I 
109TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6119 
To provide for the equitable settlement of claims of Indian tribes in the 
region of Puget Sound, Washington regarding treaty rights to take 
shellfish from lands in that region, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 20, 2006 
Mr. DICKS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Resources 
A BILL 
To provide for the equitable settlement of claims of Indian 
tribes in the region of Puget Sound, Washington regard-
ing treaty rights to take shellfish from lands in that 
region, 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 ‘‘Puget Sound Regional 
Shellfish Settlement Act of 2006’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 
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(1) the Tribes have established treaty rights to 
take shellfish from public and private tidelands in 
Washington State, including from some lands owned, 
leased, or otherwise subject to harvest by commercial 
shellfish Growers; 
(2) the district court that adjudicated the 
Tribes’ treaty rights to take shellfish found that the 
Growers are innocent purchasers who had no notice 
of the Tribes’ fishing right when they acquired their 
properties; 
(3) numerous unresolved issues remain out-
standing regarding implementation of the Tribes’ 
treaty right to take shellfish from lands owned, 
leased, or otherwise subject to harvest by the Grow-
ers; 
(4) the Tribes, the Growers, the State of Wash-
ington, and the United States Department of the In-
terior have resolved by a Settlement Agreement 
many of the disputes between and among them re-
garding implementation of the Tribes’ treaty right to 
take shellfish from covered tidelands owned or leased 
by the Growers; 
(5) the Settlement Agreement does not provide 
for resolution of any claims to take shellfish from 
lands owned or leased by the Growers that poten-
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tially may be brought in the future by ‘‘Other 
Tribes’’; 
(6) in the absence of congressional actions, the 
prospect of ‘‘Other Tribes’’ claims to take shellfish 
from lands owned or leased by the Growers could be 
pursued through the courts, a process which in all 
likelihood could consume many years and thereby 
promote uncertainty in the State of Washington and 
the Growers and to the ultimate detriment of both 
the Tribes and Other Tribes and their members; 
(7) in order to avoid this uncertainty, it is the 
intent of Congress that Other Tribes have the option 
of resolving their claims, if any, to a treaty right to 
take shellfish from covered tidelands owned or leased 
by the Growers; and 
(8) this Act represents a good faith effort on 
the part of Congress to extend to Other Tribes the 
same fair and just option of resolving their claims 
to take shellfish from covered tidelands owned or 
leased by the Growers that the Tribes have agreed 
to in the Settlement Agreement. 
(b) PURPOSE.—The purposes of this Act are— 
(1) to approve, ratify, and confirm the Settle-
ment Agreement entered into by and among the 
Tribes, commercial shellfish growers, the State of 
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Washington and the United States on lllll, 
2006; 
(2) to provide Other Tribes with a fair and just 
resolution of any claims to take shellfish from ‘‘cov-
ered tidelands’’, as that term is defined in the Set-
tlement Agreement, that potentially could be 
brought in the future by Other Tribes; and 
(3) to authorize the Secretary to implement the 
terms and conditions of the Settlement Agreement 
and this Act. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) FUND.—The term ‘‘Fund’’ means the 
Puget Sound Shellfish Settlement Trust Fund Ac-
count established by this Act. 
(2) GROWERS.—The term ‘‘Growers’’ means 
Taylor United, Inc.; Olympia Oyster Company; G.R. 
Clam 
& 
Oyster 
Farm; 
Cedric 
E. 
Lindsay; 
Minterbrook Oyster Company; Charles and Willa 
Murray; Skookum Bay Oyster Company; J & G 
Gunstone Clams, Inc.; and all persons who qualify 
as ‘‘growers’’ in accordance with and pursuant to 
the Settlement Agreement. 
(3) OTHER TRIBES.—The term ‘‘Other Tribes’’ 
means any federally recognized Indian nation or 
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tribe other than the Tribes defined by this section 
that, within 20 years after the deposit of funds in 
the Special Holding Account, establishes a legally 
enforceable treaty right to take shellfish from cov-
ered tidelands described in the Settlement Agree-
ment, owned, leased or otherwise subject to harvest 
by those persons or entities that qualify as Growers. 
(4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of the Interior. 
