[Senate Report 118-262]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 664
118th Congress } { Report
SENATE
2d Session } { 118-262
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A BILL TO APPROVE THE SETTLEMENT OF WATER RIGHTS CLAIMS OF THE ZUNI
INDIAN TRIBE IN THE ZUNI RIVER STREAM SYSTEM IN THE STATE OF NEW
MEXICO, TO PROTECT THE ZUNI SALT LAKE, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
_______
December 4, 2024.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Schatz, from the Committee on Indian Affairs,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 4643]
The Committee on Indian Affairs, to which was referred the
bill (S. 4643) to approve the settlement of water rights claims
of the Zuni Indian Tribe in the Zuni River Stream System in the
State of New Mexico, to protect the Zuni Salt Lake, and for
other purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably
thereon without amendment and recommends that the bill do pass.
PURPOSE
S. 4643 would resolve the water rights claims of the Zuni
Tribe in the Zuni River Basin, a tributary of the Little
Colorado River, in New Mexico and provide for the protection of
Zuni Salt Lake, a lake outside the basin that has great
spiritual and cultural significance to the Tribe.
BACKGROUND AND NEED
The A:shiwi (Zuni people) of New Mexico rely on water from
the Zuni River Basin and the Little Colorado River tributary to
support their lifeways. In 2003, Congress passed S. 222, the
Zuni Indian Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act,\1\ to ratify and
resolve the Zuni Tribe's claims in the Little Colorado River
Basin in Arizona. However, Congress has not yet acted to ratify
the Zuni Tribe's claims in the Zuni River Basin in New Mexico.
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\1\Zuni Indian Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act of 2003, Pub. L.
No. 108-34, 117 Stat. 782 (2003).
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The Zuni River is a tributary of the Little Colorado River
that originates in the Zuni Mountains of Cibola County, New
Mexico at the Continental Divide. Before 1900, the Zuni River
was a high desert, perennial stream flowing through the Zuni
Mountains in western New Mexico to meet the Little Colorado
River in eastern Arizona.\2\ However, at the turn of the
century, the Zuni River was diverted by non-Indian farmers who
settled upstream, and later dammed as part of the federal
government's efforts to construct and maintain large-scale
irrigation infrastructure across the West.\3\
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\2\U.S. Park Serv., HAER NM-7, Index to Photographs at 1-56 (1995).
\3\U.S. Geological Survey, Water-Supply Paper 2227, Water Resources
of the Zuni Tribal Lands, McKinley, and Cibola Cntys., NM. (1985).
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Key to this effort was the construction of the Black Rock
Dam in 1908 to hold 15,000 acre-feet of water from the Zuni
River in the Black Rock Reservoir for the Zuni Tribe. But the
structure was plagued almost immediately by an unstable
foundation and a high degree of siltation, severely limiting
its utility and burying a sacred spring. The dam and reservoir
are currently inoperable and hold no water, failing their
original purpose to provide sufficient water to support an
irrigation-based agricultural economy on Zuni Tribal lands.
In addition, clear cutting of the forests in the Zuni
Mountains caused severe erosion and additional siltation in the
Zuni River, compounding water supply and flow problems. As a
consequence of this and upstream groundwater pumping and
diversions by junior water users, the Zuni Tribe's ability to
use millennia-old traditional farming methods have been
stymied, as has its ability to rehabilitate its domestic water
system.
The Zuni Salt Lake is a high desert lake located about 60
miles south of Zuni Pueblo in Western New Mexico.\4\ The lake
is sacred to the Tribe and its salt has been traded extensively
by the Zuni Tribe and other Pueblos since time immemorial, used
for both religious and culinary purposes. The Zuni Salt Lake
was not part of the Zuni Tribe's original reservation, but the
United States returned the lake and 5,000 surrounding acres to
the Zuni Tribe in 1985 following enactment of Public Law 95-280
in 1978.\5\ Recognizing the site's significance, the National
Park Service listed Zuni Salt Like on the National Register of
Historic Places in 1999.\6\ Past proposals to develop fossil
fuels such as coal near the Zuni Salt Lake endangered water
levels and the aquifer below the lake as well as the
surrounding landscape.\7\ However, the larger area around the
lake is comprised of a patchwork of private, State, Tribal, and
Federal land, presenting challenges to comprehensive protection
efforts.
