THE CITY OF SEATTLE V. SAUK-SUIATTLE TRIBAL COURT; JOSH WILLIAMS, JACKIE VARGAS, and SAUK- SUIATTLE INDIAN TRIBE
The City of Seattle and the Sauk-Suiattle Indian Tribe moved [pdf attached: Dam Project Settlement] to dismiss the City’s request for injunctive relief after the parties settled a tribal court challenge to the city's operation of a hydroelectric dam project on the Skagit River. The settlement includes the City’s proposal for a “Fish Passage Program” to “meaningfully contribute to recovering self-sustaining, harvestable salmon runs in the Skagit River watershed without negatively impacting native Skagit Basin fish populations and the Skagit River watershed ecosystem.” The case, filed by the City of Seattle to challenge the tribal court’s jurisdiction, has been pending in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.
[To accompany Case Law Update "Seattle Settles Tribal Challenge to Hydroelectric Dam Project in Salmon Habitat” from Brooks Animal Law Digest Issue No. 192]