109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1797

AN ACT

To provide for equitable compensation to the Spofor other purposes. of hydropower by the Grand Coulee Dam, and tion for the use of tribal land for the production kane Tribe of Indians of the Spokane Reserva-

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1797

AN ACT

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.

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

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Spokane Tribe of Indi3 ans of the Spokane Reservation Grand Coulee Dam Equi4 table Compensation Settlement Act’’. 

5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

6 Congress finds that—

7 (1) from 1927 to 1931, at the direction of Con8 gress, the Corps of Engineers investigated the Co9 lumbia River and its tributaries to determine sites at 

10 which power could be produced at low cost; 

11 (2) under section 10(e) of the Federal Power 

12 Act (16 U.S.C. 803(e)), when licenses are issued in13 volving tribal land within an Indian reservation, a 

14 reasonable annual charge shall be fixed for the use 

15 of the land, subject to the approval of the Indian 

16 tribe having jurisdiction over the land; 

17 (3) in August 1933, the Columbia Basin Com18 mission, an agency of the State of Washington, re19 ceived a preliminary permit from the Federal Power 

20 Commission for water power development at the 

21 Grand Coulee site; 

22 (4) had the Columbia Basin Commission or a 

23 private entity developed the site, the Spokane Tribe 

24 would have been entitled to a reasonable annual 

25 charge for the use of its land; 
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1 (5) in the mid-1930s, the Federal Government, 

2 which is not subject to licensing under the Federal 

3 Power Act (16 U.S.C. 792 et seq.)—

4 (A) federalized the Grand Coulee Dam 

5 project; and 

6 (B) began construction of the Grand Cou7 lee Dam; 

8 (6) when the Grand Coulee Dam project was 

9 federalized, the Federal Government recognized 

10 that—

11 (A) development of the project affected the 

12 interests of the Spokane Tribe and the Confed13 erated Tribes of the Colville Reservation; and 

14 (B) it would be appropriate for the Spo15 kane and Colville Tribes to receive a share of 

16 revenue from the disposition of power produced 

17 at Grand Coulee Dam; 

18 (7) in the Act of June 29, 1940 (16 U.S.C. 

19 835d et seq.), Congress—

20 (A) granted to the United States—

21 (i) in aid of the construction, oper22 ation, and maintenance of the Columbia 

23 Basin Project, all the right, title, and in24 terest of the Spokane Tribe and Colville 

25 Tribes in and to the tribal and allotted 
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1 land within the Spokane and Colville Res2 ervations, as designated by the Secretary 

3 of the Interior from time to time; and 

4 (ii) other interests in such land as re5 quired and as designated by the Secretary 

6 for certain construction activities under7 taken in connection with the project; and 

8 (B) provided that compensation for the 

9 land and other interests was to be determined 

10 by the Secretary in such amounts as the Sec11 retary determined to be just and equitable; 

12 (8) pursuant to that Act, the Secretary paid—

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

14 (B) to the Confederated Tribes of the 

15 Colville Reservation, $63,000; 

16 (9) in 1994, following litigation under the Act 

17 of August 13, 1946 (commonly known as the ‘‘In18 dian Claims Commission Act’’ (60 Stat. 1049, chap19 ter 959; former 25 U.S.C. 70 et seq.)), Congress 

20 ratified the Colville Settlement Agreement, which re21 quired—

22 (A) for past use of the Colville Tribes’ 

23 land, a payment of $53,000,000; and 

24 (B) for continued use of the Colville 

25 Tribes’ land, annual payments of $15,250,000, 
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1 adjusted annually based on revenues from the 

2 sale of electric power from the Grand Coulee 

3 Dam project and transmission of that power by 

4 the Bonneville Power Administration; 

5 (10) the Spokane Tribe, having suffered harm 

6 similar to that suffered by the Colville Tribes, did 

7 not file a claim within the Indian Claims Commis8 sion Act’s 5-year statute of limitations; 

9 (11) neither the Colville Tribes nor the Spokane 

10 Tribe filed claims for compensation for use of their 

11 land with the Commission before August 13, 1951, 

12 but both Tribes filed unrelated land claims prior to 

13 August 13, 1951; 

14 (12) in 1976, over objections by the United 

15 States, the Colville Tribes were successful in amend16 ing their 1951 Claims Commission land claims to 

17 add their Grand Coulee claim; 

18 (13) the Spokane Tribe had no such claim to 

19 amend, having settled its Claims Commission land 

20 claims with the United States in 1967; 

21 (14) the Spokane Tribe has suffered significant 

22 harm from the construction and operation of Grand 

23 Coulee Dam; 

24 (15) Spokane tribal acreage taken by the 

25 United States for the construction of Grand Coulee 
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1 Dam equaled approximately 39 percent of Colville 

2 tribal acreage taken for construction of the dam; 

3 (16) the payments and land transfers made 

4 pursuant to this Act constitute fair and equitable 

5 compensation for the past and continued use of Spo6 kane tribal land for the production of hydropower at 

7 Grand Coulee Dam; and 

8 (17) by vote of the Spokane tribal membership, 

9 the Spokane Tribe has resolved that the payments 

10 and land transfers made pursuant to this Act con11 stitute fair and equitable compensation for the past 

12 and continued use of Spokane Tribal land for the 

13 production of hydropower at Grand Coulee Dam. 

