39–006 

109TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 1st Session 109–150 

SPOKANE TRIBE OF INDIANS OF THE SPOKANE RESERVATION GRAND COULEE DAM EQUITABLE COMPENSATION SETTLEMENT ACT 

JUNE 23, 2005.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of 

the Union and ordered to be printed 

Mr. POMBO, from the Committee on Resources, 

submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

together with 

ADDITIONAL VIEWS 

[To accompany H.R. 1797] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill 

(H.R. 1797) to provide for equitable compensation to the Spokane 

Tribe of Indians of the Spokane Reservation for the use of tribal 

land for the production of hydropower by the Grand Coulee Dam, 

and for other purposes, having considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill do 

pass. 

PURPOSE OF THE BILL

The purpose of H.R. 1797 is to provide for equitable compensation to the Spokane Tribe of Indians of the Spokane Reservation for 

the use of tribal land for the production of hydropower by the 

Grand Coulee Dam, and for other purposes. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

Grand Coulee Dam was built in the late 1930s and early 1940s. 

The accompanying reservoir inundated approximately 2,500 acres 

of the Spokane Indian Reservation. Under the Indian Claims Commission Act of 1946, all tribes were given five years to file land 

claims against the federal government. Although the Spokane 

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Tribe filed a claim at the time and settled in 1967, lands related 

to the Dam were not included in the claim. For the Tribe to recover 

damages associated with the Dam through litigation, a federal law 

allowing them to file a new legal claim would be required. Rather 

than focusing on litigation, the Spokane Tribe has pursued direct 

settlement funding by legislative means. 

COMMITTEE ACTION

H.R. 1797 was introduced on April 21, 2005, by Representative 

Cathy McMorris (R–WA). The bill was referred to the Committee 

on Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee on 

Water on Power. On May 18, 2005, the Full Resources Committee 

met to consider the bill. The Subcommittee on Water and Power 

was discharged from further consideration of the bill by unanimous 

consent. No amendments were offered and the bill was ordered favorably reported to the House of Representatives by unanimous 

consent. 

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1. Short Title 

The short title of the Act is the ‘‘Spokane Tribe of Indians of the 

Spokane Reservation Grand Coulee Dam Equitable Compensation 

Settlement Act.’’ 

Section 2. Findings 

This section lists a number of findings that detail the reasons for 

the bill. 

Section 3. Purpose 

The purpose of this act is to provide the Spokane Tribe with fair 

and equitable compensation for the use of its land for generation 

of hydropower by Grand Coulee Dam. 

Section 4. Definitions 

This section defines various terms in the Act. 

Section 5. Settlement Fund 

The Spokane Tribe of Indians Settlement Fund is established in 

the United States Treasury. Deposits by the Secretary of the Interior into the fund will be $17,800,000 in 2006 and $12,800,000 in 

each of the four years thereafter. Funds will be available to the 

Spokane Business Council (the governing body of the Spokane 

Tribe) upon request. The first $5 million deposited will be used for 

establishing and maintaining a Cultural Resource Repository and 

Interpretive Center. 

Section 6. Payments by the Administrator 

Annual payments will be made to the Tribe by the Administrator 

of the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) through 2033. A 

sunset provision caps these annual payments at 25 years. All Native American land and water rights settlements signed into public 

law prior to this legislation have settled legal claims. This bill does 

not settle litigation and rests solely on settling moral claims. As 

such, the Committee strongly agrees with the need for a sunset on 

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expenditures that do not settle longstanding legal claims. The first 

payment, to be made in 2007, will cover 2005 and 2006. The payment for each year will be equal to 29 percent of that year’s payment to the Colville Tribes. Since this section requires BPA to 

make commensurate cost reductions to cover these annual payments, the Committee believes that the agency must not include 

these payments in its current rate base or any future rate adjustment case. 

Section 7. Treatment After Funds Are Paid 

The Spokane Tribe may use funds from these payments in the 

same manner and for the same purposes as other Spokane Tribe 

governmental funds. The Secretary of the Interior and Administrator of BPA will have no trust responsibility over these funds. 

