M k Rat* Pm afc No. 2
Warm print«, O R
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News
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December 23. 1981
W ARM S PR IN G S . O R E G O N 97761
V O L 6 NO 19
Round Butte rent
subject of hearings
A rb itra tio n hearings to
adjust the annual fee paid to the
Confederated Tribes by PGE
for rent on Round Butte Dam
were held at the Federal Court
House in Portland December 2
through 8. Members of the
T rib a l C o u n cil were in
Portland at the request of tribal
a t t o r n e y s to h e a r th e
testimony.
The a r b itr a tio n
u n d o u b te d ly re su lt
considerable raise in the
figure which is now
million.
First Christmas
w ill
in a
rental
$1.1
binding to both parties in the
dispute.
The last Round Butte
rent hike was July 14, 1977 and
was set at $1,090,000 by
arbitration.' That hike was
450% above the $246,000 the
t ribe’s had received annually
since Round Butte went into
operation in 1964. Under terms
of the contract, the two parties
(PGE and the Tribes) may
review and adjust the rent after
the first 10 years of operation
and every five years thereafter.
T hree a r b itr a to r s were
selected for the hearings. PGE
selected Charles Davis, ex
public utility commissioner for
the state of Oregon. The tribe
selected Abe Weissbrodt, a
c la im s a t t o r n e y f r o m
Washington D.C. (Weissbrodt
served the tribes in the 1977
Round Butte arbitrators.) E.
Kendall Davis, a power expert
from Sacramento, California,
was a mutually agreed upon
arbitrator.
Expert witnesses for the tribe
were Jerry D ibble, Tom
Statson (a water and power
expert from San Francisco and
Charles Ross form Vermont
who is an ex-commissioner of
the Federal Power Commis
sion and an attorney.
The Tribes are asking for an
$8 million figure for the five-
year period, up $7 million from
the 1974 adjustment. It is
anticip ated th a t the new
adjustment will be retroactive,
plus interest, back to 1979.
An arbitrator is one who is
chosen by and mutually agreed
upon by both sides to settle a
dispute when the two parties
cannot come to an agreement
themselves. The arbitrator will
hear each side’s argument and
reach a decisidn final and
At the conclusion of the
h e a rin g s the a r b itr a to r s
indicated they would receive
position summaries from the
Tribe and PGE no later than
December 31 and that they
would render a decision by
January 31, 1982.
The first Christmas is reenacted here by Community Christmas Program actors. The setting is Warm
Springs.
Spilyay Tymoo photo by Shewczyk
Water system delays, questioned
Fill out form—
Members exempt from
new telephone tax
By filling out a special form,
tribal members living on the
Warm Springs Reservation can
avoid paying a new excise tax
to the phone company.
The three percent excise tax,
effective Jan. 1, 1982, will be
imposed by the State of Oregon
to fund “911” emergency
communication services in
several Oregon counties.
To qualify for the exempt
status, you must be an enrolled
Indian living on the reservation
o f y o u r trib e . E n ro lled
members who live off the
reservation will still have to pay
the 3% tax with their phone
bills.
T h e V ita l S t a t i s t i c s
Department has the special
forms on hand which must be
completed and signed. Once
the form has been received b y
Pacific N.W. Bell, the account
will be exempted.
The form is simple—it just
asks for your name, phone
n u m b e r, a d d r e s s , tr ib a l
affiliatio n and enrollm ent
number, and the name of your
reservation.
This exemption applies to all
reservations within the state,
but again, it is only valid for
enrolled Indians living on the
reservation of their tribe.
Check with Vital Statistics
for the forms. When completed
and signed, the form should be
taken to the nearest PNB
business office or mailed to
P.O. Box 3881, Portland,
Oregon 97251. Forms must be
sent in before your account will
be exempted.
by Sandy Rangila
It is apparent that Warm
Springs will not be receiving
water from the new Deschutes
Domestic system this month or
next, as had been planned. It
probably won’t be until spring.
But the reasons given for the
delay and date of actual start
up of the system are conflicting.
Ron Hall, project manager
at the treatment plant (A.S.C.
Constructors), said the delay is
due to a shortage of valves for
the primary lines. “The valves
come from Argentina and
d eliv ery has been slow ,
probably because of a schedule
screw-up,” he speculated.
He said the treatment plant
could be in operation by the
end of January, “but we won’t
be able to deliver water
anywhere until the valves are in
place.” According to Hall,
apparently not enough delivery-
time was allowed when the
valves were ordered.
Unusually bad weather and
lots of rain has been another
factor in the delays, said Hall.
But Ed Manion, Community
Services M anager for the
Tribe’s, said it is not the valye
shortage that is holding up the
project. He said sleeves are
being placed in the line where
the valves are to go. By placing
the sleeves in the lines, the
system can be tested and on
line without undue delay,
despite a shortage of valves.
Manion said he got this
in fo rm atio n straig h t from
STRAAM Engineers, Inc., thé
firm which designed and
oversees the project.
“They should be able to start
pumping water to the Tewee
Butte tank in mid-January and
by late February or the first of
March there should be water
flow, said Manion.
He met on Monday with
Hall at the treatment plant and
demanded “a good and true
schedule revision by. next
week” so the Tribes will know
the actual projected comple
tion dates for all phases of the
project.
D espite delays, M anion
reports that the Tribes are still
within the $8 million figure
budgeted for the new water
system.
Construction of the tanks is
nearly complete. Nothing more
can be done on them until they
are filled with water. Only then
can the tanks and equipment be
tested. P o rtlan d T ank is
currently cleaning up and
restoring the land around the
tanks.
The Treatm ent Plant is
slightly behind schedule. All
m a jo r e q u ip m e n t an d
mechanical parts are on site
with the exception of some
heavy pumps. The pumps are
due to arrive in early January.
The plant superintendent
said that once the roof is on he
will pick up the schedule.