role in administering and adjudicating Montana water rights:
- Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation
- Montana Water Court
- District Courts
- Reserved Water Rights Compact Commission
- Attorney General
- Two legislative committees
- Water Policy Interim Committee
- Environmental Quality Council[1]
State profile
| Demographic data for Montana | ||
|---|---|---|
| Montana | U.S. | |
| Total population: | 1,032,073 | 316,515,021 |
| Land area (sq mi): | 145,546 | 3,531,905 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White: | 89.2% | 73.6% |
| Black/African American: | 0.5% | 12.6% |
| Asian: | 0.7% | 5.1% |
| Native American: | 6.5% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander: | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| Two or more: | 2.5% | 3% |
| Hispanic/Latino: | 3.3% | 17.1% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate: | 92.8% | 86.7% |
| College graduation rate: | 29.5% | 29.8% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income: | $47,169 | $53,889 |
| Persons below poverty level: | 17% | 11.3% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Montana. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
Presidential voting pattern
- See also: Presidential voting trends in Montana
Montana voted Republican in all seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.
Pivot Counties (2016)
Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, three are located in Montana, accounting for 1.46 percent of the total pivot counties.[5]
Pivot Counties (2020)
In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Montana had two Retained Pivot Counties and one Boomerang Pivot County, accounting for 1.10 and 4.00 percent of all Retained and Boomerang Pivot Counties, respectively.
More Montana coverage on Ballotpedia
- Elections in Montana
- United States congressional delegations from Montana
- Public policy in Montana
- Endorsers in Montana
- Montana fact checks
- More...
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Montana Water Court. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Federal courts:
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: District of Montana • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: District of Montana
State courts:
Montana Supreme Court • Montana District Courts • Montana Courts of Limited Jurisdiction • Montana Water Court • Montana Workers' Compensation Court
State resources:
Courts in Montana • Montana judicial elections • Judicial selection in Montana
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, et al., “Water Rights in Montana,” April 2014
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Montana Code Annotated, “Title 3, Chapter 7,” accessed October 20, 2015
- ↑ Montana Judicial Branch, "Water Judges," accessed October 6, 2015
- ↑ Montana Judicial Branch, "Division Water Judges," accessed October 6, 2015
- ↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.