S4505-118

Reported

To approve the settlement of water rights claims of Ohkay Owingeh in the Rio Chama Stream System, to restore the Bosque on Pueblo Land in the State of New Mexico, and for other purposes.

118th Congress Introduced Jun 11, 2024

Summary

What This Bill Does

The bill creates states the purposes of the Act: to achieve a final settlement of water rights claims in the Rio Chama Stream System for Ohkay Owingeh, authorize the settlement agreement, direct the Secretary of the Interior, provides definitions for the Act, including the Adjudication, Agreement, bosque, Enforceability Date, Ohkay Owingeh, Pueblo Water Rights, Rio Chama Stream System, Secretary (of the Interior), State (New Mexico), and creates ratifies and confirms the Ohkay Owingeh water rights settlement agreement, directs the Secretary of the Interior to execute it, and allows future modifications consistent with the Act without additional. It relies on liability protections, exemptions, appropriations, and definition changes. The main policy areas are Water Rights, Agriculture, and Housing.

Who Benefits and How

Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo could gain revenue opportunities, United States government could face reduced risk, and Other water rights holders in Rio Chama could face reduced risk.

Who Bears the Burden and How

Secretary of the Interior would take on compliance duties, Department of the Interior would take on compliance duties, and State of New Mexico would take on compliance duties.

Key Provisions

  • Creates states the purposes of the Act: to achieve a final settlement of water rights claims in the Rio Chama Stream System for Ohkay Owingeh, authorize the settlement agreement, direct the Secretary of the Interior...
  • Provides definitions for the Act, including the Adjudication, Agreement, bosque, Enforceability Date, Ohkay Owingeh, Pueblo Water Rights, Rio Chama Stream System, Secretary (of the Interior), State (New Mexico)...
  • Creates ratifies and confirms the Ohkay Owingeh water rights settlement agreement, directs the Secretary of the Interior to execute it, and allows future modifications consistent with the Act without additional...
  • Establishes that Pueblo Water Rights shall be held in trust by the United States, cannot be lost through non-use or forfeiture, and allows Ohkay Owingeh to lease, allocate, and distribute water rights both on and off...
  • Establishes the Ohkay Owingeh Water Rights Settlement Trust Fund, managed by the Secretary of the Interior, to receive appropriated amounts and investment earnings for carrying out the Act. Specifies investment...

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

The bill creates states the purposes of the Act: to achieve a final settlement of water rights claims in the Rio Chama Stream System for Ohkay Owingeh, authorize the settlement agreement, direct the Secretary of the Interior, provides definitions for the Act, including the Adjudication, Agreement, bosque, Enforceability Date, Ohkay Owingeh, Pueblo Water Rights, Rio Chama Stream System, Secretary (of the Interior), State (New Mexico), and creates ratifies and confirms the Ohkay Owingeh water rights settlement agreement, directs the Secretary of the Interior to execute it, and allows future modifications consistent with the Act without additional.

Key Policy Areas

Water Rights, Agriculture, Housing

Primary Purpose

The bill creates states the purposes of the Act: to achieve a final settlement of water rights claims in the Rio Chama Stream System for Ohkay Owingeh, authorize the settlement agreement, direct the Secretary of the Interior, provides definitions for the Act, including the Adjudication, Agreement, bosque, Enforceability Date, Ohkay Owingeh, Pueblo Water Rights, Rio Chama Stream System, Secretary (of the Interior), State (New Mexico), and creates ratifies and confirms the Ohkay Owingeh water rights settlement agreement, directs the Secretary of the Interior to execute it, and allows future modifications consistent with the Act without additional.

Policy Domains

Water Rights Agriculture Housing

Whole bill

Identified Gains
  • Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo
  • United States government
  • Other water rights holders in Rio Chama
  • Other Indian Tribes
  • United States (as trustee)
Model: codex-gpt-5:bulk-repair | Version: bill_summary_v2 | Source: rs
Other Indian Tribes:
Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo: , , , , ,
United States government: ,
United States (as trustee):
Other water rights holders in Rio Chama:
Identified Costs
  • Secretary of the Interior
  • Department of the Interior
  • State of New Mexico
  • Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo
  • Federal taxpayers
Model: codex-gpt-5:bulk-repair | Version: bill_summary_v2 | Source: rs
Federal taxpayers:
State of New Mexico: ,
Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo: ,
Secretary of the Interior: ,
Department of the Interior: ,

Legislative Progress

Reported
Introduced Committee Passed
Dec 4, 2024

Reported by Mr. Schatz, without amendment

Jun 11, 2024

Mr. Heinrich (for himself and Mr. Luján) introduced the following …

Stakeholder Effects

cui bono?

How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.

Tribal Nations
11 mentions across 10 clauses
+7 positive -2 negative ?2 uncertain

Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo, Other Indian Tribes

Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo faces effects in multiple directions

Government
7 mentions across 7 clauses
+3 positive -4 negative

Department of the Interior, Secretary of the Interior, United States (as trustee)

Positive-direction: United States (as trustee), United States government

Negative-direction: Department of the Interior, Secretary of the Interior

Agriculture
2 mentions across 2 clauses
+2 positive

Other water rights holders in Rio Chama, Water users leasing from Ohkay Owingeh

State & Local Government
2 mentions across 2 clauses
-2 negative

State of New Mexico

General Public
1 mention across 1 clause
-1 negative

Taxpayers

Construction
1 mention across 1 clause
+1 positive

Construction contractors

10/12
sections analyzed
Full impact breakdown

Bill Structure & Actor Mappings

Who is "The Secretary" in each section?

Domains
Water Rights Agriculture Housing

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