Northeastern Arizona Indian Water Rights Settlement Act of 2025
Sponsored By: Senator Kelly, Mark [D-AZ]
Introduced
Summary
A final, comprehensive water‑rights settlement for northeastern Arizona tribes that also builds the iina ba - paa tuwaqat'si potable water pipeline. The bill would codify and implement a detailed settlement between the Navajo Nation, Hopi Tribe, San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe, Arizona, and the United States and fund pipeline planning, design, and construction and tribal trust funds.
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- Tribal households and communities gain new water deliveries and service rules. The pipeline would deliver up to 7,100 acre‑feet per year of potable water to Navajo communities and up to 3,076 acre‑feet per year to Hopi communities.
- Tribal governments and allottees get long‑term trust funds and formal lease frameworks. The bill creates dedicated trust fund accounts with rules for withdrawals, OM&R, renewable energy, agricultural conservation, and a tribal leasing regime with specified caps.
- Water infrastructure, storage, and contracts are established across states. The Secretary would enter permanent delivery contracts (for example up to 44,700 acre‑feet per year for Navajo Upper Basin water), allow storage credits, and permit transport via the Central Arizona Project with required charges paid by lessees.
- Legal and environmental changes reshape enforcement and claims. The bill includes broad waivers and releases of water claims, narrow sovereign immunity waivers tied to settlement matters, and a provision that precludes enforcement by listed sovereigns of several federal environmental statutes on the named tribal and trust lands.
*This bill would require mandatory federal appropriations of about $5.1 billion, including $1.7 billion for the pipeline and $3.4 billion for tribal settlement trust funds, increasing mandatory federal spending.*
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
9 provisions identified: 3 benefits, 1 costs, 5 mixed.
Pipeline implementation and power fund
If enacted, the bill would create an interest-bearing iina ba - paa tuwaqat'si Pipeline Implementation Fund to pay for planning, design, environmental work, construction, and power. About $1,715,000,000 would fund the pipeline, with up to $250,000,000 available before the Enforceability Date. The Secretary would manage the account and investment earnings could be used for the same pipeline purposes.
Tribal water settlement trust funds
If enacted, the bill would transfer $3,421,400,000 from the Treasury into three tribal water settlement trust funds. The Navajo accounts would receive $2,876,416,400 and the Hopi accounts $515,183,600. The money would not be available until the Enforceability Date. Tribes must get the Secretary's approval for spending plans and cannot make per-person payments from the funds.
Settlement waivers and ratification
If enacted, the bill would let the Secretary sign and ratify the Settlement Agreement and confirm the tribes' water rights. It would authorize the United States and tribes to execute the settlement waivers in the exhibits. The waivers take effect on the Enforceability Date. The bill also limits some tribal immunity and says the Secretary may fix Settlement exhibits and not treat the execution as a NEPA major action.
Big federal pipeline funding
If enacted, the bill would provide about $1.715 billion to build the iina ba - paa tuwaqat'si pipeline. It would allow $250 million earlier for design and environmental work. The Secretary must publish a $5.136 billion funding condition before the settlement is fully enforceable. If pipeline funds run short, Navajo and Hopi trust funds could be required to fill gaps. If the Secretary misses a June 30, 2035 deadline, the Act and related contracts could be voided and funds could revert.
Tribal water use, leasing, and accounting
If enacted, the bill would give tribes fixed yearly water amounts and long-term delivery contracts. Tribes could lease, exchange, store, or move specified water inside Arizona under limits and Secretary approval. The law would limit deliveries in shortage years, cap certain Upper Basin deliveries (17,050 AFY for first 20 years), and restrict out-of-state transfers. It also protects named tribal water rights from loss by nonuse.
Lake Powell system conservation storage
If enacted, the bill would let the Secretary sign 20-year agreements to store 17,050 acre-feet per year of eligible water in Lake Powell. The split would be 16,214.55 acre-feet per year from the Navajo Nation and 835.45 acre-feet per year from the Hopi Tribe. Stored water would face evaporation losses, and any releases would be counted as Upper Basin releases under compact accounting.
Who pays for environmental reviews
If enacted, tribes would prepare most environmental documents for settlement projects and pay those costs from their Water Projects trust accounts. Pipeline-specific compliance costs would come from the pipeline Implementation Fund. The Secretary still must follow federal laws and pay for Federal approval work.
San Juan Paiute trust and land
If enacted, the bill would approve about 5,400 acres as the San Juan Southern Paiute Reservation. It would create a three-account San Juan trust with about $29.8 million for groundwater, agriculture, and operations. The tribe would need Secretary approval to spend trust money. The tribe (and the U.S. trustee) would also sign a required waiver of many past claims.
Allottee rules and Navajo water code
If enacted, the bill would require the Navajo Nation Water Code to treat Allottee water as coming from settlement water rights. Allottees must use tribal processes and exhaust tribal remedies before suing the United States. The Secretary will administer Allottee rights until the Code meets requirements. The Act would not create individual water rights for non-Allottee tribal members.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Kelly, Mark [D-AZ]
AZ • D
Cosponsors
Sen. Gallego, Ruben [D-AZ]
AZ • D
Sponsored 3/11/2025
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
View on Congress.gov