I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1753

To provide for equitable compensation of the Spokane Tribe of Indians of 

the Spokane Reservation in settlement of claims of the Tribe concerning 

the contribution of the Tribe to the production of hydropower by the 

Grand Coulee Dam, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 10, 2003

Mr. NETHERCUTT (for himself and Mr. DICKS) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Resources 

A BILL

To provide for equitable compensation of the Spokane Tribe 

of Indians of the Spokane Reservation in settlement of 

claims of the Tribe concerning the contribution of the 

Tribe to the production of hydropower by the Grand 

Coulee Dam, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Spokane Tribe of Indi5 ans of the Spokane Reservation Grand Coulee Dam Equi6 table Compensation Settlement Act’’. 
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) From 1927 to 1931, at the direction of 

4 Congress, the Corps of Engineers investigated the 

5 Columbia River and its tributaries to determine sites 

6 at which power could be produced at low cost. 

7 (2) The Corps of Engineers—

8 (A) identified a number of sites, including 

9 the site at which the Grand Coulee Dam is lo10 cated; and 

11 (B) recommended that power development 

12 at those sites be performed by local govern13 mental authorities or private utilities under the 

14 Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 791a et seq.). 

15 (3) Under section 10(e) of that Act (16 U.S.C. 

16 803(e)), a licensee is required to compensate an In17 dian tribe for the use of land under the jurisdiction 

18 of the Indian tribe. 

19 (4) In August 1933, the Columbia Basin Com20 mission, an agency of the State of Washington, re21 ceived a preliminary permit from the Federal Power 

22 Commission for water power development at the 

23 Grand Coulee site. 

24 (5) In the mid-1930’s, the Federal Government, 

25 which is not subject to the Federal Power Act (16 

26 U.S.C. 791a et seq.)—
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1 (A) federalized the Grand Coulee Dam 

2 project; and 

3 (B) began construction of the Grand Cou4 lee Dam. 

5 (6) At the time at which the Grand Coulee 

6 Dam project was federalized, the Federal Govern7 ment recognized that the Spokane Tribe and the 

8 Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation had 

9 compensable interests in the Grand Coulee Dam 

10 project, including compensation for—

11 (A) the development of hydropower; 

12 (B) the extinguishment of a salmon fishery 

13 on which the Spokane Tribe was almost com14 pletely financially dependent; and 

15 (C) the inundation of land with loss of po16 tential power sites previously identified by the 

17 Spokane Tribe. 

18 (7) In the Act of June 29, 1940, Congress—

19 (A) in the first section (16 U.S.C. 835d) 

20 granted to the United States—

21 (i) all rights of Indian tribes in land 

22 of the Spokane Tribe and Colville Indian 

23 Reservations that were required for the 

24 Grand Coulee Dam project; and 
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1 (ii) various rights-of-way over other 

2 land under the jurisdiction of Indian tribes 

3 that were required in connection with the 

4 project; and 

5 (B) in section 2 (16 U.S.C. 835e) provided 

6 that compensation for the land and rights-of7 way was to be determined by the Secretary of 

8 the Interior in such amounts as the Secretary 

9 determined to be just and equitable. 

10 (8) In furtherance of that Act, the Secretary of 

11 the Interior paid—

12 (A) to the Spokane Tribe, $4,700; and 

13 (B) to the Confederated Tribes of the 

14 Colville Reservation, $63,000. 

15 (9) In 1994, following 43 years of litigation be16 fore the Indian Claims Commission, the United 

17 States Court of Federal Claims, and the United 

18 States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, 

19 Congress ratified an agreement between the Confed20 erated Tribes of the Colville Reservation and the 

21 United States that provided for damages and annual 

22 payments of $15,250,000 in perpetuity, adjusted an23 nually, based on revenues from the sale of electric 

24 power from the Grand Coulee Dam project and 
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1 transmission of that power by the Bonneville Power 

