[House Report 109-150]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
109th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session 109-150
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SPOKANE TRIBE OF INDIANS OF THE SPOKANE RESERVATION GRAND COULEE DAM
EQUITABLE COMPENSATION SETTLEMENT ACT
_______
June 23, 2005.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Pombo, from the Committee on Resources, submitted the following
R E P O R T
together with
ADDITIONAL VIEWS
[To accompany H.R. 1797]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill
(H.R. 1797) 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, having considered the same,
report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that
the bill do pass.
PURPOSE OF THE BILL
The purpose of H.R. 1797 is 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.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
Grand Coulee Dam was built in the late 1930s and early
1940s. The accompanying reservoir inundated approximately 2,500
acres of the Spokane Indian Reservation. Under the Indian
Claims Commission Act of 1946, all tribes were given five years
to file land claims against the federal government. Although
the Spokane Tribe filed a claim at the time and settled in
1967, lands related to the Dam were not included in the claim.
For the Tribe to recover damages associated with the Dam
through litigation, a federal law allowing them to file a new
legal claim would be required. Rather than focusing on
litigation, the Spokane Tribe has pursued direct settlement
funding by legislative means.
COMMITTEE ACTION
H.R. 1797 was introduced on April 21, 2005, by
Representative Cathy McMorris (R-WA). The bill was referred to
the Committee on Resources, and within the Committee to the
Subcommittee on Water on Power. On May 18, 2005, the Full
Resources Committee met to consider the bill. The Subcommittee
on Water and Power was discharged from further consideration of
the bill by unanimous consent. No amendments were offered and
the bill was ordered favorably reported to the House of
Representatives by unanimous consent.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1. Short Title
The short title of the Act is the ``Spokane Tribe of
Indians of the Spokane Reservation Grand Coulee Dam Equitable
Compensation Settlement Act.''
Section 2. Findings
This section lists a number of findings that detail the
reasons for the bill.
Section 3. Purpose
The purpose of this act is to provide the Spokane Tribe
with fair and equitable compensation for the use of its land
for generation of hydropower by Grand Coulee Dam.
Section 4. Definitions
This section defines various terms in the Act.
Section 5. Settlement Fund
The Spokane Tribe of Indians Settlement Fund is established
in the United States Treasury. Deposits by the Secretary of the
Interior into the fund will be $17,800,000 in 2006 and
$12,800,000 in each of the four years thereafter. Funds will be
available to the Spokane Business Council (the governing body
of the Spokane Tribe) upon request. The first $5 million
deposited will be used for establishing and maintaining a
Cultural Resource Repository and Interpretive Center.
Section 6. Payments by the Administrator
Annual payments will be made to the Tribe by the
Administrator of the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA)
through 2033. A sunset provision caps these annual payments at
25 years. All Native American land and water rights settlements
signed into public law prior to this legislation have settled
legal claims. This bill does not settle litigation and rests
solely on settling moral claims. As such, the Committee
strongly agrees with the need for a sunset on expenditures that
do not settle longstanding legal claims. The first payment, to
be made in 2007, will cover 2005 and 2006. The payment for each
year will be equal to 29 percent of that year's payment to the
Colville Tribes. Since this section requires BPA to make
commensurate cost reductions to cover these annual payments,
the Committee believes that the agency must not include these
payments in its current rate base or any future rate adjustment
case.
Section 7. Treatment After Funds Are Paid
The Spokane Tribe may use funds from these payments in the
same manner and for the same purposes as other Spokane Tribe
governmental funds. The Secretary of the Interior and
Administrator of BPA will have no trust responsibility over
these funds.
Section 8. Repayment Credit
The BPA Administrator will deduct the following amounts
from its interest payments to the Treasury: $2,600,000 in 2007,
and $1,300,000 in each year it makes a payment under section 6
of the bill.
Section 9. Transfer of Administrative Jurisdiction and Restoration of
Ownership of Land
Lands within the boundary of the Spokane Indian Reservation
acquired by the United States under the 1940 Act and other
lands shall be transferred from the Bureau of Reclamation to
the Bureau of Indian Affairs, to be held in trust for the
benefit and use of the Spokane Tribe and become part of the
Spokane Indian Reservation. The United States reserves the
right to use these transferred lands to carry out the Columbia
Basin Project, for uses including recreational facilities.
Transferred lands that were included in the Lake Roosevelt
National Recreation Area shall remain part of the Recreation
Area.
Section 10. Satisfaction of Claims
Payments and land transfers under this Act will constitute
full satisfaction of the moral claim of the Spokane Tribe to a
share of Grand Coulee Dam hydropower revenues.