Section 8. Repayment Credit 

The BPA Administrator will deduct the following amounts from 

its interest payments to the Treasury: $2,600,000 in 2007, and 

$1,300,000 in each year it makes a payment under section 6 of the 

bill. 

Section 9. Transfer of Administrative Jurisdiction and Restoration 

of Ownership of Land 

Lands within the boundary of the Spokane Indian Reservation 

acquired by the United States under the 1940 Act and other lands 

shall be transferred from the Bureau of Reclamation to the Bureau 

of Indian Affairs, to be held in trust for the benefit and use of the 

Spokane Tribe and become part of the Spokane Indian Reservation. 

The United States reserves the right to use these transferred lands 

to carry out the Columbia Basin Project, for uses including recreational facilities. Transferred lands that were included in the 

Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area shall remain part of the 

Recreation Area. 

Section 10. Satisfaction of Claims 

Payments and land transfers under this Act will constitute full 

satisfaction of the moral claim of the Spokane Tribe to a share of 

Grand Coulee Dam hydropower revenues. 

Section 11. Authorization of Appropriations 

Appropriations as necessary to carry out this Act are authorized. 

Section 12. Precedent 

Nothing in this Act establishes precedent or is binding on the 

Southwestern Power Administration, Western Area Power Administration, or Southeastern Power Administration. 

COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII 

of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the Committee on Resources’ oversight findings and recommendations are reflected in 

the body of this report. 

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CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT

Article I, section 8 of the Constitution of the United States 

grants Congress the authority to enact this bill. 

COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII

1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of 

the House of Representatives requires an estimate and a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be incurred in carrying out this bill. However, clause 3(d)(3)(B) of that rule provides 

that this requirement does not apply when the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974. 

2. Congressional Budget Act. As required by clause 3(c)(2) of rule 

XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section 

308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, this bill does not 

contain any new budget authority, spending authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in tax expenditures. According 

to the Congressional Budget Office, enactment of this bill would result in reduced offsetting receipts. 

3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by 

clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or objective 

of this bill is to provide for equitable compensation to the Spokane 

Tribe of Indians of the Spokane Reservation for the use of tribal 

land for the production of hydropower by the Grand Coulee Dam, 

and for other purposes. 

4. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate. Under clause 

3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and 

section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has received the following cost estimate for this bill from the 

Director of the Congressional Budget Office: 

H.R. 1797—Spokane Tribe of Indians of the Spokane Reservation 

Grand Coulee Dam Equitable Compensation Settlement Act 

Summary: H.R. 1797 would establish and authorize funds to be 

appropriated to the Spokane Tribe of Indians Settlement Fund to 

compensate the Spokane Tribe of Indians for the use of its land by 

the Grand Coulee Dam project in Washington. Starting in 2007, 

the bill would require the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) 

to make annual payments to the tribe from receipts generated from 

the sale of electricity. Those payments to the tribe would be offset 

by increases in the rates charged to BPA’s customers for electricity 

sales, and thus would result in no net cost to the government. 

Under the bill, BPA also would be relieved from making certain interest payments to the Treasury for funds borrowed on BPA’s behalf. CBO estimates that provision would reduce receipts collected 

by BPA by $13 million over the 2007–2015 period, and by $1.3 million per year after 2015. (Those effects constitute an increase in direct spending.) 

Assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts, CBO estimates that implementing the bill would cost $69 million over the 

2006–2010 period for payments into the Spokane Tribe of Indians 

Settlement Fund, H.R. 1797 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform 

5 

Act (UMRA). The payments authorized by this bill would benefit 

the Spokane Tribe. 

Estimated Cost to the Federal Government: The estimated budgetary impact of H.R. 1797 is shown in the following table. The costs 

of this legislation fall within budget functions 450 (community and 

regional development) and 270 (energy). 

