Nearly two years of serious negotiations have brought the
Skokomish Tribe and city of Tacoma close to an agreement over what
to do with the Cushman dams on the North Fork of the Skokomish
River.
I was able to report on some broad provisions of the agreement
in
today’s Kitsap Sun, following the lead of Jason Hagey, a
News Tribune reporter who covered a Tacoma City Council meeting
where the city agreed to include land as part of a settlement with
the tribe.
City Councilman Jake Fey noted that Tacoma had benefited from
low electricity rates for decades while ignoring the damage caused
to the tribe. Fey said the settlement would help remove a “black
mark” regarding Tacoma’s regard for the environment and the tribe,
according to Hagey’s report.
I have been following this issue for most of my 31 years as a
reporter for the Kitsap Sun. For much of that time, both the tribe
and the city believed they held the upper hand in the legal
arguments. As a result, both sides looked to the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission and the courts for answers.
After one court threw out a $5.8 billion damage claim made by
the tribe against Tacoma and another court said the relicensing
process should include both damage mitigation and environmental
restoration, suddenly both sides had potentially more to gain — and
more to lose — by leaving the judgment to FERC and the courts.
Both the city and the tribe should be given credit for working
together, given their 80 years of history in which each side
believed it was right.
As for the terms of the settlement, I see where many people are
already passing judgment in
comments after reading my account in the Sun. And that troubles
me. I urge everyone to wait until they see the final settlement,
which will deal with a number of environmental issues not yet made
public.
I’ll have more to say on this subject in the future, but
sometimes a situation is too complex to be boiled down to winners
and losers.
Share on Facebook