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\4\U.S. Geological Surv., Feature ID 923719, Summary Report: Zuni
Salt Lake (1981), https://edits.nationalmap.gov/apps/gaz-domestic/
public/search/names/923719.
\5\See Pub. L. No. 95-280, Sec. 1, 92 Stat. 244 (1978) (describing
the lands to be acquired into trust for the Zuni Indian Tribe of New
Mexico).
\6\New Mexico--Catron County--Historic Districts, National Register
of Historic Places, https://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/
NM/Catron/state.html (last visited Oct. 17, 2024).
\7\E.g. Protection of Native American Sacred Places as They are
Affected by Department of Defense Undertakings: Hearing Before the S.
Comm. on Indian Affrs., 107th Cong., 2d Sess. 19-25 (2002) (statement
of Malcom Bowekaty, Governor, Pueblo of Zuni).
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SUMMARY OF S. 4643 AS ORDERED REPORTED
S. 4643 would resolve the Zuni Tribe's water rights claims
in the Zuni River Basin in New Mexico and authorize funding for
water-related infrastructure projects. Specifically, the bill
would ratify and confirm the May 1, 2023 Settlement Agreement
to Quantify and Protect the Water Rights of the Zuni Indian
Tribe in the Zuni River Basin and to Protect the Zuni Salt Lake
(Agreement) between the Zuni Tribe and the State of New Mexico;
authorize and direct the Secretary of the Interior to sign the
Agreement; and authorize funds to implement the Agreement.
The bill would establish two interest-bearing trust funds
to develop water infrastructure for domestic, municipal, and
irrigation or agricultural uses:
the Zuni Tribe Water Rights Settlement Trust
Account ($655 million); and
the Zuni Tribe Operation, Maintenance, and
Replacement Trust Account ($29.5 million).
These accounts are intended to safeguard water resources
and sustainable uses for the Zuni Tribe by providing funding
for replacing the Tribe's aged municipal water system, which is
currently dependent on two wells located over 10 miles away
from Zuni Pueblo and has significant levels of contaminates
(including radionuclides and arsenic); replacing outdated
sewage lagoons with a modern wastewater treatment facility that
will allow the re-use of wastewater; redesigning and
rehabilitating the five irrigation units and associated
reservoirs to adapt to climatic conditions and traditional
irrigation practices; restoring the channels of the Zuni River
and the Rio Nutria, a tributary of the Zuni River, for
traditional and cultural purposes; repairing and upgrading
livestock watering facilities to allow for more efficient and
even use of the Zuni Tribe's range lands by Tribal ranchers;
and rehabilitating and developing additional wells and
community water hauling stations in areas outside of the Zuni
Tribe's main village area.
The bill would also transfer approximately 4,822 acres of
land managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) surrounding
the Zuni Salt Lake into trust for the Zuni Tribe upon the
enforceability date of the Agreement. S. 4643 would further
protect the Zuni Salt Lake and Sanctuary, comprised of 217,037
acres of private, State, Tribal, and Federal lands around the
Zuni Salt Lake, by withdrawing 92,364 acres of BLM land from
development and taking 4,756 acres of BLM land into trust for
the benefit of the Zuni Tribe.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF S. 4643 AS ORDERED REPORTED
Section 1--Short title; table of contents
Section 1(a) sets forth the short title of the bill as the
``Zuni Indian Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act of 2024.''
Section 1(b) sets forth the table of contents.
Section 2--Definitions
This section provides definitions for various terms used
throughout the bill.
Title I--Zuni Indian Tribe Water Rights Settlement Agreement
Section 101--Purposes
This section sets forth the four-fold purpose of the bill
to:
Achieve an equitable final settlement of all
claims to water rights in the Zuni River Stream System
for the Zuni Tribe and the United States acting as its
trustee;
Authorize, ratify, and confirm the
Settlement Agreement to Quantify and Protect the Water
Rights of the Zuni Indian Tribe in the Zuni River Basin
in New Mexico (Agreement) entered into by the Zuni
Tribe, the State of New Mexico, and various other
parties;
Authorize and direct the Secretary of the
Interior to execute and carry out the Agreement; and
Authorize funding to implement the
Agreement.
