Aamodt Litigation Settlement Act
Latest action · Jan 20, 2010 Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 255.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedMay 20, 2009
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Aamodt Litigation Settlement Act - Title I: Pojoaque Basin Regional Water System - (Sec. 101) Directs the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Commissioner of Reclamation, to plan, design, and construct a regional water system, in accordance with the settlement agreement dated January 19, 2006, among New Mexico, the Pueblos of Nambe, Pojoaque, San Ildefonso, and Tesuque, the city of Santa Fe, and Santa Fe County: (1) to divert water to the Pueblos and to the County Water Utility, in accordance with the Pojoaque Regional Water System Engineering Report, dated September 2008; and (2) that consists of surface water diversion facilities at San Ildefonso Pueblo on the Rio Grande and any treatment, transmission, storage and distribution facilities and wellfields for the County Distribution System (the portion of the regional water system that serves water customers on non-Pueblo land in the Pojoaque Basin) and Pueblo Water Facilities that are necessary to supply 4,000 acre-feet of water within the Pojoaque Basin.
Authorizes New Mexico and Santa Fe County, in agreement with the Pueblos, the city of Santa Fe, and other signatories to the Cost-Sharing and System Integration Agreement (that describes the location, capacity, and management of the regional water system and allocates system costs), to modify the extent, size, and capacity of the County Distribution System.
(Sec. 102) Sets deadlines for: (1) the Pueblos and the County to submit to the Secretary an executed operating agreement for the regional water system; and (2) the Secretary to approve such agreement.
(Sec. 103) Directs the Secretary, for the purpose of providing a reliable supply of water from the system for the Pueblos in accordance with the settlement agreement, to: (1) acquire rights to specified Nambe reserved water and water acquired by the County; (2) make a specified amount of water available to the Pueblos in accordance with the San Juan-Chama Project Act; and (3) seek approval to divert such water for the system at points consistent with the agreement.
(Sec. 104) States that the regional water system shall have the capacity to divert from the Rio Grande a quantity of water sufficient to provide: (1) up to 4,000 acre-feet of consumptive use of water; and (2) the requisite peaking capacity described in the engineering report and the final project design.
(Sec. 105) Establishes in the Treasury the Aamodt Settlement Pueblos' Fund.
(Sec. 106) Directs the Secretary to comply with each federal law relating to environmental protection.
(Sec. 107) Authorizes appropriations for FY2010-FY2022 to: (1) the Secretary for the planning, design, and construction of the regional water system and the conduct of environmental compliance activities; and (2) the Fund.
Title II: Pojoaque Basin Indian Water Rights Settlement - (Sec. 201) Authorizes, ratifies, and confirms the settlement agreement and the Cost-Sharing and System Integration Agreement.
(Sec. 202) Declares that the settlement agreement shall not constitute a major federal action under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. Directs the Secretary to comply with each federal law relating to environmental protection.
(Sec. 203) Requires the Secretary to publish by September 15, 2017, a statement of finding that specified conditions have been fulfilled, including the following: (1) to the extent that the settlement agreement conflicts with this title, it has been revised to conform with this title; (2) the revised agreement has been executed by the appropriate parties and the Secretary; (3) Congress has fully appropriated, or the Secretary has provided from other authorized sources, all funds authorized in title I, with an exception, by December 15, 2016; (4) the Secretary has acquired and entered into appropriate contracts for the water rights described in that title; (5) permits have been issued by the New Mexico State Engineer to the Regional Water Authority to change the points of diversion to the mainstem of the Rio Grande for the diversion and consumptive use of at least 2,381 acre-feet by the Pueblos as part of the water supply for the regional water system, subject to specified conditions; (6) the state of New Mexico has enacted any necessary legislation and provided any funding that may be required under the settlement agreement; (7) a partial final decree that sets forth the water rights and other rights to water to which the Pueblos are entitled under the agreement and this title and that substantially conforms to the agreement has been approved by the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico; and (8) a final decree that sets forth the water rights for all parties to the Aamodt Case and that substantially conforms to the agreement has been approved by that Court by June 15, 2017.
Sets forth criteria for substantial completion of the regional water system. Requires the Secretary, at the request of one or more of the Pueblos, on or after June 30, 2021, to: (1) consult with the Pueblos and confer with Santa Fe County and New Mexico on whether the criteria for substantial completion of the system will be met by June 30, 2024; and (2) determine whether the system has been substantially completed and submit a written notice of such determination to the Pueblos, the County, and the state. Provides that such determination shall be considered to be a final agency action subject to judicial review by the Decree Court.
Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) the failure to make a timely determination; (2) the right to void a final decree; and (3) the voiding of waivers.
(Sec. 204) Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) waivers and releases of claims by the Pueblos and the United States; and (2) tolling of claims between the date of enactment of this Act and June 30, 2021.
Cosponsors 1
Members who signed on, in the order they did. All signed on May 20, 2009.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-NM | Tom Udall | Original | May 20, 2009 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| Senate | Indian Affairs Committee | Referred May 20, 2009Markup Sep 10, 2009Reported Jan 20, 2010 |
Actions 6
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Jan 20, 2010Committee on Indian Affairs. Reported by Senator Dorgan with amendments. With written report No. 111-115. Additional views filed.
- Jan 20, 2010Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 255.
- Sep 10, 2009Committee on Indian Affairs. Ordered to be reported with an amendment favorably.
- May 20, 2009Introduced in Senate
- May 20, 2009Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S5717)
In the Congressional Record 1
Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.
| Where | In the Record | Members | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senate | Debate and remarks S5717–S5723Text printed S5717–S5723 | Jeff Bingaman D-NM (text), Tom Udall D-NM | May 20, 2009 |
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Committee report
Congressional Budget Office cost estimates 2
- Oct 13, 2009S. 1105, Aamodt Litigation Settlement Act<p>Cost estimate for the bill as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs on September 10, 2009</p>
- Oct 13, 2009S. 1105, Aamodt Litigation Settlement ActCost estimate for the bill as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs on September 10, 2009
Printed hearings 2
Hearings whose printed record names this bill, newest first: hearings on it, and wider hearings where it came up.
| Number | Hearing | Committee | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serial No. 111-32 | H.R. 3017, EMPLOYMENT NON-DISCRIMINATION ACT OF 2009101 pages | Education and Workforce Committee | Sep 23, 2009 |
| Serial No. 111-34 | H.R. 3254, TAOS PUEBLO INDIAN WATER RIGHTS SETTLEMENT ACT OF 2009; AND H.R. 3342, AAMODT LITIGATION SETTLEMENT ACT OF 2009.82 pages | Natural Resources Committee | Sep 9, 2009 |
Related bills 2
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR 3342 | Aamodt Litigation Settlement Act | Identical bill | Feb 1, 2010 |
| HR 4783 | Claims Resolution Act of 2010 | Related bill | Dec 8, 2010 |
Titles 3
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- A bill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Commissioner of Reclamation, to develop water infrastructure in the Rio Grande Basin, and to approve the settlement of the water rights claims of the Pueblos of Nambe, Pojoaque, San Ildefonso, and Tesuque.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Aamodt Litigation Settlement Act
- Short Titles as Reported to Senate
- Aamodt Litigation Settlement Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Native Americans.
Text 2
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Jan 20, 2010Reported to Senate
- May 20, 2009Introduced in Senate
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
