I 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION 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. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 21, 2005 

Miss MCMORRIS (for herself, Mr. DICKS, and Mr. KILDEE) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Resources 

A BILL 

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, 

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’’. 

7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

8 Congress finds that— 
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1 (1) from 1927 to 1931, at the direction of Con2 gress, the Corps of Engineers investigated the Co3 lumbia River and its tributaries to determine sites at 

4 which power could be produced at low cost; 

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

6 Act (16 U.S.C. 803(e)), when licenses are issued in7 volving tribal land within an Indian reservation, a 

8 reasonable annual charge shall be fixed for the use 

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

10 tribe having jurisdiction over the land; 

11 (3) in August 1933, the Columbia Basin Com12 mission, an agency of the State of Washington, re13 ceived a preliminary permit from the Federal Power 

14 Commission for water power development at the 

15 Grand Coulee site; 

16 (4) had the Columbia Basin Commission or a 

17 private entity developed the site, the Spokane Tribe 

18 would have been entitled to a reasonable annual 

19 charge for the use of its land; 

20 (5) in the mid-1930s, the Federal Government, 

21 which is not subject to licensing under the Federal 

22 Power Act (16 U.S.C. 792 et seq.)— 

23 (A) federalized the Grand Coulee Dam 

24 project; and 
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1 (B) began construction of the Grand Cou2 lee Dam; 

3 (6) when the Grand Coulee Dam project was 

4 federalized, the Federal Government recognized 

5 that— 

6 (A) development of the project affected the 

7 interests of the Spokane Tribe and the Confed8 erated Tribes of the Colville Reservation; and 

9 (B) it would be appropriate for the Spo10 kane and Colville Tribes to receive a share of 

11 revenue from the disposition of power produced 

12 at Grand Coulee Dam; 

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

14 835d et seq.), Congress— 

15 (A) granted to the United States— 

16 (i) in aid of the construction, oper17 ation, and maintenance of the Columbia 

18 Basin Project, all the right, title, and in19 terest of the Spokane Tribe and Colville 

20 Tribes in and to the tribal and allotted 

21 land within the Spokane and Colville Res22 ervations, as designated by the Secretary 

23 of the Interior from time to time; and 

24 (ii) other interests in such land as re25 quired and as designated by the Secretary 
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1 for certain construction activities under2 taken in connection with the project; and 

3 (B) provided that compensation for the 

4 land and other interests was to be determined 

5 by the Secretary in such amounts as the Sec6 retary determined to be just and equitable; 

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

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

9 (B) to the Confederated Tribes of the 

10 Colville Reservation, $63,000; 

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

12 of August 13, 1946 (commonly known as the ‘‘In13 dian Claims Commission Act’’ (60 Stat. 1049, chap14 ter 959; former 25 U.S.C. 70 et seq.)), Congress 

15 ratified the Colville Settlement Agreement, which re16 quired— 

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

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

19 (B) for continued use of the Colville 

20 Tribes’ land, annual payments of $15,250,000, 

21 adjusted annually based on revenues from the 

22 sale of electric power from the Grand Coulee 

23 Dam project and transmission of that power by 

24 the Bonneville Power Administration; 
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1 (10) the Spokane Tribe, having suffered harm 

2 similar to that suffered by the Colville Tribes, did 

3 not file a claim within the Indian Claims Commis4 sion Act’s 5-year statute of limitations; 

5 (11) neither the Colville Tribes nor the Spokane 

6 Tribe filed claims for compensation for use of their 

7 land with the Commission before August 13, 1951, 

8 but both Tribes filed unrelated land claims prior to 

9 August 13, 1951; 

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

11 States, the Colville Tribes were successful in amend12 ing their 1951 Claims Commission land claims to 

13 add their Grand Coulee claim; 

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

15 amend, having settled its Claims Commission land 

16 claims with the United States in 1967; 

17 (14) the Spokane Tribe has suffered significant 

18 harm from the construction and operation of Grand 

19 Coulee Dam; 

20 (15) Spokane tribal acreage taken by the 

21 United States for the construction of Grand Coulee 

22 Dam equaled approximately 39 percent of Colville 

23 tribal acreage taken for construction of the dam; 

24 (16) the payments and land transfers made 

25 pursuant to this Act constitute fair and equitable 
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1 compensation for the past and continued use of Spo2 kane tribal land for the production of hydropower at 

3 Grand Coulee Dam; and 

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

5 the Spokane Tribe has resolved that the payments 

6 and land transfers made pursuant to this Act con7 stitute fair and equitable compensation for the past 

8 and continued use of Spokane Tribal land for the 

9 production of hydropower at Grand Coulee Dam. 

