The U.S. House of Representatives has passed the Columbia River In-Lieu and Treaty Fishing Access Sites Improvement Act, sending it to the president’s desk to be signed into law.  The legislation would enable the Bureau of Indian Affairs to make safety and sanitation improvements at the tribal treaty fishing access sites along the Columbia River.  The bill, authored by Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley and Congressman Earl Blumenauer unanimously passed in the Senate this past summer.  The 2019 spending bill instructs the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to uphold its responsibility to tribes that were displaced by the construction of The Dalles Dam and to mitigate the impact of that displacement.  The act calls on the Bureau of Indian Affairs to conduct a much-needed assessment of current safety and sanitation conditions at the sites, and authorizes BIA to work on structural improvements, safety improvements, electrical infrastructure, and basic sewer and septic infrastructure.