Us Congress 2025-2026 Regular Session

Us Congress House Bill HB726 Compare Versions

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Old	New	Differences
1	1	I
2	2	119THCONGRESS
3	3	1
4	4	STSESSION H. R. 726
5	5	To amend the Crow Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act of 2010 to make
6	6	improvements to that Act, and for other purposes.
7	7	IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
8	8	JANUARY24, 2025
9	9	Mr. D
10	10	OWNING(for himself and Mr. ZINKE) introduced the following bill;
11	11	which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources
12	12	A BILL
13	13	To amend the Crow Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act
14	14	of 2010 to make improvements to that Act, and for
15	15	other purposes.
16	16	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1
17	17	tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2
18	18	SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3
19	19	This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Crow Tribe Water 4
20	20	Rights Settlement Amendments Act of 2025’’. 5
21	21	SEC. 2. CROW TRIBE WATER RIGHTS SETTLEMENT. 6
22	22	(a) D
23	23	EFINITIONS.—Section 403 of the Crow Tribe 7
24	24	Water Rights Settlement Act of 2010 (Public Law 111– 8
25	25	291; 124 Stat. 3097) is amended— 9
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28	28	•HR 726 IH
29	29	(1) by striking paragraph (11) and inserting 1
30	30	the following: 2
31	31	‘‘(11) MR&I
32	32	PROJECT.—The term ‘MR&I 3
33	33	Project’ means an activity described in clauses (i) 4
34	34	through (iii) of section 411(e)(3)(F).’’; and 5
35	35	(2) in paragraph (12)— 6
36	36	(A) in the paragraph heading, by striking 7
37	37	‘‘S
38	38	YSTEM’’ and inserting ‘‘PROJECTS’’; and 8
39	39	(B) in subparagraphs (A) through (C), by 9
40	40	striking ‘‘System’’ each place it appears and in-10
41	41	serting ‘‘Projects’’. 11
42	42	(b) R
43	43	EPEAL OFMR&I SYSTEM.— 12
44	44	(1) I
45	45	N GENERAL.—Section 406 of the Crow 13
46	46	Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act of 2010 (Public 14
47	47	Law 111–291; 124 Stat. 3102) is repealed. 15
48	48	(2) C
49	49	LERICAL AMENDMENT .—The table of con-16
50	50	tents for the Claims Resolution Act of 2010 (Public 17
51	51	Law 111–291; 124 Stat. 3064) is amended by strik-18
52	52	ing the item relating to section 406. 19
53	53	(c) C
54	54	ROWSETTLEMENTFUND.—Section 411 of the 20
55	55	Crow Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act of 2010 (Public 21
56	56	Law 111–291; 124 Stat. 3113) is amended— 22
57	57	(1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘to be admin-23
58	58	istered by the Secretary’’ and inserting ‘‘to be man-24
59	59	aged, invested, and distributed by the Secretary and 25
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62	62	•HR 726 IH
63	63	to remain available until expended, withdrawn, or re-1
64	64	verted to the general fund of the Treasury, con-2
65	65	sisting of amounts deposited in the Fund under sub-3
66	66	section (b), together with any investment earnings, 4
67	67	including interest, earned on those amounts,’’; 5
68	68	(2) in subsections (b) and (c), by striking ‘‘sec-6
69	69	tion 414’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘sec-7
70	70	tion 415’’; 8
71	71	(3) in subsection (c)— 9
72	72	(A) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘Sys-10
73	73	tem’’ and inserting ‘‘Projects’’; and 11
74	74	(B) by adding at the end the following: 12
75	75	‘‘(5) The MR&I Projects Account, to be estab-13
76	76	lished as soon as practicable after the date of enact-14
77	77	ment of the Crow Tribe Water Rights Settlement 15
78	78	Amendments Act of 2025, consisting of— 16
79	79	‘‘(A) amounts made available pursuant to 17
80	80	paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 415(b) that 18
81	81	are appropriated after the date of enactment of 19
82	82	the Crow Tribe Water Rights Settlement 20
83	83	Amendments Act of 2025; and 21
84	84	‘‘(B) amounts to be deposited pursuant to 22
85	85	section 415(h)(2).’’; 23
86	86	(4) in subsection (e)— 24
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90	90	(A) in paragraph (2), by striking subpara-1
91	91	graph (C) and inserting the following: 2
92	92	‘‘(C) the American Indian Trust Fund 3
93	93	Management Reform Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 4
94	94	4001 et seq.).’’; and 5
95	95	(B) in paragraph (3)— 6
96	96	(i) in subparagraph (A), by striking 7
97	97	‘‘through (E)’’ and inserting ‘‘through 8
98	98	(F)’’; 9
99	99	(ii) in subparagraph (C)(i), by strik-10
100	100	ing ‘‘section 412’’ and inserting ‘‘section 11