10 SEC. 3. PURPOSE. 

11 The purpose of this Act is to provide fair and equi12 table compensation to the Spokane Tribe for the use of 

13 its land for the generation of hydropower by the Grand 

14 Coulee Dam. 

15 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

16 In this Act: 

17 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis18 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Bonneville 

19 Power Administration or the head of any successor 

20 agency, corporation, or entity that markets power 

21 produced at Grand Coulee Dam. 

22 (2) COLVILLE SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT.—The 

23 term ‘‘Colville Settlement Agreement’’ means the 

24 Settlement Agreement entered into between the 

25 United States and the Colville Tribes, signed by the 
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1 United States on April 21, 1994, and by the Colville 

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

3 Colville Tribes in Docket 181–D of the Indian 

4 Claims Commission, which docket was transferred to 

5 the United States Court of Federal Claims. 

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

7 Tribes’’ means the Confederated Tribes of the 

8 Colville Reservation. 

9 (4) COMPUTED ANNUAL PAYMENT.—The term 

10 ‘‘Computed Annual Payment’’ means the payment 

11 calculated under paragraph 2.b. of the Colville Set12 tlement Agreement, without regard to any increase 

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

14 agreement. 

15 (5) CONFEDERATED TRIBES ACT.—The term 

16 ‘‘Confederated Tribes Act’’ means the Confederated 

17 Tribes of the Colville Reservation Grand Coulee 

18 Dam Settlement Act (108 Stat. 4577). 

19 (6) FUND.—The term ‘‘Fund’’ means the Spo20 kane Tribe of Indians Settlement Fund established 

21 by section 5. 

22 (7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

23 the Secretary of the Interior. 

24 (8) SPOKANE BUSINESS COUNCIL.—The term 

25 ‘‘Spokane Business Council’’ means the governing 
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1 body of the Spokane Tribe under the constitution of 

2 the Spokane Tribe. 

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

4 Tribe’’ means the Spokane Tribe of Indians of the 

5 Spokane Reservation, Washington. 

6 SEC. 5. SETTLEMENT FUND. 

7 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF FUND.—There is estab8 lished in the Treasury of the United States an interest9 bearing trust fund to be known as the ‘‘Spokane Tribe 

10 of Indians Settlement Fund’’, consisting of— 

11 (1) amounts deposited in the Fund under sub12 section (b); and 

13 (2) any interest earned on investment of 

14 amounts in the Fund. 

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

16 section 11— 

17 (1) for fiscal year 2006, the Secretary shall de18 posit in the Fund $17,800,000; and 

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

20 Secretary shall deposit in the Fund $12,800,000. 

21 (c) MAINTENANCE AND INVESTMENT OF FUND.— 

22 The Fund shall be maintained and invested by the Sec23 retary in accordance with the Act of June 24, 1938 (25 

24 U.S.C. 162a). 
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1 (d) PAYMENT OF FUNDS TO SPOKANE BUSINESS

2 COUNCIL.— 

3 (1) REQUEST.—At any time after funds are de4 posited in the Fund, the Spokane Business Council 

5 may submit to the Secretary written notice of the 

6 adoption by the Spokane Business Council of a reso7 lution requesting that the Secretary pay all or a por8 tion of the amounts in the Fund to the Spokane 

9 Business Council. 

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

11 receipt of a notice under paragraph (1), the Sec12 retary shall pay the amount requested to the Spo13 kane Business Council. 

