S. 50 would authorize the appropriation of whatever amounts are necessary to the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) to assess and improve the sanitation and safety conditions on land held in trust by the United States for the four Columbia River Treaty tribes (the Nez Perce Tribe, the Confederated Tribes of Umatilla Indian Reservation, the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon, and the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation).
For this estimate, CBO assumes that S. 50 will be enacted in fiscal year 2019 and that the necessary amounts will be appropriated for each fiscal year starting in 2020.
Currently, BIA funds operations and maintenance of 28 fishing sites on the Columbia River. Using information provided by BIA, CBO estimates that implementing S. 50 would require one new full-time equivalent (FTE) position to oversee an improvement plan and maintenance, and seven new law enforcement FTEs to ensure the safety and security of the facilities with average annual salaries of around $70,000. All equipment necessary to make upgrades to the facilities’ electric, sewer, and water infrastructure would cost around $1 million a year over this period and preparing an improvement plan in 2020 also would cost about $1 million, CBO estimates.
CBO estimates that implementing the bill would cost $11 million over the 2019-2024 period. The costs of the legislation fall within budget function 450 (community and regional development).