The US Court of Appeals ruled against a claim by the Sokomish Indian Tribe last week, which was suing the City of Tacoma for alleged harms to off-reservation treaty fishing rights and other damages allegedly caused by the Cushman hydroelectric project.
The Court rejected the plaintiffs’ argument that the Cushman project was in violation of the provision for off-reservation fishing rights in the treaty of Point-No-Point. Further claims under the Federal Tort Claims Act and the Federal Power Act were also dismissed.
If Tacoma had lost, there could have been repercussions for hydroelectric projects across the Pacific Northwest and beyond.