14 (e) USE OF FUNDS.— 

15 (1) CULTURAL RESOURCE REPOSITORY AND IN16 TERPRETIVE CENTER.— 

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

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

19 used by the Spokane Business Council for the 

20 planning, design, construction, equipping, and 

21 continuing operation and maintenance of a Cul22 tural Resource Repository and Interpretive Cen23 ter to— 

24 (i) house, preserve, and protect the 

25 burial remains, funerary objects, and other 
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1 cultural resources affected by the operation 

2 of the Grand Coulee Dam; and 

3 (ii) provide an interpretive and edu4 cational facility regarding the culture and 

5 history of the Spokane Tribe. 

6 (B) EFFECT.—The funding under sub7 paragraph (A) does not alter or affect any au8 thority, obligation, or responsibility of the 

9 United States under— 

10 (i) the Native American Graves Pro11 tection and Repatriation Act (25 U.S.C. 

12 3001 et seq.); 

13 (ii) the Archaeological Resources Pro14 tection Act (16 U.S.C. 470aa et seq.); 

15 (iii) the National Historic Preserva16 tion Act (16 U.S.C. 470 et seq.); or 

17 (iv) the National Environmental Pol18 icy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). 

19 (2) OTHER USES.—Of all other amounts depos20 ited in the Fund (including interest generated on 

21 those amounts)— 

22 (A) 25 percent shall be— 

23 (i) reserved by the Spokane Business 

24 Council; and 
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1 (ii) used for discretionary purposes of 

2 general benefit to all members of the Spo3 kane Tribe; and 

4 (B) 75 percent shall be used by the Spo5 kane Business Council to carry out— 

6 (i) resource development programs; 

7 (ii) credit programs; 

8 (iii) scholarship programs; or 

9 (iv) reserve, investment, and economic 

10 development programs. 

11 SEC. 6. PAYMENTS BY THE ADMINISTRATOR. 

12 (a) INITIAL PAYMENT.—On March 1, 2007, the Ad13 ministrator shall pay the Spokane Tribe— 

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

15 the Computed Annual Payment for fiscal year 2005, 

16 adjusted to reflect the change in the Consumer Price 

17 Index for all urban consumers published by the De18 partment of Labor, from the date on which the pay19 ment for fiscal year 2005 was made to the Colville 

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

21 Spokane Tribe under this subparagraph; and 

22 (2) the amount that is equal to 29 percent of 

23 the Computed Annual Payment for fiscal year 2006. 

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

25 1, 2008, and March 1 of each year thereafter through 
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1 2033, the Administrator shall pay the Spokane Tribe the 

2 amount that is equal to 29 percent of the Computed An3 nual Payment for the previous fiscal year. 

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

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

6 commensurate cost reductions in expenditures on an an7 nual basis to recover each payment to the Tribe. The Ad8 ministrator shall include this specific cost reduction plan 

9 in the annual budget submitted to Congress. 

10 (d) SUNSET.—This section shall have no force or ef11 fect on and after the date that is 25 years after the date 

12 of the enactment of this Act. 

13 SEC. 7. TREATMENT AFTER FUNDS ARE PAID. 

14 (a) USE OF PAYMENTS.—Payments made to the Spo15 kane Business Council or Spokane Tribe under section 5 

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

17 the same manner and for the same purposes as other Spo18 kane Tribe governmental funds. 

19 (b) NO TRUST RESPONSIBILITY OF THE SEC20 RETARY.—Neither the Secretary nor the Administrator 

21 shall have any trust responsibility for the investment, su22 pervision, administration, or expenditure of any funds 

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

24 Business Council or Spokane Tribe under section 5 or 6. 
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1 (c) TREATMENT OF FUNDS FOR CERTAIN PUR2 POSES.—The payments of all funds to the Spokane Busi3 ness Council and Spokane Tribe under sections 5 and 6, 

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

5 be treated in the same manner as payments under section 

6 6 of the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan Dis7 tribution of Judgment Funds Act (100 Stat. 677). 

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

9 are paid to the Spokane Business Council or Spokane 

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

11 (1) constitute Spokane Tribe governmental 

12 funds; and 

13 (2) be subject to an annual tribal government 

14 audit. 