Section 102--Definitions
This section provides definitions for various terms used
throughout title I of the bill.
Section 103--Ratification of the agreement
Section 103(a)-(b) authorizes, ratifies, and confirms the
Agreement and conforming amendments; directs the Secretary of
the Interior to execute the Agreement and amendments, and
authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to make modifications
consistent with congressional approval requirements and federal
law.
Section 103(c) requires the Secretary of the Interior and
the Zuni Tribe to comply with applicable federal environmental
laws, affirms that execution of the Agreement does not
constitute a major federal action under the National
Environmental Policy Act, and provides for the Zuni Tribe's
costs for related compliance activities to be paid from the
Zuni Tribe Settlement Trust Fund.
Section 104--Tribal water rights
Section 104(a) clarifies that the Zuni Tribe's Water Rights
are to be held in trust by the United States.
Section 104(b) protects these rights from loss through non-
use, forfeiture, abandonment, or other operation of law, and
preserves after-acquired State-law based water rights.
Section 104(c) clarifies that any use of the Zuni Tribe's
Water Rights shall be subject to the Agreement and title I of
this bill.
Section 104(d) affirms that the Zuni Tribe's Water Rights
do not include any water rights for an allotment.
Section 104(e) affirms that nothing in this title
quantifies or diminishes the water rights, or claims to water
rights, of allottees.
Section 104(f) clarifies that any use of water on an
allotment shall be accounted for out of the Zuni Tribe's Water
Rights recognized in the Agreement.
Section 104(g) prohibits the Zuni Tribe from objecting to
the adjudication of certain water uses on an allotment, and
directs the Zuni Tribe to administer any water use on Zuni
lands in accordance with applicable Federal law, including
those on an allotment or decreed to the United States in trust
for an allottee.
Section 104(h) authorizes the Zuni Tribe to allocate,
distribute, and lease its water rights on and off Zuni lands,
and clarifies that any uses off Zuni lands are subject to the
terms of the Agreement, this title, and maximum lease terms not
to exceed 99 years.
Section 104(i) prohibits alienation and forfeiture of the
Zuni Tribe's Water Rights, and provides that authorizations of
this title satisfy the requirements for federal authorization
of purchases or grants of land from Indians.
Section 105--Settlement trust fund
Section 105(a) directs the Secretary of the Interior to
establish an interest-bearing trust fund, the Zuni Tribe
Settlement Trust Fund, in Treasury and requires the Secretary
of the Interior to manage, invest, and distribute the Zuni
Tribe Settlement Trust Fund, including investment earnings,
until the funds are expended, withdrawn, or reverted to the
Treasury.
Section 105(b) directs the Secretary of the Interior to
establish two accounts within the Zuni Tribe Settlement Trust
Fund: (1) the Zuni Tribe Water Rights Settlement Trust Account;
and (2) the Zuni Tribe Operations, Maintenance, & Replacement
Trust Account.
Section 105(c) directs the Secretary of the Interior to
deposit a total of $685 million in mandatory funds into the
Zuni Tribe Settlement Trust Fund, consisting of (1) the Zuni
Tribe Water Rights Settlement Trust Account ($655.5 million);
and (2) the Zuni Tribe Operations, Maintenance, & Replacement
Trust Account ($29.5 million).
Section 105(d) requires the Secretary of the Interior to:
(1) manage, invest, and distribute all amounts in the Zuni
Tribe Settlement Trust Fund in accordance with the American
Indian Trust Fund Management Reform Act of 1994 and other
federal laws governing the deposit and investment of Tribal
funds; and (2) authorizes the use of investment earnings
accruing to the Zuni Tribe.
Section 105(e) requires the Secretary of the Interior to
make most funds available to the Zuni Tribe on the
enforceability date, with the exception of $50 million in
specified funds, including investment earnings, made available
upon deposit for specific uses.