2 Administration. 

3 (10) In legal opinions issued by the Office of 

4 the Solicitor of the Department of the Interior, a 

5 Task Force Study conducted from 1976 to 1980 or6 dered by the Committee on Appropriations of the 

7 Senate, and hearings before Congress at the time at 

8 which the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Res9 ervation Grand Coulee Dam Settlement Act (Public 

10 Law 103–436; 108 Stat. 4577) was enacted, it has 

11 repeatedly been recognized that—

12 (A) the Spokane Tribe suffered damages 

13 similar to those suffered by, and had a case le14 gally comparable to that of, the Confederated 

15 Tribes of the Colville Reservation; but 

16 (B) the 5-year statute of limitations under 

17 the Act of August 13, 1946 (25 U.S.C. 70 et 

18 seq.) precluded the Spokane Tribe from bring19 ing a civil action for damages under that Act. 

20 (11) The inability of the Spokane Tribe to 

21 bring a civil action before the Indian Claims Com22 mission can be attributed to a combination of fac23 tors, including—
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1 (A) the failure of the Bureau of Indian Af2 fairs to carry out its advisory responsibilities in 

3 accordance with that Act; and 

4 (B) an attempt by the Commissioner of In5 dian Affairs to impose improper requirements 

6 on claims attorneys retained by Indian tribes, 

7 which caused delays in retention of counsel and 

8 full investigation of the potential claims of the 

9 Spokane Tribe. 

10 (12) As a consequence of construction of the 

11 Grand Coulee Dam project, the Spokane Tribe—

12 (A) has suffered the loss of—

13 (i) the salmon fishery on which the 

14 Spokane Tribe was dependent; 

15 (ii) identified hydropower sites that 

16 the Spokane Tribe could have developed; 

17 and 

18 (iii) hydropower revenues that the 

19 Spokane Tribe would have received under 

20 the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 791a et 

21 seq.) had the project not been federalized; 

22 and 

23 (B) continues to lose hydropower revenues 

24 that the Federal Government recognized were 
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1 owed to the Spokane Tribe at the time at which 

2 the project was constructed. 

3 (13) More than 39 percent of the land owned 

4 by Indian tribes or members of Indian tribes that 

5 was used for the Grand Coulee Dam project was 

6 land of the Spokane Tribe. 

7 SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE. 

8 The purpose of this Act is to provide fair and equi9 table compensation to the Spokane Tribe, using the same 

10 proportional basis as was used in providing compensation 

11 to the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, for 

12 the losses suffered as a result of the construction and op13 eration of the Grand Coulee Dam project. 

14 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

15 In this Act: 

16 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis17 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Bonneville 

18 Power Administration. 

19 (2) CONFEDERATED TRIBES ACT.—The term 

20 ‘‘Confederated Tribes Act’’ means the Confederated 

21 Tribes of the Colville Reservation Grand Coulee 

22 Dam Settlement Act (Public Law 103–436; 108 

23 Stat. 4577). 
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1 (3) FUND ACCOUNT.—The term ‘‘Fund Ac2 count’’ means the Spokane Tribe of Indians Settle3 ment Fund Account established under section 5(a). 

4 (4) SPOKANE TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Spokane 

5 Tribe’’ means the Spokane Tribe of Indians of the 

6 Spokane Reservation, Washington. 

7 SEC. 5. SETTLEMENT FUND ACCOUNT. 

8 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF ACCOUNT.—There is estab9 lished in the Treasury an interest bearing account to be 

10 known as the ‘‘Spokane Tribe of Indians Settlement Fund 

11 Account’’. 

12 (b) DEPOSIT OF AMOUNTS.—

13 (1) INITIAL DEPOSIT.—On the date on which 

14 funds are made available to carry out this Act, the 

15 Secretary of the Treasury shall deposit in the Fund 

16 Account, as payment and satisfaction of the claim of 

17 the Spokane Tribe for use of land of the Spokane 

18 Tribe for generation of hydropower for the period 

19 beginning on June 29, 1940, and ending on Novem20 ber 2, 1994, an amount that is equal to 39.4 percent 