15 SEC. 8. REPAYMENT CREDIT. 

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

17 from the interest payable to the Secretary of the Treasury 

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

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

20 838k))— 

21 (1) in fiscal year 2007, $2,600,000; and 

22 (2) in each subsequent fiscal year in which the 

23 Administrator makes a payment under section 6, 

24 $1,300,000. 

25 (b) CREDITING.— 
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para2 graphs (2) and (3), each deduction made under this 

3 section shall be— 

4 (A) a credit to the interest payments oth5 erwise payable by the Administrator to the Sec6 retary of the Treasury during the fiscal year in 

7 which the deduction is made; and 

8 (B) allocated pro rata to all interest pay9 ments on debt associated with the generation 

10 function of the Federal Columbia River Power 

11 System that are due during the fiscal year. 

12 (2) DEDUCTION GREATER THAN AMOUNT OF

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

14 greater than the amount of interest due on debt as15 sociated with the generation function for the fiscal 

16 year, the amount of the deduction that exceeds the 

17 interest due on debt associated with the generation 

18 function shall be allocated pro rata to all other inter19 est payments due during the fiscal year. 

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

21 exceeds the total amount of interest described in 

22 paragraphs (1) and (2), the deduction shall be ap23 plied as a credit against any other payments that 

24 the Administrator makes to the Secretary of the 

25 Treasury. 
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1 SEC. 9. TRANSFER OF ADMINISTRATIVE JURISDICTION 

2 AND RESTORATION OF OWNERSHIP OF LAND. 

3 (a) TRANSFER OF JURISDICTION.—The Secretary 

4 shall transfer administrative jurisdiction from the Bureau 

5 of Reclamation to the Bureau of Indian Affairs over— 

6 (1) all land acquired by the United States 

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

8 that is located within the exterior boundaries of the 

9 Spokane Indian Reservation established pursuant to 

10 the Executive Order of January 18, 1881; and 

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

12 River that— 

13 (A) extends westerly from Little Falls 

14 Dam to the confluence of the Spokane River 

15 and Columbia River; and 

16 (B) is located at or below contour elevation 

17 1290 feet above sea level. 

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

19 land transferred under this section— 

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

21 of the Spokane Tribe; and 

22 (2) shall become part of the Spokane Indian 

23 Reservation. 

24 (c) RESERVATION OF RIGHTS.— 

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

26 a perpetual right, power, privilege, and easement 
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1 over the land transferred under this section to carry 

2 out the Columbia Basin Project under the Columbia 

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

4 (2) RIGHTS INCLUDED.—The rights reserved 

5 under paragraph (1) further include the right to op6 erate, maintain, repair, and replace boat ramps, 

7 docks, and other recreational facilities owned or per8 mitted by the United States and existing on the date 

9 of enactment of this Act. 

10 (3) RETENTION OF NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM

11 STATUS.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—Land transferred under 

13 this section that, before the date of enactment 

14 of this Act, was included in the Lake Roosevelt 

15 National Recreation Area shall remain part of 

16 the Recreation Area. 

17 (B) ADMINISTRATION.—Nothing in this 

18 section affect the authority or responsibility of 

19 the National Park Service to administer the 

20 Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area under 

21 the Act of August 25, 1916 (39 Stat. 535, 

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

23 (4) MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING.—The 

24 cognizant agencies of the Department of the Interior 

25 shall enter into a memorandum of understanding 
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1 with the Spokane Tribe to provide for coordination 

2 in applying this subsection. 

3 SEC. 10. SATISFACTION OF CLAIMS. 

4 Payment by the Secretary under section 5 and the 

5 Administrator under section 6 and restoration of owner6 ship of land in trust under section 9 constitute full satis7 faction of the claim of the Spokane Tribe to a fair share 

8 of the annual hydropower revenues generated by the 

9 Grand Coulee Dam project for the past and continued use 

10 of land of the Spokane Tribe for the production of hydro11 power at Grand Coulee Dam. 

12 SEC. 11. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

13 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 

14 as are necessary to carry out this Act. 

15 SEC. 12. PRECEDENT. 

16 Nothing in this Act establishes any precedent or is 

17 binding on the Southwestern Power Administration, West18 ern Area Power Administration, or Southeastern Power 

19 Administration. 

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