Avista To Pay Tribe $39.2 Million For Alleged Fish-Run Damage

Avista Corp. agreed Friday to pay the Nez Perce Tribe $39.2 million over the next 45 years to settle claims made for damage to fish runs on the Clearwater River.

The 7-year-old lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for Idaho. The tribe alleged that two dams no longer in existence depleted fish stocks on the main and south forks of the Clearwater.

Judge B. Lynn Winmill issued a summary judgment dismissing the lawsuit in March 1996, but the tribe appealed. Mediation started later that year led to Friday’s announcement.

According to an Avista release, the tribe will receive $2.5 million within 30 days of the settlement’s effective date. Forty-four annual payments of $835,498 will follow.

The agreement also covers utility tax issues, rights of way and tribal employment rights fees.

Samuel Penney, Nez Perce Tribal Executive Committee chairman, said the settlement will benefit the tribe long into the future.

Besides demonstrating the tribe’s commitment to salmon and steelhead resources, he added, the agreement “builds upon the interest of both parties and reflects what can be made possible when good will is used to resolve differences.”

Avista Chairman Tom Matthews said the settlement should establish a foundation for further cooperation with the Nez Perce.

The dams that allegedly harmed the fish runs were built in 1903 at Grangeville and 1927 at Lewiston. Avista bought both in 1937.