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.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Spokane Tribe of Indi-
ans of the Spokane Reservation Grand Coulee Dam Equi-
table Compensation Settlement Act’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) From 1927 to 1931, at the direction of 
Congress, the Corps of Engineers investigated the 
Columbia River and its tributaries to determine sites 
at which power could be produced at low cost. 
(2) The Corps of Engineers—
(A) identified a number of sites, including 
the site at which the Grand Coulee Dam is lo-
cated; and 
(B) recommended that power development 
at those sites be performed by local govern-
mental authorities or private utilities under the 
Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 791a et seq.). 
(3) Under section 10(e) of that Act (16 U.S.C. 
803(e)), a licensee is required to compensate an In-
dian tribe for the use of land under the jurisdiction 
of the Indian tribe. 
(4) In August 1933, the Columbia Basin Com-
mission, an agency of the State of Washington, re-
ceived a preliminary permit from the Federal Power 
Commission for water power development at the 
Grand Coulee site. 
(5) In the mid-1930’s, the Federal Government, 
which is not subject to the Federal Power Act (16 
U.S.C. 791a et seq.)—
(A) federalized the Grand Coulee Dam 
project; and 
(B) began construction of the Grand Cou-
lee Dam. 
(6) At the time at which the Grand Coulee 
Dam project was federalized, the Federal Govern-
ment recognized that the Spokane Tribe and the 
Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation had 
compensable interests in the Grand Coulee Dam 
project, including compensation for—
(A) the development of hydropower; 
(B) the extinguishment of a salmon fishery 
on which the Spokane Tribe was almost com-
pletely financially dependent; and 
(C) the inundation of land with loss of po-
tential power sites previously identified by the 
Spokane Tribe. 
(7) In the Act of June 29, 1940, Congress—
(A) in the first section (16 U.S.C. 835d) 
granted to the United States—
(i) all rights of Indian tribes in land 
of the Spokane Tribe and Colville Indian 
Reservations that were required for the 
Grand Coulee Dam project; and
(ii) various rights-of-way over other 
land under the jurisdiction of Indian tribes 
that were required in connection with the 
project; and 
(B) in section 2 (16 U.S.C. 835e) provided 
that compensation for the land and rights-of-
way was to be determined by the Secretary of 
the Interior in such amounts as the Secretary 
determined to be just and equitable. 
(8) In furtherance of that Act, the Secretary of 
the Interior paid—
(A) to the Spokane Tribe, $4,700; and 
(B) to the Confederated Tribes of the 
Colville Reservation, $63,000. 
(9) In 1994, following 43 years of litigation be-
fore the Indian Claims Commission, the United 
States Court of Federal Claims, and the United 
States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, 
Congress ratified an agreement between the Confed-
erated Tribes of the Colville Reservation and the 
United States that provided for damages and annual 
payments of $15,250,000 in perpetuity, adjusted an-
nually, based on revenues from the sale of electric 
power from the Grand Coulee Dam project and
transmission of that power by the Bonneville Power 
Administration. 
(10) In legal opinions issued by the Office of 
the Solicitor of the Department of the Interior, a 
Task Force Study conducted from 1976 to 1980 or-
dered by the Committee on Appropriations of the 
Senate, and hearings before Congress at the time at 
which the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Res-
ervation Grand Coulee Dam Settlement Act (Public 
Law 103–436; 108 Stat. 4577) was enacted, it has 
repeatedly been recognized that—
(A) the Spokane Tribe suffered damages 
similar to those suffered by, and had a case le-
gally comparable to that of, the Confederated 
Tribes of the Colville Reservation; but 
(B) the 5-year statute of limitations under 
the Act of August 13, 1946 (25 U.S.C. 70 et 
seq.) precluded the Spokane Tribe from bring-
ing a civil action for damages under that Act. 
(11) The inability of the Spokane Tribe to 
bring a civil action before the Indian Claims Com-
mission can be attributed to a combination of fac-
tors, including—
(A) the failure of the Bureau of Indian Af-
fairs to carry out its advisory responsibilities in 
accordance with that Act; and 
(B) an attempt by the Commissioner of In-
dian Affairs to impose improper requirements 
on claims attorneys retained by Indian tribes, 
which caused delays in retention of counsel and 
full investigation of the potential claims of the 
Spokane Tribe. 
(12) As a consequence of construction of the 
Grand Coulee Dam project, the Spokane Tribe—
(A) has suffered the loss of—
(i) the salmon fishery on which the 
Spokane Tribe was dependent; 
(ii) identified hydropower sites that 
the Spokane Tribe could have developed; 
and 
(iii) hydropower revenues that the 
Spokane Tribe would have received under 
the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 791a et 
seq.) had the project not been federalized; 
and 
(B) continues to lose hydropower revenues 
that the Federal Government recognized were
owed to the Spokane Tribe at the time at which 
the project was constructed. 