101	101	413’’; 12
102	102	(iii) in subparagraph (E)— 13
103	103	(I) in the subparagraph heading, 14
104	104	by striking ‘‘S
105	105	YSTEM’’ and inserting 15
106	106	‘‘P
107	107	ROJECTS’’; and 16
108	108	(II) by striking ‘‘System’’ each 17
109	109	place it appears and inserting 18
110	110	‘‘Projects’’; and 19
111	111	(iv) by adding at the end the fol-20
112	112	lowing: 21
113	113	‘‘(F) MR&I
114	114	PROJECTS ACCOUNT .—Funds 22
115	115	from the MR&I Projects Account shall be used 23
116	116	for expenditures by the Tribe in accordance 24
117	117	with the following: 25
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121	121	‘‘(i) PRIORITY USE OF FUNDS .—The 1
122	122	Tribe shall use funds from the MR&I 2
123	123	Projects Account— 3
124	124	‘‘(I) to plan, permit, design, engi-4
125	125	neer, construct, reconstruct, replace, 5
126	126	rehabilitate, operate, or repair water 6
127	127	production, treatment, or delivery in-7
128	128	frastructure, including for domestic 8
129	129	and municipal use or wastewater in-9
130	130	frastructure; and 10
131	131	‘‘(II) to comply with applicable 11
132	132	environmental laws for the activities 12
133	133	described in subclause (I). 13
134	134	‘‘(ii) O
135	135	THER USE OF FUNDS .—After 14
136	136	providing written notice to the Secretary 15
137	137	that on-Reservation MR&I projects de-16
138	138	scribed in clause (i) are complete, the 17
139	139	Tribe may use funds remaining in the 18
140	140	MR&I Projects Account to purchase on- 19
141	141	Reservation land with water rights.’’; 20
142	142	(5) in subsection (f)(2), by striking ‘‘section 21
143	143	414’’ and inserting ‘‘section 415’’; and 22
144	144	(6) by adding at the end the following: 23
145	145	‘‘(i) T
146	146	ITLE TOINFRASTRUCTURE.—Title to, control 24
147	147	over, and operation of any project constructed using funds 25
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151	151	from the MR&I Projects Account shall remain in the 1
152	152	Tribe. 2
153	153	‘‘(j) O
154	154	PERATION, MAINTENANCE, ANDREPLACE-3
155	155	MENT.—The Federal Government shall have no obligation 4
156	156	to pay for the operation, maintenance, or replacement of 5
157	157	any MR&I Project.’’. 6
158	158	(d) C
159	159	ROWCIP IMPLEMENTATION ACCOUNT.—The 7
160	160	Crow Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act of 2010 (31 8
161	161	U.S.C. 1101 note; Public Law 111–291) is amended— 9
162	162	(1) by redesignating sections 412 through 416 10
163	163	as sections 413 through 417, respectively; and 11
164	164	(2) by inserting after section 411 the following: 12
165	165	‘‘SEC. 412. CROW CIP IMPLEMENTATION ACCOUNT. 13
166	166	‘‘(a) E
167	167	STABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall estab-14
168	168	lish a nontrust, interest-bearing account, to be known as 15
169	169	the ‘Crow CIP Implementation Account’, to be managed 16
170	170	and distributed by the Secretary. 17
171	171	‘‘(b) D
172	172	EPOSITS.—The Secretary shall deposit in the 18
173	173	Crow CIP Implementation Account— 19
174	174	‘‘(1) amounts made available pursuant to para-20
175	175	graphs (1) and (2) of section 415(a) that are appro-21
176	176	priated after the date of enactment of the Crow 22
177	177	Tribe Water Rights Settlement Amendments Act of 23
178	178	2025; and 24
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182	182	‘‘(2) amounts to be deposited pursuant to sec-1
183	183	tion 415(h)(1). 2
184	184	‘‘(c) U
185	185	SES.—Amounts in the Crow CIP Implementa-3
186	186	tion Account shall be used to carry out section 405. 4
187	187	‘‘(d) I
188	188	NTEREST.—In addition to the deposits made 5
189	189	into the Crow CIP Implementation Account pursuant to 6
190	190	subsection (b), any investment earnings, including interest 7
191	191	credited to amounts unexpended in the Crow CIP Imple-8
192	192	mentation Account, shall be available for use in accord-9
193	193	ance with subsection (c).’’. 10
194	194	(e) Y
195	195	ELLOWTAIL DAM, MONTANA.—Subsection 11
196	196	(b)(1) of section 413 of the Crow Tribe Water Rights Set-12
197	197	tlement Act of 2010 (Public Law 111–291; 124 Stat. 13
198	198	3116) (as redesignated by subsection (d)(1)) is amended 14
199	199	by striking ‘‘15 years’’ and inserting ‘‘20 years’’. 15
200	200	(f) F
201	201	UNDING.—Section 415 of the Crow Tribe Water 16
202	202	Rights Settlement Act of 2010 (Public Law 111–291; 124 17
203	203	Stat. 3120) (as redesignated by subsection (d)(1)) is 18
204	204	amended— 19
205	205	(1) in subsection (e)— 20
206	206	(A) in the subsection heading, by striking 21
207	207	‘‘S
