II
112th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1345
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 11, 2011
Ms. Cantwell (for herself and Mrs. Murray) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs
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.
Short title
This Act may be cited as
the Spokane Tribe of Indians of the
Spokane Reservation Grand Coulee Dam Equitable Compensation Settlement
Act
.
Findings
Congress finds that—
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;
under section 10(e) of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 803(e)), when licenses are issued involving tribal land within an Indian reservation, a reasonable annual charge shall be fixed for the use of the land, subject to the approval of the Indian tribe having jurisdiction over the land;
in August 1933, the Columbia Basin Commission, an agency of the State of Washington, received a preliminary permit from the Federal Power Commission for water power development at the Grand Coulee site;
had the Columbia Basin Commission or a private entity developed the site, the Spokane Tribe would have been entitled to a reasonable annual charge for the use of the land of the Spokane Tribe;
in the mid-1930s, the Federal Government, which is not subject to licensing under the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 792 et seq.)—
federalized the Grand Coulee Dam project; and
began construction of the Grand Coulee Dam;
when the Grand Coulee Dam project was federalized, the Federal Government recognized that—
development of the project affected the interests of the Spokane Tribe and the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation; and
it would be appropriate for the Spokane and Colville Tribes to receive a share of revenue from the disposition of power produced at Grand Coulee Dam;
in the Act of June 29, 1940 (16 U.S.C. 835d et seq.), Congress—
granted to the United States—
in aid of the construction, operation, and maintenance of the Columbia Basin Project, all the right, title, and interest of the Spokane Tribe and Colville Tribes in and to the tribal and allotted land within the Spokane and Colville Reservations, as designated by the Secretary of the Interior from time to time; and
other interests in that land as required and as designated by the Secretary for certain construction activities undertaken in connection with the project; and
provided that compensation for the land and other interests was to be determined by the Secretary in such amounts as the Secretary determined to be just and equitable;
pursuant to that Act, the Secretary paid—
to the Spokane Tribe, $4,700; and
to the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, $63,000;
in 1994,
following litigation under the Act of August 13, 1946 (commonly known as the
Indian Claims Commission Act
(60 Stat. 1049, chapter 959; former
25 U.S.C. 70 et seq.)), Congress ratified the Colville Settlement Agreement,
which required—
for past use of the land of the Colville Tribes, a payment of $53,000,000; and
for continued use of the land of the Colville Tribes, annual payments of $15,250,000, adjusted annually 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;
the Spokane Tribe, having suffered harm similar to that suffered by the Colville Tribes, did not file a claim within the 5-year statute of limitations under the Indian Claims Commission Act;
neither the Colville Tribes nor the Spokane Tribe filed claims for compensation for use of the land of the respective Tribes with the Commission prior to August 13, 1951, but both Tribes filed unrelated land claims prior to August 13, 1951;
in 1976, over objections by the United States, the Colville Tribes were successful in amending the 1951 Claims Commission land claims to add the Grand Coulee claim of the Colville Tribes;
the Spokane Tribe had no such claim to amend, having settled the Claims Commission land claims of the Spokane Tribe with the United States in 1967;
the Spokane Tribe has suffered significant harm from the construction and operation of Grand Coulee Dam;
Spokane tribal acreage taken by the United States for the construction of Grand Coulee Dam equaled approximately 39 percent of Colville tribal acreage taken for construction of the dam;
the payments and delegation made pursuant to this Act constitute fair and equitable compensation for the past and continued use of Spokane tribal land for the production of hydropower at Grand Coulee Dam; and
by vote of the Spokane tribal membership, the Spokane Tribe has resolved that the payments and delegation made pursuant to this Act constitute fair and equitable compensation for the past and continued use of Spokane tribal land for the production of hydropower at Grand Coulee Dam.
Purpose
The purpose of this Act is to provide fair and equitable compensation to the Spokane Tribe for the use of the land of the Spokane Tribe for the generation of hydropower by the Grand Coulee Dam.
Definitions
In this Act:
Administrator
The term Administrator means the Administrator of the Bonneville Power Administration or the head of any successor agency, corporation, or entity that markets power produced at Grand Coulee Dam.