Section 105(f) permits withdrawals from the Zuni Tribe
Settlement Trust Fund for certain specified purposes pursuant
to Tribal management and expenditure plans submitted by the
Zuni Tribe, approved and enforced by the Secretary of the
Interior in accordance with the American Indian Trust Fund
Management Reform Act of 1994, and a requirement that the Zuni
Tribe spend all amounts withdrawn, including investment
earnings, on purposes described in this title.
Section 105(g) clarifies that the Secretary of the
Interior's decision to approve a Tribal management or
expenditure plan is final and not subject to judicial review,
except for under the Administrative Procedure Act.
Section 105(h) authorizes specific uses of the Zuni Tribe
Settlement Trust Fund within the two subaccounts:
(1) Five specific uses of the Zuni Tribe Water Rights
Settlement Trust Account:
Water production, treatment, or
delivery infrastructure for domestic,
municipal, or wastewater use;
Water production, treatment, or
delivery infrastructure and acquisition of
water for irrigation, livestock, and
agriculture;
Watershed and endangered species
habitat protection, land and water rights
acquisition, community welfare and economic
development, and implementation of the
Agreement;
Environmental compliance for
projects authorized by this title;
Management and administration of
Zuni Tribal water rights;
(2) One specific use of the Zuni Tribe Operation,
Maintenance, & Replacement Trust Account:
Operation, maintenance, and
replacement of water infrastructure for
domestic, commercial, municipal, industrial,
irrigation, and livestock uses.
Section 105(i) limits federal liability for expenditures
and investments of amounts withdrawn from the Zuni Tribe
Settlement Trust Fund under a Tribal management plan or Tribal
expenditure plan.
Section 105(j) requires the Zuni Tribe to submit an annual
expenditure report to the Secretary of the Interior regarding
withdrawals from the Zuni Tribe Settlement Trust Fund under a
Tribal management plan or Tribal expenditure plan.
Section 105(k) prohibits per capita distribution of any
portion of the Zuni Tribe Settlement Trust Fund.
Section 105(l) confirms the Zuni Tribe will retain title,
control, and operation of any project infrastructure
constructed with funds from the Zuni Tribe Settlement Trust
Fund.
Section 105(m) clarifies that the Zuni Tribe is responsible
for the operation, maintenance, and replacement costs of any
project infrastructure constructed with funds from the Zuni
Tribe Settlement Trust Fund.
Section 106--Funding
Section 106(a) directs a total of $685 million in mandatory
funds for the Zuni Tribe Settlement Trust Fund, consisting of
(1) the Zuni Tribe Water Rights Settlement Trust Account
($655.5 million); and (2) the Zuni Tribe Operations,
Maintenance, & Replacement Trust Account ($29.5 million).
Section 106(b) provides for adjustments of the Zuni Tribe
Settlement Trust Fund to address cost fluctuation and market
volatility.
Section 106(c) requires the State of New Mexico to
contribute $750,000 for the development and execution of
monitoring plans, and $500,000 for deposit into an interest-
bearing account to mitigate impairment to non-Indian domestic
and livestock groundwater rights resulting from the Zuni
Tribe's water use.
Section 107--Waivers and releases of claims
Section 107(a)-(c) requires the parties to execute waivers
and releases of claims related to the Zuni Tribe's water rights
in the Zuni River Stream System before and including the
enforceability date, and clarifies that such waivers and
releases shall take effect on the enforceability date.
Section 107(d)-(e) reserves to the United States and the
Zuni Tribe's claims to enforce water rights and water quality
claims accruing after the enforceability date; preserves the
sovereignty and jurisdiction of the United States and Tribal
government entities; preserves the United States' authority to
fulfill its trust responsibilities and enforce its laws,
including environmental laws; clarifies that the bill does not
confer jurisdiction on any State court to interpret federal
health, safety, or environmental laws or determine the duties
of any party thereunder, conduct judicial review of any federal
agency action, or interpret Zuni Tribal law; and clarifies that
the bill does not waive individual Zuni Tribal member claims.
Section 107(f)-(g) provides for tolling of claims and
equitable defenses between the enactment and enforceability
dates, and provides for termination of the agreement if the
Secretary of the Interior's statement of findings is not issued
by July 1, 2030, or a later date mutually agreed upon by the
Zuni Tribe and the United States with notice to the State of
New Mexico.
