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Implements negotiated water-rights settlements for several New Mexico Pueblos by ratifying settlement agreements, creating and funding dedicated settlement trust accounts, placing Pueblo water rights into federal trust, and setting rules for environmental review, use of funds, legal waivers, and judicial review. It directs the Secretary of the Interior to execute the agreements, requires state contributions and statutory changes, establishes conditions that must be met before funds are available (an "Enforceability Date"), and includes an expiration backstop if required federal findings are not published by July 1, 2030. The legislation specifies permitted uses and withdrawal procedures for the trust funds (no per-capita distributions), protects Pueblo water rights from forfeiture and permanent alienation, requires Pueblos to prepare environmental documents (with Secretary review), and requires broad waivers and releases of past claims in the settled basins while preserving certain environmental and non-water claims. It also provides limited consent for state-court judicial review of Pueblo water-permit decisions under narrow standards and makes federal payments subject to available appropriations and antideficiency limitations.
The bill secures and funds major, immediate water-rights settlements and infrastructure for several Pueblos—accelerating projects and protecting tribal water rights—while imposing sizable federal costs, shifting long‑term fiscal and operational burdens to tribal governments, limiting some legal remedies, and creating conditional implementation risks.
Acoma, Laguna (including Acomita), Jemez, and Zia Pueblos receive large, dedicated settlement/trust funds (totaling roughly $1.3 billion) to secure water rights and finance water infrastructure and related projects.
Those Pueblo water rights are held in trust and explicitly protected from forfeiture, abandonment, or permanent alienation, strengthening long-term tribal access to water.
Pueblos get early access to limited planning and project funds (e.g., up-front per‑Pueblo amounts for wells, planning, and environmental work), accelerating project start-up and quicker access to domestic/municipal water.
U.S. taxpayers fund large mandatory transfers — roughly $1.3 billion in settlements — increasing federal outlays and using resources that could have alternative federal uses.
Pueblo governments will bear ongoing operation, maintenance, and eventual replacement costs for projects built with the settlement funds, which could strain tribal budgets after initial construction spending ends.
The bill includes broad waivers and releases of past and many pre‑Enforceability claims, limiting future legal remedies for Pueblos and other parties (e.g., non‑Pueblo water users) who might have unresolved disputes.
Introduced February 13, 2025 by Teresa Leger Fernandez · Last progress February 13, 2025