Sponsor
Emily Randall
Representative · D-WA
Representative · D-WA
The bill transfers ~72 acres into Quinault tribal trust—strengthening tribal landholdings, governance, and preserving treaty rights while providing contamination disclosure—but it leaves potential cleanup liability and foregoes gaming revenue and some federal forest management oversight.
Quinault Indian Nation members and residents of the parcel gain ~72 acres placed into federal trust, expanding tribal land base, self-governance, and access to federal trust protections and programs.
Quinault tribal members and nearby communities retain Treaty of Olympia rights (for example, fishing and treaty-based activities) because the bill explicitly states the land transfer does not affect those rights.
The bill requires CERCLA disclosure of known hazardous substances before the land is taken into trust, giving the tribe and the public documented information about contamination on the parcel.
Quinault tribal members and residents may inherit contamination risks because the Secretary is not required to remediate or abate hazardous substances when taking the land into trust.
The tribe is barred from gaming eligibility on the parcel, limiting a potential economic development and revenue stream for the Quinault Nation.
Taxpayers could face future cleanup costs or contested liability if remediation of hazardous substances becomes necessary and responsibility/funding is unresolved.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Transfers ~72 acres from the U.S. Forest Service to the Department of the Interior to be taken into trust for the Quinault Indian Nation and added to the reservation; land is ineligible for gaming.
Introduced March 26, 2025 by Emily Randall · Last progress December 10, 2025
Transfers about 72 acres in Washington from the U.S. Forest Service to the Department of the Interior to be taken into trust for the Quinault Indian Nation and added to the Quinault Indian Reservation. The land will be administered by the Secretary of the Interior under laws and regulations that govern trust property for tribes and is subject to valid existing rights. The transferred land is made ineligible for gaming under federal gaming law and the Act preserves Treaty of Olympia rights. Before the transfer, the Secretary must satisfy hazardous-substance disclosure requirements under CERCLA section 120(h), but the Secretary is not required by this law to remediate or abate any contamination found.