YourVoice.Now Summary
Your MoneyCivil LibertiesEnvironmentTransparency & AccountabilityTrades three tribes' water claims for $5.14 billion, a Lake Powell pipeline, and new water lines.
Your Money
A new pipeline would carry treated Lake Powell water to Navajo and Hopi communities. It would also serve the San Juan Southern Paiute Southern Area. The Bureau of Reclamation would build it, and the tribes would run it.
Trust fund money would pay to plan and build wells, pipes, treatment plants, and storage tanks. Named Navajo communities include Chinle, Kayenta, Ganado, and Leupp. The Hopi and Paiute tribes have their own accounts.
The money would pay for sprinklers, drip lines, land leveling, wells, pumps, and fencing on land the tribes have long farmed. No more than half of each account could go to livestock wells and ponds.
No principal or interest from these trust funds could be handed to members as per-person payments. The money is tied to water projects, upkeep, farming, and power.
Civil Liberties
A treaty between the Navajo Nation and the San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe would be ratified. Land in Arizona and Utah would be held in trust as a reservation. The Paiute Tribe would govern it. This part would start at enactment and stand even if the rest of the law is repealed.
Each tribal council has already voted to allow this. Landowners and water users along the Little Colorado River could take a tribe to court. The suit must be about what this deal means. They could not win money or legal fees.
Navajo families who hold allotted land can ask the Navajo Nation for water. The Nation's water code would have to give them a way to appeal a denial. They must use that process before suing the United States.
All three tribes would give up their water claims — past, present, and future. That covers claims against Arizona, against each other, and against the United States. They could still go to court to enforce this deal.
Environment
The Navajo Nation and Hopi Tribe would leave part of their new Colorado River water in Lake Powell for 20 years. They would be paid for it from $136 million set aside in their trust funds.
The two tribes could lease Colorado River water to Arizona cities, farms, and firms. The Interior Secretary would have to approve leases off the reservations. The water could not be sold off for good. It could not be used outside Arizona.
One Navajo account could only pay to build renewable power plants. Their job is to run the pumps for the water projects and the pipeline.
Signing the deal would not count as a major federal action. So no environmental study is needed at that step. Building the pipeline and the water projects is different. That work would still have to meet the Endangered Species Act and other federal rules.
Transparency & Accountability
The deal would take effect only after two courts sign off. At least 30 parties must sign, and $5.14 billion must be paid in. If the Interior Secretary cannot confirm all of that in time, the law ends. The money goes back to the Treasury.
The Navajo Nation and Hopi Tribe would report how much Colorado River water they took, from where, and what they leased. They would also put meters at each point where they draw water.
A tribe could not take money out of its trust fund until the Interior Secretary approves a management or spending plan. The Secretary could go to court to enforce those plans. Each tribe would also report every year on what it spent.
More about this bill
Most people would see no change from this bill. For families on the Navajo and Hopi reservations, the change would be tap water. A new pipeline from Lake Powell would carry treated drinking water to Navajo and Hopi communities. It would also serve the San Juan Southern Paiute Southern Area. The bill settles long-running water claims in northeastern Arizona to make that possible. The cost would be $5.14 billion, set aside up front. Of that, $1.715 billion pays to build the pipeline. Another $3.42 billion goes into three tribal trust funds. The Navajo Nation would get $2.88 billion, the Hopi Tribe $515 million, and the San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe $29.8 million. That money would pay for wells, pipes, treatment plants, and repairs to farm and livestock water. None of it could be paid out to members as cash. In exchange, the three tribes would drop their water claims for good. That covers past, present, and future claims against Arizona, against each other, and against the United States. They would keep the right to enforce this deal in court. The Navajo Nation would get 44,700 acre-feet of Colorado River water a year. The Hopi Tribe would get 2,300, plus rights in the Lower Basin. Both could lease water to Arizona cities and farms for terms up to 100 years. The bill would also create a reservation for the San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe. About 5,400 acres in Arizona and Utah would be held in trust, and the tribe would govern it. For 20 years, the Navajo Nation and Hopi Tribe would leave 17,050 acre-feet a year in Lake Powell and be paid for it. The pipeline would have to be substantially done by December 31, 2040. The whole law would be repealed if the Interior Secretary cannot certify the conditions by June 30, 2035.
Congressional Summary
Northeastern Arizona Indian Water Rights Settlement Act of 2025 This 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
- Senate
- Status
- summarized
- Action
- Introduced in Senate
- Action Date
- 2025-03-11
- Date Added
- 2026-05-07
- Source
- Congress.gov →
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