14 SEC. 3. PURPOSE. 

15 The purpose of this Act is to provide fair and equi16 table compensation to the Spokane Tribe for the use of 

17 its land for the generation of hydropower by the Grand 

18 Coulee Dam. 

19 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

20 In this Act: 

21 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis22 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Bonneville 

23 Power Administration or the head of any successor 

24 agency, corporation, or entity that markets power 

25 produced at Grand Coulee Dam. 
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1 (2) COLVILLE SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT.—The 

2 term ‘‘Colville Settlement Agreement’’ means the 

3 Settlement Agreement entered into between the 

4 United States and the Colville Tribes, signed by the 

5 United States on April 21, 1994, and by the Colville 

6 Tribes on April 16, 1994, to settle the claims of the 

7 Colville Tribes in Docket 181–D of the Indian 

8 Claims Commission, which docket was transferred to 

9 the United States Court of Federal Claims. 

10 (3) COLVILLE TRIBES.—The term ‘‘Colville 

11 Tribes’’ means the Confederated Tribes of the 

12 Colville Reservation. 

13 (4) COMPUTED ANNUAL PAYMENT.—The term 

14 ‘‘Computed Annual Payment’’ means the payment 

15 calculated under paragraph 2.b. of the Colville Set16 tlement Agreement, without regard to any increase 

17 or decrease in the payment under section 2.d. of the 

18 agreement. 

19 (5) CONFEDERATED TRIBES ACT.—The term 

20 ‘‘Confederated Tribes Act’’ means the Confederated 

21 Tribes of the Colville Reservation Grand Coulee 

22 Dam Settlement Act (108 Stat. 4577). 

23 (6) FUND.—The term ‘‘Fund’’ means the Spo24 kane Tribe of Indians Settlement Fund established 

25 by section 5. 
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1 (7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

2 the Secretary of the Interior. 

3 (8) SPOKANE BUSINESS COUNCIL.—The term 

4 ‘‘Spokane Business Council’’ means the governing 

5 body of the Spokane Tribe under the constitution of 

6 the Spokane Tribe. 

7 (9) SPOKANE TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Spokane 

8 Tribe’’ means the Spokane Tribe of Indians of the 

9 Spokane Reservation, Washington. 

10 SEC. 5. SETTLEMENT FUND. 

11 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF FUND.—There is estab12 lished in the Treasury of the United States an interest13 bearing trust fund to be known as the ‘‘Spokane Tribe 

14 of Indians Settlement Fund’’, consisting of—

15 (1) amounts deposited in the Fund under sub16 section (b); and 

17 (2) any interest earned on investment of 

18 amounts in the Fund. 

19 (b) DEPOSITS.—From amounts made available under 

20 section 11—

21 (1) for fiscal year 2006, the Secretary shall de22 posit in the Fund $17,800,000; and 

23 (2) for each of the 4 fiscal years thereafter, the 

24 Secretary shall deposit in the Fund $12,800,000. 
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1 (c) MAINTENANCE AND INVESTMENT OF FUND.—

2 The Fund shall be maintained and invested by the Sec3 retary in accordance with the Act of June 24, 1938 (25 

4 U.S.C. 162a). 

5 (d) PAYMENT OF FUNDS TO SPOKANE BUSINESS

6 COUNCIL.—

7 (1) REQUEST.—At any time after funds are de8 posited in the Fund, the Spokane Business Council 

9 may submit to the Secretary written notice of the 

10 adoption by the Spokane Business Council of a reso11 lution requesting that the Secretary pay all or a por12 tion of the amounts in the Fund to the Spokane 

13 Business Council. 

14 (2) PAYMENT.—Not later than 60 days after 

15 receipt of a notice under paragraph (1), the Sec16 retary shall pay the amount requested to the Spo17 kane Business Council. 

