[House Report 107-257]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
107th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session 107-257
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REGARDING THE USE OF THE TRUST LAND AND RESOURCES OF THE CONFEDERATED
TRIBES OF THE WARM SPRINGS RESERVATION OF OREGON
_______
October 30, 2001.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Hansen, from the Committee on Resources, submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 483]
The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill
(H.R. 483) regarding the use of the trust land and resources of
the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of
Oregon, having considered the same, report favorably thereon
with an amendment and recommend that the bill as amended do
pass.
The amendment is as follows:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. AUTHORIZATION FOR 99-YEAR LEASES.
The first section of the Act entitled ``An Act to authorize the
leasing of restricted Indian lands for public, religious, educational,
residential, business, and other purposes requiring the grant of long-
term leases'', approved August 9, 1955 (25 U.S.C. 415(a)), is amended--
(1) by inserting ``, the reservation of the Confederated
Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon,'' after
``Spanish Grant'')''; and
(2) by inserting ``lands held in trust for the Confederated
Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon'' before ``,
lands held in trust for the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma''.
SEC. 2. USE OF CERTAIN TRUST LANDS AND RESOURCES FOR ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT.
(a) Approval of Agreement.--The use of tribal lands, resources, and
other assets described in the document entitled ``Long-Term Global
Settlement and Compensation Agreement'', dated April 12, 2000
(hereafter referred to as the ``GSA''), entered into by the Department
of the Interior, the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs
Reservation of Oregon (in this section referred to as the ``Tribes''),
and the Portland General Electric Company, and in the Included
Agreements, as attached to the GSA on April 12, 2000, and delivered to
the Department of the Interior on that date, is approved and ratified.
The authorization, execution, and delivery of the GSA is approved. In
this section, the GSA and the Included Agreements are collectively
referred to as the ``Agreement''. Any provision of Federal law which
applies to tribal land, resources, or other assets (including proceeds
derived therefrom) as a consequence of the Tribes' status as a
federally recognized Indian tribe shall not--
(1) render the Agreement unenforceable or void against the
parties; or
(2) prevent or restrict the Tribes from pledging,
encumbering, or using funds or other assets that may be paid to
or received by or on behalf of the Tribes in connection with
the Agreement.
(b) Authority of Secretary.--
(1) In general.--Congress hereby deems that the Secretary of
the Interior had and has the authority--
(A) to approve the Agreement; and
(B) to implement the provisions of the Agreement
under which the Secretary has obligations as a party
thereto.
(2) Other agreements.--Any agreement approved by the
Secretary prior to or after the date of the enactment of this
Act under the authority used to approve the Agreement shall not
require Congressional approval or ratification to be valid and
binding on the parties thereto.
(c) Rules of Construction.--
(1) Scope of section.--This section shall be construed as
addressing only--
(A) the validity and enforceability of the Agreement
with respect to provisions of Federal law referred to
in section 2(a) of this Act; and
(B) approval for provisions of the Agreement and
actions that are necessary to implement provisions of
the Agreement that the parties may be required to
obtain under Federal laws referred to in section 2(a)
of this Act.
(2) Authority.--Nothing in this Act shall be construed to
imply that the Secretary of the Interior did not have the
authority under Federal law as in effect immediately before the
enactment of this Act to approve the use of tribal lands,
resources, or other assets in the manner described in the
Agreement or in the implementation thereof.
SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.
This Act shall take effect as of April 12, 2000.
Purpose of the Bill
The purpose of H.R. 483 is to provide the authorization for
99-year leases for the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs
Reservation of Oregon and to approve an agreement regarding the
use of trust land and resources of those Tribes.
Background and Need for Legislation
H.R. 483 would extend the lease of restricted lands owned
by the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of
Oregon (Tribes) for a period not to exceed 99 years and approve
and ratify the Long-Term Global Settlement and Compensation
Agreement (Agreement) between the Department of Interior (DOI),
the Tribes, and the Portland General Electric Company (PGE). A
similar bill (H.R. 5681) was introduced at the end of the 106th
Congress, but no action was taken.
