II 119THCONGRESS 1 STSESSION S. 565 To approve the settlement of water rights claims of the Navajo Nation in the Rio San Jose´Stream System in the State of New Mexico, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES FEBRUARY13, 2025 Mr. H EINRICH(for himself and Mr. LUJA´N) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs A BILL To approve the settlement of water rights claims of the Navajo Nation in the Rio San Jose´Stream System in the State of New Mexico, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) S HORTTITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Navajo Nation Rio San Jose´Stream System Water 5 Rights Settlement Act of 2025’’. 6 (b) T ABLE OFCONTENTS.—The table of contents for 7 this Act is as follows: 8 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Purposes. VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:59 Mar 03, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\S565.IS S565 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 2 •S 565 IS Sec. 3. Definitions. Sec. 4. Ratification of Agreement. Sec. 5. Navajo Nation’s Water Rights. Sec. 6. Navajo Nation Rio San Jose´Settlement Trust Fund. Sec. 7. Funding. Sec. 8. Enforceability Date. Sec. 9. Waivers and releases of claims. Sec. 10. Satisfaction of claims. Sec. 11. Consent of United States to jurisdiction for judicial review of a Navajo Nation Water Use Permit decision. Sec. 12. Miscellaneous provisions. Sec. 13. Relation to Allottees. Sec. 14. Expansion of Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project service area. Sec. 15. Antideficiency. SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 1 The purposes of this Act are— 2 (1) to achieve a fair, equitable, and final settle-3 ment of all claims to water rights in the general 4 stream adjudication of the Rio San Jose´Stream 5 System captioned ‘‘State of New Mexico, ex rel. 6 State Engineer v. Kerr-McGee, et al.’’, No. D–1333– 7 CV–1983–00190 and No. D–1333–CV–1983–00220 8 (consolidated), pending in the Thirteenth Judicial 9 District Court for the State of New Mexico, for— 10 (A) the Navajo Nation; and 11 (B) the United States, acting as trustee 12 for the Navajo Nation; 13 (2) to authorize, ratify, and confirm the agree-14 ment entered into by the Navajo Nation, the State, 15 and various other parties to the Agreement, to the 16 extent that the Agreement is consistent with this 17 Act; 18 (3) to authorize and direct the Secretary— 19 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:59 Mar 03, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S565.IS S565 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 3 •S 565 IS (A) to execute the Agreement; and 1 (B) to take any other actions necessary to 2 carry out the Agreement in accordance with 3 this Act; and 4 (4) to authorize funds necessary for the imple-5 mentation of the Agreement and this Act. 6 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 7 In this Act: 8 (1) A CEQUIA.—The term ‘‘Acequia’’ means 9 each of the Bluewater Toltec Irrigation District, La 10 Acequia Madre del Ojo del Gallo, Moquino Water 11 Users Association II, Murray Acres Irrigation Asso-12 ciation, San Mateo Irrigation Association, Seboyeta 13 Community Irrigation Association, Cubero Acequia 14 Association, Cebolletita Acequia Association, and 15 Community Ditch of Rio San Jose´de la Cienega. 16 (2) A DJUDICATION.—The term ‘‘Adjudication’’ 17 means the general adjudication of water rights enti-18 tled ‘‘State of New Mexico, ex rel. State Engineer v. 19 Kerr-McGee, et al.’’, No. D–1333–CV–1983–00190 20 and No. D–1333–CV–1983–00220 (consolidated) 21 pending, as of the date of enactment of this Act, in 22 the Decree Court. 23 (3) A GREEMENT.—The term ‘‘Agreement’’ 24 means— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:59 Mar 03, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S565.IS S565 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 4 •S 565 IS (A) the addendum dated June 11, 2024, 1 to, and as provided in Article 17 of, the docu-2 ment entitled ‘‘Rio San Jose´Stream System 3 Water Rights Local Settlement Agreement 4 Among the Pueblo of Acoma, the Pueblo of La-5 guna, the Navajo Nation, the State of New 6 Mexico, the City of Grants, the Village of 7 Milan, the Association of Community Ditches of 8 the Rio San Jose´and Nine Individual Acequias 9 and Community Ditches’’ and dated May 13, 10 2022, and the attachments thereto and to the 11 addendum; and 12 (B) any amendment to the documents re-13 ferred to in subparagraph (A) (including an 14 amendment to an attachment) that is executed 15 to ensure that the Agreement is consistent with 16 this Act. 17 (4) A LLOTMENT.—The term ‘‘Allotment’’ 18 means a parcel of land that is— 19 (A) located within— 20 (i) the Rio Puerco Basin; or 21 (ii) the Rio San Jose´Stream System; 22 and 23 (B) held in trust by the United States for 24 the benefit of— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:59 Mar 03, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S565.IS S565 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 5 •S 565 IS (i) 1 or more individual Indians; or 1 (ii) an Indian Tribe holding an undi-2 vided fractional beneficial interest. 3 (5) A LLOTTEE.—The term ‘‘Allottee’’ means— 4 (A) an individual Indian holding a bene-5 ficial interest in an Allotment; or 6 (B) an Indian Tribe holding an undivided 7 fractional beneficial interest in an Allotment. 8 (6) D ECREE COURT .—The term ‘‘Decree 9 Court’’ means the Thirteenth Judicial District Court 10 of the State of New Mexico. 11 (7) E NFORCEABILITY DATE .—The term ‘‘En-12 forceability Date’’ means the date described in sec-13 tion 8. 14 (8) N AVAJO NATION; NAVAJO; NATION.— 15 (A) I N GENERAL.—The terms ‘‘Navajo 16 Nation’’, ‘‘Navajo’’, and ‘‘Nation’’ mean the 17 body politic and federally recognized Indian na-18 tion, as published on the list required under 19 section 104(a) of the Federally Recognized In-20 dian Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 21 5131(a)), also known variously as the ‘‘Navajo 22 Nation of Arizona, New Mexico, & Utah’’, and 23 the ‘‘Navajo Nation of Indians’’ and other simi-24 lar names. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:59 Mar 03, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S565.IS S565 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 6 •S 565 IS (B) INCLUSIONS.—The terms ‘‘Navajo Na-1 tion’’, ‘‘Navajo’’, and ‘‘Nation’’ include all 2 bands of Navajo Indians and chapters of the 3 Navajo Nation and all divisions, agencies, offi-4 cers, and agents thereof. 5 (9) N AVAJO NATION LANDS ; NAVAJO LANDS.— 6 (A) I N GENERAL.—The terms ‘‘Navajo 7 Nation Lands’’ and ‘‘Navajo Lands’’ mean any 8 real property— 9 (i) in the Rio San Jose´Stream Sys-10 tem that is held by the United States in 11 trust for the Navajo Nation, or owned by 12 the Navajo Nation, as of the Enforceability 13 Date; or 14 (ii) in the Rio Puerco Basin that is 15 held by the United States in trust for the 16 Navajo Nation, or owned by the Navajo 17 Nation, as of the Enforceability Date. 18 (B) I NCLUSIONS.