18 (e) USE OF FUNDS.—

19 (1) CULTURAL RESOURCE REPOSITORY AND IN20 TERPRETIVE CENTER.—

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—Of the initial deposit 

22 under subsection (b)(1), $5,000,000 shall be 

23 used by the Spokane Business Council for the 

24 planning, design, construction, equipping, and 

25 continuing operation and maintenance of a Cul-
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1 tural Resource Repository and Interpretive Cen2 ter to—

3 (i) house, preserve, and protect the 

4 burial remains, funerary objects, and other 

5 cultural resources affected by the operation 

6 of the Grand Coulee Dam; and 

7 (ii) provide an interpretive and edu8 cational facility regarding the culture and 

9 history of the Spokane Tribe. 

10 (B) EFFECT.—The funding under sub11 paragraph (A) does not alter or affect any au12 thority, obligation, or responsibility of the 

13 United States under—

14 (i) the Native American Graves Pro15 tection and Repatriation Act (25 U.S.C. 

16 3001 et seq.); 

17 (ii) the Archaeological Resources Pro18 tection Act (16 U.S.C. 470aa et seq.); 

19 (iii) the National Historic Preserva20 tion Act (16 U.S.C. 470 et seq.); or 

21 (iv) the National Environmental Pol22 icy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). 

23 (2) OTHER USES.—Of all other amounts depos24 ited in the Fund (including interest generated on 

25 those amounts)—
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1 (A) 25 percent shall be—

2 (i) reserved by the Spokane Business 

3 Council; and 

4 (ii) used for discretionary purposes of 

5 general benefit to all members of the Spo6 kane Tribe; and 

7 (B) 75 percent shall be used by the Spo8 kane Business Council to carry out—

9 (i) resource development programs; 

10 (ii) credit programs; 

11 (iii) scholarship programs; or 

12 (iv) reserve, investment, and economic 

13 development programs. 

14 SEC. 6. PAYMENTS BY THE ADMINISTRATOR. 

15 (a) INITIAL PAYMENT.—On March 1, 2007, the Ad16 ministrator shall pay the Spokane Tribe—

17 (1) the amount that is equal to 29 percent of 

18 the Computed Annual Payment for fiscal year 2005, 

19 adjusted to reflect the change in the Consumer Price 

20 Index for all urban consumers published by the De21 partment of Labor, from the date on which the pay22 ment for fiscal year 2005 was made to the Colville 

23 Tribes to the date on which payment is made to the 

24 Spokane Tribe under this subparagraph; and 
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1 (2) the amount that is equal to 29 percent of 

2 the Computed Annual Payment for fiscal year 2006. 

3 (b) SUBSEQUENT PAYMENTS.—On or before March 

4 1, 2008, and March 1 of each year thereafter through 

5 2033, the Administrator shall pay the Spokane Tribe the 

6 amount that is equal to 29 percent of the Computed An7 nual Payment for the previous fiscal year. 

8 (c) PAYMENT RECOVERY.—Pursuant to the payment 

9 schedule in subsection (b), the Administrator shall make 

10 commensurate cost reductions in expenditures on an an11 nual basis to recover each payment to the Tribe. The Ad12 ministrator shall include this specific cost reduction plan 

13 in the annual budget submitted to Congress. 

14 (d) SUNSET.—This section shall have no force or ef15 fect on and after the date that is 25 years after the date 

16 of the enactment of this Act. 

17 SEC. 7. TREATMENT AFTER FUNDS ARE PAID. 

18 (a) USE OF PAYMENTS.—Payments made to the Spo19 kane Business Council or Spokane Tribe under section 5 

20 or 6 may be used or invested by the Business Council in 

21 the same manner and for the same purposes as other Spo22 kane Tribe governmental funds. 

23 (b) NO TRUST RESPONSIBILITY OF THE SEC24 RETARY.—Neither the Secretary nor the Administrator 

25 shall have any trust responsibility for the investment, su-
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1 pervision, administration, or expenditure of any funds 

2 after the date on which the funds are paid to the Spokane 

3 Business Council or Spokane Tribe under section 5 or 6. 

4 (c) TREATMENT OF FUNDS FOR CERTAIN PUR5 POSES.—The payments of all funds to the Spokane Busi6 ness Council and Spokane Tribe under sections 5 and 6, 

7 and the interest and income generated by the funds, shall 

8 be treated in the same manner as payments under section 

9 6 of the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan Dis10 tribution of Judgment Funds Act (100 Stat. 677). 

11 (d) TRIBAL AUDIT.—After the date on which funds 

12 are paid to the Spokane Business Council or Spokane 

13 Tribe under section 5 or 6, the funds shall—

14 (1) constitute Spokane Tribe governmental 

15 funds; and 

16 (2) be subject to an annual tribal government 

17 audit. 

