Technical Corrections to the Northwestern New Mexico Rural Water Projects Act, Taos Pueblo Indian Water Rights Settlement Act, and Aamodt Litigation Settlement Act

House Votes

This bill makes small fixes to past laws that fund tribal water projects in New Mexico. It lets the government add “catch‑up” interest to three existing water funds so they have the money they were expected to earn. It adds about $6.36 million to the Navajo Nation Water Resources Development Trust Fund, about $7.79 million to the Taos Pueblo Water Development Fund, and about $4.31 million to the Aamodt Settlement Pueblos’ Fund to help pay for running and replacing local water systems.

It also forgives certain interest that would have been owed to the federal government on earlier Aamodt funds earned before September 15, 2017. The bill says these updates do not undo earlier federal approvals of the Taos and Aamodt water settlements from 2016 and 2017; those decisions still stand.

Key points

• Who is affected: Communities served by the Navajo Nation, Taos Pueblo, and the Aamodt Settlement Pueblos.
• What changes: Adds roughly $6.36M (Navajo), $7.79M (Taos), and $4.31M (Aamodt) to existing water funds; forgives some previously owed interest for the Aamodt funds; clarifies that prior approvals remain valid.
• When: The interest forgiveness covers earnings from before September 15, 2017; prior approvals referenced were made in 2016 and 2017.