21 of the amount paid to the Confederated Tribes of 

22 the Colville Reservation under section 5(a) of the 

23 Confederated Tribes Act, adjusted to reflect the 

24 change, during the period beginning on the date on 

25 which the payment described in subparagraph (A) 
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1 was made to the Confederated Tribes of the Colville 

2 Reservation and ending on the date of enactment of 

3 this Act, in the Consumer Price Index for all urban 

4 consumers published by the Department of Labor. 

5 (2) SUBSEQUENT DEPOSITS.—On September 

6 30 of the first fiscal year that begins after the date 

7 of enactment of this Act, and on September 30 of 

8 each of the 5 fiscal years thereafter, the Adminis9 trator of the Bonneville Power Administration shall 

10 deposit in the Fund Account an amount that is 

11 equal to 7.88 percent of the amount authorized to 

12 be paid to the Confederated Tribes of the Colville 

13 Reservation under section 5(b) of the Confederated 

14 Tribes Act through the end of the fiscal year during 

15 which this Act is enacted, adjusted to reflect the 

16 change, during the period beginning on the date on 

17 which the payment to the Confederated Tribes of the 

18 Colville Reservation was first made and ending on 

19 the date of enactment of this Act, in the Consumer 

20 Price Index for all urban consumers published by 

21 the Department of Labor. 

22 (c) ANNUAL PAYMENTS.—On September 1 of the 

23 first fiscal year after the date of enactment of this Act, 

24 and annually thereafter, the Administrator (or the head 

25 of any successor agency) shall pay to the Spokane Tribe 
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1 an amount that is equal to 39.4 percent of the annual 

2 payment authorized to be paid to the Confederated Tribes 

3 of the Colville Reservation under section 5(b) of the Con4 federated Tribes Act for the fiscal year. 

5 SEC. 6. USE AND TREATMENT OF SETTLEMENT FUNDS. 

6 (a) TRANSFER OF FUNDS TO SPOKANE TRIBE.—

7 (1) INITIAL TRANSFER.—Not later than 60 

8 days after the date on which the Secretary of the 

9 Treasury receives from the Spokane Business Coun10 cil written notice of the adoption by the Spokane 

11 Business Council of a resolution requesting that the 

12 Secretary of the Treasury execute the transfer of 

13 settlement funds described in section 5(a), the Sec14 retary of the Treasury shall transfer all or a portion 

15 of the settlement funds, as appropriate, to the Spo16 kane Business Council. 

17 (2) SUBSEQUENT TRANSFERS.—If not all funds 

18 described in section 5(a) are transferred to the Spo19 kane Business Council under an initial transfer re20 quest described in paragraph (1), the Spokane Busi21 ness Council may make subsequent requests for, and 

22 the Secretary of the Treasury may execute subse23 quent transfers of, those funds. 
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1 (b) USE OF INITIAL PAYMENT FUNDS.—Of the set2 tlement funds described in subsections (a) and (b) of sec3 tion 5—

4 (1) 25 percent shall be—

5 (A) reserved by the Spokane Business 

6 Council; and 

7 (B) used for discretionary purposes of gen8 eral benefit to all members of the Spokane 

9 Tribe; and 

10 (2) 75 percent shall be used by the Spokane 

11 Business Council to carry out—

12 (A) a resource development program; 

13 (B) a credit program; 

14 (C) a scholarship program; or 

15 (D) a reserve, investment, and economic 

16 development program. 

17 (c) USE OF ANNUAL PAYMENT FUNDS.—Annual 

18 payments made to the Spokane Tribe under section 5(c) 

19 may be used or invested by the Spokane Tribe in the same 

20 manner and for the same purposes as other tribal govern21 mental funds. 