18 SEC. 8. REPAYMENT CREDIT. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall deduct 

20 from the interest payable to the Secretary of the Treasury 

21 from net proceeds (as defined in section 13 of the Federal 

22 Columbia River Transmission System Act (16 U.S.C. 

23 838k))—

24 (1) in fiscal year 2007, $2,600,000; and 
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1 (2) in each subsequent fiscal year in which the 

2 Administrator makes a payment under section 6, 

3 $1,300,000. 

4 (b) CREDITING.—

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para6 graphs (2) and (3), each deduction made under this 

7 section shall be—

8 (A) a credit to the interest payments oth9 erwise payable by the Administrator to the Sec10 retary of the Treasury during the fiscal year in 

11 which the deduction is made; and 

12 (B) allocated pro rata to all interest pay13 ments on debt associated with the generation 

14 function of the Federal Columbia River Power 

15 System that are due during the fiscal year. 

16 (2) DEDUCTION GREATER THAN AMOUNT OF

17 INTEREST.—If, in any fiscal year, the deduction is 

18 greater than the amount of interest due on debt as19 sociated with the generation function for the fiscal 

20 year, the amount of the deduction that exceeds the 

21 interest due on debt associated with the generation 

22 function shall be allocated pro rata to all other inter23 est payments due during the fiscal year. 

24 (3) CREDIT.—To the extent that a deduction 

25 exceeds the total amount of interest described in 
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1 paragraphs (1) and (2), the deduction shall be ap2 plied as a credit against any other payments that 

3 the Administrator makes to the Secretary of the 

4 Treasury. 

5 SEC. 9. TRANSFER OF ADMINISTRATIVE JURISDICTION 

6 AND RESTORATION OF OWNERSHIP OF LAND. 

7 (a) TRANSFER OF JURISDICTION.—The Secretary 

8 shall transfer administrative jurisdiction from the Bureau 

9 of Reclamation to the Bureau of Indian Affairs over—

10 (1) all land acquired by the United States 

11 under the Act of June 29, 1940 (16 U.S.C. 835d), 

12 that is located within the exterior boundaries of the 

13 Spokane Indian Reservation established pursuant to 

14 the Executive Order of January 18, 1881; and 

15 (2) all land on the south bank of the Spokane 

16 River that—

17 (A) extends westerly from Little Falls 

18 Dam to the confluence of the Spokane River 

19 and Columbia River; and 

20 (B) is located at or below contour elevation 

21 1290 feet above sea level. 

22 (b) RESTORATION OF OWNERSHIP IN TRUST.—All 

23 land transferred under this section—

24 (1) shall be held in trust for the benefit and use 

25 of the Spokane Tribe; and 
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1 (2) shall become part of the Spokane Indian 

2 Reservation. 

3 (c) RESERVATION OF RIGHTS.—

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The United States reserves 

5 a perpetual right, power, privilege, and easement 

6 over the land transferred under this section to carry 

7 out the Columbia Basin Project under the Columbia 

8 Basin Project Act (16 U.S.C. 835 et seq.). 

9 (2) RIGHTS INCLUDED.—The rights reserved 

10 under paragraph (1) further include the right to op11 erate, maintain, repair, and replace boat ramps, 

12 docks, and other recreational facilities owned or per13 mitted by the United States and existing on the date 

14 of enactment of this Act. 

15 (3) RETENTION OF NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM

16 STATUS.—

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—Land transferred under 

18 this section that, before the date of enactment 

19 of this Act, was included in the Lake Roosevelt 

20 National Recreation Area shall remain part of 

21 the Recreation Area. 

22 (B) ADMINISTRATION.—Nothing in this 

23 section affect the authority or responsibility of 

24 the National Park Service to administer the 

25 Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area under 
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1 the Act of August 25, 1916 (39 Stat. 535, 

2 chapter 408; 16 U.S.C. 1 et seq.). 

3 (4) MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING.—The 

4 cognizant agencies of the Department of the Interior 

5 shall enter into a memorandum of understanding 

6 with the Spokane Tribe to provide for coordination 

7 in applying this subsection. 

8 SEC. 10. SATISFACTION OF CLAIMS. 

9 Payment by the Secretary under section 5 and the 

10 Administrator under section 6 and restoration of owner11 ship of land in trust under section 9 constitute full satis12 faction of the claim of the Spokane Tribe to a fair share 

13 of the annual hydropower revenues generated by the 

14 Grand Coulee Dam project for the past and continued use 

15 of land of the Spokane Tribe for the production of hydro16 power at Grand Coulee Dam. 

17 SEC. 11. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

18 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 

19 as are necessary to carry out this Act. 

20 SEC. 12. PRECEDENT. 

21 Nothing in this Act establishes any precedent or is 

22 binding on the Southwestern Power Administration, West-
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1 ern Area Power Administration, or Southeastern Power 

2 Administration.

Passed the House of Representatives July 25, 2005. 

Attest:

Clerk.