Tribal Water Settlements IndexPublic records · cited to source
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Settlements pending in Congress

Indian water rights settlements introduced but not yet enacted, from public bill records and the Native American Rights Fund's settlement tracking. Bill status changes with every congressional action. Treat this as a snapshot compiled 2026-09-01, and follow the bill link for current status.

SettlementStateBillStatus when compiled
Tule River Tribe Reserved Water Rights Settlement Act of 2025Tule River Tribe CA S. 689119th Congress Introduced and referred to committee, not yet advanced (NARF, July 21, 2025). CRS: would resolve claims for up to 5,828 AFY and establish a $568 million mandatory trust fund. NARF also cites a companion 'H.R.8920'; that number was reported by NARF's page and could not be confirmed as a 119th Congress bill as of the 2026-09-01 review — treat with caution. Pending
Northeastern Arizona Indian Water Rights Settlement Act of 2025Navajo Nation · Hopi Tribe · San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe AZ H.R. 2025 / S. 953119th Congress Introduced and referred to committee, not yet advanced (NARF, July 21, 2025). CRS: would authorize total federal contributions of $5.136 billion — the largest Indian water rights settlement to date in nominal dollar terms. Pending
New Mexico Pueblo Settlements (Rio San Jose and Rio Jemez Stream Systems)Pueblo of Acoma · Pueblo of Laguna · Pueblo of Jemez · Pueblo of Zia NM H.R. 1322 / S. 562119th Congress Companion bills; would establish mandatory trust funds: Acoma $311.75M, Laguna $493.25M (Title I), Jemez $290M, Zia $200M (Title II) (CRS R44148). Pending
Northern Montana Water Security Act (Fort Belknap Indian Community Settlement)Fort Belknap Indian Community of the Fort Belknap Reservation of Montana (Gros Ventre and Assiniboine Tribes) MT H.R. 907 / S. 241119th Congress Would confirm 446,000 AFY surface water plus groundwater and 20,000 AFY Tiber Reservoir storage; total authorization $1.343 billion, of which approximately $907M discretionary and $436M mandatory (CRS R44148). Pending
Ohkay Owingeh Settlement (Rio Chama Stream System)Ohkay Owingeh NM H.R. 1323 / S. 563119th Congress Would establish a $745 million mandatory trust fund; New Mexico cost share $131 million (CRS R44148). Pending
Zuni Tribe Settlement (Zuni River Basin, New Mexico)Zuni Tribe of the Zuni Reservation, New Mexico NM S. 564 / H.R. 1444119th Congress Would confirm the May 1, 2023 settlement agreement with New Mexico; trust accounts of $655.5M (settlement) and $29.5M (OM&R) (CRS R44148). Distinct from the enacted 2003 Little Colorado River Basin settlement (P.L. 108-34). Pending
Technical Corrections to the Northwestern New Mexico Rural Water Projects Act, Taos Pueblo Indian Water Rights Settlement Act, and Aamodt Litigation Settlement ActNavajo Nation · Pueblo of Taos · Aamodt settlement Pueblos (Nambe, Pojoaque, San Ildefonso, Tesuque) NM S. 640119th Congress Amendment to three enacted settlements, not a new settlement; would authorize a cumulative $18.465 million in additional funds for previously uncredited interest (CRS R44148). Pending
Crow Tribe Water Rights Settlement Amendments Act of 2025Crow Tribe of Montana MT H.R. 726 / S. 240119th Congress Amendment to the enacted 2010 Crow settlement (P.L. 111-291); would make the settlement fund-based instead of project-based (CRS R44148). Pending
Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project Amendments Act of 2025Navajo Nation · Jicarilla Apache Nation NM H.R. 1482 / S. 637119th Congress Amendment to the enacted 2009 settlement (P.L. 111-11); would raise the project's authorized cost ceiling from $870 million plus indexing to $2.175 billion, among other changes (CRS R44148). Pending

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