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Taos Pueblo Indian Water Rights Settlement Act

Pueblo of Taos, New Mexico · NM · enacted 2010 Enacted

Tribe(s)

Pueblo of Taos, New Mexico

State(s)

Enacted

2010

Public law

P.L. 111-291, Title V

Funds authorized

$124.0M

CRS R44148 Table 1, 'Authorized Federal Cost (nominal, $ in millions)': $124 million

Water quantified

9,628 AF/yr

CRS R44148 Table 1, 'Total Acre-Feet Awarded per Year': 9,628 AF/yr

River basin / system

Rio Grande system (Rio Pueblo de Taos and Rio Hondo stream systems) (New Mexico)

src: ose.nm.gov

Adjudication record (NM Office of the State Engineer)

Case caption (as printed)

State of New Mexico ex rel. State Engineer, et al., v. Eduardo Abeyta, et al., and Celso Arellano, et al.

Court

United States District Court

Case number (as printed)

69cv07896 and 69cv07939 (consolidated)

Status as described by OSE

'The Court is conducting an expedited inter se proceeding to determine whether to enter the proposed Partial Final Judgment and Decree adjudicating the Pueblo's water rights according to the terms of the Settlement Agreement. Notice is being provided to all water rights claimants in the Rio Hondo and Rio Pueblo de Taos stream systems of their opportunity to review the settlement and the proposed decree, and to file objections, if any, with the court.' NOTE: this OSE narrative references a March 31, 2017 statutory deadline in the present tense; the page text appears to predate that deadline and the page carries no update date. No decree entry is stated on the fetched OSE pages.

Key dates

Multi-party negotiations begun: 1989 source
Initial Settlement Agreement signed: May 2006 source
Taos Settlement Act passed: December 8, 2010 source
Final Settlement Agreement signed by all parties including the United States: January 2013 source
Deadline set by the Taos Settlement Act for the court to enter the Partial Final Judgment and Decree: March 31, 2017 source

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)