Power play gives region’s tribes a pivotal role in hydro talks

The last of the many issues that have sometimes embittered relations between the Kalispel Tribe and the Pend Oreille County Public Utility District have been resolved.

Last month, the tribe and utility agreed to a split of power generated by the Box Canyon Dam on the Pend Oreille River. A second settlement addressing land use and other environmental issues is pending with completion expected this fall.

The pacts may finally end 35 years of contention between the utility and tribe, which first sued over the flooding of its lands in 1972. Box Canyon was built in the 1950s, as were many other dams that encroach on Indian lands.

As those projects have come up for relicensing by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the tribes have been able to, if not take back the ground, at least cut themselves in on dam revenues and mitigate the environmental damage the structures have caused.

In a sense, too, the dams have become bridges finally bringing together the utilities that built them and the tribes that once had little power to stop them from working their will on the Northwest’s rivers. But as dam-operating licenses as much as 50 years old come up for renewal, the tribes have exercised new leverage to right past wrongs. Even where there is lingering distrust, there has been cooperation.

For example, earlier this year the Grant County Public Utility District and Yakama Nation announced a deal that will not only allot the tribe electricity from two Columbia River dams, but also set the stage for joint efforts to develop other energy resources on the Yakama reservation. The power could be worth as much as $8 million to the tribe, which has created a new public utility of its own.

In Douglas County, the Public Utility District and Confederated Tribes of the Colville Indian Reservation ended years of contention over the Wells Dam Project in 2004. The Colvilles received $13.5 million and 4.5 percent of the dam’s electricity output.

And Avista Utilities has negotiated agreements with several area tribes affected by its dams on the Spokane and Clark Fork rivers. The Spokane utility and Coeur d’Alene Tribe are working toward a settlement of issues related to the Post Falls Dam and its impact on Lake Coeur d’Alene.

The dispute between the Kalispel and Pend Oreille PUD was among the most bitter, yet leaders from both sides say they are happy with the power-sharing agreement, and the cooperation that made it happen.

PUD General Manager Bob Geddes says the deal makes the tribe a partner at Box Canyon with a shared interest in seeing the project run efficiently.

“It really works well for both sides,” he says. “I see the relationship as vastly improved.”

Kalispel Chairman Glen Nenema says the negotiations were challenging, but productive.

“This is an example of the tribe and PUD working together to meet common goals,” he says. “We look forward to continuing to work with the PUD on a range of issues important to our region.”

The Kalispel and other tribes have applied more than altruism and the law to their cause. Yakama tribal attorney Tim Weaver says new wealth from casinos and other enterprises has provided the wherewithal the tribes once lacked to press complex cases that take years to resolve.

“The tribes are becoming major players in the economy,” he says. “It makes people sit up and take notice.”

Weaver says public utility commissioners have also found that signing deals with multimillion-dollar price tags does not mean an end to their political careers.

“I think the utilities that are making these agreements are proud of them, and they should be,” he says.

But there are holdouts and new twists.

Several tribes are banging heads with Idaho Power as the Boise utility attempts to relicense its Hells Canyon project. And a federal judge last week ruled culverts under Washington roads block salmon access because they’re too small and get clogged with debris. Correcting that problem could cost the state as much as $100 million. Talks on the matter are set for Wednesday.

It has taken decades, but Northwest tribes have finally asserted their rightful role in the management of the region’s hydro resources. It has not been easy or cheap. But it is right.