Friday, Jan 21 2011 7:21PM
Montana has taken the state of Wyoming to the U.S. Supreme Court to fight for water access.
Montana's Attorney General appeared before the U.S. Supreme Court to defend the state's water rights, saying that Wyoming violated an agreement between the states that is depriving Montana's rural residents from accessing water.
The agreement - made in 1950 - concerns the Yellowstone River Compact, which equally divided water resources from the Yellowstone River. Now, some Wyoming irrigators with pre-1950 rights are attempting to change their irrigation methods, which Montana officials say breaches the agreement and would significantly reduce water flow available to its residents.
U.S. Senator Jon Tester said in a statement that Montanans expect their neighbors to be fair with their resources, and taking away the base of their water system services may increase unemployment in rural areas.
"In rural America, when you talk about access to water, you're talking about jobs. You're talking about the foundation of agriculture - Montana's number one industry - and you're talking about the ability of rural and frontier communities to continue to thrive for our kids and grandkids," Tester said.
The most recent statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau show that 353,000 Montana residents - approximately a third of the states' population - work in agricultural professions that rely on access to water.