To provide for the settlement of the water rights claims of the Navajo Nation, the Hopi Tribe, and the San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe, and for other purposes.
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMr. Ciscomani (for himself, Mr. Stanton, Ms. Ansari, Mr. Grijalva, …
Primary Purpose
Settles the water rights claims of the Navajo Nation, the Hopi Tribe, and the San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe, allocating Colorado River water, establishing trust funds, authorizing construction of a major water pipeline, and creating a reservation for the San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe.
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"Resolve decades-long water rights disputes through comprehensive settlement, providing water allocations, infrastructure funding, trust funds, and formal reservation creation in exchange for tribes waiving future claims"
Likely Beneficiaries
- Navajo Nation (44,700 AFY Upper Basin + additional allocations + trust funds)
- Hopi Tribe (2,300 AFY Upper Basin + Cibola Water + trust funds)
- San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe (water rights + formal reservation creation + trust funds)
- Arizona residents on reservations lacking clean water access
- Bureau of Reclamation (authorized major pipeline construction project)
Likely Burden Bearers
- Federal taxpayers (billions in appropriations for trust funds and pipeline construction)
- Arizona water users (allocations to tribes reduce available water for non-tribal users)
- Tribes themselves (must waive all past, present, and future water claims against the US and Arizona)
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_tribes"
- → Navajo Nation, Hopi Tribe, and San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe collectively
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of the Interior
- "hopi_tribe"
- → Hopi Tribe
- "sjsp_tribe"
- → San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe
- "navajo_nation"
- → Navajo Nation
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of the Interior
- "the_state"
- → State of Arizona
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of the Interior
- "the_bureau"
- → Bureau of Reclamation
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of the Interior
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of the Interior
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of the Interior
- "the_united_states"
- → United States acting as trustee
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of the Interior
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of the Interior
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
acre-feet per year
Waters of the Colorado River apportioned for use within Arizona by the Boulder Canyon Project Act, Upper Colorado River Basin Compact, 1944 contract, and the Decree
Bureau of Reclamation
The Secretary of the Interior
The Northeastern Arizona Indian Water Rights Settlement Agreement dated May 9, 2024, and any exhibits attached
34,100 AFY of Navajo Nation and Hopi Tribe Upper Basin Colorado River Water eligible for the NAIWRSA System Conservation Program
Individually, the Navajo Nation, the Hopi Tribe, or the San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe
Collectively, the Navajo Nation, the Hopi Tribe, and the San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology