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Upper Columbia adjudication pilot draws tribal support and tribal concern over exclusions
Summary
HB 25‑44 would create a phased pilot adjudication for the Upper Columbia, prioritizing early tribal and federal settlement talks and delaying wider summonses until a later phase; tribal leaders and Ecology supported streamlining while the Yakama Nation expressed concern that the proposal could exclude relevant treaty claims and create legal risk.
Committee members heard testimony on House Bill 25‑44, a pilot approach to the Upper Columbia River general water adjudication that would phase summonses and prioritize tribal and federal claimants in early settlement discussions.
Lily Smith, committee staff, summarized the bill as authorizing a two‑phase adjudication: a first phase to bring forward tribal and federal claimants (with that phase potentially lasting until 2033 or settlement) and a second…
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