[House Report 107-257]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



107th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session                                                    107-257

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 REGARDING THE USE OF THE TRUST LAND AND RESOURCES OF THE CONFEDERATED 
            TRIBES OF THE WARM SPRINGS RESERVATION OF OREGON

                                _______
                                

October 30, 2001.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

  Mr. Hansen, from the Committee on Resources, submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 483]

  The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill 
(H.R. 483) regarding the use of the trust land and resources of 
the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of 
Oregon, having considered the same, report favorably thereon 
with an amendment and recommend that the bill as amended do 
pass.
  The amendment is as follows:
  Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
following:

SECTION 1. AUTHORIZATION FOR 99-YEAR LEASES.

  The first section of the Act entitled ``An Act to authorize the 
leasing of restricted Indian lands for public, religious, educational, 
residential, business, and other purposes requiring the grant of long-
term leases'', approved August 9, 1955 (25 U.S.C. 415(a)), is amended--
          (1) by inserting ``, the reservation of the Confederated 
        Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon,'' after 
        ``Spanish Grant'')''; and
          (2) by inserting ``lands held in trust for the Confederated 
        Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon'' before ``, 
        lands held in trust for the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma''.

SEC. 2. USE OF CERTAIN TRUST LANDS AND RESOURCES FOR ECONOMIC 
                    DEVELOPMENT.

  (a) Approval of Agreement.--The use of tribal lands, resources, and 
other assets described in the document entitled ``Long-Term Global 
Settlement and Compensation Agreement'', dated April 12, 2000 
(hereafter referred to as the ``GSA''), entered into by the Department 
of the Interior, the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs 
Reservation of Oregon (in this section referred to as the ``Tribes''), 
and the Portland General Electric Company, and in the Included 
Agreements, as attached to the GSA on April 12, 2000, and delivered to 
the Department of the Interior on that date, is approved and ratified. 
The authorization, execution, and delivery of the GSA is approved. In 
this section, the GSA and the Included Agreements are collectively 
referred to as the ``Agreement''. Any provision of Federal law which 
applies to tribal land, resources, or other assets (including proceeds 
derived therefrom) as a consequence of the Tribes' status as a 
federally recognized Indian tribe shall not--
          (1) render the Agreement unenforceable or void against the 
        parties; or
          (2) prevent or restrict the Tribes from pledging, 
        encumbering, or using funds or other assets that may be paid to 
        or received by or on behalf of the Tribes in connection with 
        the Agreement.
  (b) Authority of Secretary.--
          (1) In general.--Congress hereby deems that the Secretary of 
        the Interior had and has the authority--
                  (A) to approve the Agreement; and
                  (B) to implement the provisions of the Agreement 
                under which the Secretary has obligations as a party 
                thereto.
          (2) Other agreements.--Any agreement approved by the 
        Secretary prior to or after the date of the enactment of this 
        Act under the authority used to approve the Agreement shall not 
        require Congressional approval or ratification to be valid and 
        binding on the parties thereto.
  (c) Rules of Construction.--
          (1) Scope of section.--This section shall be construed as 
        addressing only--
                  (A) the validity and enforceability of the Agreement 
                with respect to provisions of Federal law referred to 
                in section 2(a) of this Act; and
                  (B) approval for provisions of the Agreement and 
                actions that are necessary to implement provisions of 
                the Agreement that the parties may be required to 
                obtain under Federal laws referred to in section 2(a) 
                of this Act.
          (2) Authority.--Nothing in this Act shall be construed to 
        imply that the Secretary of the Interior did not have the 
        authority under Federal law as in effect immediately before the 
        enactment of this Act to approve the use of tribal lands, 
        resources, or other assets in the manner described in the 
        Agreement or in the implementation thereof.

SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.

  This Act shall take effect as of April 12, 2000.

                          Purpose of the Bill

    The purpose of H.R. 483 is to provide the authorization for 
99-year leases for the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs 
Reservation of Oregon and to approve an agreement regarding the 
use of trust land and resources of those Tribes.

