Northeastern Arizona Indian Water Rights Settlement Act of 2025
Latest action · Mar 11, 2026 Committee on Indian Affairs. Hearings held.
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.
- IntroducedMar 11, 2025
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
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.
Cosponsors 1
Members who signed on, in the order they did. All signed on Mar 11, 2025.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-AZ | Ruben Gallego | Original | Mar 11, 2025 |
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 Mar 11, 2025Hearings Mar 11, 2026 |
Actions 3
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Mar 11, 2026Committee on Indian Affairs. Hearings held.
- Mar 11, 2025Introduced in Senate
- Mar 11, 2025Read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs.
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.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| R45546 | Management of the Colorado River: Water Allocations, Drought, and the Federal Role | Report | Oct 1, 2026 |
| R44148 | Indian Water Rights Settlements | Report | Jun 17, 2025 |
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR 2025 | Northeastern Arizona Indian Water Rights Settlement Act of 2025 | Identical bill | Mar 11, 2025 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- A bill to provide for the settlement of the water rights claims of the Navajo Nation, the Hopi Tribe, and the San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe, and for other purposes.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- Northeastern Arizona Indian Water Rights Settlement Act of 2025
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Native Americans.
- Advisory bodies
- Arizona
- Community life and organization
- Dams and canals
- Federal-Indian relations
- Geography and mapping
- Government information and archives
- Government studies and investigations
- Government trust funds
- Indian claims
- Indian lands and resources rights
- Indian social and development programs
- Interest, dividends, interest rates
- Lakes and rivers
- Licensing and registrations
- Native Americans
- New Mexico
- Utah
- Water resources funding
- Water storage
- Water use and supply
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Mar 11, 2025Introduced 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.
