H. R. 4757

One Hundred Third Congress

of the

United States of America

AT THE SECOND SESSION

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,

the twenty-fifth day of January, one thousand nine hundred and ninety-four

An Act

To provide for the settlement of the claims of the Confederated Tribes of the

Colville Reservation concerning their contribution to the production of hydropower

by the Grand Coulee Dam, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of

the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Confederated Tribes of the

Colville Reservation Grand Coulee Dam Settlement Act’’.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

For purposes of this Act:

(1) The term ‘‘Administrator’’ means the Administrator of

the Bonneville Power Administration.

(2) The term ‘‘Bonneville Power Administration’’ means

the Bonneville Power Administration of the Department of

Energy or any successor Agency, Corporation, or entity that

markets power produced at the Dam.

(3) The term ‘‘Dam’’ means the Grand Coulee Dam operated

by the Bureau of Reclamation of the Department of the Interior,

the power from which is marketed by the Bonneville Power

Administration of the Department of Energy.

(4) The term ‘‘Settlement Agreement’’ means the Settlement

Agreement entered into between the United States and the

Tribe, signed by the United States on April 21, 1994, and

by the Tribe on April 16, 1994, to settle the claims of the

Tribe in Docket 181–D of the Indian Claims Commission, which

docket has been transferred to the United States Court of

Federal Claims.

(5) The term ‘‘Tribe’’ means the Confederated Tribes of

the Colville Reservation, a federally recognized Indian tribe.

SEC. 3. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that—

(1) there is pending before the United States Court of

Federal Claims, a suit by the Confederated Tribes of the Colville

Reservation against the United States, in which the Tribe

seeks to recover damages under the ‘‘Fair and Honorable Dealings’’ clause of the Indian Claims Commission Act (Act of

August 13, 1946, 60 Stat. 1049), and in which, although the

matter is in dispute, the potential liability of the United States

is substantial;

(2) the claim alleges that the United States has since

the construction of Grand Coulee Dam used Colville Reservation
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land in the generation of electric power, and will continue

to use such reservation land for as long as Grand Coulee

Dam produces power; and that the United States has promised

and undertaken to pay the Tribe for such use and has not

done so;

(3) the United States, after years of litigation, has negotiated a Settlement Agreement with the Tribe, signed by the

Department of Justice, the Bonneville Power Administration

and the Department of the Interior. The Settlement Agreement

is contingent on the enactment of the enabling legislation;

and

(4) the Settlement Agreement, approved in this Act, will

provide mutually agreeable compensation for the past use of

reservation land in connection with the generation of electric

power at Grand Coulee Dam, and will establish a method

to ensure that the Tribe will be compensated for the future

use of reservation land in the generation of electric power

at Grand Coulee Dam, and will settle the claims of the Tribe

against the United States brought under the Indian Claims

Commission Act.

(b) PURPOSES.—It is the purpose of this Act—

(1) to approve and ratify the Settlement Agreement entered

into by the United States and the Tribe; and

(2) to direct the Bonneville Power Administration to carry

out its obligations under the Settlement Agreement.

SEC. 4. APPROVAL, RATIFICATION, AND IMPLEMENTATION OF

SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT.

(a) APPROVAL AND RATIFICATION.—The Settlement Agreement

is approved and ratified.

(b) ANNUAL PAYMENTS.—The Bonneville Power Administration

shall make annual payments to the Tribe as set forth in the Settlement Agreement and shall carry out its other obligations under

the Settlement Agreement. (c) SETTLEMENT.—Consistent with the negotiated terms of the

Settlement Agreement, the United States shall join in the motion

that the Tribe has agreed to file in Confederated Tribes v. United

States, Indian Claims Commission Docket 181–D, for the entry

of a compromise final judgment in the amount of $53,000,000.

The judgment shall be paid from funds appropriated pursuant

to section 1304 of title 31, United States Code, and is not reimbursable by the Bonneville Power Administration.

SEC. 5. DISTRIBUTION OF THE SETTLEMENT FUNDS.

(a) LUMP-SUM PAYMENT.—The judgment of $53,000,000, when

paid, shall be deposited in the Treasury of the United States and

the principal amount and interest on the judgment, shall be credited

to the account of the Tribe. These funds may be advanced or

expended for any purpose by the tribal governing body of the

Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, pursuant to a distribution plan developed by the Tribe and approved by the Secretary

of the Interior pursuant to section 3 of Public Law 93–134 (25

U.S.C. 1403): Provided, That any payment to a minor under the

distribution plan shall be held in trust by the United States for

the minor until the minor reaches the age of 18, or until the

minor’s class is scheduled to graduate from high school, whichever

is later: Provided further, That emergency use of trust funds may
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be authorized for the benefit of the minor pursuant to regulations

of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

(b) ANNUAL PAYMENTS.—In addition to the lump-sum payment,

annual payments shall be made directly to the Tribe in accordance

with the Settlement Agreement, and may be used in the same

manner as any other income received by the tribe from the lease

or sale of natural resources.

SEC. 6. REPAYMENT CREDIT.

Beginning with fiscal year 2000 and continuing for so long

as annual payments are made under this Act, the Administrator

shall deduct from the interest payable to the Secretary of the

Treasury from net proceeds as defined in section 13 of the Federal

Columbia River Transmission System Act, an amount equal to

26 percent of the payment made to the Tribe for the prior fiscal

year. Each deduction made under this section shall be a credit

to the interest payments otherwise payable by the Administrator

to the Secretary of the Treasury during the fiscal year in which

the deduction is made, and shall be allocated pro rata to all interest

payments on debt associated with the generation function of the

Federal Columbia River Power System that are due during that

fiscal year; except that, if the deduction in any fiscal year is greater

than the interest due on debt associated with the generation function for that fiscal year, then the amount of the deduction that

exceeds the interest due on debt associated with the generation

function shall be allocated pro rata to all other interest payments

due during that fiscal year. To the extent that the deduction exceeds

the total amount of any such interest, the deduction shall be applied

as a credit against any other payments that the Administrator

makes to the Secretary.

SEC. 7. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS.

(a) LIENS AND FORFEITURES, ETC.—Funds paid or deposited

to the credit of the Tribe pursuant to the Settlement Agreement

or this Act, the interest or investment income earned or received

on those funds, and any payment authorized by the Tribe or the

Secretary of the Interior to be made from those funds to tribal

members, and the interest or investment income on those payments

earned or received while the payments are held in trust for the

member, are not subject to levy, execution, forfeiture, garnishment,

lien, encumbrance, seizure, or State or local taxation.

(b) ELIGIBILITY FOR FEDERAL AND FEDERALLY FUNDED PROGRAMS.—Funds paid or deposited to the credit of the Tribe pursuant

to the Settlement Agreement or this Act, the interest or investment

income earned or received on such funds, and any payment authorized by the Tribe or the Secretary of the Interior to be made

from those funds to tribal members, and the interest or investment

income on those payments earned or received while the payments

are held in trust for the member, may not be treated as income

or resources nor otherwise utilized as the basis for denying or

reducing the financial assistance or other benefit to which the

Tribe, a tribal member, or household would otherwise be entitled

under the Social Security Act or any Federal or federally assisted

program.
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(c) TRUST RESPONSIBILITY.—This Act and the Settlement Agreement do not affect the trust responsibility of the United States

and its agencies to the Tribe and the members of the Tribe.

Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.