To approve the settlement of water rights claims of the Pueblos of Acoma and Laguna in the Rio San José Stream System and the Pueblos of Jemez and Zia in the Rio Jemez Stream System in the State of New Mexico, and for other purposes.
Analysis under review: This bill has generated analysis that may be too generic or incomplete. Clause-level evidence remains available below.
Summary
What This Bill Does
Achieves final settlement of water rights claims for the Pueblos of Acoma and Laguna in the Rio San Jose general stream adjudication, authorizing the Secretary to execute the settlement agreement and appropriating implementation funds.
Who Benefits and How
Pueblos of Acoma and Laguna receive settled water rights ending decades of litigation. Acequia water users gain certainty through inclusion in settlement. State of New Mexico benefits from resolved water claims.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Federal government funds settlement implementation. United States (as tribal trustee) bears implementation responsibilities. Other Rio San Jose water users may face allocation adjustments.
Key Provisions
- Settles claims in the Kerr-McGee consolidated adjudication
- Ratifies agreement between Pueblos, State, and other parties
- Authorizes Secretary to execute agreement
- Includes Bluewater Toltec, multiple acequias, and irrigation associations
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Settles water rights claims of Acoma and Laguna Pueblos in the Rio San Jose stream system in New Mexico
Who Benefits
- Pueblo of Acoma
- Pueblo of Laguna
- Acequia water users
Who Bears Costs
- Federal government
- Other Rio San Jose water users
Key Policy Areas
Water Rights, Tribal Affairs, Natural Resources, Federal-Tribal Relations
Primary Purpose
Settles water rights claims of Acoma and Laguna Pueblos in the Rio San Jose stream system in New Mexico
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"Resolve longstanding tribal water rights through negotiated settlement"
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
ReportedReported by Mr. Schatz, without amendment
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.
Pueblo of Acoma, Pueblo of Jemez, Pueblo of Laguna
Other Jemez River water rights holders, Other Rio San José water rights holders
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of the Interior
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
Each of the Bluewater Toltec Irrigation District, La Acequia Madre del Ojo del Gallo, and other named irrigation associations
The general adjudication State of New Mexico ex rel. State Engineer v. Kerr-McGee et al.
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