WSDOT

Photo by Puyallup Tribal News staff Chairman Bill Sterud testified virtually before the state Senate Transportation Committee today in support of legislation that would smooth land exchanges with the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT). The legislation would remove the requirement that a tribal government must waive sovereign immunity and agree not to place property into trust status in order to participate in exchanges for property that requires environmental mitigation. Chairman Sterud pointed out that waiving sovereign immunity can be a non-starter in negotiations, and typically such exchanges begin with the state approaching a tribe and asking for land to…