Tribe, Wash. Utility Agree On New Dam License

Under the new license, the utility district must:

—Spend more than $50 million on a fish passage facility. It must remove nonnative fish and reintroduce desirable trout species.

—Restore trout habitat on 164 miles of rivers and streams that flow into the Pend Oreille River over the next 25 years.

—Develop a plan to improve recreation facilities on the reservoir, and provide money for the tribe to build recreation facilities at the Pow Wow Grounds, Kalispel Boat Launch and Manresa Grotto Beach.

The utility district provides power to about 8,500 customers in Pend Oreille County.

Other tribes have used the relicensing process to correct past damage. Avista Corp. of Spokane recently agreed to pay up to $168 million over the next 50 years to compensate the Coeur d'Alene Tribe for storing water for power generation on the tribe's submerged land in Lake Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.