22 (d) APPROVAL BY SECRETARY.—Notwithstanding 

23 any other provision of law—

24 (1) the approval of the Secretary of the Treas25 ury or the Secretary of the Interior for any payment, 
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1 distribution, or use of the principal, interest, or in2 come generated by any settlement funds transferred 

3 or paid to the Spokane Tribe under this Act shall 

4 not be required; and 

5 (2) the Secretary of the Treasury and the Sec6 retary of the Interior shall have no trust responsi7 bility for the investment, supervision, administration, 

8 or expenditure of those funds after the date on 

9 which the funds are transferred to or paid to the 

10 Spokane Tribe. 

11 (e) TREATMENT OF FUNDS FOR CERTAIN PUR12 POSES.—The payments and distributions of any portion 

13 of the principal, interest, and income generated by the set14 tlement funds described in section 5 shall be treated in 

15 the same manner as payments or distributions under sec16 tion 6 of the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan 

17 Distribution of Judgment Funds Act (Public Law 99–346; 

18 100 Stat. 677). 

19 (f) TRIBAL AUDIT.—After the date on which the set20 tlement funds described in section 5 are transferred or 

21 paid to the Spokane Tribe, the funds—

22 (1) shall be considered to be Spokane Tribe 

23 governmental funds; and 

24 (2) shall be subject to an annual tribal govern25 mental audit. 
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1 SEC. 7. REPAYMENT CREDIT. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—For the first fiscal year that be3 gins after the date of enactment of this Act, and for each 

4 subsequent fiscal year in which annual payments are made 

5 under this Act, the Administrator shall deduct from the 

6 interest payable to the Secretary of the Treasury from net 

7 proceeds (as defined in section 13 of the Federal Columbia 

8 River Transmission System Act (16 U.S.C. 838k)), a per9 centage of the payment made to the Spokane Tribe for 

10 the preceding fiscal year. 

11 (b) CALCULATION.—The percentage deducted under 

12 subsection (a) shall be calculated and adjusted to ensure 

13 that the Bonneville Power Administration receives a de14 duction comparable to that which the Bonneville Power 

15 Administration receives for payments made to the Confed16 erated Tribes of the Colville Reservation under to the Con17 federated Tribes Act. 

18 (c) CREDITING.—

19 (1) DEDUCTIONS.—

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

21 subparagraph (B), each deduction made under 

22 this section shall be—

23 (i) credited to the interest payments 

24 otherwise payable by the Administrator to 

25 the Secretary of the Treasury during the 
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1 fiscal year in which the deduction is made; 

2 and 

3 (ii) allocated pro rata to all interest 

4 payments on debt associated with the gen5 eration function of the Federal Columbia 

6 River Power System that are due during 

7 that fiscal year. 

8 (B) EXCEPTION.—If, for any fiscal year, 

9 the amount of a deduction described in sub10 paragraph (A) is greater than the amount of in11 terest due on debt associated with the genera12 tion function for the fiscal year, the amount of 

13 the deduction that exceeds the interest due on 

14 debt associated with the generation function 

15 shall be allocated pro rata to all other interest 

16 payments due during that fiscal year. 

17 (2) OTHER PROGRAMS.—To the extent that a 

18 deduction described in paragraph (1) exceeds the 

19 amount of interest described in that paragraph, the 

20 deduction shall be applied as a credit against any 

21 other payments that the Administrator makes to the 

22 Secretary of the Treasury. 

23 SEC. 8. SATISFACTION OF CLAIMS. 

24 Payment by the Administrator under section 5 con25 stitutes full satisfaction of the claim of Spokane Tribe to 
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1 a fair share of the annual hydropower revenues generated 

2 by the Grand Coulee Dam project from June 29, 1940, 

3 through the fiscal year preceding the fiscal year in which 

4 this Act is enacted. 

5 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

6 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 

7 as are necessary to carry out this Act.

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