Section 11. Authorization of Appropriations
Appropriations as necessary to carry out this Act are
authorized.
Section 12. Precedent
Nothing in this Act establishes precedent or is binding on
the Southwestern Power Administration, Western Area Power
Administration, or Southeastern Power Administration.
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. However, clause 3(d)(3)(B)
of that rule provides that this requirement does not apply when
the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted
cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the
Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
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 tax
expenditures. According to the Congressional Budget Office,
enactment of this bill would result in reduced offsetting
receipts.
3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by
clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or
objective of this bill is 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.
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 received the following cost estimate
for this bill from the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office:
H.R. 1797--Spokane Tribe of Indians of the Spokane Reservation Grand
Coulee Dam Equitable Compensation Settlement Act
Summary: H.R. 1797 would establish and authorize funds to
be appropriated to the Spokane Tribe of Indians Settlement Fund
to compensate the Spokane Tribe of Indians for the use of its
land by the Grand Coulee Dam project in Washington. Starting in
2007, the bill would require the Bonneville Power
Administration (BPA) to make annual payments to the tribe from
receipts generated from the sale of electricity. Those payments
to the tribe would be offset by increases in the rates charged
to BPA's customers for electricity sales, and thus would result
in no net cost to the government. Under the bill, BPA also
would be relieved from making certain interest payments to the
Treasury for funds borrowed on BPA's behalf. CBO estimates that
provision would reduce receipts collected by BPA by $13 million
over the 2007-2015 period, and by $1.3 million per year after
2015. (Those effects constitute an increase in direct
spending.)
Assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts, CBO
estimates that implementing the bill would cost $69 million
over the 2006-2010 period for payments into the Spokane Tribe
of Indians Settlement Fund, H.R. 1797 contains no
intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA). The payments authorized by
this bill would benefit the Spokane Tribe.
Estimated Cost to the Federal Government: The estimated
budgetary impact of H.R. 1797 is shown in the following table.
The costs of this legislation fall within budget functions 450
(community and regional development) and 270 (energy).
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By fiscal year, in millions of dollars--
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
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CHANGES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION
Payments to Spokane Tribe
Settlement:
Fund Account:
Authorization Level......... 18 13 13 13 13 0 0 0 0 0
Estimated Outlays........... 18 13 13 13 13 0 0 0 0 0
CHANGES IN DIRECT SPENDING
Interest Credits for BPA:
Estimated Budget Authority.. 0 3 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Estimated Outlays........... 0 3 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Basis of Estimate: For this estimate, CBO assumes that the
bill will be enacted by the end of fiscal year 2005 and that
the authorized amounts will be appropriated for each year.
Spending Subject to Appropriation
This bill would authorize the appropriation of payments to
the Spokane Tribe as compensation for land taken to build the
Grand Coulee Dam. The bill would authorize the appropriation of
$18 million in 2006 and $13 million annually over the 2007-2010
period to a new tribal trust fund. Thus, CBO estimates that
implementing the bill would cost $18 million in 2006 and $69
million over the 2006-2010 period.
Payments to certain trust funds that are held and managed
in a fiduciary capacity by the federal government on behalf of
Indian tribes are treated as payments to a nonfederal entity.
As a result, CBO expects that the entire amount deposited to
the fund in any year would be recorded as budget authority and
outlays in that year. Because the trust funds would be
nonbudgetary, the subsequent use of such funds by the tribe
would not affect federal outlays.
Direct Spending
H.R. 1797 would require BPA to make annual payments to the
Spokane Tribe. Under the bill, such payments would be equal to
29 percent of the annual payment BPA currently makes to the
Colville Tribe, and would be made for 25 years. The payments
would begin in 2007 and would total about $5 million per year,
except in 2007 when BPA would be required to make two payments.
Although the bill would require that the payments be offset by
commensurate cost reductions, CBO expects that these payments
would contribute to an increase in costs to the agency. Because
BPA is a cost-recovery agency that charges its customers for
the electricity it generates, CBO assumes that these payments
to the tribe would become part of BPA's cost structure, and
would be offset by an increase in the new electricity rates
that the agency plans to impose in 2007. Thus, this annual
payment to the tribe would result in no net cost to the
government.
The bill also would allow BPA to reduce the amount of
interest costs that it transfers to the U.S. Treasury for funds
borrowed to construct BPA's infrastructure. The bill would
authorize BPA to forgo interest payments of $2.6 million in
2007, and $1.3 million each year thereafter for as long as
payments are made to the tribe. As a cost-recovery agency, BPA
would reduce its annual collections from electricity ratepayers
by the amount of these forgone interest payments. Thus, CBO
estimates that BPA collections, which are recorded in the
budget as offsetting receipts, would be reduced by $2.6 million
in 2007 and about $13 million over the 2007-2015 period.