Section 108--Satisfaction of claims
This section provides that benefits realized under the bill
shall serve as full satisfaction of any claim of the Zuni Tribe
against the United States that the Zuni Tribe waives and
releases under the bill.
Section 109--Enforceability date
This section establishes the enforceability date as the day
on which the Secretary of the Interior publishes a statement of
findings, including enumerated requirements, in the Federal
Register.
Section 110--Miscellaneous provisions
Section 110(a)-(c) clarifies that nothing in the bill:
waives the United States' sovereign immunity; quantifies or
diminishes land and water rights of other Tribes; or affects
laws or regulations in effect prior to enactment regarding pre-
enforcement review of federal environmental enforcement
actions.
Section 110(d) provides that in the event of a conflict
between title 1 of this bill and the Agreement, title 1 shall
control.
Section 111--Relation to allottees
This section clarifies that nothing in the bill or the
Agreement affects the rights or claims of Zuni allottees, the
United States as trustee for Zuni allottees, or allotments.
Section 112--Antideficiency
This section clarifies that the United States shall not be
liable for failure to perform if adequate appropriations are
not provided by Congress.
Title II--Zuni Salt Lake and Sanctuary Protection
Section 201--Definitions
This section provides definitions for various terms used
throughout title II of the bill.
Section 202--Withdrawal of certain Federal land in New Mexico
Section 202(a) withdraws, subject to valid existing rights,
92,364 acres of Federal land located within the boundary of the
217,037 acre Zuni Salt Lake and Sanctuary from mineral
development.
Section 202(b) withdraws, subject to valid existing rights,
any Federal land located within this boundary that is acquired
after the date of enactment.
Section 202(c) reserves the Federal land withdrawn for
three specific purposes: (1) the protection of the Zuni Salt
Lake and Sanctuary; (2) the protection of the quality and
quantity of the Zuni Salt Lake's water supply; and (3) the
protection of any cultural resources associated with the Zuni
Salt Lake and Sanctuary.
Section 203--Management of Federal land
Section 203(a) requires the Secretary of the Interior,
through the BLM, to manage the Federal land withdrawn for the
purposes described in Section 202(c), in accordance with the
Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 and in
consultation with the Zuni Tribe.
Section 203(b) applies specific use restrictions to the
Federal land withdrawn, including motor vehicle use, new water
wells, expanded grazing uses, issuance of rights-of-way and
leases, timber sales or free use, and casual collecting.
Section 204--Transfer of land into trust
Section 204(a) directs the Secretary of the Interior to
take the ``Tribal Acquisition Area'' into trust for the Zuni
Tribe, subject to valid existing rights, contracts, leases, and
rights-of-way; directs the Bureau of Indian Affairs to assume
all land management responsibilities for these valid existing
rights; clarifies ownership of, disposal of, and liability for
personal property on land taken into trust; terminates the
withdrawal of Federal lands from mineral development upon the
date that land is taken into trust; and takes into trust any
water rights associated with the land taken into trust for the
Zuni Tribe, but clarifies that those water rights are not
included in this bill.
Section 204(b) directs the Secretary of the Interior to
take legal title of the Potential Future Acquisition Areas,
pending certain conditions are met.
Section 205--Maps and legal descriptions
Section 205(a) directs the Secretary of the Interior to
publish in the Federal Register maps and legal descriptions of
the Federal land withdrawn and the land taken into trust for
the Zuni Tribe.
Section 205(b) clarifies the legal effect of the maps and
legal descriptions published in the Federal Register.
Section 205(c) requires that copies of the maps and legal
descriptions be available for public inspection in appropriate
BLM offices.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
On July 9, 2024, Senator Heinrich (D-NM) and Senator Lujan
(D-NM) introduced S. 4643, the Zuni Indian Tribe Water Rights
Settlement Act of 2024. The Senate referred the bill to the
Committee on Indian Affairs on the same day. On September 25,
2024, the Committee held a legislative hearing to receive
testimony on S. 4643. On November 18, 2024, the Committee met
at a duly convened business meeting and ordered S. 4643
reported favorably, without amendment.
