Tribal Management of Mission Valley Power

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO commented on two contracts between residents of the Flathead Reservation in Montana and the Bureau of Indian Affairs for the operation and management of the Mission Valley Power utility. GAO noted that: (1) to meet the contract requirements, the utility provided special personnel, made improvements in the system, gathered quantitative data on electrical power consumption, and developed a long-range plan for electrical consumption; (2) the utility took many steps to comply with federal environmental and safety standards; and (3) nine modifications were made to the 1988 contract and one modification was made to the 1991 contract.