Crow Tribe Water Rights Settlement Amendments Act of 2025
Summary
What This Bill Does
The bill repeals the settlement's prior section 406 water-system framework and establishes an MR&I Projects Account for municipal, rural and industrial water-related infrastructure. Funds prioritize water production, treatment, delivery and wastewater work, including planning, construction, repair and environmental compliance. After notice that on-Reservation priority projects are complete, remaining funds may purchase on-Reservation land with water rights. The Tribe retains title, control and operation of projects constructed with the account.
Who Benefits and How
Crow Tribe members and reservation water users could benefit from greater flexibility to choose and operate needed infrastructure. Crow Tribal project administrators gain the specified funding pathway and ownership. The bill extends the settlement's Yellowtail Afterbay Dam substantial-construction period from 15 to 20 years, supporting the Tribe's exclusive development opportunity. It does not create an unlimited federal obligation to fund future operations.
Who Bears the Burden and How
The Tribe bears operation, maintenance and replacement responsibilities because the bill expressly disclaims a federal obligation to pay those costs. Interior administrators must manage and distribute the account, depositing funds into the existing joint-signature MR&I account before investment earnings accrue. The reported text drops the proposed separate nontrust Crow CIP Implementation Account and the new construction-cost indexing provision. Some references remain uncertain: the MR&I definition points through clause (iii) although the listed uses stop at clause (ii). That drafting mismatch should not be treated as an additional authorized use.
Key Provisions
- Establishes the MR&I Projects Account and prioritizes water infrastructure and environmental compliance.
- Permits purchase of on-Reservation land with water rights only after notice that priority projects are complete.
- Protects Tribal project ownership while disclaiming federal operation, maintenance and replacement payment obligations.
- Extends the Yellowtail Afterbay construction period from 15 to 20 years.
- Requires the reported joint-signature deposit route and removes the separate proposed CIP account and indexing formula.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Restructure Crow settlement water-project funding for Tribal management, retain Tribal ownership and extend the Yellowtail Afterbay hydropower construction period.
Key Policy Areas
Tribal Affairs, Water Resources, Energy
Primary Purpose
Restructure Crow settlement water-project funding for Tribal management, retain Tribal ownership and extend the Yellowtail Afterbay hydropower construction period.
Policy Domains
Crow Tribe Water Rights Settlement Amendments Act of 2025
Identified Gains
- Crow Tribe members
- Reservation water users
- Crow Tribal project administrators
Identified Costs
- Department of the Interior
- Crow Tribe infrastructure operators
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
ReportedPlaced on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 670.
Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Natural Resources. H. Rept. …
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the …
Ordered to be Reported in the Nature of a Substitute …
Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
Mr. Downing (for himself and Mr. Zinke) introduced the following …
Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.
Introduced in House
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Crow Tribe of Indians, Crow reservation water users
Crow Tribe of Indians faces effects in multiple directions
Department of the Interior
Department of the Interior faces effects in multiple directions
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "tribe"
- → Crow Tribe of Indians
- "bureau"
- → Bureau of Reclamation
- "account"
- → MR&I Projects Account
- "secretary"
- → Secretary of the Interior
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