                  Background and Need for Legislation

    H.R. 483 would extend the lease of restricted lands owned 
by the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of 
Oregon (Tribes) for a period not to exceed 99 years and approve 
and ratify the Long-Term Global Settlement and Compensation 
Agreement (Agreement) between the Department of Interior (DOI), 
the Tribes, and the Portland General Electric Company (PGE). A 
similar bill (H.R. 5681) was introduced at the end of the 106th 
Congress, but no action was taken.
    The legislation ratifies and confirms the Agreement between 
DOI, the Tribes and PGE. It authorizes the Secretary of the 
Interior to take all actions necessary to approve and implement 
the Agreement. The bill clarifies that federal law in place at 
the time did provide the necessary federal authority for such 
approval. The bill also provides that no federal law regarding 
tribal lands, resources, or other assets shall render the 
Agreement unenforceable or void against the parties or prevent 
encumbrance of sums paid to, or received by, the Tribes in 
connection with the Agreement. This will only apply to 
provisions of the Agreement regarding: (1) the use of tribal 
land, resources, or other assets; and (2) approvals under 
federal and State law that may be required under provisions of 
the Agreement regarding the use of tribal lands, resources, or 
other assets. It will also deem the effective date of the 
legislation to be 12 April 2000.
    The Agreement concerns a 440 megawatt hydroelectric project 
consisting of the Pelton Dam, the Round Butte Dam, the Pelton 
Reregulating Dam, and the associated generation and 
transmission facilities. Under a December 1955 agreement 
certain easements and rights were provided to PGE to construct, 
operate, and maintain the dams and the associated generation 
and transmission facilities of the Pelton and Round Butte dams. 
The agreement established compensation to be paid to the Tribes 
for the easements and rights. Rights were also granted to the 
Tribes to construct, operate and maintain the generation 
facilities in the Pelton Reregulating dam. The Tribes and PGE 
entered into a 1985 Agreement which established compensation be 
paid to the Tribes through 31 December 2001.
    On 12 April 2000, the Tribes and PGE entered into the 
Agreement to provide for their respective rights and 
obligations with respect to the hydroelectric project, to 
minimize the potential for future disagreements, avoid 
incremental expenses and settle all existing disputes and 
claims. The Agreement will foster economic development for the 
Tribes by enabling the Tribes to purchase for $30 million 
(initial purchase of $26 million and an additional $6 million 
to make improvements) one-third of the project with the option 
to buy additional interests that will result in the Tribes 
having a controlling interest in the project. PGE will continue 
to operate the project under the guidance of a Committee 
composed of representatives of the owners of the project--
PGEand the Tribes. The Tribes will be able to sell the power realized 
from the project to PGE or on the open market.
    Because of the DOI's trust responsibility to federally-
recognized Indian tribes, DOI participated in all settlement 
negotiations and approved the 1955 agreement and the 1985 and 
2000 settlement agreements. The trust responsibility also 
requires the United States to consent to the lease or the sale 
of tribal trust lands, resources or other assets.
    The Tribes are seeking the extension of the lease and 
ratification of the Agreement to provide assurance that there 
are no legal impediments to the pledge of revenues the Tribes 
receive from the sale of power for the project. Various laws 
regulate the lease of trust lands, the revenue derived from 
trust lands and resources, and rights-of-way.\1\ The Tribes and 
their bond counsel were concerned that some ambiguities on the 
face of existing statutes granting the authorities contained in 
the Agreement could lead to doubt that there was federal 
authority for the Agreement. The Tribes will issue revenue 
bonds to finance its acquisition of certain interests in the 
project and the revenue bonds will be secured solely by the 
revenues the Tribes derives from the selling of its share of 
power generated by the dams. The legislation is designed to 
give the bond counsel and the Tribes the assurance that there 
are no legal impediments to the pledge of revenues the Tribes 
receives from the sale of power for the project to the lender 
to repay the loan.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\ 25 U.S.C. Sec. 415(a); 25 U.S.C. Sec. 477; 25 U.S.C. Sec. 323; 
25 U.S.C. Sec. 169(c); 25 U.S.C. 177 and 16 U.S.C. Sec. 803(e).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Since the introduction of H.R. 483, the Tribes, PGE, bond 
counsel and DOI have had further discussions regarding the 
legislation. During Committee consideration of the measure, 
H.R. 483 was amended to further tighten the language of the 
bill to limit the impact of the legislation to federal law 
which applies to tribal land, resources, and other assets as a 
consequence of the tribal status of the Tribes as a federally 
recognized Indian tribe. As ordered reported, the bill now 
states that any future agreements approved by the Secretary of 
the Interior under the same authority used to approve the 
Agreement does not need Congressional approval or ratification. 
In addition, the bill clarifies that its existence may not be 
construed to imply that the Secretary does not have the 
authority to approve the use of the tribal land, resources or 
other assets.
    H.R. 483 has the support of the Oregon Congressional 
delegation (Representatives Wu, Blumenauer, DeFazio and Hooley) 
and the Senators from Oregon have introduced a Senate companion 
bill (S. 266). The project is located in Jefferson County, 
Oregon, and the Jefferson County Board of Commissioners is in 
support of H.R. 483.

                            Committee Action

    H.R. 483 was introduced on February 6, 2001, by Congressman 
Greg Walden (R-OR). The bill was referred to the Committee on 
Resources. On October 17, 2001, the Full Resources Committee 
met to consider the bill. Congressman Walden offered an 
amendment in the nature of a substitute which has been 
described above. The amendment was adopted by voice vote. 
Thebill, as amended, was then ordered favorably reported to the House 
of Representatives by voice vote.

            Committee Oversight Findings and Recommendations

    Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of 
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the 
Committee on Resources' oversight findings and recommendations 
are reflected in the body of this report.

                   Constitutional Authority Statement

    Article I, section 8 of the Constitution of the United 
States grants Congress the authority to enact this bill.

