[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 216 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        S.216

                     One Hundred Sixteenth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE FIRST SESSION

          Begun and held at the City of Washington on Thursday,
           the third day of January, two thousand and nineteen


                                 An Act


 
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.

    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 ``Spokane Tribe of Indians of the 
Spokane Reservation Equitable Compensation Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
    Congress finds that--
        (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) 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;
        (3) 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;
        (4) 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;
        (5) 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.)--
            (A) federalized the Grand Coulee Dam project; and
            (B) began construction of the Grand Coulee Dam;
        (6) when the Grand Coulee Dam project was federalized, the 
    Federal Government recognized that--
            (A) development of the project affected the interests of 
        the Spokane Tribe and the Confederated Tribes of the Colville 
        Reservation; and
            (B) 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;
        (7) in the Act of June 29, 1940 (16 U.S.C. 835d et seq.), 
    Congress--
            (A) granted to the United States--
                (i) 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
                (ii) other interests in that land as required and as 
            designated by the Secretary for certain construction 
            activities undertaken in connection with the project; and
            (B) 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;
        (8) pursuant to that Act, the Secretary paid--
            (A) to the Spokane Tribe, $4,700; and
            (B) to the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, 
        $63,000;
        (9) 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--
            (A) for past use of the land of the Colville Tribes, a 
        payment of $53,000,000; and
            (B) 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;
        (10) 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;
        (11) 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;
        (12) 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;
        (13) 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;
        (14) the Spokane Tribe has suffered significant harm from the 
    construction and operation of Grand Coulee Dam;
        (15) 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;
        (16) 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
        (17) 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.
SEC. 3. 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.
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.
    In this Act:
        (1) 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.
        (2) 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.
        (3) Colville tribes.--The term ``Colville Tribes'' means the 
    Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation.
        (4) 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.
        (5) 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).
        (6) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of 
    the Interior.
        (7) Spokane business council.--The term ``Spokane Business 
    Council'' means the governing body of the Spokane Tribe under the 
    constitution of the Spokane Tribe.
        (8) Spokane tribe.--The term ``Spokane Tribe'' means the 
    Spokane Tribe of Indians of the Spokane Reservation, Washington.
SEC. 5. PAYMENTS BY ADMINISTRATOR.
    (a) Initial Payment.--On March 1, 2022, the Administrator shall pay 
to the Spokane Tribe an amount equal to 25 percent of the Computed 
Annual Payment for fiscal year 2021.
    (b) Subsequent Payments.--
        (1) In general.--Not later than March 1, 2023, and March 1 of 
    each year thereafter through March 1, 2029, the Administrator shall 
    pay the Spokane Tribe an amount equal to 25 percent of the Computed 
    Annual Payment for the preceding fiscal year.
        (2) March 1, 2030, and subsequent years.--Not later than March 
    1, 2030, 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.
SEC. 6. TREATMENT AFTER AMOUNTS ARE PAID.
    (a) Use of Payments.--Payments made to the Spokane Business Council 
or Spokane Tribe under section 5 may be used or invested by the Spokane 
Business Council in the same manner and for the same purposes as other 
Spokane Tribe governmental amounts.
    (b) 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.
    (c) Treatment of Funds for Certain Purposes.--The payments of all 
amounts to the Spokane Business Council and Spokane Tribe under section 
5, 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).
    (d) Tribal Audit.--After the date on which amounts are paid to the 
Spokane Business Council or Spokane Tribe under section 5, the amounts 
shall--
        (1) constitute Spokane Tribe governmental amounts; and
        (2) be subject to an annual tribal government audit.
SEC. 7. REPAYMENT CREDIT.
    (a) 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))--
        (1) in fiscal year 2030, $2,700,000; and
        (2) in each subsequent fiscal year in which the Administrator 
    makes a payment under section 5, $2,700,000.
    (b) Crediting.--
        (1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraphs (2) and (3), 
    each deduction made under this section for the fiscal year shall 
    be--
            (A) 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
            (B) 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.
        (2) 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.
        (3) 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.
SEC. 8. EXTINGUISHMENT OF CLAIMS.
    On the date that payment under section 5(a) is made to the Spokane 
Tribe, all monetary claims that the Spokane Tribe has or may have 
against the United States 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 shall be extinguished.
SEC. 9. ADMINISTRATION.
    Nothing in this Act establishes any precedent or is binding on the 
Southwestern Power Administration, Western Area Power Administration, 
or Southeastern Power Administration.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.