(13) More than 39 percent of the land owned 
by Indian tribes or members of Indian tribes that 
was used for the Grand Coulee Dam project was 
land of the Spokane Tribe. 
SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE. 
The purpose of this Act is to provide fair and equi-
table compensation to the Spokane Tribe, using the same 
proportional basis as was used in providing compensation 
to the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, for 
the losses suffered as a result of the construction and op-
eration of the Grand Coulee Dam project. 
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis-
trator’’ means the Administrator of the Bonneville 
Power Administration. 
(2) CONFEDERATED
TRIBES
ACT.—The term 
‘‘Confederated Tribes Act’’ means the Confederated 
Tribes of the Colville Reservation Grand Coulee 
Dam Settlement Act (Public Law 103–436; 108 
Stat. 4577).
(3) FUND
ACCOUNT.—The term ‘‘Fund Ac-
count’’ means the Spokane Tribe of Indians Settle-
ment Fund Account established under section 5(a). 
(4) SPOKANE
TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Spokane 
Tribe’’ means the Spokane Tribe of Indians of the 
Spokane Reservation, Washington. 
SEC. 5. SETTLEMENT FUND ACCOUNT. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF ACCOUNT.—There is estab-
lished in the Treasury an interest bearing account to be 
known as the ‘‘Spokane Tribe of Indians Settlement Fund 
Account’’. 
(b) DEPOSIT OF AMOUNTS.—
(1) INITIAL DEPOSIT.—On the date on which 
funds are made available to carry out this Act, the 
Secretary of the Treasury shall deposit in the Fund 
Account, as payment and satisfaction of the claim of 
the Spokane Tribe for use of land of the Spokane 
Tribe for generation of hydropower for the period 
beginning on June 29, 1940, and ending on Novem-
ber 2, 1994, an amount that is equal to 39.4 percent 
of the amount paid to the Confederated Tribes of 
the Colville Reservation under section 5(a) of the 
Confederated Tribes Act, adjusted to reflect the 
change, during the period beginning on the date on 
which the payment described in subparagraph (A)
was made to the Confederated Tribes of the Colville 
Reservation and ending on the date of enactment of 
this Act, in the Consumer Price Index for all urban 
consumers published by the Department of Labor. 
(2) SUBSEQUENT
DEPOSITS.—On September 
30 of the first fiscal year that begins after the date 
of enactment of this Act, and on September 30 of 
each of the 5 fiscal years thereafter, the Adminis-
trator of the Bonneville Power Administration shall 
deposit in the Fund Account an amount that is 
equal to 7.88 percent of the amount authorized to 
be paid to the Confederated Tribes of the Colville 
Reservation under section 5(b) of the Confederated 
Tribes Act through the end of the fiscal year during 
which this Act is enacted, adjusted to reflect the 
change, during the period beginning on the date on 
which the payment to the Confederated Tribes of the 
Colville Reservation was first made and ending on 
the date of enactment of this Act, in the Consumer 
Price Index for all urban consumers published by 
the Department of Labor. 
(c) ANNUAL PAYMENTS.—On September 1 of the 
first fiscal year after the date of enactment of this Act, 
and annually thereafter, the Administrator (or the head 
of any successor agency) shall pay to the Spokane Tribe
an amount that is equal to 39.4 percent of the annual 
payment authorized to be paid to the Confederated Tribes 
of the Colville Reservation under section 5(b) of the Con-
federated Tribes Act for the fiscal year. 
SEC. 6. USE AND TREATMENT OF SETTLEMENT FUNDS. 
(a) TRANSFER OF FUNDS TO SPOKANE TRIBE.—
(1) INITIAL
TRANSFER.—Not later than 60 
days after the date on which the Secretary of the 
Treasury receives from the Spokane Business Coun-
cil written notice of the adoption by the Spokane 
Business Council of a resolution requesting that the 
Secretary of the Treasury execute the transfer of 
settlement funds described in section 5(a), the Sec-
retary of the Treasury shall transfer all or a portion 
of the settlement funds, as appropriate, to the Spo-
kane Business Council. 
(2) SUBSEQUENT TRANSFERS.—If not all funds 
described in section 5(a) are transferred to the Spo-
kane Business Council under an initial transfer re-
quest described in paragraph (1), the Spokane Busi-
ness Council may make subsequent requests for, and 
the Secretary of the Treasury may execute subse-
quent transfers of, those funds.