By fiscal year, in millions of dollars— 

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 

CHANGES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION 

Payments to Spokane Tribe Settlement: 

Fund Account: 

Authorization Level ............... 18 13 13 13 13 0 0 0 0 0 

Estimated Outlays ................ 18 13 13 13 13 0 0 0 0 0 

CHANGES IN DIRECT SPENDING 

Interest Credits for BPA: 

Estimated Budget Authority 0 3 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 

Estimated Outlays ................ 0 3 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 

Basis of Estimate: For this estimate, CBO assumes that the bill 

will be enacted by the end of fiscal year 2005 and that the authorized amounts will be appropriated for each year. 

Spending Subject to Appropriation 

This bill would authorize the appropriation of payments to the 

Spokane Tribe as compensation for land taken to build the Grand 

Coulee Dam. The bill would authorize the appropriation of $18 million in 2006 and $13 million annually over the 2007–2010 period 

to a new tribal trust fund. Thus, CBO estimates that implementing 

the bill would cost $18 million in 2006 and $69 million over the 

2006–2010 period. 

Payments to certain trust funds that are held and managed in 

a fiduciary capacity by the federal government on behalf of Indian 

tribes are treated as payments to a nonfederal entity. As a result, 

CBO expects that the entire amount deposited to the fund in any 

year would be recorded as budget authority and outlays in that 

year. Because the trust funds would be nonbudgetary, the subsequent use of such funds by the tribe would not affect federal outlays. 

Direct Spending 

H.R. 1797 would require BPA to make annual payments to the 

Spokane Tribe. Under the bill, such payments would be equal to 29 

percent of the annual payment BPA currently makes to the Colville 

Tribe, and would be made for 25 years. The payments would begin 

in 2007 and would total about $5 million per year, except in 2007 

when BPA would be required to make two payments. Although the 

bill would require that the payments be offset by commensurate 

cost reductions, CBO expects that these payments would contribute 

to an increase in costs to the agency. Because BPA is a cost-recovery agency that charges its customers for the electricity it generates, CBO assumes that these payments to the tribe would become part of BPA’s cost structure, and would be offset by an increase in the new electricity rates that the agency plans to impose 

6 

in 2007. Thus, this annual payment to the tribe would result in no 

net cost to the government. 

The bill also would allow BPA to reduce the amount of interest 

costs that it transfers to the U.S. Treasury for funds borrowed to 

construct BPA’s infrastructure. The bill would authorize BPA to 

forgo interest payments of $2.6 million in 2007, and $1.3 million 

each year thereafter for as long as payments are made to the tribe. 

As a cost-recovery agency, BPA would reduce its annual collections 

from electricity ratepayers by the amount of these forgone interest 

payments. Thus, CBO estimates that BPA collections, which are recorded in the budget as offsetting receipts, would be reduced by 

$2.6 million in 2007 and about $13 million over the 2007–2015 period. 

Intergovernmental and private-sector impact: H.R. 1797 contains 

no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in 

UMRA. The payments authorized by this bill would benefit the 

Spokane Tribe. 

Estimate prepared by: Federal Costs: Mike Waters, Lisa Cash 

Driskill, and Jimin Chung. Impact on State, Local, and Tribal Governments: Marjorie Miller. Impact on the Private Sector: Selena 

Caldera. 

Estimate approved by: Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis. 

COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104–4

This bill contains no unfunded mandates. 

PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL OR TRIBAL LAW

This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or tribal law. 

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

If enacted, this bill would make no changes in existing law. 

(7) 

ADDITIONAL VIEWS 

TO PROVIDE FOR EQUITABLE COMPENSATION TO THE SPOKANE TRIBE

OF INDIANS OF THE SPOKANE RESERVATION FOR THE USE OF TRIBAL LAND FOR THE PRODUCTION OF HYDROPOWER BY THE GRAND

COULEE DAM, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

Grand Coulee Dam was authorized during the depths of the 

Great Depression as a high profile public works project, a key feature of the Bureau of Reclamation’s Columbia Basin Project. When 

construction began in the 1930’s, the purpose was to jump-start the 

national economy and provide jobs for large numbers of unemployed laborers. While the dam has brought enormous water supply, flood control, and hydroelectric power benefits to the Pacific 

Northwest, the project has had devastating impacts on the Spokane 

and Colville people, their tribal economies, social fabric and way of 

life. 