—The terms ‘‘Navajo Na-19 tion Lands’’ and ‘‘Navajo Lands’’ include land 20 placed in trust with the United States subse-21 quent to the Enforceability Date for the Navajo 22 Nation in the Rio San Jose´Stream System and 23 in the Rio Puerco Basin. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:59 Mar 03, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S565.IS S565 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 7 •S 565 IS (C) EXCLUSION.—The terms ‘‘Navajo Na-1 tion Lands’’ and ‘‘Navajo Lands’’ do not in-2 clude Allotments. 3 (10) N AVAJO NATION WATER CODE .—The term 4 ‘‘Navajo Nation Water Code’’ means the water code 5 enacted in 1984 by the Navajo Nation Council 6 through Resolution CAU–34–84. (22 N.N.C. 1101 7 et seq.). 8 (11) N AVAJO NATION WATER USE PERMIT .— 9 The term ‘‘Navajo Nation Water Use Permit’’ 10 means a document specifying terms and conditions 11 for diversion and use of water on Navajo Nation 12 Lands issued by the Navajo Nation within the scope 13 of its authority under the Navajo Nation Water 14 Code and the Settlement Agreement. 15 (12) N AVAJO NATION’S WATER RIGHTS.— 16 (A) I N GENERAL.—The term ‘‘Navajo Na-17 tion’s Water Rights’’ means— 18 (i) the water rights of the Navajo Na-19 tion in the Rio San Jose´Stream System— 20 (I) as identified in the Agreement 21 and section 5; and 22 (II) as confirmed in the Navajo 23 Partial Final Judgment and Decree; 24 and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:59 Mar 03, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S565.IS S565 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 8 •S 565 IS (ii) the water rights of the Navajo Na-1 tion in the Rio Puerco Basin, as identified 2 in the Agreement and section 5. 3 (B) E XCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘Navajo Na-4 tion’s Water Rights’’ does not include— 5 (i) any interest that the Nation may 6 have in an Allotment that is determined by 7 the Secretary to be patented pursuant to 8 section 1 of the Act of February 8, 1887 9 (commonly known as the ‘‘Indian General 10 Allotment Act’’) (24 Stat. 388, chapter 11 119; 25 U.S.C. 331) (as in effect on the 12 day before the date of enactment of the In-13 dian Land Consolidation Act Amendments 14 of 2000 (Public Law 106–462; 114 Stat. 15 1991)); or 16 (ii) any undivided interest that the 17 Nation may have in an Allotment that is 18 determined by the Secretary to be patented 19 pursuant to an authority other than sec-20 tion 1 of the Act of February 8, 1887 21 (commonly known as the ‘‘Indian General 22 Allotment Act’’) (24 Stat. 388, chapter 23 119; 25 U.S.C. 331) (as in effect on the 24 day before the date of enactment of the In-25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:59 Mar 03, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S565.IS S565 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 9 •S 565 IS dian Land Consolidation Act Amendments 1 of 2000 (Public Law 106–462; 114 Stat. 2 1991)). 3 (13) N AVAJO PARTIAL FINAL JUDGMENT AND 4 DECREE.—The term ‘‘Navajo Partial Final Judg-5 ment and Decree’’ means a final or interlocutory 6 partial final judgment and decree entered by the De-7 cree Court with respect to the Navajo Nation’s 8 Water Rights— 9 (A) that is substantially in the form de-10 scribed in Article 17.14.7.2 of the Agreement, 11 as amended to ensure consistency with this Act; 12 and 13 (B) from which no further appeal may be 14 taken. 15 (14) N AVAJO TRUST FUND.—The term ‘‘Navajo 16 Trust Fund’’ means the Navajo Nation Rio San 17 Jose´Settlement Trust Fund established under sec-18 tion 6(a). 19 (15) R IO PUERCO BASIN .—The term ‘‘Rio 20 Puerco Basin’’ means the area defined by the 21 United States Geological Survey Hydrologic Unit 22 Codes (HUC) 13020204 (Rio Puerco subbasin) and 23 13020205 (Arroyo Chico subbasin), including the 24 hydrologically connected groundwater. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:59 Mar 03, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S565.IS S565 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 10 •S 565 IS (16) RIO SAN JOSE´STREAM SYSTEM .—The 1 term ‘‘Rio San Jose´Stream System’’ means the geo-2 graphic extent of the area involved in the Adjudica-3 tion pursuant to the description filed in the Decree 4 Court on November 21, 1986. 5 (17) S ECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 6 means the Secretary of the Interior. 7 (18) S IGNATORY ACEQUIA.—The term ‘‘Signa-8 tory Acequia’’ means an acequia that is a signatory 9 to the Agreement. 10 (19) S TATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the 11 State of New Mexico and all officers, agents, depart-12 ments, and political subdivisions of the State of New 13 Mexico. 14 SEC. 4. RATIFICATION OF AGREEMENT. 15 (a) R ATIFICATION.— 16 (1) I N GENERAL.—Except as modified by this 17 Act, and to the extent that the Agreement does not 18 conflict with this Act, the Agreement is authorized, 19 ratified, and confirmed. 20 (2) A MENDMENTS.—If an amendment to the 21 Agreement, or any attachment to the Agreement re-22 quiring the signature of the Secretary, is executed in 23 accordance with this Act to make the Agreement 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:59 Mar 03, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S565.IS S565 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 11 •S 565 IS consistent with this Act, the amendment is author-1 ized, ratified, and confirmed. 2 (b) E XECUTION.— 3 (1) I N GENERAL.—To the extent that the 4 Agreement does not conflict with this Act, the Sec-5 retary shall execute the Agreement, including all at-6 tachments to, or parts of, the Agreement requiring 7 the signature of the Secretary. 8 (2) M ODIFICATIONS.—Nothing in this Act pro-9 hibits the Secretary, after execution of the Agree-10 ment, from approving any modification to the Agree-11 ment, including an attachment to the Agreement, 12 that is consistent with this Act, to the extent that 13 the modification does not otherwise require congres-14 sional approval under section 2116 of the Revised 15 Statutes (25 U.S.C. 177) or any other applicable 16 provision of Federal law. 17 (c) E NVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE.— 18 (1) I N GENERAL.—In implementing the Agree-19 ment and this Act, the Secretary shall comply 20 with— 21 (A) the Endangered Species Act of 1973 22 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.); 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:59 Mar 03, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S565.IS S565 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 12 •S 565 IS (B) the National Environmental Policy Act 1 of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), including the 2 implementing regulations of that Act; and 3 (C) all other applicable Federal environ-4 mental laws and regulations. 5 (2) C OMPLIANCE.— 6 (A) I N GENERAL.—In implementing the 7 Agreement and this Act, the Navajo Nation 8 shall prepare any necessary environmental doc-9 uments, consistent with— 10 (i) the Endangered Species Act of 11 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.); 12 (ii) the National Environmental Policy 13 Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), in-14 cluding the implementing regulations of 15 that Act; and 16 (iii) all other applicable Federal envi-17 ronmental laws and regulations. 