Sponsors (3)
Official title: To provide for the settlement of the water rights claims of the Fort Belknap Indian Community, and for other purposes.
Introduced January 31, 2025 by Ryan Zinke · Last progress January 31, 2025
The bill secures tribal water rights, acreage-in-trust, and substantial federal funding to deliver water and sanitation infrastructure for tribal communities—improving health, infrastructure, and self‑governance—while imposing significant federal costs, legal waivers that limit future claims, administrative conditions, and some limits on economic flexibility for tribes.
Fort Belknap Tribe members and allottees get legally ratified Tribal water rights held in trust by the United States, securing long‑term access to water and reducing future litigation over water entitlements.
Tribal communities receive large, dedicated capital funding and a long‑term implementation/trust funding structure (including $89.6M deposited, $331.9M authorized, and investment authority) to build and maintain irrigation, delivery, and clean water/sewer systems, supporting sustained project delivery and Tribal self‑governance.
Residents on the Fort Belknap Reservation gain improved irrigation and water infrastructure (including Lake Elwell allocations and canal rehabilitation), which should increase water reliability for domestic use, agriculture, and community needs.
Federal taxpayers face large upfront and authorized spending (hundreds of millions plus a $250M appropriation), increasing federal outlays and potentially crowding out other priorities or increasing deficits.
To receive benefits, the Tribe and allottees must accept waivers/releases that extinguish many pre‑existing water claims, limiting future litigation or recovery for historical harms and reducing potential future remedies.
The United States may offset or apply federal payments against other Fort Belknap water claims and disclaims liability if Congress does not appropriate adequate funds, creating uncertainty about net compensation and project completion.
Based on analysis of 8 sections of legislative text.
Settles Fort Belknap water rights, transfers specified lands into trust, creates a tribal settlement trust fund, and authorizes $250M for Blackfeet water infrastructure.
Settles and implements water-rights claims for the Fort Belknap Indian Community in Montana, ratifies the Fort Belknap–Montana compact, authorizes land transfers into trust, and creates a dedicated settlement trust fund to finance irrigation, water administration, and domestic water and sewer projects. It directs the Department of the Interior to execute and implement the compact, manages conveyance terms for specific parcel transfers, and allows certain federal offsets against claims. Also creates the Aaniiih Nakoda Settlement Trust Fund with subaccounts for irrigation, water administration/operation/maintenance, and domestic water/sewer projects, and authorizes a separate $250 million appropriation for planning, construction, operation, and maintenance of community water and wastewater facilities for the Blackfeet Tribe in Montana.