NESPELEM — Colville tribal members can expect the second installment of a settlement disbursement in October after voting overwhelmingly in favor of distributing half of a $193 million settlement to members, instead of 20 percent.

The Aug. 11 referendum vote — which passed by a margin of 10 to 1 — is not binding, but the Colville Business Council voted Monday to distribute the remaining 30 percent of its settlement to about 9,500 members, said chairman John Sirois.

The vote — 3,495 voting in favor and 303 voting against — was certified Monday before the council took action.

Tribal leaders initially planned to use 80 percent of the settlement funds to restore forests and improve the long-term health of tribal resources. Now, 50 percent of the funds will be used to repair damage of tribal forests, watersheds and grazing lands.

The money is part of a $1 billion settlement from the U.S. government with 41 American Indian tribes whose trust lands were mismanaged by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

The tribe already distributed 20 percent of the settlement, which amounted to $4,080 per member, according to Joanne Sanchez, a tribal member from Moxee who initiated the effort to get more of the funds distributed. She said an additional 30 percent would give members $6,120 more.

Sanchez said she’s worried the 14-member council may hold back funds for members who owe money in 14 different programs, ranging from child support to housing and other social services.

“I think people are going to go into (council) chambers and protesting the holds,” she said.

She said it’s one thing to hold back funds owed for child support, but with high unemployment, some elders have really struggled to keep up. “Some people still owe for home loans they got years ago,” she said, adding, she’d like to see at least half of the remaining 30 percent distributed.

Sirois said the council has not yet formally adopted a plan for using the other half of the settlement. “But we definitely have done quite a bit of work on plans,” he said. Sirois added that mismanagement of the 1.4 million-acre reservation resulted in an estimated $540 million in damages. “It’s breathtaking, looking at some of the environmental damage,” he said. “Just something as simple as putting culverts in the road system, they just failed to do that and signed off on the project, and years later, things continue to degrade,” he said.

Remaining funds will also help put tribal members back to work repairing the damage to tribal forests and rangelands, he said.

K.C. Mehaffey: 997-2512

mehaffey@wenatcheeworld.com