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0679 . . -/ ,- Article III. K. is one of the most important provisions in the Compact. It authorizes the Tribes to market water off the Reservation and to market jointly with the State. As long as the State markets jointly with the Tribes, any proposed marketing opportunity will have to meet the provisions of Montana law in effect at the time of the proposed transfer. If the State declines to market with the Tribes, the proposed transfer will be subject to the terms of the Compact. This section also provides that the Tribes can enter into wdeferral agreementsW with water users on the north-south tributaries. A future appropriator of water under state law may wish to enter into such an agreement with the Tribes rather than take a chance that the Tribes may exercise the Tribal Water Right on those tributaries and pre-empt his use. Existing appropriators would not need to enter into such agreements because their rights are protected under the terms of the Compact. paragraph 4 establishes a limit on the transfer of water outside the Reservation. It is equal to the limit on the state's authority to lease water, which is proposed in the .cur;-ent legislation on water policy. As the State's limit increases, the limits on the Tribes' ability to market also increases. If the State does not have a marketing program, however, the Tribes would be subject either to limitations established in federal law or, lacking any federal limitations, to limitations in state law that would apply to any appropriative right. The proposed Compact provides that the income of any water marketing by the Tribes will not be taxed by the State. Article III. L. The Tribes may establish instream flows to maintain fish and wildlife resources in the north-south tributaries. The instream flows will be counted as a consumptive use of the Tribal Water Right and cannot be changed without the approval of the state. Article IV. Existing uses of water by Indians on the Reservation and future domestic uses of water and stockwater ponds up to 20 acre-feet are protected with a priority date of ISSS. Future uses of the Tribal Water Right will be subordinated to existing non-Indian uses of water on the Reservation an~all future domestic uses of water and stockwater ponds up to 20 acre- feet. Changes in existing non-Indian uses will be allowed as long as all requirements of state law and three special provisions of the Compact which protect the Tribal Water Right are met. Article V. The administration of water rights on the Reservation is divided among the United States, the Tribes and the State. The United States will continue to administer the water received from the Fort Peck Irrigation project. The Tribes will administer and enforce all uses of the Tribal Water Right in accordance with a water code which, will be.. adopted within a year after ratification of the Compact. The Tribes will report uses of the Tribal Water Right to the State on a regular basis. The State will continue to administer and .., j .~