Summary

Amends the Taos Pueblo Indian Water Rights Settlement Act to add definitions, create two new Pueblo trust funds (groundwater development and surface‑water sharing), require Treasury transfers into those funds and a mutual‑benefit projects account, and authorize the Bureau of Reclamation to provide supplemental, non‑reimbursable planning and construction funding for eligible mutual‑benefit water projects. It also sets eligibility rules, deadlines, investment and spending rules, and procedures for returning or reallocating unspent funds while preserving existing Settlement Agreement terms.

Key Points

• Creates two new Taos Pueblo Treasury trust funds for groundwater development and surface‑water sharing and groups existing accounts as Pueblo Trust Funds.
• Requires mandatory Treasury transfers to three accounts: mutual‑benefit projects, groundwater development, and surface‑water sharing, with cost‑indexing adjustments allowed.
• Authorizes the Bureau of Reclamation to provide supplemental, non‑reimbursable grants and assistance for mutual‑benefit water projects to Taos Pueblo and eligible non‑Pueblo entities.
• Defines Mitigation Well System to cover wells, pipelines, treatment, and related infrastructure used as offsets for surface‑water depletions.
• Sets investment, eligibility, project‑deadline, and fund‑use conditions, including authority to terminate awards and reassign or repurpose returned funds.
• Prohibits the Commissioner from holding title to property acquired or constructed with these supplemental funds.
• Preserves existing Settlement Agreement and Partial Final Decree terms; does not compel use of a particular project‑modification process for certain alternatives.
• Requires Secretary‑managed investment of the created trust funds and conditions Pueblo spending on meeting statutory prerequisites.

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