(5) 
SETTLEMENT
AGREEMENT.—The 
term 
‘‘Settlement Agreement’’ means the Settlement 
Agreement entered into by and between the Tribes, 
commercial shellfish Growers, the State of Wash-
ington 
and 
the 
United 
States, 
signed 
on 
lllllllll, 2006, to resolve certain dis-
putes between and among them regarding implemen-
tation of the Tribes’ treaty right to take shellfish 
from certain covered tidelands owned, leased or oth-
erwise subject to harvest by the Growers. 
(6) TRIBES.—The term ‘‘Tribes’’ means the fol-
lowing federally recognized Tribes that executed the 
Settlement Agreement: Tulalip, Stillaguamish, Sauk 
Suiattle, 
Puyallup, 
Squaxin 
Island, 
Makah, 
Muckleshoot, Upper Skagit, Nooksack, Nisqually, 
Skokomish, Port Gamble S’Klallam, Lower Elwha 
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Klallam, Jamestown S’Klallam, and Suquamish 
Tribes, the Lummi Nation, and the Swinomish In-
dian Tribal Community. 
(7) SPECIAL
HOLDING
ACCOUNT.—The term 
‘‘Special Holding Account’’ means the Puget Sound 
Shellfish Settlement Special Holding Account estab-
lished by this Act. 
SEC. 4. APPROVAL OF SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Settlement Agreement is 
hereby approved, ratified, and confirmed, and section 6 
of the Settlement Agreement, Release of Claims, is specifi-
cally adopted and incorporated into this Act as if fully set 
forth herein. 
(b) AUTHORIZATION
FOR IMPLEMENTATION.—The 
Secretary is hereby authorized to implement the terms and 
conditions of the Settlement Agreement in accordance 
with the Settlement Agreement and this Act. 
SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
There is authorized to be appropriated the sum of 
$23,500,000 to carry out this Act as follows: 
(1) $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2007. 
(2) $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 
through 2010. 
(3) $6,500,000 for fiscal year 2011. 
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SEC. 6. FUND, SPECIAL HOLDING ACCOUNT, AND CONDI-
TIONS. 
(a) PUGET SOUND REGIONAL SHELLFISH SETTLE-
MENT TRUST FUND.— 
(1) There is hereby established in the Treasury 
of the United States an account to be designated as 
the ‘‘Puget Sound Regional Shellfish Settlement 
Trust Fund’’. The Secretary shall deposit funds in 
the amount of $22,000,000 at such time as appro-
priated pursuant to section 5 into the Fund. 
(2) The Fund shall be maintained and invested 
by the Secretary of the Interior pursuant to the Act 
of June 24, 1938 as amended (25 U.S.C. 162a) 
until such time that all monies are transferred from 
the Fund. 
(3) The Secretary shall transfer monies held in 
the Fund to each Tribe of the Tribes in the amounts 
and manner specified by and in accordance with the 
payment agreement established pursuant to the Set-
tlement Agreement and this Act. 
(b) PUGET SOUND REGIONAL SHELLFISH SETTLE-
MENT SPECIAL HOLDING ACCOUNT.— 
(1) There is hereby established in the Treasury 
of the United States a fund to be designated as the 
‘‘Puget Sound Regional Shellfish Settlement Special 
Holding Account’’. The Secretary shall deposit funds 
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in the amount of $1,500,000 into the Special Hold-
ing Account in fiscal year 2011 at such time as ap-
propriated pursuant to section 5. 
(2) The Special Holding Account shall be main-
tained and invested by the Secretary of the Interior 
pursuant to the Act of June 24, 1938 as amended 
(25 U.S.C. 162a) until such time that all monies are 
transferred from the Special Holding Account. 
(3) If a court of competent jurisdiction renders 
a final decision declaring that any of the Other 
Tribes has an established treaty right to take or 
harvest shellfish in covered tidelands, as that term 
is defined in the Settlement Agreement, and such 
tribe opts to accept a share of the Special Holding 
Account, rather than litigate this claim against the 
Growers, the Secretary shall transfer the appropriate 
share of the monies held in the Special Holding Ac-
count to each such tribe of the Other Tribes in the 
amounts appropriate to compensate the Other 
Tribes in the same manner and for the same pur-
poses as the Tribes who are signatory to the Settle-
ment Agreement. Such a transfer to a tribe shall 
constitute full and complete satisfaction of that 
tribe’s claims to shellfish on the covered tidelands. 
