HR 4924 · 113th Congress 2013–2015, ended

Bill Williams River Water Rights Settlement Act of 2014

Introduced Jun 20, 2014 Originated House Became Public Law 113-223 Sponsor Paul A. Gosar R-AZ

Latest action · Dec 16, 2014 Became Public Law No: 113-223.

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.

IntroducedJun 20, 2014
Passed HouseDec 1, 2014
Passed SenateDec 2, 2014
To the PresidentDec 8, 2014
Became lawDec 16, 2014Public Law 113-223

Summary

(This measure has not been amended since it passed the House on December 1, 2014. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

Bill Williams River Water Rights Settlement Act of 2014 - (Sec. 4) Authorizes, ratifies, and confirms: (1) the Big Sandy River-Planet Ranch Water Rights Settlement Agreement (Big Sandy River-Planet Ranch Agreement) entered into by the Hualapai Tribe (Tribe), its members and allottees, the United States as trustee for the Tribe, the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary), the Arizona Department of Water Resources, the Freeport Minerals Corporation (Corporation), and the Arizona Game and Fish Commission; and (2) any amendment to that Agreement that is executed to make it consistent with this Act.

Directs the Secretary of the Interior to execute the Big Sandy River-Planet Ranch Agreement and any amendment to that Agreement that is necessary to make it consistent with this Act.

Requires the Secretary to also execute a conditional withdrawal of the Department of the Interior's objections to specified applications by the Corporation to sever and transfer certain water rights from: (1) Lincoln Ranch and Planet Ranch to the Wikieop Wellfield for use at the Bagdad Mine Complex and Bagdad Townsite, and (2) portions of Planet Ranch to new locations within that Ranch.

(Sec. 5) Authorizes, ratifies, and confirms: (1) the Hualapai Tribe Bill Williams River Water Rights Settlement Agreement (Hualapai Tribe Agreement) entered into by the Tribe, its members and allottees, the United States as trustee for the Tribe, and the Corporation; and (2) any amendment to that Agreement that is executed to make it consistent with this Act.

Directs the Secretary to execute the Hualapai Tribe Agreement and any amendment to that Agreement that is necessary to make it consistent with this Act.

Authorizes the Corporation's contribution to the economic development fund of the Tribe, as provided for in the Hualapai Tribe Agreement, to be used by the Tribe for the limited purpose of facilitating settlement of the Tribe's claims for Colorado River water rights by enabling the Tribe to: (1) acquire Colorado River water rights to increase the security of the Tribe's water rights, and (2) otherwise facilitate the use of water on the Hualapai Reservation.

Requires the Tribe to use those acquired water rights only: (1) to irrigate acquired appurtenant land or for storage in accordance with federal and state law in a permitted recharge facility in Arizona, subject to specified conditions. Terminates these use limitations on the earlier of: (1) the date the Hualapai Tribe Agreement becomes enforceable, or (2) December 31, 2039.

Provides that if the Hualapai Tribe Agreement does not become enforceable by December 31, 2039, any Colorado River water rights acquired by the Tribe with the Corporation's contribution to its economic development fund is to be counted toward the Tribe's clams for Colorado River water rights in any subsequent settlement or adjudication of those claims.

(Sec. 6) Provides for the waiver, release, and retention of specified water rights claims under both Agreements.

Authorizes the waiver and release of specified claims by the United States and the Tribe against the Corporation, pursuant to the Big Sandy River-Planet Ranch Agreement, for:

Indian allottees' water rights in excess of 82 acre-feet per year on a specified Parcel;
Indian allottees' water rights in excess of 312 acre-feet per year on a specified Parcel 2;
tribal water rights in excess of 300 acre-feet per year on a specified Parcel 3; and
injuries to federal or Indian water rights resulting from the diversion of water by the Corporation from the Wikieup Wellfield or the Freeport Groundwater Wells, provided such a diversion occurring after the enforceability date of the Big Sandy River-Planet Ranch and Hualapai Tribe Agreements does not violate those Agreements.

