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Aamodt Litigation Settlement Act

Pueblo of Nambe, New Mexico, Pueblo of Pojoaque, New Mexico, Pueblo of San Ildefonso, New Mexico, Pueblo of Tesuque, New Mexico · NM · enacted 2010 Enacted

Tribe(s)

Pueblo of Nambe, New Mexico, Pueblo of Pojoaque, New Mexico, Pueblo of San Ildefonso, New Mexico, Pueblo of Tesuque, New Mexico

State(s)

Enacted

2010

Public law

P.L. 111-291, Title VI

Funds authorized

$311.3M

CRS R44148 Table 1, 'Authorized Federal Cost (nominal, $ in millions)': $311.3 million

Water quantified

6,467 AF/yr

CRS R44148 Table 1, 'Total Acre-Feet Awarded per Year': 6,467 AF/yr

River basin / system

Rio Grande (Pojoaque Basin; Regional Water System diverts from the Rio Grande) (New Mexico)

src: usbr.gov

Adjudication record (NM Office of the State Engineer)

Case caption (as printed)

State of New Mexico ex rel. State Engineer, et al. v. R. Lee Aamodt, et al.

Court

United States District Court

Case number (as printed)

66cv06639

Status as described by OSE

Santa Fe County page: 'The final judgment and decree was filed by the Court on July 14, 2017. The final decree incorporates the Pueblos' partial final decree and other pertinent orders of the Court for the purpose of identifying, quantifying, and fully describing all water rights within the Pojoaque Basin Stream System.' County further describes the Pojoaque Basin Regional Water System as 'a large infrastructure project currently underway in Northern New Mexico', delivering 'up to 2,500 acre-feet of water annually with capacity for expansion', Bureau of Reclamation lead, 'Construction is planned in three phases, with a projected completion of Phase 2 in 2029'. The OSE settlement page's narrative stops at the December 2013 order-to-show-cause stage while linking the 2016 partial final decree and 2017 final judgment PDFs.

Key dates

Case filed (described by Santa Fe County as 'the oldest federal court case in the United States'): 1966 source
Initial Settlement Agreement signed: February 2006 source
Aamodt Litigation Settlement Act passed: December 8, 2010 source
Final Settlement Agreement signed by all parties including the United States: March 2013 source
Court commenced expedited inter se proceeding / entered Order to Show Cause: December 2013 source
Order to Show Cause published and served by mail on almost 6,000 persons: January 2014 source
Final judgment and decree filed by the Court: July 14, 2017 source
Water Master Rule issued: September 2017 source
Pojoaque Basin Regional Water System, projected completion of Phase 2: 2029 source

Primary documents

Partial Final Judgment and Decree of the Water Rights of the Pueblos of Nambe, Pojoaque, San Ildefonso and Tesuque (ose.nm.gov)
Final Judgment and Order of the Water Rights of the Nambe, Pojoaque and Tesuque Stream System (ose.nm.gov)
Addendum to Final Judgment and Decree of Water Rights in The Nambe-Pojoaque-Tesuque Stream System Non-Pueblo Surface Water and Groundwater Rights (ose.nm.gov)
Aamodt Litigation Settlement Act (ose.nm.gov)
Aamodt Settlement Agreement (ose.nm.gov)
Aamodt Cost Sharing and System Integration Agreement (ose.nm.gov)
Order to Show Cause and Notice of Proceeding to Approve Settlement (ose.nm.gov)
Final Aamodt Settlement Agreement with Signatures (PDF) April 2012 [Santa Fe County link label] (santafecountynm.gov)

Status as of 2026-09-01 (site compilation date). Settlement implementation and related litigation continue after enactment; verify against the official record before relying on any statement here.

Sources

DOI Secretary's Indian Water Rights Office — Enacted Indian Water Rights Settlements (doi.gov, retrieved 2026-09-01)
CRS Report R44148, Indian Water Rights Settlements, updated June 17, 2025, Table 1 (congress.gov, retrieved 2026-09-01)