[Senate Report 116-7]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 38
116th Congress } { Report
SENATE
1st Session } { 116-7
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TO AUTHORIZE THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR TO ASSESS SANITATION AND
SAFETY CONDITIONS AT BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS FACILITIES THAT WERE
CONSTRUCTED TO PROVIDE AFFECTED COLUMBIA RIVER TREATY TRIBES ACCESS TO
TRADITIONAL FISHING GROUNDS AND EXPEND FUNDS ON CONSTRUCTION OF
FACILITIES AND STRUCTURES TO IMPROVE THOSE CONDITIONS, AND FOR OTHER
PURPOSES
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March 13, 2019.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Hoeven, from the Committee on Indian Affairs,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 50]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Indian Affairs, to which was referred the
bill (S. 50) to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to
assess sanitation and safety conditions at Bureau of Indian
Affairs (``BIA'') facilities that were constructed to provide
affected Columbia River Treaty Tribes access to traditional
fishing grounds and expend funds on construction of facilities
and structures to improve those conditions, and for other
purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon
without amendment and recommends that the bill do pass.
PURPOSE
The purpose of this bill, S. 50, is to improve safety and
sanitary conditions at twenty-seven tribal fishing sites
located along the Columbia River by authorizing the BIA to
assess conditions and execute improvements at the twenty-seven
In-Lieu and Treaty Fishing Access Sites that the BIA manages on
both sides of the Columbia River.
This effort would be done in coordination with the four
tribes outlined by statute\1\ and with whom the sites serve--
the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakima Nation (WA),
the Nez Perce Tribe (ID), the Confederated Tribes of the Warm
Springs Indian Reservation of Oregon (OR) and the Confederated
Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (OR) (collectively,
the ``Columbia River Treaty Tribes'').
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\1\See Pub. L. No. 100-581 (102 Stat. 2944).
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NEED FOR LEGISLATION
The bill, S. 50, will improve safety and sanitary
conditions at twenty-seven tribal fishing sites located along
the Columbia River by authorizing the BIA to assess conditions
and execute improvements at the twenty-seven In-Lieu and Treaty
Fishing Access Sites that the BIA manages on both sides of the
Columbia River.
BACKGROUND
The Columbia River Treaty Tribes, through a series of
treaties in 1855, reserved access to ``usual and accustomed
fishing areas'' and ancillary fishing facilities located along
the Columbia River.\2\ These rights were secured by various
treaties signed between the United States and the Columbia
River Treaty Tribes, in 1855.
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\2\See Yakima Treaty, 1855; Tribes of Middle Oregon Treaty, 1855;
Cayuse, Umatilla, and Walla Walla Treaty, 1855; and Nez Perce Treaty,
1855.
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However, during the 1930s and 1950s the United States began
the process of building dams along the Columbia River to
provide much needed electricity to various communities
throughout the states of Washington and Oregon. As a
consequence of these dams being constructed, tribal and non-
tribal communities were flooded and needed to be relocated.
Celilo Falls, one of the oldest and continuously inhabited
tribal fishing communities in the United States, was lost to
flooding by the construction of the Dalles Dam on the Columbia
River.
Congress passed the River and Harbor Act of 1945 to
authorize the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the ``Corps'') to
acquire and replace tribal fishing areas along the Columbia
River.\3\ Over the next twenty years, the Corps acquired five
tribal access sites, which had been identified through a 1939
settlement agreement between the United States and Tribes.
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\3\Pub. L. No. 79-14 (59 Stat. 22).
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In Title IV of Public Law 100-581 (102 Stat. 2944),
Congress took additional action to affirm tribal access to
these usual and accustomed fishing areas and authorized further
construction of improvements for ancillary fishing facilities
along the Columbia River. Title IV of Public Law 100-581 also
directed the Corps to acquire lands from willing sellers to
provide unfettered river access for members of the Columbia
River Treaty Tribes. Following the acquisition of these lands,
Congress directed the lands be transferred to the Department of
the Interior for the purpose of maintaining the sites and
providing law enforcement services.\4\
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\4\Id.
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The flooded tribal lands were later replaced with 31
designated encampments.\5\ Since the Corps began acquiring
these sites, all but two of these encampments have been
transferred to the BIA for management.
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\5\Legislative Hearing to receive testimony on the following bills:
S. 2636, S. 3216, S. 3222, S. 3300 Before the S. Comm. on Indian
Affairs, 114th Cong. (2016) (testimony of Paul Lumley, Executive
Director Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission)
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In 2013 the Portland Office of the Army Corps of Engineers
commissioned a report to study the living conditions of the in-
lieu treaty fishing sites. In response to the 2013 report, the
Corps' Portland District spokeswoman acknowledged the terrible
living conditions near these sites.\6\
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\6\Id.
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LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
Senator Merkley introduced the bill, S. 50, on January 8,
2019. Senators Wyden, Murray, and Cantwell joined as co-
sponsors.
Predecessor Senate bills have been introduced in the 114th
and 115th Congresses.
During the 115th Congress, the predecessor bill, S. 669,
was reported out of the Committee favorably on March 29, 2017.
This bill, S. 669, was amended post mark-up to include a study
by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) on the safety
conditions of the sanitation facilities listed in the bill, and
determine what improvements, if any, resulted due to the
passage of the bill. The GAO would provide a report of their
findings to the Committee. The bill, as amended, passed the
full Senate by Unanimous Consent on November 29, 2017.
The bill, S. 669, was received by the House of
Representatives and referred to the Committee on Natural
Resources of the House of Representatives on November 30, 2017.
The Committee on Natural Resources of the House of
Representatives reported the bill favorably during its business
meeting on November 15, 2018 and it was placed on the House
Union Calendar on December 3, 2018. No further action was
taken.
During the 114th Congress, the Committee held a legislative
hearing on a predecessor bill, S. 3222, on September 14, 2016,
at which Mr. Larry Roberts the Principal Deputy Assistant
Secretary for Indian Affairs at the Department of the Interior
(DOI) testified and provided technical corrections to improve
the bill. Mr. Paul Lumley, Executive Director of the Columbia
River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission also testified and supported
the predecessor bill, S. 3222. No further action was taken on
this bill.
The DOI recommendations were incorporated into the
subsequent bill, S. 669, and are also reflected in the current
bill, S. 50. Those recommendations include clarifying that the
BIA was the only agency authorized to carry out the bill
activities and which tribes were defined as the ``affected
Columbia River Treaty Tribes.''
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF BILL AS ORDERED REPORTED
Section l. Short title
Section 1 titles the bill as the ``Columbia River In-Lieu
and Treaty Fishing Access Sites Improvement Act.''
Section 2. Sanitation and safety conditions at certain Bureau of Indian
Affairs facilities
Section 2 provides for the assessment of fishing access
facilities and structures maintained by the BIA, establishes
the BIA as the sole Federal agency tasked with executing the
requirements of the bill, applies the Indian Self-Determination
and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450 et seq.) to the
contracting process for facility assessments, defines the
affected Columbia River Treaty Tribes, and authorizes
appropriations for assessments of the fishing access sites and
facilities.
Section 2(a) provides for the BIA to, in consultation with
the Columbia River Treaty Tribes, assess any permanent federal
structures and improvements on BIA lands that were set aside to
provide the treaty access to traditional grounds.
Section 2(b) provides that the BIA shall be the only
federal agency authorized to carry out the activities in the
bill.
Section 2(b) also allows for tribes and tribal
organizations to contract the assessment activities of the
fishing access sites and facilities under the Indian Self-
Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450 et
seq.).
Section 2(c) defines the affected Columbia River Treaty
Tribes as the Nez Perce tribe, the Confederated Tribes of
Umatilla Indian Reservation, the Confederated Tribes of the
Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon, and the Confederated Tribes
and Bands of the Yakama Nation.
Section 2(d) authorizes appropriations for the bill, S. 50.
Section 3. Study of assessment and improvement activities
Section 3 directs the Comptroller General of the United
States, in consultation with the Committee, to conduct a study
to evaluate whether the sanitation and safety conditions on
lands held by the United States for the benefit of the affected
Columbia River Treaty Tribes' sanitation facilities (as defined
in section 2(c)) have improved as a result of the activities
authorized in this bill and to submit this report to the Senate
Committee on Indian Affairs and the House Natural Resources
Committee.
COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS
The following cost estimate, as provided by the
Congressional Budget Office, dated February 19, 2019.
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, February 19, 2019.
Hon. John Hoeven,
Chairman, Committee on Indian Affairs,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 50, the Columbia
River In-Lieu and Treaty Fishing Access Sites Improvement Act.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Jon Sperl.
Sincerely,
Keith Hall,
Director.
Enclosure.
S. 50 would authorize the appropriation of whatever amounts
are necessary to the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) to assess
and improve the sanitation and safety conditions on land held
in trust by the United States for the four Columbia River
Treaty tribes (the Nez Perce Tribe, the Confederated Tribes of
Umatilla Indian Reservation, the Confederated Tribes of the
Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon, and the Confederated Tribes
and Bands of the Yakama Nation).
For this estimate, CBO assumes that S. 50 will be enacted
in fiscal year 2019 and that the necessary amounts will be
appropriated for each fiscal year starting in 2020.
Currently, BIA funds operations and maintenance of 28
fishing sites on the Columbia River. Using information provided
by BIA, CBO estimates that implementing S. 50 would require one
new full-time equivalent (FTE) position to oversee an
improvement plan and maintenance, and seven new law enforcement
FTEs to ensure the safety and security of the facilities with
average annual salaries of around $70,000. All equipment
necessary to make upgrades to the facilities' electric, sewer,
and water infrastructure would cost around $1 million a year
over this period and preparing an improvement plan in 2020 also
would cost about $1 million, CBO estimates.
As shown in Table 1, CBO estimates that implementing the
bill would cost $11 million over the 2019-2024 period. The
costs of the legislation fall within budget function 450
(community and regional development).
TABLE 1.--ESTIMATED INCREASES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION
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By fiscal year, millions of dollars--
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2019-
2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2024
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Estimated Authorization................... 0 3 2 2 2 2 11
Estimated Outlays......................... 0 3 2 2 2 2 11
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The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Jon Sperl. The
estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.
EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS
The Committee has received no communications from the
Executive Branch regarding S. 50.
REGULATORY AND PAPERWORK IMPACT STATEMENT
Paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the
Senate requires each report accompanying a bill to evaluate the
regulatory and paperwork impact that would be incurred in
carrying out the bill. The Committee believes that S. 50 will
have a minimal impact on regulatory or paperwork requirements.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW (CORDON RULE)
On February 6, 2019, the Committee on Indian Affairs of the
Senate unanimously approved a motion to waive the Cordon rule.
Thus, in the opinion of the Committee, it is necessary to
dispense with subsection 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing Rules
of the Senate to expedite the business of the Senate.
[all]