Price tag set for Kerr Dam

An arbitration panel has ruled that $18,289,798 is the price tag for the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes to acquire Kerr Dam from PPL Montana.

The American Arbitration Association panel on Monday released the estimated price that Energy Keepers Inc. will pay on behalf of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes to PPL Montana to acquire the Kerr Hydroelectric Project near Polson, according to a news release from Energy Keepers.

Energy Keepers is a federally chartered corporation owned by the tribes. The corporation was created to manage the dam acquisition.

“Today we enjoy historic success in our diligent effort to acquire the Kerr Project,” said Brian Lipscomb, chief executive officer of Energy Keepers. “We had our day in court, and the deal we made in 1985 was honored in the binding decision made by the majority of the arbitration panel. This ruling sets the tribes on a sure path to acquiring Kerr in 2015. It has taken a lot of work, many sacrifices and a serious determination to get to this historic day.”

During extensive hearings in January, the tribes and PPL Montana presented their respective cases to the three-person arbitration panel.

At the heart of the hearings was a dispute over the price that PPL Montana wanted the tribes to pay for Kerr. PPL Montana wanted $49.4 million while the tribes were offering $14.7 million — a $34.7 million difference.

The arbitration panel’s estimated sales price included $16.6 million for the physical plant, $1.7 million for environmental mitigation costs and $15,250 for communications equipment.

Now the tribes will provide formal notice to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission about their intent to acquire Kerr Dam on Sept. 5, 2015.

“This day represents an unwavering and long-standing commitment by the Salish, Pend d’Oreille and Kootenai Tribes to restore Tribal stewardship over resources affected by the Kerr Project,” Tribal Chairman Ronald Trahan said. “This is a big day in our tribal history that is especially meaningful to our communities because it represents self-sufficiency, resilience and vision by the tribes. Today we take a big step forward in acquiring the Kerr Project.”

For complete details about the arbitration process, and the full text of the final award, go to www.energykeepersinc.com/resources/arbitration.