On July 8, 2024, Representatives Vazquez (D-NM), Leger
Fernandez (D-NM), and Stansbury (D-NM) introduced H.R. 8951, an
identical companion bill in the House of Representatives.
Representative Gallego (D-AZ) joined as a cosponsor after
introduction. On July 8, 2024, the bill was referred to the
House Committee on Natural Resources. On July 17, 2024, the
bill was further referred to the Subcommittee on Water,
Wildlife, and Fisheries. On July 23, 2024, the Subcommittee
held a legislative hearing to receive testimony on H.R. 8951.
To date, the House of Representatives has taken no further
action on the bill.
COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS
The cost estimate from the Congressional Budget Office
requested on S. 4643 has not yet been received. Due to time
constraints, the CBO letter will be printed in the
Congressional Record.
REGULATORY AND PAPERWORK IMPACT STATEMENT
Paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the
Senate requires each report accompanying a bill to evaluate the
regulatory and paperwork impact that would be incurred in
carrying out the bill. The Committee believes that S. 4643, as
reported, will have minimal impact on regulatory or paperwork
requirements.
EXECUTIVE TESTIMONY
Written statement of Bryan Newland, Assistant Secretary for
Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior, before the
U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, delivered on September
25, 2024, follows below:
Chairman Schatz, Vice Chairman Murkowski, and members of
the Committee. My name is Bryan Newland, and I am the Assistant
Secretary for Indian Affairs at the Department of the Interior
(Department). Thank you for the opportunity to present
testimony on the following bills concerning Indian water rights
settlements . . .
Indian Water Rights Settlements Bills
At the core of the United States' trust and treaty
obligations is our responsibility to ensure that Indian Tribes
have the right to continue to exist in their homelands.
Everyone should understand that water is essential to meet this
obligation. Without access to water in their homelands, Tribes
cannot remain in their homelands, and we cannot fulfill our
most solemn obligation to American Indian and Alaska Native
people.
The Biden Administration recognizes that water is a sacred
and valuable resource for Tribal Nations and that long-standing
water crises continue to undermine public health and economic
development in Indian Country. This Administration strongly
supports the resolution of Indian water rights claims through
negotiated settlements. Indian water settlements help to ensure
that Tribal Nations have safe, reliable water supplies; improve
environmental and health concerns on reservations; enable
economic growth; promote Tribal sovereignty and self-
sufficiency; and help advance the United States' trust
relationship with Tribes. At the same time, water rights
settlements have the potential to end decades of controversy
and contention among Tribal Nations and neighboring communities
and promote cooperation in the management of water resources.
Indian water rights settlements play a pivotal role in this
Administration's commitment to putting equity at the center of
everything we do to improve the lives of everyday people--
including Tribal Nations. We have a clear charge from President
Biden and Secretary Haaland to improve water access and water
quality on Tribal lands. Access to water is fundamental to
human existence, economic development, and the future of
communities--especially Tribal communities.
To that end, the Biden Administration's policy on
negotiated Indian water settlements continues to be based on
the following principles: the United States will participate in
settlements consistent with its legal and moral trust
responsibilities to Tribal Nations; Tribes should receive
equivalent benefits for rights, which they, and the United
States as trustee, may release as part of the settlement;
Tribes should realize value from confirmed water rights
resulting from a settlement; and settlements should contain
appropriate cost-sharing proportionate to the benefits received
by all parties benefiting from the settlement. In addition,
settlements should provide finality and certainty to all
parties involved.
Congressional enactment of these settlements should be
considered within the context of all Tribal priorities and the
availability of all resources. That is why the Administration
encourages Congress to consider mandatory funding for this and
other pending Indian water rights settlements, which was also
requested in the 2025 President's Budget, included in the
enacted Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and already proposed in
some of the bills we are discussing today.
S. 4643, Zuni Indian Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act of 2024
S. 4643 would approve and provide authorizations to carry
out the settlement of certain water rights claims of the Zuni
Tribe in the Zuni River basin in New Mexico.