18 (B) A UTHORIZATIONS.—The Secretary 19 shall— 20 (i) independently evaluate the docu-21 mentation required under subparagraph 22 (A); and 23 (ii) be responsible for the accuracy, 24 scope, and contents of that documentation. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:59 Mar 03, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S565.IS S565 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 13 •S 565 IS (3) EFFECT OF EXECUTION .—The execution of 1 the Agreement by the Secretary under this section 2 shall not constitute a major Federal action under 3 the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 4 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). 5 (4) C OSTS.—Any costs associated with the per-6 formance of the compliance activities under this sub-7 section shall be paid from funds deposited in the 8 Navajo Trust Fund or other sources of funding from 9 the Navajo Nation, subject to the condition that any 10 costs associated with the performance of Federal ap-11 proval or other review of such compliance work or 12 costs associated with inherently Federal functions 13 shall remain the responsibility of the Secretary. 14 SEC. 5. NAVAJO NATION’S WATER RIGHTS. 15 (a) T RUSTSTATUS OFNAVAJONATION’SWATER 16 R IGHTS.—The Navajo Nation’s Water Rights shall be 17 held in trust by the United States on behalf of the Nation 18 in accordance with the Agreement and this Act. 19 (b) F ORFEITURE ANDABANDONMENT.— 20 (1) I N GENERAL.—The Navajo Nation’s Water 21 Rights shall not be subject to loss through non-use, 22 forfeiture, abandonment, or other operation of law. 23 (2) S TATE-LAW BASED WATER RIGHTS .—State- 24 law based water rights acquired by the Navajo Na-25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:59 Mar 03, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S565.IS S565 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 14 •S 565 IS tion, or by the United States on behalf of the Na-1 tion, after the date for inclusion in the Navajo Par-2 tial Final Judgment and Decree, shall not be subject 3 to forfeiture, abandonment, or permanent alienation 4 from the time they are acquired. 5 (c) U SE.—Any use of the Navajo Nation’s Water 6 Rights shall be subject to the terms and conditions of the 7 Agreement and this Act. 8 (d) A LLOTMENT RIGHTSNOTINCLUDED.—Con-9 sistent with section 13, the Navajo Nation’s Water Rights 10 shall not include any water rights for an Allotment, sub-11 ject to the condition that the Navajo Nation may allow 12 use of the Navajo Nation’s Water Rights on an Allotment 13 subject to the terms and conditions of the Agreement and 14 this Act. 15 (e) A LLOTTEESNOTADVERSELYAFFECTED.— 16 Nothing in this Act quantifies or diminishes any water 17 right, or any claim or entitlement to water, of an Allottee. 18 (f) A LLOTTEEWATERRIGHTS.—The Nation shall 19 not object in any general stream adjudication, including 20 the Adjudication, to the quantification of reasonable do-21 mestic, stock, and irrigation water uses on an Allotment, 22 and shall administer any water use in accordance with ap-23 plicable Federal law, including recognition of— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:59 Mar 03, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S565.IS S565 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 15 •S 565 IS (1) any water use existing on an Allotment as 1 of the date of enactment of this Act; 2 (2) reasonable domestic, stock, and irrigation 3 water uses on an Allotment; and 4 (3) any water right decreed to the United 5 States in trust for an Allottee in a general stream 6 adjudication, including the Adjudication, for use on 7 an Allotment. 8 (g) A UTHORITY OF THENAVAJONATION.— 9 (1) U SE ON NAVAJO LANDS .—The Navajo Na-10 tion shall have the authority to allocate, distribute, 11 and lease the Navajo Nation’s Water Rights for use 12 on Navajo Lands in accordance with the Agreement, 13 this Act, and applicable Federal law, including the 14 first section of the Act of August 9, 1955 (69 Stat. 15 539, chapter 615; 25 U.S.C. 415) (commonly known 16 as the ‘‘Long-Term Leasing Act’’). 17 (2) U SE OFF NAVAJO LANDS.— 18 (A) I N GENERAL.—The Navajo Nation 19 may allocate, distribute, and lease the Navajo 20 Nation’s Water Rights for use off Navajo 21 Lands in accordance with the Agreement, this 22 Act, and applicable Federal law, subject to the 23 approval of the Secretary. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:59 Mar 03, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S565.IS S565 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 16 •S 565 IS (B) MAXIMUM TERM .—The maximum 1 term of any lease, including all renewals, under 2 this paragraph shall not exceed 99 years. 3 (h) A DMINISTRATION.— 4 (1) N O ALIENATION.—The Navajo Nation shall 5 not permanently alienate any portion of the Navajo 6 Nation’s Water Rights. 7 (2) P URCHASES OR GRANTS OF LAND FROM IN -8 DIANS.—An authorization provided by this Act for 9 the allocation, distribution, leasing, or other ar-10 rangement entered into pursuant to this Act shall be 11 considered to satisfy any requirement for authoriza-12 tion of the action required by Federal law. 13 (3) P ROHIBITION ON FORFEITURE .—The non- 14 use of all or any portion of the Navajo Nation’s 15 Water Rights by any water user shall not result in 16 the forfeiture, abandonment, relinquishment, or 17 other loss of all or any portion of the Navajo Na-18 tion’s Water Rights. 19 (4) F ORBEARANCE BY NAVAJO NATION FOR 20 NON-STOCK WATER RIGHTS OF CERTAIN ALLOT -21 MENTS.—Forbearance by the Navajo Nation in ac-22 cordance with Article 17.13.4 of the Agreement— 23 (A) shall be considered non-use for pur-24 poses of paragraph (3); and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:59 Mar 03, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S565.IS S565 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 17 •S 565 IS (B) shall not result in the forfeiture, aban-1 donment, relinquishment, or other loss of any 2 portion of the Navajo Nation’s Water Rights. 3 SEC. 6. NAVAJO NATION RIO SAN JOSE ´ SETTLEMENT 4 TRUST FUND. 5 (a) E STABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall establish 6 a trust fund, to be known as the ‘‘Navajo Nation Rio San 7 Jose´Water Rights Settlement Trust Fund’’, to be man-8 aged, invested, and distributed by the Secretary and to 9 remain available until expended, withdrawn, or reverted 10 to the general fund of the Treasury, consisting of the 11 amounts deposited in the Navajo Trust Fund under sub-12 section (c), together with any investment earnings, includ-13 ing interest, earned on those amounts, for the purpose of 14 carrying out this Act. 15 (b) A CCOUNTS.—The Secretary shall establish in the 16 Navajo Trust Fund the following accounts: 17 (1) The Navajo Nation Water Rights Settle-18 ment Account. 19 (2) The Navajo Nation Operations and Mainte-20 nance Account. 21 (c) D EPOSITS.—The Secretary shall deposit in the 22 Navajo Trust Fund the amounts made available pursuant 23 to section 7(a). 