# 119-hr-1324: Navajo Nation Rio San José Stream System Water Rights Settlement Act of 2025

119-hr-1324, Navajo Nation Rio San José Stream System 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 2026-04-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1324
- As of: 2026-04-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-1324
- Congress: 119
- Title: Navajo Nation Rio San José Stream System 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: 2026-04-21

## Summary

**Ratifies a Navajo Nation Rio San Jose water-rights settlement and creates a federally managed trust fund to implement it.** The law fixes how Navajo water rights are held, protected from forfeiture, and used for on- and off-reservation needs.

## 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

- Funding and projects for Navajo water: benefit, high. If enacted, the government would deposit $200,271,000 and $23,000,000 into Navajo water trust accounts that stay available until spent. Amounts would be adjusted for construction cost changes starting from October 1, 2021. The Navajo Nation could expand the Navajo‑Gallup Project to serve communitie…
- Allottee water rights stay separate: benefit, low. If enacted, individual Allottee water rights would stay separate from the Navajo Nation’s rights when a court decides them. Allottees or the United States as trustee could file claims in the Rio San José or Rio Puerco basins. If an Allotment later becomes Navajo Nation land, those water rights woul…
- Local acequias named in settlement: benefit, low. If enacted, the bill would list specific irrigation and community ditch groups as the acequias covered by the settlement. If your group is named, it would be treated as an Acequia under the Act.
- When the water settlement starts: mixed, high. If enacted, the settlement would start on an Enforceability Date the Secretary would publish after key steps. Steps include depositing the $200,271,000 and $23,000,000, a State $3 million contribution (inflation‑adjusted) and a 99‑year leasing law, court approval, and signed waivers. From enactment…
- Waivers, kept rights, and federal offsets: mixed, medium. If enacted, the Navajo Nation would waive many claims that started before the Enforceability Date in exchange for the settlement’s benefits. Some claims would be kept, like future‑accruing rights and environmental law claims. The United States would keep sovereign immunity under this bill. The U.S.…
- State court review of water permits: mixed, low. On the Enforceability Date, New Mexico courts would be able to review Navajo Nation water‑permit decisions. Review would be limited to the administrative record and checks like substantial evidence, not arbitrary or unlawful, fraud, or acting beyond authority. State courts would give full faith and…

## 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-1324 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/1324)

## 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-1324 (as of 2026-04-21).