The Northeastern Arizona Indian Water Rights Settlement Act of 2025 would ratify a negotiated settlement of water rights claims for three Arizona tribes — the Navajo Nation, the Hopi Tribe, and the San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe — together with the individual Indian allottees on each reservation. The settlement, signed in May 2024 by more than 30 parties (including the State of Arizona, the Central Arizona Water Conservation District, and the Salt River Project), allocates roughly 47,000 acre-feet per year of Arizona Upper Basin Colorado River water (44,700 AFY to the Navajo Nation and 2,300 AFY to the Hopi Tribe), plus 3,500 AFY of Fourth Priority Central Arizona Project water reserved under the 2004 Arizona Water Settlements Act for use in this very settlement. The bill authorizes $5.14 billion in mandatory appropriations: $1.715 billion for the new 'iina ba - paa tuwaqat'si pipeline' (Hopi for 'to live by water'), and $3.421 billion split across three tribal water-settlement trust funds. The tribal trust funds further split into accounts for water projects, operations/maintenance/replacement, agricultural conservation, renewable energy, lower-basin water acquisition, and system conservation. A 20-year System Conservation Program would voluntarily store 17,050 acre-feet per year of tribal Colorado River water in Lake Powell — water deemed previously consumed by the now-retired Navajo Generating Station coal plant, helping address structural deficit in the basin. The bill also formally ratifies the 2000 Treaty between the Navajo Nation and the San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe and creates a 5,400-acre San Juan Southern Paiute Reservation in Arizona and Utah. Republican Rep. Juan Ciscomani of Arizona is the lead sponsor with five bipartisan Arizona co-sponsors.
Average Household Impact
- Tribal household water access — Settlement funds new water infrastructure and trust-fund-backed delivery for roughly 325,000 Navajo Nation, Hopi Tribe, and San Juan Southern Paiute members
Environmental Concerns
- Colorado River conservation storage — 17,050 acre-feet per year of tribal water voluntarily stored in Lake Powell over 20 years under the NAIWRSA System Conservation Program
- NEPA 'major federal action' finding — Execution of the Settlement Agreement itself deemed not a major federal action (sub-project environmental review still required)
Transparency & Accountability
- Annual appropriations oversight — $5.14 billion in mandatory Treasury transfers bypass the annual congressional appropriations process
- Tribal trust-fund accountability — Multiple new trust-fund accounts created under federal trustee duties (25 U.S.C. § 4001 standards)
Congressional Summary
Northeastern Arizona Indian Water Rights Settlement Act of 2025This bill recognizes and settles certain water rights claims in Arizona of the Navajo Nation, the Hopi Tribe, and the San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe. It also provides funding for a water pipeline and three settlement trust funds. Specifically, the bill authorizes, ratifies, and confirms a specified water rights settlement agreement entered into by the tribes, the United States, Arizona, and others, thus satisfying claims to water rights in Arizona (including with respect to the Little Colorado River and the Colorado River).Additionally, the bill outlines the water rights of the tribes. For example, the bill allocates and assigns Colorado River water from Arizona's share to the Navajo Nation and the Hopi Tribe.The bill establishes and provides funding for an implementation fund account for the Bureau of Reclamation to plan, design, and construct a pipeline to deliver water to the tribes.Further, the bill establishes and provides funding for the Navajo Nation Water Settlement Trust Fund, the Hopi Tribe Water Settlement Trust Fund, and the San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe Water Settlement Trust Fund.The bill also establishes a reservation consisting of approximately 5,400 acres of land in Arizona and Utah for the San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe by ratifying and confirming the treaty entered into by the Navajo Nation and the San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe.The bill outlines waivers, releases, and retention of claims by the tribes and the United States under the settlement agreement.
Legislative Subjects
Details
- Congress
- 119th
- Chamber
- House
- Status
- summarized
- Action
- Introduced in House
- Action Date
- 2025-03-11
- Date Added
- 2026-05-12
- Source
- Congress.gov →
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