24 (d) M ANAGEMENT AND INTEREST.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:59 Mar 03, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S565.IS S565 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 18 •S 565 IS (1) MANAGEMENT.—On receipt and deposit of 1 funds into the Navajo Trust Fund under subsection 2 (c), the Secretary shall manage, invest, and dis-3 tribute all amounts in the Navajo Trust Fund in a 4 manner that is consistent with the investment au-5 thority of the Secretary under— 6 (A) the first section of the Act of June 24, 7 1938 (25 U.S.C. 162a); 8 (B) the American Indian Trust Fund Man-9 agement Reform Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 4001 10 et seq.); and 11 (C) this subsection. 12 (2) I NVESTMENT EARNINGS .—In addition to 13 the deposits made to the Navajo Trust Fund under 14 subsection (c), any investment earnings, including 15 interest, earned on those amounts held in the Nav-16 ajo Trust Fund are authorized to be used in accord-17 ance with subsections (f) and (h). 18 (e) A VAILABILITY OFAMOUNTS.— 19 (1) I N GENERAL.—Amounts appropriated to, 20 and deposited in, the Navajo Trust Fund, including 21 any investment earnings, including interest, earned 22 on those amounts, shall be made available to the Na-23 tion by the Secretary beginning on the Enforce-24 ability Date, subject to the requirements of this sec-25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:59 Mar 03, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00018 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S565.IS S565 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 19 •S 565 IS tion, except for funds to be made available to the 1 Nation pursuant to paragraph (2). 2 (2) U SE OF FUNDS.—Notwithstanding para-3 graph (1), up to $15,000,000 of the amounts depos-4 ited in the Navajo Nation Water Rights Settlement 5 Account, including any investment earnings, includ-6 ing interest, earned on those amounts, shall be avail-7 able to the Nation on the date on which the amounts 8 are deposited in the Navajo Nation Water Rights 9 Settlement Account for the following uses: 10 (A) Feasibility studies, planning, engineer-11 ing, design, and related environmental, cultural, 12 and historical compliance, and obtaining rights- 13 of-way or permits for water supply infrastruc-14 ture to serve Navajo Nation needs consistent 15 with subsection (h)(1)(B). 16 (B) Installing, on Navajo Lands, ground-17 water wells and associated infrastructure to 18 meet immediate domestic, commercial, munic-19 ipal and industrial water needs, and associated 20 environmental, cultural, and historical compli-21 ance. 22 (f) W ITHDRAWALS.— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:59 Mar 03, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S565.IS S565 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 20 •S 565 IS (1) WITHDRAWALS UNDER THE AMERICAN IN -1 DIAN TRUST FUND MANAGEMENT REFORM ACT OF 2 1994.— 3 (A) I N GENERAL.—The Navajo Nation 4 may withdraw any portion of the amounts in 5 the Navajo Trust Fund on approval by the Sec-6 retary of a Tribal management plan submitted 7 by the Nation in accordance with the American 8 Indian Trust Fund Management Reform Act of 9 1994 (25 U.S.C. 4001 et seq.). 10 (B) R EQUIREMENTS.—In addition to the 11 requirements under the American Indian Trust 12 Fund Management Reform Act of 1994 (25 13 U.S.C. 4001 et seq.), the Tribal management 14 plan under this paragraph shall require that the 15 Nation shall spend all amounts withdrawn from 16 the Navajo Trust Fund, and any investment 17 earnings, including interest, earned on those 18 amounts, through the investments under the 19 Tribal management plan, in accordance with 20 this Act. 21 (C) E NFORCEMENT.—The Secretary may 22 carry out such judicial and administrative ac-23 tions as the Secretary determines to be nec-24 essary to enforce the Tribal management plan 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:59 Mar 03, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00020 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S565.IS S565 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 21 •S 565 IS under this paragraph to ensure that amounts 1 withdrawn by the Nation from the Navajo 2 Trust Fund under subparagraph (A) are used 3 in accordance with this Act. 4 (2) W ITHDRAWALS UNDER EXPENDITURE 5 PLAN.— 6 (A) I N GENERAL.—The Navajo Nation 7 may submit to the Secretary a request to with-8 draw funds from the Navajo Trust Fund pursu-9 ant to an approved expenditure plan. 10 (B) R EQUIREMENTS.—To be eligible to 11 withdraw amounts under an expenditure plan 12 under subparagraph (A), the Nation shall sub-13 mit to the Secretary an expenditure plan for 14 any portion of the Navajo Trust Fund that the 15 Nation elects to withdraw pursuant to that sub-16 paragraph, subject to the condition that the 17 amounts shall be used for the purposes de-18 scribed in this Act. 19 (C) I NCLUSIONS.—An expenditure plan 20 under this paragraph shall include a description 21 of the manner and purpose for which the 22 amounts proposed to be withdrawn from the 23 Navajo Trust Fund will be used by the Nation, 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:59 Mar 03, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00021 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S565.IS S565 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 22 •S 565 IS in accordance with this subsection and sub-1 section (h). 2 (D) A PPROVAL.—The Secretary shall ap-3 prove an expenditure plan submitted under sub-4 paragraph (A) if the Secretary determines that 5 the plan— 6 (i) is reasonable; and 7 (ii) is consistent with, and will be used 8 for, the purposes of this Act. 9 (E) E NFORCEMENT.—The Secretary may 10 carry out such judicial and administrative ac-11 tions as the Secretary determines to be nec-12 essary to enforce an expenditure plan to ensure 13 that amounts disbursed under this paragraph 14 are used in accordance with this Act. 15 (g) E FFECT OFSECTION.—Nothing in this section 16 gives the Navajo Nation the right to judicial review of a 17 determination of the Secretary relating to whether to ap-18 prove a Tribal management plan under paragraph (1) of 19 subsection (f) or an expenditure plan under paragraph (2) 20 of that subsection except under subchapter II of chapter 21 5, and chapter 7, of title 5, United States Code (commonly 22 known as the ‘‘Administrative Procedure Act’’). 23 (h) U SES.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:59 Mar 03, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00022 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S565.IS S565 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 23 •S 565 IS (1) NAVAJO NATION WATER RIGHTS SETTLE -1 MENT ACCOUNT.—The Navajo Nation Water Rights 2 Settlement Account may only be used for the fol-3 lowing purposes: 4 (A) Acquiring water rights or water sup-5 ply. 6 (B) Planning, permitting, designing, engi-7 neering, constructing, reconstructing, replacing, 8 rehabilitating, operating, or repairing water 9 production, treatment, or delivery infrastruc-10 ture, including for domestic and municipal use, 11 on-farm improvements, or wastewater infra-12 structure. 