208	208	YSTEM’’ and inserting ‘‘PROJECTS’’; and 22
209	209	(B) by striking ‘‘System’’ and inserting 23
210	210	‘‘Projects’’; 24
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214	214	(2) by striking subsection (h) and inserting the 1
215	215	following: 2
216	216	‘‘(h) J
217	217	OINTSIGNATUREACCOUNTS.—The Secretary 3
218	218	shall take all actions necessary to authorize the withdrawal 4
219	219	of funds, including principal and interest, held and main-5
220	220	tained in joint signature accounts in accordance with the 6
221	221	following: 7
222	222	‘‘(1) C
223	223	ROW CIP IMPLEMENTATION ACCOUNT .— 8
224	224	In the special joint signature account named ‘CIP 9
225	225	Account’ established pursuant to the agreement with 10
226	226	the Tribe dated October 19, 2011, for the purpose 11
227	227	of transferring and depositing those funds in the 12
228	228	Crow CIP Implementation Account established 13
229	229	under section 412(a). 14
230	230	‘‘(2) MR&I
231	231	PROJECTS ACCOUNT .—In the spe-15
232	232	cial joint signature account named ‘MR&I Account’ 16
233	233	established pursuant to the agreement with the 17
234	234	Tribe dated September 13, 2012, for the purpose of 18
235	235	transferring and depositing those funds in the MR&I 19
236	236	Projects Account established pursuant to section 20
237	237	411(c)(5).’’; and 21
238	238	(3) by adding at the end the following: 22
239	239	‘‘(j) MR&I P
240	240	ROJECTSACCOUNTFLUCTUATIONS IN 23
241	241	C
242	242	OSTS.— 24
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246	246	‘‘(1) INDEXING ADJUSTMENT .—Amounts depos-1
247	247	ited in the MR&I Projects Account pursuant to sec-2
248	248	tion 411(c)(5)(A) shall be increased or decreased, as 3
249	249	appropriate, by such amounts as may be justified by 4
250	250	reason of ordinary fluctuations in costs occurring 5
251	251	after May 1, 2008, as indicated by the Bureau of 6
252	252	Reclamation Construction Cost Index–Composite 7
253	253	Trend. 8
254	254	‘‘(2) P
255	255	ERIOD OF INDEXING.—The period of in-9
256	256	dexing adjustment under paragraph (1), for any in-10
257	257	crement of funding, shall end on the date on which 11
258	258	the amounts are deposited in the MR&I Projects Ac-12
259	259	count.’’. 13
260	260	(g) T
261	261	ECHNICAL ANDCONFORMINGAMENDMENTS.— 14
262	262	(1) Section 403(9) of the Crow Tribe Water 15
263	263	Rights Settlement Act of 2010 (Public Law 111– 16
264	264	291; 124 Stat. 3098) is amended by striking ‘‘(25 17
265	265	U.S.C. 450b)’’ and inserting ‘‘(25 U.S.C. 5304)’’. 18
266	266	(2) Section 409(b) of the Crow Tribe Water 19
267	267	Rights Settlement Act of 2010 (Public Law 111– 20
268	268	291; 124 Stat. 3108) is amended, in each of para-21
269	269	graphs (1) and (2), by striking ‘‘section 414’’ and 22
270	270	inserting ‘‘section 415’’. 23
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274	274	(3) Section 410(e)(1) of the Crow Tribe Water 1
275	275	Rights Settlement Act of 2010 (Public Law 111– 2
276	276	291; 124 Stat. 3112) is amended— 3
277	277	(A) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘sec-4
278	278	tion 414’’ and inserting ‘‘section 415’’; and 5
279	279	(B) in subparagraph (C), by striking 6
280	280	‘‘agreements with the Tribe required by sections 7
281	281	405(a) and 406(a)’’ and inserting ‘‘agreement 8
282	282	with the Tribe required by section 405(a)’’. 9
283	283	(4) Section 416 of the Crow Tribe Water 10
284	284	Rights Settlement Act of 2010 (31 U.S.C. 1105 11
285	285	note; Public Law 111–291) (as redesignated by sub-12
286	286	section (d)(1)) is amended, in each of paragraphs 13
287	287	(3) and (4), by striking ‘‘section 414’’ and inserting 14
288	288	‘‘section 415’’. 15
289	289	(h) C
290	290	LERICALAMENDMENT.—The table of contents 16
291	291	for the Claims Resolution Act of 2010 (Public Law 111– 17
292	292	291; 124 Stat. 3064) is amended by striking the items 18
293	293	relating to sections 407 through 416 and inserting the fol-19
294	294	lowing: 20
295	295	‘‘Sec. 407. Tribal water rights.
296	296	‘‘Sec. 408. Storage allocation from Bighorn Lake.
297	297	‘‘Sec. 409. Satisfaction of claims.
298	298	‘‘Sec. 410. Waivers and releases of claims.
299	299	‘‘Sec. 411. Crow Settlement Fund.
300	300	‘‘Sec. 412. Crow CIP Implementation Account.
301	301	‘‘Sec. 413. Yellowtail Dam, Montana.
302	302	‘‘Sec. 414. Miscellaneous provisions.
303	303	‘‘Sec. 415. Funding.
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307	307	‘‘Sec. 416. Repeal on failure to meet enforceability date.
308	308	‘‘Sec. 417. Antideficiency.’’.
309	309	Æ
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