Intergovernmental and private-sector impact: H.R. 1797
contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as
defined in UMRA. The payments authorized by this bill would
benefit the Spokane Tribe.
Estimate prepared by: Federal Costs: Mike Waters, Lisa Cash
Driskill, and Jimin Chung. Impact on State, Local, and Tribal
Governments: Marjorie Miller. Impact on the Private Sector:
Selena Caldera.
Estimate approved by: Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.
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
If enacted, this bill would make no changes in existing
law.
ADDITIONAL VIEWS
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
Grand Coulee Dam was authorized during the depths of the
Great Depression as a high profile public works project, a key
feature of the Bureau of Reclamation's Columbia Basin Project.
When construction began in the 1930's, the purpose was to jump-
start the national economy and provide jobs for large numbers
of unemployed laborers. While the dam has brought enormous
water supply, flood control, and hydroelectric power benefits
to the Pacific Northwest, the project has had devastating
impacts on the Spokane and Colville people, their tribal
economies, social fabric and way of life.
Grand Coulee Dam blocked migration of anadromous fish in
the mainstem of the Columbia River, the Spokane River and
tributaries. These fish runs were the Spokane Tribe's primary
source of subsistence, employment and basis for a way of life
that had sustained tribal people since time immemorial.
Tribal communities, including homes, schools, roads,
telecommunication systems and other infrastructure, were
inundated by the water impounded by Grand Coulee Dam. Some
residents were displaced wihout relocation assistance or
compensation and, as the water began rising behind the Dam,
many tribal people were forced to flee their homes, leaving
their personal belongings behind.
Thousands of tribal burial sites located along the bluffs
above the River were of special concern for the tribes but
efforts to relocate human remains and associated funeral
objects from thousands of known sites on tribal lands were
halted due to looting and theft. These and many other
unidentified burial sites were flooded when the Dam was
constructed.
Under a 1940 act, the federal government paid $63,000 and
$4,700 to the Colville and Spokane Tribes, respectively, for
the land used for the dam and reservoir. Subsequently, the
Colville Tribes pursued additional claims for their lost
fisheries and for ``water power values'' and in 1994 (P.L. 103-
436) were awarded a lump sum payment of $53 million and,
beginning in 1996, annual payments that have ranged between $14
million to $21 million. The Spokane Tribe did not file a claim
within the Indian Claims Commission Act's 5-year statute of
limitations. As a result, the Spokane Tribe did not receive a
settlement comparable to that of the Colville Tribe, and the
Spokane Tribe is seeking to change that situation with the
enactment of H.R. 1797.
H.R. 1797 will provide the Spokane Tribe of Indians with
compensation which is proportional to (29% of) the compensation
provided the Colville Tribes through enactment of P.L. 103-436
in 1994. Legislation similar to H.R. 1797 was passed by the
Senate in the 108th Congress (S. 1438). H.R. 1797, however,
differs in one very important aspect: the inclusion of a
``sunset'' provision on funding from the Bonneville Power
Administration in Section 6 of the bill.
Section 6 of H.R. 1797 directs the Administrator of the
Bonneville Power Administration to pay to the Spokane Tribe of
Indians an amount equal to 29 percent of the Colville's
Computed Annual Payment (CAP) for FY 2005, adjusted for
inflation; 29 percent of the CAP for FY 2006; and, on or before
March 1, 2008, and each following March 1, 29 percent of the
CAP for the previous fiscal year. However, unlike S. 1438 as
passed by the Senate in the 108th Congress, or S. 881
introduced by Senator Cantwell in the 109th Congress, Section 6
of H.R. 1797 includes a sunset provision that would terminate
this requirement for payment by BP A in 25 years.
H.R. 1797 is premised on the past and continued use of
Spokane tribal lands for the production of hydropower at the
Grand Coulee Dam. At the end of 25 years, the Spokane Tribe of
Indians' lands will continue to be used to generate hydropower,
supply water for irrigators, provide extensive flood control
benefits, and to assist in meeting incremental flow
requirements for recovery of anadromous fish. The Spokane Tribe
has agreed to the sunset provision in this bill with the
understanding that, in the future, the Tribe may seek an
amendment to extend or modify this sunset provision or
otherwise seek reauthorization of BP A's annual payments post-
2030. With this understanding, and in the interest of moving
this legislation forward and thereby providing long overdue
relief to this Tribe, we do not object to the inclusion of the
sunset provision in this bill and we urge passage of this bill
by the full U.S. House of Representatives.
Nick J. Rahall, II.
Grace F. Napolitano.