13 (C) Navajo Nation’s Water Rights man-14 agement and administration. 15 (D) Watershed protection and enhance-16 ment, support of agriculture, water-related Nav-17 ajo community welfare and economic develop-18 ment, and costs relating to implementation of 19 the Agreement. 20 (E) Environmental compliance in the de-21 velopment and construction of infrastructure 22 under this Act. 23 (2) N AVAJO NATION OPERATIONS AND MAINTE -24 NANCE ACCOUNT.—The Navajo Nation Water Infra-25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:59 Mar 03, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S565.IS S565 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 24 •S 565 IS structure Operations and Maintenance Account may 1 only be used to pay costs for operation, mainte-2 nance, and replacement of water infrastructure to 3 serve Navajo domestic, commercial, municipal, and 4 industrial water uses from any water source. 5 (i) L IABILITY.—The Secretary and the Secretary of 6 the Treasury shall not be liable for the expenditure or in-7 vestment of any amounts withdrawn from the Navajo 8 Trust Fund by the Nation under paragraph (1) or (2) of 9 subsection (f). 10 (j) E XPENDITUREREPORTS.—The Navajo Nation 11 shall annually submit to the Secretary an expenditure re-12 port describing accomplishments and amounts spent from 13 use of withdrawals under a Tribal management plan or 14 an expenditure plan under paragraph (1) or (2) of sub-15 section (f), as applicable. 16 (k) N OPERCAPITADISTRIBUTIONS.—No portion of 17 the Navajo Trust Fund shall be distributed on a per capita 18 basis to any member of Navajo Nation. 19 (l) T ITLE TOINFRASTRUCTURE.—Title to, control 20 over, and operation of any project constructed using funds 21 from the Navajo Trust Fund shall remain in the Navajo 22 Nation. 23 (m) O PERATION, MAINTENANCE, ANDREPLACE-24 MENT.—All operation, maintenance, and replacement 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:59 Mar 03, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00024 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S565.IS S565 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 25 •S 565 IS costs of any project constructed using funds from the Nav-1 ajo Trust Fund shall be the responsibility of the Nation. 2 SEC. 7. FUNDING. 3 (a) M ANDATORY APPROPRIATIONS.—Out of any 4 money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, the 5 Secretary of the Treasury shall transfer to the Secretary 6 the following amounts for deposit in the following ac-7 counts: 8 (1) T HE NAVAJO NATION WATER RIGHTS SET -9 TLEMENT ACCOUNT .—For deposit in the Navajo Na-10 tion Water Rights Settlement Account established 11 under section 6(b)(1), $200,271,000, to remain 12 available until expended, withdrawn, or reverted to 13 the general fund of the Treasury. 14 (2) T HE NAVAJO NATION OPERATIONS AND 15 MAINTENANCE ACCOUNT .—For deposit in the Nav-16 ajo Nation Operations and Maintenance Account es-17 tablished under section 6(b)(2), $23,000,000, to re-18 main available until expended, withdrawn, or re-19 verted to the general fund of the Treasury. 20 (b) F LUCTUATION INCOSTS.— 21 (1) I N GENERAL.—The amounts appropriated 22 under subsection (a) shall be increased or decreased, 23 as appropriate, by such amounts as may be justified 24 by reason of ordinary fluctuations in costs, as indi-25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:59 Mar 03, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S565.IS S565 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 26 •S 565 IS cated by the Bureau of Reclamation Construction 1 Cost Index–Composite Trend. 2 (2) C ONSTRUCTION COSTS ADJUSTMENT .—The 3 amounts appropriated under subsection (a) shall be 4 adjusted to address construction cost changes nec-5 essary to account for unforeseen market volatility 6 that may not otherwise be captured by construction 7 cost indices, as determined by the Secretary, includ-8 ing repricing applicable to the types of construction 9 and current industry standards involved. 10 (3) R EPETITION.—The adjustment process 11 under this subsection shall be repeated for each sub-12 sequent amount appropriated until the applicable 13 amount, as adjusted, has been appropriated. 14 (4) P ERIOD OF INDEXING.—The period of in-15 dexing and adjustment under this subsection for any 16 increment of funding shall start on October 1, 2021, 17 and end on the date on which funds are deposited 18 in the Navajo Trust Fund. 19 (c) S TATECOST-SHARE.—Pursuant to the Agree-20 ment, the State shall contribute— 21 (1) $3,000,000, as adjusted for inflation pursu-22 ant to the Agreement, to the Bluewater Toltec Irri-23 gation District and Acequia Madre del Ojo del Gallo 24 for purposes described in the Agreement; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:59 Mar 03, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S565.IS S565 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 27 •S 565 IS (2) if applicable, additional funding subject to 1 the provisions of Article 17.12.4 of the Agreement. 2 SEC. 8. ENFORCEABILITY DATE. 3 The Enforceability Date shall be the date on which 4 the Secretary publishes in the Federal Register a state-5 ment of findings that— 6 (1) to the extent that the Agreement conflicts 7 with this Act, the Agreement has been amended to 8 conform with this Act; 9 (2) the Agreement, as amended, has been exe-10 cuted by all parties to the Agreement, including the 11 United States; 12 (3) all of the amounts appropriated under sec-13 tion 7(a) have been appropriated and deposited in 14 the designated accounts of the Navajo Trust Fund; 15 (4) the State has— 16 (A) provided $3,000,000 of funding under 17 section 7(c)(1) into the appropriate funding ac-18 counts or entered into a funding agreement 19 with the intended beneficiaries for that funding; 20 and 21 (B) enacted legislation to amend State law 22 to provide that a Navajo Nation Water Right 23 may be leased for a term not to exceed 99 24 years, including renewals; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:59 Mar 03, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S565.IS S565 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 28 •S 565 IS (5) the Decree Court has approved the Agree-1 ment and has entered the Navajo Partial Final 2 Judgment and Decree; and 3 (6) the waivers and releases under section 9 4 have been executed by the Navajo Nation and the 5 Secretary. 6 SEC. 9. WAIVERS AND RELEASES OF CLAIMS. 7 (a) W AIVERS ANDRELEASES OFCLAIMS BY THE 8 N AVAJONATION ANDUNITEDSTATES ASTRUSTEE FOR 9 THENATION.