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(4) The Secretary may retain such amounts of 
the Special Holding Account as necessary to provide 
for additional tribes that may judicially establish 
their rights to take shellfish in the covered tidelands 
within the term of that Account, provided that the 
Secretary pays the remaining balance to the Other 
Tribes prior to the expiration of the term of the Spe-
cial Holding Account. 
(5) 
The 
Tribes 
shall 
have 
no 
interest, 
possessory or otherwise, in the Special Holding Ac-
count. 
(6) Twenty years after the deposit of funds into 
the Special Holding Account, the Secretary shall 
close the Account and transfer the balance of any 
funds held in the Special Holding Account at that 
time to the Treasury. However, the Secretary may 
continue to maintain the Special Holding Account in 
order to resolve the claim of an Other Tribe that has 
notified the Secretary in writing within the 20-year 
term of that Tribe’s interest in resolving its claim in 
the manner provided for in this Act. 
(7) It is the intent of Congress that the Other 
Tribes, if any, shall have the option of agreeing to 
similar rights and responsibilities as the Tribes that 
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are signatories to the Settlement Agreement, if they 
opt not to litigate against the Growers. 
(c) ANNUAL REPORT.—Each tribe of the Tribes, or 
any of the Other Tribes accepting a settlement of its 
claims to shellfish on covered lands pursuant to (b)(3), 
shall submit to the Secretary an annual report that de-
scribes all expenditures made with monies withdrawn from 
the Fund or Special Holding Account during the year cov-
ered by the report. 
(d) JUDICIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION.—The 
Secretary may take judicial or administrative action to en-
sure that any monies withdrawn from the Fund or Special 
Holding Account are used in accordance with the purposes 
described in the Settlement Agreement and this Act. 
(e) CLARIFICATION OF TRUST RESPONSIBILITY.— 
Beginning on the date that monies are transferred to a 
tribe of the Tribes or a tribe of the Other Tribes pursuant 
to this Act, any trust responsibility or liability of the 
United States with respect to the expenditure or invest-
ment of the monies withdrawn shall cease. 
SEC. 7. STATE OF WASHINGTON PAYMENT. 
The Secretary shall not be accountable for nor incur 
any liability for the collection, deposit, management or 
nonpayment of the State of Washington payment of 
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$11,000,000 to the Tribes pursuant to the Settlement 
Agreement. 
SEC. 8. RELEASE OF OTHER TRIBES CLAIMS. 
(a) RIGHT TO BRING ACTIONS.—As of the date of 
enactment of this Act, all right of any Other Tribes to 
bring an action to enforce or exercise its treaty rights to 
take shellfish from public and private tidelands in Wash-
ington State, including from some lands owned, leased, or 
otherwise subject to harvest by any and all Growers shall 
be determined in accordance with the decisions of the 
Courts of the United States in United States v. Wash-
ington, Civ. No. 9213 (Western District of Washington). 
(b) CERTAIN RIGHTS GOVERNED BY THIS ACT.—If 
a tribe falling within the category Other Tribes opts to 
resolve its claims to take shellfish from covered tidelands 
owned or leased by the Growers pursuant to section 
6(b)(3) of this Act, that tribe’s rights shall be governed 
by this Act, as well as by the decisions of the Courts in 
United States v. Washington, Civ. No. 9213. 
(c) NO
BREACH
OF
TRUST.—Notwithstanding 
whether the United States has a duty to initiate such an 
action, the failure or declination by the United States to 
initiate any action to enforce any Other Tribe(s) treaty 
rights to take shellfish from public and private tidelands 
in Washington State, including from covered tidelands 
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owned, leased, or otherwise subject to harvest by any and 
all Growers shall not constitute a breach of trust by the 
United States or be compensable to Other Tribes. 
SEC. 9. CAUSE OF ACTION. 
If any payment by the United States is not paid in 
the amount or manner specified by this Act, or is not paid 
within 6 months after the date specified by the Settlement 
Agreement, such failure shall give rise to a cause of action 
by the Tribes either individually or collectively against the 
United States for money damages for the amount author-
ized but not paid to the Tribes, and the Tribes, either indi-
vidually or collectively, are authorized to bring an action 
against the United States in the United States Court of 
Federal Claims for such funds plus interest. 
Æ 
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