I. Background
A. Historical Context
Like other Pueblos in New Mexico, the Zuni Tribe were
agricultural people living in established villages when the
Spanish explorers first came to New Mexico. Before the Zuni
Tribe's lands became part of the United States, they fell under
the jurisdiction first of Spain, and later of Mexico, both of
which recognized and protected the rights of Pueblos to use
water. When the United States asserted its sovereignty over
Pueblo lands in what is now the State of New Mexico, it did so
under the terms of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which
protected rights recognized by prior sovereigns, including
Pueblo rights.
B. The Zuni Tribe and Zuni Basin Water Resources
The Zuni Tribe has approximately 448,000 acres in west-
central New Mexico, approximately 32 miles south of Gallup, New
Mexico, and approximately 15,000 acres in east-central Arizona.
All of the Zuni Tribe's main villages are in New Mexico and the
Tribe has approximately 11,800 enrolled members, of which about
9,323 reside on the Tribe's lands.
The Zuni River basin, located in west-central New Mexico,
is a tributary to the Little Colorado River. The river
originates in the western slopes of the Zuni Mountains in New
Mexico and flows for about 90 miles in a southwesterly
direction through the Zuni Reservation and joins the Little
Colorado River, a tributary to the Colorado River, in Arizona.
The Zuni Tribe is located in an arid region of New Mexico,
and drought is a common occurrence that has impacted, and
continues to impact, the Tribe. Since time immemorial, the Zuni
Tribe has made use of the water in the Zuni River basin.
However, the supply of water in the Zuni River available to the
Zuni Tribe has been reduced over time from diversions by
neighboring non-Indian water users, including Ramah Dam on
Cebolla Creek, which lies upstream of the Zuni Tribe. In
addition, irrigation infrastructure constructed by the
Department of the Interior many years ago needs to be
rehabilitated and reconstructed. While the Zuni Tribe has
senior water rights in the basin, it is facing water shortages
that impact its ability to provide sustainable water for its
current and future water needs. Recent effects of global
warming and climate change are exacerbating these effects and
surface water supplies are dwindling. The Zuni Tribe seeks
funding as part of the proposed settlement to rehabilitate the
irrigation structures on its lands and to develop the Tribe's
water resources for various uses, including domestic and
municipal purposes, for current and future Tribal populations.
In 2001, after a failed adjudication in state court, the
United States filed suit in Federal court to adjudicate water
rights in the Zuni River basin in New Mexico. The adjudication
will resolve the water rights claims of non-Indians, the Zuni
Tribe, the Navajo Nation, and allottees.
Negotiations originally began in 1990 and were renewed in
2013, when the United States revived its team to negotiate a
comprehensive settlement of the Tribal water rights in the Zuni
River basin. The Zuni Tribe has reached settlement of its
claims in the basin, but the Navajo Nation has not.
II. Proposed Zuni Tribe Settlement Legislation
The Zuni Tribe and the State of New Mexico executed a
settlement agreement in 2023, quantifying the rights of the
Tribe and reaching agreement on other key issues. The Ramah
Land and Irrigation Company, comprised of non-Indian water
users upstream of the Zuni Tribe and the owner and operator of
Ramah Dam, signed a letter of support for the settlement
agreement in 2023, as well. The United States is not a
signatory to the 2023 settlement agreement.
S. 4643 would resolve all of the Zuni Tribe's water rights
claims in the Zuni River basin in New Mexico; ratify and
confirm the water rights settlement agreement among the Tribe
and the State of New Mexico; authorize the Secretary of the
Interior to sign the settlement agreement; and authorize funds
to implement the settlement.
S. 4643 would ratify and confirm the Zuni Tribe's water
rights to approximately 24,809 acre-feet per year (AFY) from
surface water and groundwater sources on the Pueblo, as well as
22,453 acre-feet in existing reservoir and stock pond storage.
These amounts include 5,000 AFY of groundwater use for past,
present, and future uses, including economic development for
the Zuni Tribe. In addition, pursuant to the settlement
agreement, the State closed both the Zuni River basin and the
Zuni Salt Lake and Sanctuary to any future appropriations of
groundwater and surface water in June and July 2023, (with the
exception of new livestock and domestic wells, which will be
limited to 0.5 acre-feet per year).