—Subject to the reservation of rights and 10 retention of claims under subsection (d), as consideration 11 for recognition of the Navajo Nation’s Water Rights and 12 other benefits described in the Agreement and this Act, 13 the Navajo Nation, on behalf of the Nation and members 14 of the Nation (other than members in their capacity as 15 Allottees), and the United States, acting as trustee for the 16 Nation and members of the Nation (other than members 17 in their capacity as Allottees), shall execute a waiver and 18 release of all claims for— 19 (1) water rights within the Rio San Jose´ 20 Stream System that the Navajo Nation or the 21 United States acting as trustee for the Nation, as-22 serted or could have asserted in any proceeding, in-23 cluding the Adjudication, on or before the Enforce-24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:59 Mar 03, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00028 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S565.IS S565 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 29 •S 565 IS ability Date, except to the extent that such rights 1 are recognized in the Agreement and this Act; and 2 (2) damages, losses, or injuries to water rights 3 or claims of interference with, diversion of, or taking 4 of water rights (including claims for injury to land 5 resulting from such damages, losses, injuries, inter-6 ference with, diversion, or taking of water rights) in 7 waters in the Rio San Jose´Stream System against 8 any party to the Agreement, including the members 9 and parciantes of Signatory Acequias, that accrued 10 at any time up to and including the Enforceability 11 Date. 12 (b) W AIVERS ANDRELEASES OFCLAIMS BYNAVAJO 13 N ATIONAGAINSTUNITEDSTATES.—Subject to the res-14 ervation of rights and retention of claims under subsection 15 (d), the Navajo Nation, on behalf of the Nation (including 16 in its capacity as an Allottee) and members of the Nation 17 (other than members in their capacity as Allottees) shall 18 execute a waiver and release of all claims against the 19 United States (including any agency or employee of the 20 United States) first arising before the Enforceability Date 21 relating to— 22 (1) water rights within the Rio San Jose´ 23 Stream System that the United States, acting as 24 trustee for the Navajo Nation, asserted or could 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:59 Mar 03, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S565.IS S565 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 30 •S 565 IS have asserted in any proceeding, including the Adju-1 dication, except to the extent that such rights are 2 recognized as part of the Navajo Nation’s Water 3 Rights under this Act; 4 (2) foregone benefits from non-Navajo use of 5 water, on and off Navajo Lands (including water 6 from all sources and for all uses) within the Rio San 7 Jose´Stream System; 8 (3) damage, loss, or injury to water, water 9 rights, land, or natural resources due to loss of 10 water or water rights (including damages, losses, or 11 injuries to hunting, fishing, gathering, or cultural 12 rights due to loss of water or water rights, claims 13 relating to interference with, diversion of, or taking 14 of water, or claims relating to a failure to protect, 15 acquire, replace, or develop water, water rights, or 16 water infrastructure) within the Rio San Jose´ 17 Stream System; 18 (4) a failure to provide for operation, mainte-19 nance, or deferred maintenance for any irrigation 20 system or irrigation project within the Rio San Jose´ 21 Stream System; 22 (5) a failure to establish or provide a municipal, 23 rural, or industrial water delivery system on Navajo 24 Lands within the Rio San Jose´Stream System; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:59 Mar 03, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00030 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S565.IS S565 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 31 •S 565 IS (6) damage, loss, or injury to water, water 1 rights, land, or natural resources due to construc-2 tion, operation, and management of irrigation 3 projects on Navajo Lands (including damages, 4 losses, or injuries to fish habitat, wildlife, and wild-5 life habitat) within the Rio San Jose´Stream Sys-6 tem; 7 (7) a failure to provide a dam safety improve-8 ment to a dam on Navajo Lands within the Rio San 9 Jose´Stream System; 10 (8) the litigation of claims relating to any water 11 right of the Nation within the Rio San Jose´Stream 12 System; and 13 (9) the negotiation, execution, or adoption of 14 the Agreement (including attachments) and this Act. 15 (c) E FFECTIVEDATE.—The waivers and releases de-16 scribed in subsections (a) and (b) shall take effect on the 17 Enforceability Date. 18 (d) R ESERVATION OF RIGHTS ANDRETENTION OF 19 C LAIMS.—Notwithstanding the waivers and releases under 20 subsections (a) and (b), the Navajo Nation and the United 21 States, acting as trustee for the Nation, shall retain all 22 claims relating to— 23 (1) the enforcement of, or claims accruing after 24 the Enforceability Date relating to, water rights rec-25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:59 Mar 03, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00031 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S565.IS S565 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 32 •S 565 IS ognized under the Agreement, this Act, or the Nav-1 ajo Partial Final Judgment and Decree entered in 2 the Adjudication; 3 (2) activities affecting the quality of water and 4 the environment, including claims under— 5 (A) the Comprehensive Environmental Re-6 sponse, Compensation, and Liability Act of 7 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.), including claims 8 for damages to natural resources; 9 (B) the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 10 U.S.C. 300f et seq.); 11 (C) the Federal Water Pollution Control 12 Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.) (commonly re-13 ferred to as the ‘‘Clean Water Act’’); and 14 (D) any regulations implementing the Acts 15 described in subparagraphs (A) through (C); 16 (3) the right to use and protect water rights ac-17 quired after the date of enactment of this Act; 18 (4) damage, loss, or injury to land or natural 19 resources that is not due to loss of water or water 20 rights, including hunting, fishing, gathering, or cul-21 tural rights; 22 (5) all claims for water rights, and claims for 23 injury to water rights, in basins other than the Rio 24 San Jose´Stream System, subject to the Agreement 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:59 Mar 03, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00032 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S565.IS S565 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 33 •S 565 IS with respect to the claims of the Navajo Nation for 1 water rights in the Rio Puerco Basin; and 2 (6) all rights, remedies, privileges, immunities, 3 powers, and claims not specifically waived and re-4 leased pursuant to this Act or the Agreement. 5 (e) E FFECT OFAGREEMENT AND ACT.