                    Compliance With House Rule XIII

    1. Cost of Legislation.--Clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII of the 
Rules of the House of Representatives requires an estimate and 
a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be 
incurred in carrying out this bill. The Committee does not 
believe enactment of this bill will have any costs or any 
effect on the federal budget.
    2. Congressional Budget Act.--As required by clause 3(c)(2) 
of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and 
section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, this 
bill does not contain any new budget authority, spending 
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in 
revenues or tax expenditures.
    3. General Performance Goals and Objectives.--This bill 
does not authorize funding and therefore, clause 3(c)(4) of 
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives does not 
apply.
    4. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate.--Under clause 
3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives and section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act 
of 1974, the Committee has requested but not received a cost 
estimate for this bill from the Director of the Congressional 
Budget Office.

                    Compliance With Public Law 104-4

    This bill contains no unfunded mandates.

                Preemption of State, Local or Tribal Law

    This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or 
tribal law.

         Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

  In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (new matter is 
printed in italic and existing law in which no change is 
proposed is shown in roman):

                         ACT OF AUGUST 9, 1955


AN ACT To authorize the leasing of restricted Indian lands for public, 
religious, educational, recreational, residential, business, and other 
            purposes requiring the grant of long-term leases

  Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
the United States of America in Congress assembled, That (a) 
any restricted Indian lands, whether tribally or individually 
owned, may be leased by the Indian owners, with the approval of 
the Secretary of the Interior, for public, religious, 
educational, recreational, residential, or business purposes, 
including the development or utilization of natural resources 
in connection with operations under such leases, for grazing 
purposes, and for those farming purposes which require the 
making of a substantial investment in the improvement of the 
land for the production of specialized crops as determined by 
said Secretary. All leases so granted shall be for a term of 
not to exceed twenty-five years, except leases of land located 
outside the boundaries of Indian reservations in the State of 
New Mexico, leases of land on the Agua Caliente (Palm Springs) 
Reservation, the Dania Reservation, the Pueblo of Santa Ana 
(with the exception of the lands known as the ``Santa Ana 
Pueblo Spanish Grant''), the reservation of the Confederated 
Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon, the Moapa 
Indian reservation, the Swinomish Indian Reservation, the 
Southern Ute Reservation, the Fort Mojave Reservation, the 
Burns Paiute Reservation, the Kalispel Indian Reservation, the 
pueblo of Cochiti, the pueblo of Pojoaque, the pueblo of 
Tesuque, the pueblo of Zuni, the Hualapai Reservation, the 
Spokane Reservation, the San Carlos Apache Reservation, 
Yavapai-Prescott Community Reservations, the Pyramid Lake 
Reservation, the Gila River Reservation, the Soboba Indian 
Reservation, the Viejas Indian Reservation, the Tulalip Indian 
Reservation, the Navajo Reservation, the Cabazon Indian 
Reservation, the Mille Lacs Reservation with respect to a lease 
between an entity established by the Mille Lacs Band of 
Chippewa Indians and the Minnesota Historical Society, leases 
of lands comprising the Moses Allotment Numbered 10, Chelan 
County, Washington, and lands held in trust for the Las Vegas 
Paiute Tribe of Indians, and lands held in trust for the 
Twenty-nine Palms Band of Luiseno Mission Indians, and lands 
held in trust for the Reno Sparks Indian Colony, lands held in 
trust for the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians, lands 
held in trust for the Guidiville Band of Pomo Indians of the 
Guidiville Indian Rancheria, lands held in trust for the 
Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, lands 
held in trust for the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs 
Reservation of Oregon, lands held in trust for the Cherokee 
Nations of Oklahoma, lands held in trust for the Pueblo of 
Santa Clara, lands held in trust for the Confederated Tribes of 
the Colville Reservation, lands held in trust for the Cahuilla 
Band of Indians of California, lands held in trust for the 
confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon, and 
the lands held in trust for the Confederated Salish and 
Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Reservation, Montana, and 
leases to the Devils Lake Sioux Tribe, or any organization of 
such tribe, of land on the Devils Lake Sioux Reservation, which 
may be for a term of not to exceed ninety-nine years, and 
except leases of land for grazing purposes which may be for a 
term not to exceed ten years. Leases for public, religious, 
educational, recreational, residential, or business purposes 
with the consent of both parties may include provisions 
authorizing their renewal for one additional term of not to 
exceed twenty-five years, and all leases and renewals shall be 
made under such terms and regulations as may be prescribed by 
the Secretary of the Interior. Prior to approval of any lease 
or extension of an existing lease pursuant to this section, the 
Secretary of the Interior shall first satisfy himself that 
adequate consideration has been given to the relationship 
between the use of the leased lands and the use of neighboring 
lands; the height, quality, and safety of any structures or 
other facilities to be constructed on such lands; the 
availability of police and fire protection and other services; 
the availability of judicial forums for all criminal and civil 
causes arising on the leased lands; and the effect on the 
environment of the uses to which the leased lands will be 
subject.

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