# 119-hr-1323: Ohkay Owingeh Rio Chama Water Rights Settlement Act of 2025

119-hr-1323, Ohkay Owingeh Rio Chama Water Rights Settlement Act of 2025, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Leger Fernandez, Teresa [D-NM-3] (D-NM); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-07-25).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1323
- As of: 2026-07-25
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-1323
- Congress: 119
- Title: Ohkay Owingeh Rio Chama Water Rights Settlement Act of 2025
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-02-13
- Sponsor: Rep. Leger Fernandez, Teresa [D-NM-3] (D-NM)
- Cosponsors: 2
- Policy area: Native Americans
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-07-25

## Summary

**Final settlement of Rio Chama water rights for Ohkay Owingeh** would pair formal recognition of Pueblo water rights with a federal Trust Fund and rules to implement and protect those rights. - Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo: Would receive trust-status water rights with protection from forfeiture, authority to manage and lease water (up to 99 years with Secretary approval), and control of infrastructure paid from the Trust Fund. - State and local water users: New Mexico must provide cost shares including about $98.5 million for acequia improvements and $32.0 million for the City of Espanola, which supports ditch and city system upgrades and bosque projects. - Trust Fund and environmental work: Would create a Settlement Trust Fund for planning, construction, bosque restoration, water-rights management, and environmental compliance, capitalized by a mandatory appropriation of $745.0 million and subject to investment and withdrawal rules. *Would increase mandatory federal spending by $745.0 million to capitalize the Settlement Trust Fund, with indexing and repricing mechanisms that could raise future outlays.*

## Cosponsors (2)

- Rep. Stansbury, Melanie A. [D-NM-1] (D-NM), 2025-02-13T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Vasquez, Gabe [D-NM-2] (D-NM), 2025-02-14T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- State payments for local water projects: benefit, high. If enacted, New Mexico would provide $98.5 million (adjusted for inflation) for Signatory Acequias ditch improvements, $32 million (adjusted for inflation) for the City of Espanola water projects, and $500,000 into an interest-bearing account to mitigate non‑Pueblo groundwater impacts. Those State…
- Protections and leasing of Pueblo water: benefit, medium. If enacted, the bill would protect Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo Water Rights from being lost by non‑use, forfeiture, abandonment, or permanent sale. Ohkay Owingeh would be allowed to allocate, distribute, and lease water rights for use on Pueblo land and to lease off‑Pueblo uses with Secretary approval. An…
- Limits if Congress doesn’t fund promises: cost, medium. If enacted, the United States would not be liable for failing to carry out any obligation under this Act if Congress does not expressly provide the needed appropriations. This means promised payments, projects, or actions could be delayed or not happen without new Congressional funding.
- Settlement trigger, waivers, and tolling: mixed, high. If enacted, many settlement duties and payments would not start until the Secretary publishes an Enforceability Date in the Federal Register. The Enforceability Date would require court approval, full deposit of federal funds, State funding or funding agreements, a law to allow 99‑year leases where…
- Large tribal water trust fund: mixed, high. If enacted, the government would create a $745 million Ohkay Owingeh Water Rights Settlement Trust Fund. The amount would be adjusted by a construction cost index and by the Secretary for market changes starting June 1, 2023. Up to $100 million of the deposited funds (including earnings) would be a…
- Environmental reviews and bosque projects: mixed, medium. If enacted, projects under the Agreement would have to follow NEPA, the Endangered Species Act, and other federal environmental laws. The Pueblo would prepare required environmental documents and the Secretary would independently review and be responsible for them. For bosque restoration projects,…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act
- 119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act
- 119-hr-5356: National Infrastructure Bank Act of 2025
- 119-hr-7853: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026
- 119-hr-10115: Radiation Exposure Compensation Reauthorization Act of 2026
- 119-hr-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act

## Sources
- [119-hr-1323 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/1323)

## Related
- [119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7977)
- [119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7973)
- [119-hr-5356: National Infrastructure Bank Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-5356)
- [119-hr-7853: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7853)
- [119-hr-10115: Radiation Exposure Compensation Reauthorization Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-10115)
- [119-hr-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-51)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1323 (as of 2026-07-25).