—Nothing in 6 the Agreement or this Act— 7 (1) reduces or extends the sovereignty (includ-8 ing civil and criminal jurisdiction) of any govern-9 ment entity, except as provided in section 11; 10 (2) affects the ability of the United States, as 11 a sovereign, to carry out any activity authorized by 12 law, including— 13 (A) the Comprehensive Environmental Re-14 sponse, Compensation, and Liability Act of 15 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.); 16 (B) the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 17 U.S.C. 300f et seq.); 18 (C) the Federal Water Pollution Control 19 Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.) (commonly re-20 ferred to as the ‘‘Clean Water Act’’); 21 (D) the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 22 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.); and 23 (E) any regulations implementing the Acts 24 described in subparagraphs (A) through (D); 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:59 Mar 03, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00033 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S565.IS S565 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 34 •S 565 IS (3) affects the ability of the United States to 1 act as trustee for the Navajo Nation (consistent with 2 this Act), any other Indian Tribe, or an Allottee of 3 any other Indian Tribe; 4 (4) confers jurisdiction on any State court— 5 (A) to interpret Federal law relating to 6 health, safety, or the environment; 7 (B) to determine the duties of the United 8 States or any other party under Federal law re-9 garding health, safety, or the environment; or 10 (C) to conduct judicial review of any Fed-11 eral agency action; or 12 (5) waives any claim of a member of the Navajo 13 Nation in an individual capacity that does not derive 14 from a right of the Navajo Nation. 15 (f) O FFSETRELATING TO RIOPUERCO.—The 16 United States shall be entitled to offset $20,000,000 17 against— 18 (1) any judgment against the United States for 19 claims relating to water rights in the Rio Puerco 20 Basin, including breach of trust and damage claims 21 relating to water rights in the Rio Puerco Basin, in 22 a case brought by the Nation or any user of the 23 Navajo Nation’s Water Rights; or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:59 Mar 03, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00034 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S565.IS S565 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 35 •S 565 IS (2) a Federal contribution to any future settle-1 ment of water rights of the Navajo Nation in the 2 Rio Puerco Basin. 3 (g) T OLLING OFCLAIMS.— 4 (1) I N GENERAL.—Each applicable period of 5 limitation and time-based equitable defense relating 6 to a claim described in this section shall be tolled for 7 the period beginning on the date of enactment of 8 this Act and ending on the Enforceability Date. 9 (2) E FFECT OF SUBSECTION .—Nothing in this 10 subsection revives any claim or tolls any period of 11 limitation or time-based equitable defense that ex-12 pired before the date of enactment of this Act. 13 (3) L IMITATION.—Nothing in this section pre-14 cludes the tolling of any period of limitation or any 15 time-based equitable defense under any other appli-16 cable law. 17 (h) E XPIRATION.— 18 (1) I N GENERAL.—This Act shall expire in any 19 case in which the Secretary fails to publish a state-20 ment of findings under section 8 by not later than— 21 (A) July 1, 2030; or 22 (B) such alternative later date as is agreed 23 to by the Navajo Nation and the Secretary, 24 after providing reasonable notice to the State. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:59 Mar 03, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00035 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S565.IS S565 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 36 •S 565 IS (2) CONSEQUENCES.—If this Act expires under 1 paragraph (1)— 2 (A) the waivers and releases under sub-3 sections (a) and (b) shall— 4 (i) expire; and 5 (ii) have no further force or effect; 6 (B) the authorization, ratification, con-7 firmation, and execution of the Agreement 8 under section 4 shall no longer be effective; 9 (C) any action carried out by the Sec-10 retary, and any contract or agreement entered 11 into, pursuant to this Act shall be void; 12 (D) any unexpended Federal funds appro-13 priated or made available to carry out the ac-14 tivities authorized by this Act, together with 15 any interest earned on those funds, and any 16 water rights or contracts to use water and title 17 to other property acquired or constructed with 18 Federal funds appropriated or made available 19 to carry out the activities authorized by this 20 Act, shall be returned to the Federal Govern-21 ment, unless otherwise agreed to by Navajo Na-22 tion and the United States and approved by 23 Congress; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:59 Mar 03, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00036 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S565.IS S565 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 37 •S 565 IS (E) except for Federal funds used to ac-1 quire or construct property that is returned to 2 the Federal Government under subparagraph 3 (D), the United States shall be entitled to offset 4 any Federal funds made available to carry out 5 this Act that were expended or withdrawn, or 6 any funds made available to carry out this Act 7 from other Federal authorized sources, together 8 with any interest accrued on those funds, 9 against any claims against the United States— 10 (i) relating to water rights in the 11 State asserted by— 12 (I) the Nation or any user of the 13 Navajo Nation’s Water Rights; or 14 (II) any other matter covered by 15 subsection (b); or 16 (ii) in any future settlement of water 17 rights of the Navajo Nation. 18 SEC. 10. SATISFACTION OF CLAIMS. 19 The benefits provided under this Act shall be in com-20 plete replacement of, complete substitution for, and full 21 satisfaction of any claim of the Navajo Nation against the 22 United States that are waived and released by the Nation 23 pursuant to section 9(b). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:59 Mar 03, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00037 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S565.IS S565 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 38 •S 565 IS SEC. 11. CONSENT OF UNITED STATES TO JURISDICTION 1 FOR JUDICIAL REVIEW OF A NAVAJO NATION 2 WATER USE PERMIT DECISION. 3 (a) C ONSENT.—On the Enforceability Date, the con-4 sent of the United States is hereby given, with the consent 5 of the Navajo Nation under Article 17.14.4 of the Agree-6 ment, to jurisdiction in the District Court for the Thir-7 teenth Judicial District of the State of New Mexico, and 8 in the New Mexico Court of Appeals and the New Mexico 9 Supreme Court on appeal therefrom in the same manner 10 as provided under New Mexico law, over an action filed 11 in such District Court by any party to a Navajo Nation 12 Water Use Permit administrative proceeding under Article 13 17.10.4 of the Agreement for the limited and sole purpose 14 of judicial review of a Navajo Nation Water Use Permit 15 decision under Article 17.10.5 of the Agreement. 16 (b) L IMITATION.