Plaintiffs drop lawsuit challenging dam transfer to tribes

HELENA (AP) — The three plaintiffs who filed a lawsuit seeking to block the transfer of a hydroelectric dam to the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes are dropping the case.

State Sen. Bob Keenan, former state Sen. Verdell Jackson and a Flathead Lake business were denied their requested emergency injunction two days before the transfer of the Kerr Dam in September. The dam has been renamed the Salish Kootenai Dam.

The plaintiff’s legal challenge of the Federal Regulatory Commission’s approval of the transfer remained an active case after the injunction was denied.

Their attorney, Lawrence Kogan, on Tuesday filed a notice with a federal judge in Washington D.C. that they are voluntarily dropping the lawsuit.

Kogan tells The Associated Press that he is considering filing a new version the lawsuit at a later date.