Agreements and Legislation

Work on the project began in 2004 when  Ecology, Reclamation, and the Columbia Basin Project irrigation districts signed a  Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which, among other things, authorized a study to investigate the potential of  incremental storage releases from Lake Roosevelt.

In 2005, Ecology began working with the Colville Confederated Tribes and Spokane Tribe of Indians to ensure all parties shared benefits from the storage releases. The 2008 Legislature approved the final agreements with the tribes.

• 2004 MOU (Washington, Reclamation, and the Columbia Basin Project irrigation districts )
• 2005 Agreement in Principle with the Colville Tribes in 2005 and worked with the Spokane Tribe to study opportunities for shared benefits from the storage releases.
• 2008 Colville Agreement (1.7MB pdf)
• 2008 Spokane Agreement (615KB pdf)
• News Release on the governor's signing
• News Release on the agreements
• News Release on Spokane Tribe signing
• Map - Water Needs in the Columbia Basin
• Focus Sheet - Delivering water for Eastern Washington irrigators, communities and endangered salmon
• Frequently Asked Questions - Tribal-State agreement to deliver water from Lake Roosevelt to farms, towns and salmon in Eastern Washington