Rio San José and Rio Jemez Water Settlements Act of 2025

This act settles water rights in parts of New Mexico for the Pueblos of Acoma and Laguna (Rio San José) and the Pueblos of Jemez and Zia (Jemez River). It approves agreements that spell out the pueblos’ water rights and sets up funding to carry out the deals. The United States holds these rights in trust. The rights can’t be lost just because water isn’t used, and pueblos can allocate or lease water (with federal approval for off‑pueblo use) to meet community needs .

To make this work, the act creates settlement trust funds for each pueblo (and a shared fund for Acomita Reservoir work) and provides major federal funding, with adjustments for inflation. New Mexico must also chip in for local water projects and to help offset impacts on non‑pueblo domestic and livestock wells. Money can pay for water systems, wells, irrigation upgrades, watershed work, environmental compliance, and running pueblo water programs. Some funds are available right away for new groundwater wells to meet near‑term needs .

• Who is affected

  • Pueblos of Acoma and Laguna along the Rio San José, and Pueblos of Jemez and Zia along the Jemez River, plus nearby communities and acequia users in those basins.

• What changes

  • Approves two water‑rights settlements and defines the pueblos’ water rights held in U.S. trust; rights can’t be lost through non‑use; pueblos can allocate/lease water (off‑pueblo leasing needs federal approval) .
  • Sets up trust funds and provides federal transfers (with inflation adjustments); the state provides matching funds for local projects and mitigation .
  • Creates a limited path to ask New Mexico courts to review pueblo water‑permit decisions, based only on the record and specific standards.

• When it takes effect

  • After the federal and state funds are deposited, courts approve the agreements, the state changes law to allow leasing up to 99 years, and the pueblos and the U.S. sign required waivers. If the Acoma/Laguna settlement isn’t finalized by July 1, 2030, it expires and actions and funds are unwound .

• What claims are waived or kept

  • In return for the settlements, the pueblos and the U.S. waive past water‑rights claims in these river systems. They keep the right to enforce the new water rights and to bring claims about water quality and environmental harms under laws like the Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act .