The Yakama Nation and PacifiCorp have announced a preliminary agreement to submit a licence application for the Priest Rapids hydroelectric project on the Columbia river.
The licence for the Priest Rapids and Wanapum dams, currently held by Grant County Public Utility District, expires in 2005.
The dams, whose output are 825 MW, are located on lands ceded by the Yakama Nation above Hanford Reach in the state of Washington.
Under an 1855 treaty, the Yakama Nation has a 1.2M acre reservation surrounded by the 10M acres it ceded to the US. The treaty guarantees the Nation’s historic role to manage fish and wildlife, and other cultural resources in its ceded territory.
PacifiCorp, an electric utility based in Portland with 1.5M customers in six states, has extensive hydroelectric experience, operating more than 50 facilities primarily in the Pacific Northwest.
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