# 119-s-564: Zuni Indian Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act of 2025

119-s-564, Zuni Indian Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act of 2025, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Heinrich, Martin [D-NM] (D-NM); status in_committee (as of 2026-07-25).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-564
- As of: 2026-07-25
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-564
- Congress: 119
- Title: Zuni Indian Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act of 2025
- Status: in_committee
- Introduced: 2025-02-13
- Sponsor: Sen. Heinrich, Martin [D-NM] (D-NM)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Policy area: Native Americans
- Touches household money: no
- Last recorded action: 2026-07-25

## Summary

**Would confirm and fund Zuni Tribe water rights in the Zuni River Basin.** The bill would create a federally backed trust and legal framework to define Tribal water rights, fund water projects, and protect Zuni Salt Lake and its cultural resources. - Zuni Tribe and tribal members: Tribal water rights would be held in trust and shielded from forfeiture. The bill would establish a Settlement Trust Fund with accounts funded at $655.5 million and $29.5 million for implementation and operation. - Land, water, and cultural protections: The bill would withdraw about 92,364 acres of federal land from mining and development to protect the Zuni Salt Lake and reserve management to the Bureau of Land Management in consultation with the Tribe. - State and federal roles: New Mexico must provide $750,000 and $500,000 for monitoring and mitigation plans. The Department of the Interior would take specified lands into trust for the Tribe and oversee environmental compliance. *If enacted, the bill would provide mandatory Treasury appropriations totaling $685.0 million, increasing federal outlays by that amount.*

## Cosponsors (1)

- Sen. Luján, Ben Ray [D-NM] (D-NM), 2025-02-13T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Large federal trust for Zuni: benefit, high. If enacted, the Secretary would set up a Zuni Settlement Trust Fund with two accounts. The government would deposit $655.5 million to the water account and $29.5 million to an operations account, a total of $685 million. The money would remain available until spent and could earn investment returns…
- Allottee water rights stay separate: benefit, low. If enacted, individual Allottee water rights and claims would be preserved and treated separately from the Tribal Water Rights resolved by the settlement. Allottees or the United States as trustee could bring water claims for allotted land to be adjudicated in the Zuni River system. If an Allotment…
- Protect Zuni Salt Lake lands: benefit, low. If enacted, about 92,364 acres would be withdrawn from public disposals and mining to protect Zuni Salt Lake and the Sanctuary. The BLM would manage the withdrawn land with limits like designated vehicle routes, no new wells or well expansion (except replacement for failed wells), no increased graz…
- State pays monitoring and mitigation: benefit, low. Pursuant to the Agreement, the State of New Mexico would pay $750,000 to develop and run monitoring plans. The State would also deposit $500,000 in an interest‑bearing account to mitigate harm to non‑Indian domestic and livestock groundwater rights from new Tribal water use. Those two payments tota…
- Tribal water rights kept in trust: benefit, low. If enacted, Tribal Water Rights would be held in trust by the United States and could not be lost by non‑use, forfeiture, abandonment, or permanent sale. The Tribe would be able to allocate, distribute, and lease Tribal Water Rights off Zuni Lands with Secretary approval. Any lease, including renew…
- Enforceability date, waivers, limits: mixed, high. This bill would make the settlement legally effective only after the Secretary publishes a Federal Register finding that many conditions are met. If the Secretary does not publish those findings by July 1, 2030, the title would expire and many settlement actions and some federal spending could be v…
- Who pays for environmental reviews: mixed, medium. If enacted, projects under the settlement would have to follow NEPA, the Endangered Species Act, and other federal environmental laws. The Tribe would prepare required environmental documents, and the Secretary would independently evaluate and be responsible for their accuracy. Most environmental c…

## Related bills

- 119-s-4504: Full-Service Community School Expansion Act of 2026
- 119-s-3990: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026
- 119-s-2823: FAMILY Act
- 119-s-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act
- 119-s-5108: Right to IVF Act of 2026
- 119-s-1503: Equality Act

## Sources
- [119-s-564 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/564)

## Related
- [119-s-4504: Full-Service Community School Expansion Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4504)
- [119-s-3990: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3990)
- [119-s-2823: FAMILY Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2823)
- [119-s-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-51)
- [119-s-5108: Right to IVF Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5108)
- [119-s-1503: Equality Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1503)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-564 (as of 2026-07-25).