The legislation ratifies and confirms the Agreement between
DOI, the Tribes and PGE. It authorizes the Secretary of the
Interior to take all actions necessary to approve and implement
the Agreement. The bill clarifies that federal law in place at
the time did provide the necessary federal authority for such
approval. The bill also provides that no federal law regarding
tribal lands, resources, or other assets shall render the
Agreement unenforceable or void against the parties or prevent
encumbrance of sums paid to, or received by, the Tribes in
connection with the Agreement. This will only apply to
provisions of the Agreement regarding: (1) the use of tribal
land, resources, or other assets; and (2) approvals under
federal and State law that may be required under provisions of
the Agreement regarding the use of tribal lands, resources, or
other assets. It will also deem the effective date of the
legislation to be 12 April 2000.
The Agreement concerns a 440 megawatt hydroelectric project
consisting of the Pelton Dam, the Round Butte Dam, the Pelton
Reregulating Dam, and the associated generation and
transmission facilities. Under a December 1955 agreement
certain easements and rights were provided to PGE to construct,
operate, and maintain the dams and the associated generation
and transmission facilities of the Pelton and Round Butte dams.
The agreement established compensation to be paid to the Tribes
for the easements and rights. Rights were also granted to the
Tribes to construct, operate and maintain the generation
facilities in the Pelton Reregulating dam. The Tribes and PGE
entered into a 1985 Agreement which established compensation be
paid to the Tribes through 31 December 2001.
On 12 April 2000, the Tribes and PGE entered into the
Agreement to provide for their respective rights and
obligations with respect to the hydroelectric project, to
minimize the potential for future disagreements, avoid
incremental expenses and settle all existing disputes and
claims. The Agreement will foster economic development for the
Tribes by enabling the Tribes to purchase for $30 million
(initial purchase of $26 million and an additional $6 million
to make improvements) one-third of the project with the option
to buy additional interests that will result in the Tribes
having a controlling interest in the project. PGE will continue
to operate the project under the guidance of a Committee
composed of representatives of the owners of the project--
PGEand the Tribes. The Tribes will be able to sell the power realized
from the project to PGE or on the open market.
Because of the DOI's trust responsibility to federally-
recognized Indian tribes, DOI participated in all settlement
negotiations and approved the 1955 agreement and the 1985 and
2000 settlement agreements. The trust responsibility also
requires the United States to consent to the lease or the sale
of tribal trust lands, resources or other assets.
The Tribes are seeking the extension of the lease and
ratification of the Agreement to provide assurance that there
are no legal impediments to the pledge of revenues the Tribes
receive from the sale of power for the project. Various laws
regulate the lease of trust lands, the revenue derived from
trust lands and resources, and rights-of-way.\1\ The Tribes and
their bond counsel were concerned that some ambiguities on the
face of existing statutes granting the authorities contained in
the Agreement could lead to doubt that there was federal
authority for the Agreement. The Tribes will issue revenue
bonds to finance its acquisition of certain interests in the
project and the revenue bonds will be secured solely by the
revenues the Tribes derives from the selling of its share of
power generated by the dams. The legislation is designed to
give the bond counsel and the Tribes the assurance that there
are no legal impediments to the pledge of revenues the Tribes
receives from the sale of power for the project to the lender
to repay the loan.
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\1\ 25 U.S.C. Sec. 415(a); 25 U.S.C. Sec. 477; 25 U.S.C. Sec. 323;
25 U.S.C. Sec. 169(c); 25 U.S.C. 177 and 16 U.S.C. Sec. 803(e).
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Since the introduction of H.R. 483, the Tribes, PGE, bond
counsel and DOI have had further discussions regarding the
legislation. During Committee consideration of the measure,
H.R. 483 was amended to further tighten the language of the
bill to limit the impact of the legislation to federal law
which applies to tribal land, resources, and other assets as a
consequence of the tribal status of the Tribes as a federally
recognized Indian tribe. As ordered reported, the bill now
states that any future agreements approved by the Secretary of
the Interior under the same authority used to approve the
Agreement does not need Congressional approval or ratification.
In addition, the bill clarifies that its existence may not be
construed to imply that the Secretary does not have the
authority to approve the use of the tribal land, resources or
other assets.
H.R. 483 has the support of the Oregon Congressional
delegation (Representatives Wu, Blumenauer, DeFazio and Hooley)
and the Senators from Oregon have introduced a Senate companion
bill (S. 266). The project is located in Jefferson County,
Oregon, and the Jefferson County Board of Commissioners is in
support of H.R. 483.
Committee Action
H.R. 483 was introduced on February 6, 2001, by Congressman
Greg Walden (R-OR). The bill was referred to the Committee on
Resources. On October 17, 2001, the Full Resources Committee
met to consider the bill. Congressman Walden offered an
amendment in the nature of a substitute which has been
described above. The amendment was adopted by voice vote.
Thebill, as amended, was then ordered favorably reported to the House
of Representatives by voice vote.
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. The Committee does not
believe enactment of this bill will have any costs or any
effect on the federal budget.
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
revenues or tax expenditures.
3. General Performance Goals and Objectives.--This bill
does not authorize funding and therefore, clause 3(c)(4) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives does not
apply.
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 requested but not received a cost
estimate for this bill from the Director of the Congressional
Budget Office.
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 Made by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (new matter is
printed in italic and existing law in which no change is
proposed is shown in roman):
ACT OF AUGUST 9, 1955
AN ACT To authorize the leasing of restricted Indian lands for public,
religious, educational, recreational, residential, business, and other
purposes requiring the grant of long-term leases
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled, That (a)
any restricted Indian lands, whether tribally or individually
owned, may be leased by the Indian owners, with the approval of
the Secretary of the Interior, for public, religious,
educational, recreational, residential, or business purposes,
including the development or utilization of natural resources
in connection with operations under such leases, for grazing
purposes, and for those farming purposes which require the
making of a substantial investment in the improvement of the
land for the production of specialized crops as determined by
said Secretary. All leases so granted shall be for a term of
not to exceed twenty-five years, except leases of land located
outside the boundaries of Indian reservations in the State of
New Mexico, leases of land on the Agua Caliente (Palm Springs)
Reservation, the Dania Reservation, the Pueblo of Santa Ana
(with the exception of the lands known as the ``Santa Ana
Pueblo Spanish Grant''), the reservation of the Confederated
Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon, the Moapa
Indian reservation, the Swinomish Indian Reservation, the
Southern Ute Reservation, the Fort Mojave Reservation, the
Burns Paiute Reservation, the Kalispel Indian Reservation, the
pueblo of Cochiti, the pueblo of Pojoaque, the pueblo of
Tesuque, the pueblo of Zuni, the Hualapai Reservation, the
Spokane Reservation, the San Carlos Apache Reservation,
Yavapai-Prescott Community Reservations, the Pyramid Lake
Reservation, the Gila River Reservation, the Soboba Indian
Reservation, the Viejas Indian Reservation, the Tulalip Indian
Reservation, the Navajo Reservation, the Cabazon Indian
Reservation, the Mille Lacs Reservation with respect to a lease
between an entity established by the Mille Lacs Band of
Chippewa Indians and the Minnesota Historical Society, leases
of lands comprising the Moses Allotment Numbered 10, Chelan
County, Washington, and lands held in trust for the Las Vegas
Paiute Tribe of Indians, and lands held in trust for the
Twenty-nine Palms Band of Luiseno Mission Indians, and lands
held in trust for the Reno Sparks Indian Colony, lands held in
trust for the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians, lands
held in trust for the Guidiville Band of Pomo Indians of the
Guidiville Indian Rancheria, lands held in trust for the
Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, lands
held in trust for the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs
Reservation of Oregon, lands held in trust for the Cherokee
Nations of Oklahoma, lands held in trust for the Pueblo of
Santa Clara, lands held in trust for the Confederated Tribes of
the Colville Reservation, lands held in trust for the Cahuilla
Band of Indians of California, lands held in trust for the
confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon, and
the lands held in trust for the Confederated Salish and
Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Reservation, Montana, and
leases to the Devils Lake Sioux Tribe, or any organization of
such tribe, of land on the Devils Lake Sioux Reservation, which
may be for a term of not to exceed ninety-nine years, and
except leases of land for grazing purposes which may be for a
term not to exceed ten years. Leases for public, religious,
educational, recreational, residential, or business purposes
with the consent of both parties may include provisions
authorizing their renewal for one additional term of not to
exceed twenty-five years, and all leases and renewals shall be
made under such terms and regulations as may be prescribed by
the Secretary of the Interior. Prior to approval of any lease
or extension of an existing lease pursuant to this section, the
Secretary of the Interior shall first satisfy himself that
adequate consideration has been given to the relationship
between the use of the leased lands and the use of neighboring
lands; the height, quality, and safety of any structures or
other facilities to be constructed on such lands; the
availability of police and fire protection and other services;
the availability of judicial forums for all criminal and civil
causes arising on the leased lands; and the effect on the
environment of the uses to which the leased lands will be
subject.
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