Colville Settlement Agreement
The term Colville Settlement Agreement means the Settlement Agreement entered into between the United States and the Colville Tribes, signed by the United States on April 21, 1994, and by the Colville Tribes on April 16, 1994, to settle the claims of the Colville Tribes in Docket 181–D of the Indian Claims Commission, which docket was transferred to the United States Court of Federal Claims.
Colville Tribes
The term Colville Tribes means the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation.
Computed Annual Payment
The term Computed Annual Payment means the payment calculated under paragraph 2.b. of the Colville Settlement Agreement, without regard to any increase or decrease in the payment under section 2.d. of the agreement.
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).
Fund
The term Fund means the Spokane Tribe of Indians Settlement Fund established by section 5.
Secretary
The term Secretary means the Secretary of the Interior.
Spokane Business Council
The term Spokane Business Council means the governing body of the Spokane Tribe under the constitution of the Spokane Tribe.
Spokane Tribe
The term Spokane Tribe means the Spokane Tribe of Indians of the Spokane Reservation, Washington.
Settlement fund
Establishment of fund
There is established in the Treasury of the United States
an interest-bearing trust fund to be known as the Spokane Tribe of
Indians Settlement Fund
, consisting of—
amounts deposited in the Fund under subsection (b); and
any interest earned on investment of amounts in the Fund.
Deposits
From amounts made available under section 11—
for fiscal year 2012, the Secretary shall deposit in the Fund $23,900,000; and
for each of the 4 fiscal years thereafter, the Secretary shall deposit in the Fund $18,900,000.
Maintenance and Investment of Fund
The Fund shall be maintained and invested by the Secretary in accordance with the Act of June 24, 1938 (25 U.S.C. 162a).
Payment of Funds to Spokane Business Council
Request
At any time after amounts are deposited in the Fund, the Spokane Business Council may submit to the Secretary written notice of the adoption by the Spokane Business Council of a resolution requesting that the Secretary pay all or a portion of the amounts in the Fund to the Spokane Business Council.
Payment
Not later than 60 days after receipt of a notice under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall pay the amount requested to the Spokane Business Council.
Use of funds
Cultural resource repository and interpretive center
In general
Of the initial deposit under subsection (b)(1), $5,000,000 shall be used by the Spokane Business Council for the planning, design, construction, equipping, and continuing operation and maintenance of a Cultural Resource Repository and Interpretive Center to—
house, preserve, and protect the burial remains and funerary and cultural resources affected by the operation of the Grand Coulee Dam; and
provide an interpretive and educational facility regarding the culture and history of the Spokane Tribe.
Effect
The funding under subparagraph (A) does not alter or affect any authority, obligation, or responsibility of the United States under—
the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (25 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.);
the Archaeological Resources Protection Act (16 U.S.C. 470aa et seq.);
the National Historic Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 470 et seq.); or
the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).
Other uses
Of all other amounts deposited in the Fund (including interest generated on those amounts)—
25 percent shall be—
reserved by the Spokane Business Council; and
used for discretionary purposes of general benefit to all members of the Spokane Tribe; and
75 percent shall be used by the Spokane Business Council to carry out—
resource development programs;
credit programs;
scholarship programs; or
reserve, investment, and economic development programs.
Payments by Administrator
Initial payment
On March 1, 2012, the Administrator shall pay to the Spokane Tribe an amount equal to 25 percent of the Computed Annual Payment for fiscal year 2011.
Subsequent payments
In general
Not later than March 1, 2013, and March 1 of each year thereafter through March 1, 2021, the Administrator shall pay the Spokane Tribe an amount equal to 25 percent of the Computed Annual Payment for the preceding fiscal year.
March 1, 2022, and subsequent years
Not later than March 1, 2022, and March 1 of each year thereafter, the Administrator shall pay the Spokane Tribe an amount equal to 32 percent of the Computed Annual Payment for the preceding fiscal year.
Treatment after amounts are paid
Use of payments
Payments made to the Spokane Business Council or Spokane Tribe under section 5 or 6 may be used or invested by the Business Council in the same manner and for the same purposes as other Spokane Tribe governmental amounts.
