Sponsors (2)
Official title: To amend the Crow Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act of 2010 to make improvements to that Act, and for other purposes.
Introduced January 24, 2025 by Troy Downing · Last progress January 24, 2025
The bill secures dedicated, longer-term funding and new authorities to advance Crow Tribe water and wastewater projects and long‑term water rights, but shifts ongoing operation and maintenance costs to the Tribe and introduces administrative and implementation complexity.
Crow Tribe gains a dedicated MR&I Projects Account to fund planning, design, construction, and repair of water and wastewater infrastructure, improving the Tribe's ability to deliver and finance essential water systems.
Crow Tribe can use leftover MR&I funds (after projects complete) to acquire on‑Reservation land with water rights, helping secure long‑term water resources and sovereignty over those resources.
The Crow Settlement Fund and related accounts will be actively managed and invested by the Secretary, allowing funds to remain available until expended and potentially improving fund stewardship and timeliness of project financing.
Crow Tribe (and its members) are left responsible for operation, maintenance, and replacement costs of MR&I projects because the federal government disclaims obligation to pay ongoing O&M expenses.
Tribe and the Interior Department may face increased administrative complexity and potential delays because funds are restructured and transferred among multiple new and existing accounts.
Indexing MR&I deposit amounts to construction cost trends could raise required funding levels over time, increasing tribal upfront cash needs or reducing purchasing power if deposits don't keep pace.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Amends the Crow water-settlement law to redefine MR&I projects, repeal the MR&I System, create an MR&I Projects Account, and change Fund management and cross‑references.
Amends the Crow Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act of 2010 to change key definitions, remove the prior MR&I System construct, and create a new MR&I Projects Account within the Crow Settlement Fund. It shifts how the Fund is managed and invested by the Secretary, updates cross-references and section numbering, and provides a funding mechanism for municipal, rural, and industrial (MR&I) tribal water infrastructure and related environmental obligations. These changes affect the Crow Tribe Settlement Fund administration, the Interior Department's implementation responsibilities, and the statutory pathway for funding and executing tribal MR&I projects under the settlement.