Billy Nicholson serves as secretary of the Colville Business Council. Photo from Colville Tribes
The Colville Tribes of Washington are pushing for passage of a bill that streamlines energy development in Indian Country. The Senate passed S.209, the Indian Tribal Energy Development and Self-Determination Act Amendments, by unanimous consent on December 10. The measure authorizes a biomass demonstration project on the reservation and extends the tribe's forest management practices, Secretary Billy Nicholson said. "Hopefully, the bill will become law in the coming months," Nicholson wrote in The Tribal Tribune, the tribe's newspaper. The provisions are included in Section 202, the Tribal Biomass Demonstration Project. Tribes can enter into agreements with the federal government that incorporate their forest management plans. The bill awaits consideration in the House.
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