No trust responsibility of the Secretary
Neither the Secretary nor the Administrator shall have any trust responsibility for the investment, supervision, administration, or expenditure of any amounts after the date on which the funds are paid to the Spokane Business Council or Spokane Tribe under section 5 or 6.
Treatment of funds for certain purposes
The payments of all amounts to the Spokane Business Council and Spokane Tribe under sections 5 and 6, and the interest and income generated by those amounts, shall be treated in the same manner as payments under section 6 of the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan Distribution of Judgment Funds Act (100 Stat. 677).
Tribal audit
After the date on which amounts are paid to the Spokane Business Council or Spokane Tribe under section 5 or 6, the amounts shall—
constitute Spokane Tribe governmental amounts; and
be subject to an annual tribal government audit.
Repayment credit
In general
The Administrator shall deduct from the interest payable to the Secretary of the Treasury from net proceeds (as defined in section 13 of the Federal Columbia River Transmission System Act (16 U.S.C. 838k))—
in fiscal year 2022, $2,700,000; and
in each subsequent fiscal year in which the Administrator makes a payment under section 6, $2,700,000.
Crediting
In general
Except as provided in paragraphs (2) and (3), each deduction made under this section for the fiscal year shall be—
a credit to the interest payments otherwise payable by the Administrator to the Secretary of the Treasury during the fiscal year in which the deduction is made; and
allocated pro rata to all interest payments on debt associated with the generation function of the Federal Columbia River Power System that are due during the fiscal year.
Deduction greater than amount of interest
If, in an applicable fiscal year under paragraph (1), the deduction is greater than the amount of interest due on debt associated with the generation function for the fiscal year, the amount of the deduction that exceeds the interest due on debt associated with the generation function shall be allocated pro rata to all other interest payments due during the fiscal year.
Credit
To the extent that a deduction exceeds the total amount of interest described in paragraphs (1) and (2), the deduction shall be applied as a credit against any other payments that the Administrator makes to the Secretary of the Treasury.
Delegation of authority; reservation boundary; retention of authority
Delegation of authority
The delegation by the Secretary to the Spokane Tribe under the authority of the following, with respect to land that is located within the exterior boundaries of the Spokane Indian Reservation, is confirmed:
The Act of June 17, 1902 (43 U.S.C. 373).
The Act of June 29, 1940 (16 U.S.C. 835d).
Section 15 of the Act of August 4, 1939 (43 U.S.C. 485i).
The Lake Roosevelt Cooperative Management Agreement concluded in April 1990 among the Department of the Interior, the Spokane Tribe, and the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, over all land acquired by the United States pursuant to the Act of June 29, 1940 (16 U.S.C. 835d), also known as the Reservation or Indian Zone.
Colville-Spokane reservation boundary
Nothing in this section—
establishes or affects—
the precise location of the boundary between the Spokane Indian Reservation and the Colville Reservation along the Columbia River; or
the agreement between the Colville Tribes and the Spokane Tribe that the common boundary of the Spokane Tribe and Colville Tribes Indian zones established under the Act of June 29, 1940 (16 U.S.C. 835d), shall follow the center line of Lake Roosevelt, without reference to the course of the submerged Columbia River; or
affects the rights of the Colville Tribes or the Spokane Tribe to the use of the respective portion of each tribe of the Indian zone, as provided in the Act of June 29, 1940 (16 U.S.C. 835d).
Retention of authority by the United States
Nothing in this Act alters or affects the authority or responsibility of—
the United States to carry out the Columbia Basin Project under the Columbia Basin Project Act (16 U.S.C. 835 et seq.); or
the National Park Service to administer the Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area under the Act of August 25, 1916 (39 Stat. 535, chapter 408; 16 U.S.C. 1 et seq.).
Satisfaction of claims
Payment by the Secretary under section 5 and the Administrator under section 6 and delegation under section 9 constitute full satisfaction of the claim of the Spokane Tribe to a fair share of the annual hydropower revenues generated by the Grand Coulee Dam project for the past and continued use of land of the Spokane Tribe for the production of hydropower at Grand Coulee Dam.
Administration
Nothing in this Act establishes any precedent or is binding on the Southwestern Power Administration, Western Area Power Administration, or Southeastern Power Administration.
Authorization of appropriations
There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary to carry out this Act.