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 Deal-
ings’’ 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 nego-
tiated 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 Settle-
ment 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 reimburs-
able 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 dis-
tribution 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