Authorizes the Tribe and the United States as trustee for the Tribe to waive and release their claims against the Corporation, pursuant to the Hualapai Tribe Agreement, for past, present, and future injuries to water rights resulting from the Corporation's diversion of water from the Bill Williams River watershed, provided such a diversion occurring after the enforceability date of the Big Sandy River-Planet Ranch and Hualapai Tribe Agreements does not violate those Agreements.

Authorizes the Tribe, in consideration of the benefits provided to it under both Agreements, to waive and release its claims against the United States for:

all past, present, and future Parcel 3 water rights in excess of 300 acre-feet per year that the United States asserted or could have asserted against any party to either Agreement;
all past, present, and future water rights associated with Parcel 3 arising from the withdrawal of a protest against the Corporation's application to sever and transfer certain water rights referenced in the Big Sandy River-Planet Ranch Agreement; and
injuries to water rights arising after the enforceability date associated with Parcel 3 resulting from the Corporation's diversion of water from the Bill Williams River watershed in a manner that does not violate the Hualapai Tribe Agreement.

(Sec. 7) Amends the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 to allow any party to the Big Sandy River-Planet Ranch Agreement to commence a civil action relating only and directly to the interpretation or enforcement of: (1) the Bill Williams River water rights Settlement Act of 2014, or (2) the Big Sandy River-Planet Ranch Agreement. Requires those actions to be brought in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona or in a state court where a pending action has been brought to adjudicate the water rights associated with the Bill Williams River system and source.

Waives the sovereign immunity of the Tribe and the United States acting as trustee for the Tribe, but only for the purpose of interpreting or enforcing the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009, the Big Sandy River-Planet Ranch Agreement, or the Hualapai Tribe Agreement.

(Sec. 8) Requires the Secretary to comply with all applicable federal environmental laws in implementing the Big Sandy River-Planet Ranch Agreement, the Hualapai Tribe Agreement, and this Act.

Provides that the Secretary's execution of those Agreements shall not constitute a major federal action for purposes of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969.

(Sec. 9) Sets the enforceability date for such Agreements as the date the Secretary publishes specified findings in the Federal Register that certain actions have been taken in compliance with the terms of such Agreements and this Act.

Provides for the repeal of this Act if the Secretary does not publish such findings by: (1) December 31, 2015; or (2) 14 days after a later date agreed to by the Tribe, the Secretary, and the Corporation, after providing reasonable notice to Arizona.

Cosponsors 8

Members who signed on, in the order they did. All signed on Jun 20, 2014.

Seat	Cosponsor		Signed on
D-AZ	Ann Kirkpatrick	Original	Jun 20, 2014
R-AZ	David Schweikert	Original	Jun 20, 2014
D-AZ	Ed Pastor	Original	Jun 20, 2014
I-AZ	Kyrsten Sinema	Original	Jun 20, 2014
R-AZ	Matt Salmon	Original	Jun 20, 2014
D-AZ	Raúl M. Grijalva	Original	Jun 20, 2014
D-AZ	Ron Barber	Original	Jun 20, 2014
R-AZ	Trent Franks	Original	Jun 20, 2014

Committees 1

Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.

Chamber	Committee	What it did
House	Natural Resources Committee	Referred Jun 20, 2014Markup Nov 19, 2014Reported Dec 1, 2014
	Water, Wildlife and Fisheries Subcommittee	Referred Jun 26, 2014Hearings Sep 19, 2014Discharged Nov 19, 2014

Actions 19

Everything that happened, newest first.

