Montana Power Company v. Public Utility District No. 2 of Grant County, Washington

587 F.2d 1019 The MONTANA POWER COMPANY, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. PUBLIC UTILITY DISTRICT NO. 2 OF GRANT COUNTY, WASHINGTON, a Municipal Corporation of the State of Washington; Public Utility District No. 1 of Chelan County, Washington, a Municipal Corporation of the State of Washington, et al., etc., Defendants-Appellees. No. 76-3047. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Dec. 18, 1978. 1 Kendrick O. Smith (argued), Corette, Smith & Dean, Butte, Mont., for plaintiff-appellant. 2 David J. Dorsey (argued), of Davis, Arneil, Dorsey & Kight, Wenatchee, Wash., for defendants-appellees. 3 Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington. 4 Before GOODWIN and WALLACE, Circuit Judges, and THOMPSON, * District Judge. GORDON THOMPSON, Jr., District Judge: 5 Appellant Montana Power Co. (hereinafter "Montana") owns and operates the Kerr dam on the Flathead River located in northwestern Montana. The Kerr dam is located on the Flathead Reservation and as a result Montana must pay rent to the Confederated Salishe and Kootenai Tribes for the use of the land. In 1959 the Tribes sought readjustment of the then $238,375.00 per year rental by…