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# 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