S. 4643 would also protect non-Indian water users, as the
Zuni Tribe would agree to not make priority calls against non-
Tribal adjudicated water rights as long as the water rights
holder does not object to the Zuni's Tribe's settlement.
Finally, S. 4643 would establish a Trust Fund for the Zuni
Tribe, totaling $685 million, to be indexed: (1) $655.5 million
in a Water Rights Settlement Trust Account and (2) $29.5
million in a Operation, Maintenance, & Replacement Trust
Account. The Zuni Tribe could use these Trust Funds to develop
water infrastructure as it determines necessary and on its own
timeframe. Monies in the Water Rights Settlement Trust Account
could be used by the Zuni Tribe for:
(1) Planning, permitting, designing, engineering,
constructing, reconstructing, replacing, rehabilitating,
operating, or repairing water production, treatment, or
delivery infrastructure, including for domestic and municipal
supply, or wastewater infrastructure;
(2) Planning, permitting, designing, engineering,
constructing, reconstructing, replacing, rehabilitating,
operating, or repairing water production, treatment, or
delivery infrastructure, acquisition of water, or on-farm
improvements for irrigation, livestock, and support of
agriculture;
(3) Planning, permitting, designing, engineering,
constructing, reconstructing, replacing, rehabilitating,
operating, monitoring, or other measures for watershed and
endangered species habitat protection and enhancement, land and
water rights acquisition, water related Tribal community
welfare and economic development, and costs relating to the
implementation of the settlement agreement;
(4) Ensuring environmental compliance in the development
and construction of projects under the legislation; and
(5) Tribal water rights management and administration.
The State of New Mexico would contribute $1.25 million to
provide for benefits of non-Indian water users. The State's
commitment includes $500,000 for a fund to mitigate impairment
to non-Indian livestock and domestic well rights resulting from
new or changed water uses by the Zuni Tribe and $750,000 to
develop monitoring programs to assess impacts to the Zuni Salt
Lake, which has significant cultural importance to the Zuni
Tribe and other Tribes and Pueblos.
There are 15 allotments within or near Zuni lands that
total approximately 2,213 acres. The water rights of these
allotments would not be settled at this time but would be
adjudicated later in the on-going adjudication. S. 4643 would
not in any way impose any conditions on the use of water on
these allotments or alter the ability of the United States and
allottees to make water rights claims for these lands in the
future.
Title II of S. 4643 would provide for protections for the
Zuni Salt Lake, a lake outside the Zuni basin that has great
spiritual and cultural meaning to the Zuni Tribe and other
Pueblos and Tribes in New Mexico. The legislation would
transfer approximately 4,822 acres of land surrounding the Lake
and managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) into trust
for the Zuni Tribe upon the enforceability date of the
settlement. In addition, the legislation would withdraw
approximately 92,364 acres of BLM land near the Zuni Salt Lake
and impose various restrictions on the management of those
lands to protect the Lake and its cultural values. The
withdrawal would include all BLM lands that are within the
closure order the State of New Mexico issued in July of 2023,
closing the area around the Zuni Salt Lake and Sanctuary to any
new appropriations of groundwater or surface water (with the
exception of new livestock and domestic wells, which will be
limited to 0.5 acre-feet per year).
III. Department of the Interior Position on S. 4643
The Department of the Interior is pleased to support S.
4643. This bill is the result of decades of litigation and over
a decade of good-faith negotiations. S. 4643 is designed to
meet the Zuni Tribe's current and long-term needs for water by
providing Trust Funds to be used by the Tribe according to its
needs and its own determinations. Rather than committing the
Zuni Tribe or the United States to construct specific water
infrastructure projects, the bill would allow the Tribe to make
decisions regarding how, when, and where to develop water
infrastructure on Zuni lands. This approach to settlement is
consistent with Tribal sovereignty and self-determination, and
with our trust responsibilities, and will help to ensure that
the Zuni Tribe can maintain its way of life.
EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS
The Committee has received no communications from the
Executive Branch regarding S. 4643.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW
On February 9, 2023, the Committee unanimously approved a
motion to waive subsection 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing
Rules of the Senate. In the opinion of the Committee, it is
necessary to dispense with subsection 12 of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate to expedite the business of the
Senate.
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