Sponsors (7)
Official title: To provide for the settlement of the water rights claims of the Navajo Nation, the Hopi Tribe, and the San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe, and for other purposes.
Introduced March 11, 2025 by Juan Ciscomani · Last progress March 11, 2025
The bill trades large, concentrated federal investment and legally certain, quantified tribal water entitlements and projects—delivering much-needed potable water and local control—for significant federal spending, detailed federal oversight and conditionality, limits on future tribal or individual claims and transfers, and administrative and budgetary risks that could delay or constrain implementation.
Indigenous tribal communities (Navajo Nation, Hopi, San Juan Southern Paiute) gain large, dedicated capital and trust-account funding (multi‑billion dollars plus project accounts and investment earnings) to build, operate, and maintain potable water projects and a major pipeline, materially increasing access to reliable drinking water.
Tribes receive legally binding settlement terms and clarified water rights (waivers/exchanges in return for specified benefits), reducing long-running litigation risk and providing legal certainty for tribal planning and implementation.
The Act quantifies and allocates specific, permanent water entitlements and near-term pipeline-delivered supplies (e.g., Navajo allocations, Hopi allocations, project AFYs and interim pipeline supply), giving tribes predictable water volumes for municipal, agricultural, and municipal-type uses.
Taxpayers and federal budgets will shoulder large upfront and ongoing costs (multi‑billion appropriations and potential future appropriations for investment earnings and construction), increasing federal outlays and budgetary pressure.
Tribes and individual members give up or are limited in pursuing past, current, or future water claims (broad waivers and releases, limits on individual recognition), which constrains legal remedies and future bargaining leverage if settlement resources prove insufficient.
Access to and use of funds and project implementation are constrained by detailed federal approvals, Secretary oversight, plan approvals, limited judicial review, and deadlines—reducing tribal flexibility and risking delays accessing money or starting work.
Based on analysis of 42 sections of legislative text.
Creates and funds tribal water-settlement trusts, ratifies a multi-tribal water settlement, allocates Colorado River water entitlements, and funds a major pipeline and power infrastructure.
Creates and funds tribal water-settlement trust funds for the Navajo Nation, Hopi Tribe, and San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe; approves and ratifies a multi-party Northeastern Arizona Indian Water Rights Settlement; allocates specific Arizona Colorado River water entitlements to those tribes; and authorizes planning, design, and construction of the iiná bá – paa tuwaqat’si pipeline to deliver water and related power infrastructure. The bill requires multi-billion dollar Treasury transfers to capital accounts, sets detailed accounting and leasing rules for tribal Colorado River water, establishes withdrawal and oversight rules for tribal trust funds, and conditions full enforceability on a set of required actions and agreements to be completed by an "Enforceability Date."