Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribe set to acquire Kerr Hydroelectric Project in 2015

In September 2015, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes’ corporation, Energy Keepers, Inc. (EKI), plans to acquire the Kerr Hydroelectric Project. While the purchase price is still under dispute, the tribal news is publishing a series of articles to educate tribal members (and other interested parties) on the history of this deal, as well as the steps that EKI is taking to be prepared to manage this project.

According to the Char-Koosta News:

The Tribes fought hard for the right to acquire the Project when the last FERC license was issued in 1985. For several decades, this opportunity has been seen by successive Tribal Councils as a primary option for CSKT’s future economic development and self-sufficiency. Acquisition of the Kerr Project is also an important way for the Tribes to manage and reclaim natural resources that are critical to the Salish, Kootenai and Pend d’Oreille peoples of the Flathead reservation.

Today, only two years from the opportunity to own and operate the Kerr Project, EKI, the Tribally owned corporation responsible for the management of the Kerr Dam acquisition process, is in full swing– evaluating, planning and preparing for the conveyance of this major hydroelectric facility.

The first three articles in the series are available on the Char-Koosta News site:

The Twists and Turns of Acquiring Kerr Dam here.

Conveyance of Kerr Dam Continues to Move Along here.

Due Diligence on Kerr Dam: Structural Evaluation here.

This is an exciting opportunity for the Confederated Salish-Kootenai Tribe, and I plan to keep checking the Char-Koosta News site to see how this project is progressing.

Thanks to NG