—The consent of the United States 17 for review of a Navajo Nation Water Use Permit is limited 18 to judicial review, based on the record developed through 19 the administrative process of the Navajo Nation, under a 20 standard of judicial review limited to determining whether 21 the Navajo Nation decision on the application for the Nav-22 ajo Nation Water Use Permit— 23 (1) is supported by substantial evidence; 24 (2) is not arbitrary, capricious, or contrary to 25 law; 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:59 Mar 03, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00038 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S565.IS S565 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 39 •S 565 IS (3) is not in accordance with the Agreement or 1 the Navajo Partial Final Judgment and Decree; or 2 (4) shows that the Navajo Nation acted fraudu-3 lently or outside the scope of its authority. 4 (c) N AVAJONATIONWATERCODE ANDINTERPRE-5 TATION.— 6 (1) I N GENERAL.—Navajo Nation Water Code 7 or Navajo Water Law provisions that meet the re-8 quirements of Article 17.10 of the Agreement shall 9 be given full faith and credit in any proceeding de-10 scribed in this section. 11 (2) P ROVISIONS OF THE NAVAJO NATION 12 WATER CODE.—To the extent that a State court 13 conducting judicial review under this section must 14 interpret provisions of Navajo Nation law that are 15 not express provisions of the Navajo Nation Water 16 Code or Navajo Nation water law, the State court 17 shall certify the question of interpretation to the 18 Navajo Nation court. 19 (3) N O CERTIFICATION.—Any issues of inter-20 pretation of standards in Article 17.10.6 of the 21 Agreement are not subject to certification. 22 (4) L IMITATION.—Nothing in this section limits 23 the jurisdiction of the Decree Court to interpret and 24 enforce the Agreement. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:59 Mar 03, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00039 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S565.IS S565 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 40 •S 565 IS SEC. 12. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS. 1 (a) N OWAIVER OFSOVEREIGNIMMUNITY BY THE 2 U NITEDSTATES.—Nothing in this Act waives the sov-3 ereign immunity of the United States. 4 (b) O THERTRIBESNOTADVERSELYAFFECTED.— 5 Nothing in this Act quantifies or diminishes any land or 6 water right, or any claim or entitlement to land or water, 7 of an Indian Tribe, band, Pueblo, or community other 8 than the Navajo Nation. 9 (c) E FFECT ONCURRENTLAW.—Nothing in this Act 10 affects any provision of law (including regulations) in ef-11 fect on the day before the date of enactment of this Act 12 with respect to pre-enforcement review of any Federal en-13 vironmental enforcement action. 14 (d) C ONFLICT.—In the event of a conflict between 15 the Agreement and this Act, this Act shall control. 16 SEC. 13. RELATION TO ALLOTTEES. 17 (a) N OEFFECT ONCLAIMS OFALLOTTEES.—Noth-18 ing in this Act or the Agreement shall affect the rights 19 or claims of Allottees, or the United States, acting in its 20 capacity as trustee for or on behalf of Allottees, for water 21 rights or damages relating to land allotted by the United 22 States to Allottees. 23 (b) R ELATIONSHIP OFDECREE TOALLOTTEES.— 24 (1) S EPARATE ADJUDICATION .—Notwith-25 standing whether an Allotment is patented pursuant 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:59 Mar 03, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00040 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S565.IS S565 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 41 •S 565 IS to section 1 of the Act of February 8, 1887 (com-1 monly known as the ‘‘Indian General Allotment 2 Act’’) (24 Stat. 388, chapter 119; 25 U.S.C. 331) 3 (as in effect on the day before the date of enactment 4 of the Indian Land Consolidation Act Amendments 5 of 2000 (Public Law 106–462; 114 Stat. 1991)) or 6 section 4 of that Act (24 Stat. 389, chapter 119; 25 7 U.S.C. 334), as determined by the Secretary, when 8 adjudicated— 9 (A) water rights for Allotments shall be 10 separate from the Navajo Nation’s Water 11 Rights; and 12 (B) no water rights for Allotments shall be 13 included in the Navajo Partial Final Judgment 14 and Decree. 15 (2) A LLOTMENT WATER RIGHTS .—The Allot-16 ment water rights adjudicated separately pursuant 17 to paragraph (1) shall not be subject to the restric-18 tions or conditions that apply to the use of the Nav-19 ajo Nation’s Water Rights, subject to the condition 20 that if an Allotment governed by the Act of Feb-21 ruary 8, 1887 (commonly known as the ‘‘Indian 22 General Allotment Act’’) (24 Stat. 388, chapter 23 119) becomes Navajo Nation Lands, the water 24 rights associated with that Allotment shall be sub-25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:59 Mar 03, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00041 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S565.IS S565 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 42 •S 565 IS ject to the restrictions and conditions on the Navajo 1 Nation’s Water Rights set forth in this Act and the 2 Agreement. 3 (3) A LLOTTEE WATER RIGHTS TO BE ADJU -4 DICATED.—Allottees, or the United States, acting in 5 its capacity as trustee for Allottees, may make water 6 rights claims, and those claims may be adjudicated 7 in the Rio San Jose´Stream System or the Rio 8 Puerco Basin. 9 SEC. 14. EXPANSION OF NAVAJO-GALLUP WATER SUPPLY 10 PROJECT SERVICE AREA. 11 (a) D EFINITION OFPROJECT.—In this section, the 12 term ‘‘Project’’ means the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply 13 Project authorized under section 10602 of the North-14 western New Mexico Rural Water Projects Act (Public 15 Law 111–11; 123 Stat. 1379). 16 (b) E XPANSION OF PROJECTSERVICEAREAAU-17 THORIZED.—The Nation may expand the service area for 18 the Project in order to deliver water supply from the 19 Project to communities of the Nation within the Rio San 20 Jose´Basin in the State. 21 (c) A PPROVAL OFFINALDESIGN FOREXPANSION.— 22 If water will be supplied from facilities of the Project to 23 the Rio San Jose´Basin at a time when the Bureau of 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:59 Mar 03, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00042 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S565.IS S565 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 43 •S 565 IS Reclamation still holds title to those facilities, the Navajo 1 Nation shall— 2 (1) obtain approval, in writing, from the Com-3 missioner of Reclamation for the final design of the 4 connection and related facilities needed to connect 5 the extension into the Rio San Jose´area from those 6 facilities; and 7 (2) coordinate construction of the connection 8 and related facilities with the Commissioner of Rec-9 lamation. 10 SEC. 15. ANTIDEFICIENCY. 11 The United States shall not be liable for any failure 12 to carry out any obligation or activity authorized by this 13 Act, including any obligation or activity under the Agree-14 ment, if adequate appropriations are not provided ex-15 pressly by Congress to carry out the purposes of this Act. 16 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:59 Mar 03, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00043 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S565.IS S565 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS