Seattle Disputes Pend Oreille Pud Judgment

The city of Seattle wants no part of a $3.2 million judgment rendered against the Pend Oreille County Public Utility District in 1995.

The PUD last month asked the Superior Court in Pend Oreille County to hold Seattle responsible for 76 percent of the judgment imposed in a case won by the Kalispel Tribe. The tribe sued the PUD in 1980 for trespass of land inundated by Box Canyon Dam on the Pend Oreille River.

In 1995, a U.S. District Court judge set damages at $3.2 million, mostly interest. Although the tribe is appealing the judgment based on claims that the wrong criteria were used to determine damages, the PUD paid the judgment in October.

PUD Manager Larry Weis, in a letter sent last May, asked Seattle City Light to pay its share of the judgment. Prior to the 1980s, the city bought most of the power produced at Box Canyon.

The city has been taking power from the dam since 1956. According to the PUD, Seattle’s share of the judgment amounts to $2.4 million.

Weis said the PUD borrowed the funds to make the payment. Officials are not yet sure what effect the cost of the loan will have on ratepayers, who enjoy some of the cheapest power in the country.

On Friday, the city rejected the claim, and asked that the case be heard in U.S. District Court instead of the state Superior Court.

The city’s notice of removal said the judgment should not be imposed retroactively, but only against those who benefit from continued flooding above a court-imposed waterline. Jerry Boyd, attorney for the PUD, said Monday the district will oppose the city’s bid to transfer jurisdiction.

, DataTimes