Grand Coulee Dam blocked migration of anadromous fish in the 

mainstem of the Columbia River, the Spokane River and tributaries. These fish runs were the Spokane Tribe’s primary source of 

subsistence, employment and basis for a way of life that had sustained tribal people since time immemorial. 

Tribal communities, including homes, schools, roads, telecommunication systems and other infrastructure, were inundated 

by the water impounded by Grand Coulee Dam. Some residents 

were displaced wihout relocation assistance or compensation and, 

as the water began rising behind the Dam, many tribal people were 

forced to flee their homes, leaving their personal belongings behind. 

Thousands of tribal burial sites located along the bluffs above the 

River were of special concern for the tribes but efforts to relocate 

human remains and associated funeral objects from thousands of 

known sites on tribal lands were halted due to looting and theft. 

These and many other unidentified burial sites were flooded when 

the Dam was constructed. 

Under a 1940 act, the federal government paid $63,000 and 

$4,700 to the Colville and Spokane Tribes, respectively, for the 

land used for the dam and reservoir. Subsequently, the Colville 

Tribes pursued additional claims for their lost fisheries and for 

‘‘water power values’’ and in 1994 (P.L. 103–436) were awarded a 

lump sum payment of $53 million and, beginning in 1996, annual 

payments that have ranged between $14 million to $21 million. 

The Spokane Tribe did not file a claim within the Indian Claims 

Commission Act’s 5-year statute of limitations. As a result, the 

Spokane Tribe did not receive a settlement comparable to that of 

the Colville Tribe, and the Spokane Tribe is seeking to change that 

situation with the enactment of H.R. 1797. 

H.R. 1797 will provide the Spokane Tribe of Indians with compensation which is proportional to (29% of) the compensation proVerDate Aug 04 2004 07:05 Jun 26, 2005 Jkt 039006 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6604 Sfmt 6604 E:\HR\OC\HR150.XXX HR150
8 

vided the Colville Tribes through enactment of P.L. 103–436 in 

1994. Legislation similar to H.R. 1797 was passed by the Senate 

in the 108th Congress (S. 1438). H.R. 1797, however, differs in one 

very important aspect: the inclusion of a ‘‘sunset’’ provision on 

funding from the Bonneville Power Administration in Section 6 of 

the bill. 

Section 6 of H.R. 1797 directs the Administrator of the Bonneville Power Administration to pay to the Spokane Tribe of Indians 

an amount equal to 29 percent of the Colville’s Computed Annual 

Payment (CAP) for FY 2005, adjusted for inflation; 29 percent of 

the CAP for FY 2006; and, on or before March 1, 2008, and each 

following March 1, 29 percent of the CAP for the previous fiscal 

year. However, unlike S. 1438 as passed by the Senate in the 108th 

Congress, or S. 881 introduced by Senator Cantwell in the 109th 

Congress, Section 6 of H.R. 1797 includes a sunset provision that 

would terminate this requirement for payment by BP A in 25 

years. 

H.R. 1797 is premised on the past and continued use of Spokane 

tribal lands for the production of hydropower at the Grand Coulee 

Dam. At the end of 25 years, the Spokane Tribe of Indians’ lands 

will continue to be used to generate hydropower, supply water for 

irrigators, provide extensive flood control benefits, and to assist in 

meeting incremental flow requirements for recovery of anadromous 

fish. The Spokane Tribe has agreed to the sunset provision in this 

bill with the understanding that, in the future, the Tribe may seek 

an amendment to extend or modify this sunset provision or otherwise seek reauthorization of BP A’s annual payments post–2030. 

With this understanding, and in the interest of moving this legislation forward and thereby providing long overdue relief to this 

Tribe, we do not object to the inclusion of the sunset provision in 

this bill and we urge passage of this bill by the full U.S. House of 

Representatives. 

NICK J. RAHALL, II. 

GRACE F. NAPOLITANO. 

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