Dec 16, 2014Signed by President.
Dec 16, 2014Became Public Law No: 113-223.
Dec 8, 2014Presented to President.
Dec 3, 2014Message on Senate action sent to the House.
Dec 2, 2014Passed/agreed to in Senate: Received in the Senate, read twice, considered, read the third time, and passed without amendment by Unanimous Consent. (consideration: CR S6272)
Dec 1, 2014Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Natural Resources. H. Rept. 113-638.
Dec 1, 2014Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 478.
Dec 1, 2014Mr. Hastings (WA) moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
Dec 1, 2014Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H8181-8186)
Dec 1, 2014DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 4924.
Dec 1, 2014Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H8181-8185)
Dec 1, 2014Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
Nov 19, 2014Subcommittee on Water and Power Discharged.
Nov 19, 2014Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
Nov 19, 2014Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by Unanimous Consent.
Sep 19, 2014Subcommittee Hearings Held.
Jun 26, 2014Referred to the Subcommittee on Water and Power.
Jun 20, 2014Introduced in House
Jun 20, 2014Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.

In the Congressional Record 2

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 S6272	Harry Reid D-NV	Dec 2, 2014
House	Debate and remarks H8181–H8186Text printed H8181–H8185	Alan S. Lowenthal D-CA, Doc Hastings R-WA, Paul A. Gosar R-AZ	Dec 1, 2014

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

H. Rept. 113-638

Congressional Budget Office cost estimate

Dec 5, 2014H.R. 4924, Bill Williams River Water Rights Settlement Act of 2014As passed by the House of Representatives on December 1, 2014

Constitutional authority

Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant to the following: This legislation is constitutionally appropriate pursuant to Article I, Section 8, Clause 3 (the Commerce Clause) which grants Congress the power to regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among several states and with the Indian Tribes; Article II, Section 2, Clause 2 (the Treaty Clause) which gives the President the Power to make Treaties; Article IV, Section 3, Clause 2 (the Property Clause) which gives Congress the Power to make all Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United States. The Supreme Court, in Winters v. United States (1901), reasoned that an Indian Tribe's water rights are established when the reservation is created, regardless of whether the Tribe actually uses the water on that reservation at that time. The Act settles water right claims of the Hualapai Tribe and is thus constitutionally permissible.

The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the page H5598.

Printed hearings 1

Hearings whose printed record names this bill, newest first: hearings on it, and wider hearings where it came up.

Number	Hearing	Committee	Held
S. Hrg. 113-419	S. 2442, S. 2465, S. 2479, S. 2480, AND S. 250399 pages	Indian Affairs Committee	Jul 9, 2014

CRS reports 2

Congressional Research Service work that CRS links to this bill or the law it became, newest first.

Cite it 2

Products on other subjects that cite it, usually among other measures.

Product	Title	Kind	Published
R44148	Indian Water Rights Settlements	Report	Jun 17, 2025
R42985	Issues in Homeland Security Policy for the 113th Congress Archived	Report	Sep 23, 2013

Related bills 1

Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.

Bill	Title	Relationship	Latest action
S 2503	Bill Williams River Water Rights Settlement Act of 2014	Identical bill	Jul 9, 2014

Titles 6

Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.

Official Title as Introduced: To direct the Secretary of the Interior to enter into the Big Sandy River-Planet Ranch Water Rights Settlement Agreement and the Hualapai Tribe Bill Williams River Water Rights Settlement Agreement, to provide for the lease of certain land located within Planet Ranch on the Bill Williams River in the State of Arizona to benefit the Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program, and to provide for the settlement of specific water rights claims in the Bill Williams River watershed in the State of Arizona.
Short Titles as Introduced: Bill Williams River Water Rights Settlement Act of 2014
Short Titles as Reported to House: Bill Williams River Water Rights Settlement Act of 2014
Short Titles as Passed House: Bill Williams River Water Rights Settlement Act of 2014
Short Titles as Passed Senate: Bill Williams River Water Rights Settlement Act of 2014
Short Titles as Enacted: Bill Williams River Water Rights Settlement Act of 2014

Subjects

Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Native Americans.

Text 5

Each version as it was printed, newest first.

Support LegiList

This page is free, carries no paywall, and is built and maintained by one person. If the record here is useful to you, a few dollars keeps it going.

$1 $5 $10

Processed by Stripe in a separate window. LegiList never sees card details.

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.