HR6931-119

What This Bill Does

The Yavapai-Apache Nation Water Rights Settlement Act resolves the Nation’s water-rights claims in Arizona, including the Verde River Watershed and Colorado River-related claims, while recognizing the cultural and religious value of the Verde River. It ratifies the June 26, 2024 settlement agreement and directs Interior to perform federal obligations. Reclamation must plan, design, and construct the Tú ńlį́į́níchoh Water Infrastructure Project, including the Cragin-Verde Pipeline Project and the Yavapai-Apache Nation Drinking Water System Project. The pipeline must deliver at least 6,836.92 acre-feet per year from C.C. Cragin Dam and Reservoir for the Nation and up to 1,912.18 acre-feet per year for Yavapai County water users. The bill creates a project fund, a Yavapai-Apache Nation Water Settlement Trust Fund with accounts for implementation, water projects, wastewater projects, operation and maintenance, and watershed rehabilitation, keeps a USGS gage at the Verde River point of compliance, transfers indexed federal amounts including $731.059 million for the Cragin-Verde Pipeline Account and $152.49 million for the drinking-water system, establishes waivers and releases of water claims, adds specified parcels to trust land, amends CAP water delivery arrangements, and makes the settlement enforceable only after specified funding, judgments, agreements, water rights, and Federal Register findings are complete.

Who Benefits and How

The Yavapai-Apache Nation benefits from quantified and enforceable water rights, drinking-water infrastructure, trust-fund accounts, settlement implementation funding, wastewater and watershed restoration money, and trust-land additions. Nation members and reservation households benefit from drinking-water system construction and long-term water security. Yavapai County water users benefit from the additional Cragin-Verde pipeline capacity authorized for their use. SRP benefits from reimbursement and defined operation and maintenance responsibilities for the Cragin-Verde Pipeline Project. Verde River ecosystems benefit from continued gaging and recognition of instream-flow rights. Arizona, local water users, and the United States benefit from finality and releases of major water-rights claims.

Who Bears the Burden and How

Interior, Reclamation, Treasury, USGS, SRP, CAWCD, and CAP operating agencies must administer contracts, funds, construction, environmental compliance, gaging, water deliveries, OM&R charges, indexing, and Federal Register enforceability findings. The Yavapai-Apache Nation must execute waivers, coordinate trust-fund withdrawals, satisfy settlement conditions, and accept limits on claims after enforceability. Arizona agencies, municipalities, landowners, and water users must operate within the settlement and related judgments. Federal taxpayers bear the cost of the project fund, trust fund, indexed construction adjustments, environmental compliance, and federal administration.

Key Provisions

• Ratifies and directs execution of the Yavapai-Apache Nation Water Rights Settlement Agreement.
• Authorizes Reclamation to build the Tú ńlį́į́níchoh Water Infrastructure Project, including the Cragin-Verde Pipeline and YAN drinking-water system.
• Creates infrastructure and settlement trust funds for pipeline, drinking-water, wastewater, OM&R, water projects, and watershed rehabilitation accounts.
• Appropriates indexed transfers including $731.059 million for the Cragin-Verde Pipeline and $152.49 million for the drinking-water system.
• Requires continued USGS Verde River gaging to monitor the Nation’s instream flow right.
• Establishes waivers, releases, satisfaction of claims, trust-land additions, CAP water delivery terms, enforceability conditions, and limited sovereign-immunity rules.