# 14 Newsletter

12 November 2001

Yakama Association with PacifiCorp

Currently a Washington tribe, The Yakama, is associated with PacifiCorp in

an effort to take over a series of dams on the Columbia River. The Yakama

tribe and PacifiCorp plan on submitting a license application to run the

Priest Rapids project. Currently the Grant County Public Utility District,

which owns and operates the Priest Rapids and Wanapun dams, has their

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission license to operate this utility and it

expires in 2005.

Such a take over would put a non republican form of government, the Yakama

tribal government, in control of that utility service which in turn places

its customers and citizens, within that utility district, in a position

where they could not participate in the government that controlled their

utility. From rate increases to rules and regulations regarding being

fish-friendly, spills control during a drought, contract negotiations with

user customers such as Seattle Light, Tacoma Power, and Puget Sound Energy,

just to name a few, the tribal government would be the only government body

in charge. The other partner is predominantly owned by Scottish Power of

Great Britain.

So here we go.. a pretend government ( not authorized under our

Constitution) and a foreign corporation seeking to dislodge the Grant County

PUD ! This is just one more wake up call for the citizens of Washington:

allow this to happen and you continue to loose control of public utilities

to "outsiders".. non citizens and pretend governments. What is next?

John A. Fleming