According to information made available by the attorney general’s office, PacifiCorp is to pay rent of about US$50,000 per year.
The suit was sparked over a call for compensation to be given by the utilities to the land owners, which are the state’s trust lands for schools, for use of the river beds for revenue generating purposes. Residents brought the case and were joined by school districts.
A trial over the suit against three hydro utilities is scheduled for October but the settlement with PacifCorp takes the utility out of the legal fight. The utilities have contended that their projects should be exempt as they believe they were covered by federal licences.
