Crow Nation launches $461 million water compact project

Tribal leaders gathered Monday morning on the banks of the Little Bighorn River near here to launch a new chapter in the storied history of Crow Country.

They broke ground on the first phase of what is expected to be a complete overhaul of the 320-mile reservation irrigation system, some of which is more than 100 years old.

Funding for the work comes from a water rights bill approved by Congress and signed by President Barack Obama in late 2010. The Claims Settlement Act of 2010 contained $1 billion to settle water rights with various tribes. The Crow Tribe got the biggest chunk — $461 million.