Sponsors (3)
Introduced February 13, 2025 by Teresa Leger Fernandez · Last progress February 13, 2025
The bill trades a substantial, enforceable water‑rights settlement and federal funding (improving water infrastructure, health outcomes, and legal certainty for the Navajo Nation) against major waivers of historic claims, substantial federal costs and appropriation uncertainty, and new limits or procedural constraints that may reduce tribal autonomy and create long‑term allocation and fiscal risks.
Navajo Nation members and tribal communities: receive a final, legally binding settlement and substantial federal funding (including ~$200.27M for settlement, $23M for O&M, and state contributions) that enables priority water projects and resolves long‑running water claims.
Navajo Nation and project partners: gain near-term and sustained financing via a Navajo Trust Fund and an immediate $15M availability for feasibility, planning, and well construction, improving the ability to build and maintain water systems.
Navajo Nation households and rural communities: get improved domestic and municipal water service access (Project water and expanded service) that can raise water reliability, sanitation, and public health outcomes.
Navajo Nation members and claimants: must waive many present and future claims covered by the settlement; if the settlement or payments prove inadequate, individuals and the Nation cannot later pursue additional compensation for waived harms.
Federal taxpayers: face substantial new federal outlays (roughly $223.27M plus index adjustments and potential Secretary repricing), creating significant public cost and exposure to higher-than-expected payments.
Project beneficiaries and partners (including the Navajo Nation): implementation and benefits depend on future congressional appropriations and on Secretary approvals, producing funding and timing uncertainty and risk of delayed or reduced services.
Based on analysis of 28 sections of legislative text.
Settles and ratifies Navajo Nation water rights in the Rio San José Stream System and Rio Puerco Basin, creates a federally managed Navajo Trust Fund with mandatory Treasury transfers for water infrastructure and operations, and authorizes execution of a multi-party agreement that resolves specified claims in return for waivers and releases. It preserves individual Allottee water rights, requires environmental compliance and limited state-court judicial review of certain Navajo water-permit decisions, and conditions the law’s enforceability on specified actions and funding (the “Enforceability Date”).