WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall today announced the Senate has approved legislation to settle the water rights claims of Taos Pueblo and the claims of the Pueblos of Nambe, Pojoaque, San Ildefonso and Tesuque – claims that have been in the courts for more than four decades. The bill also provides funding to implement the settlements, and includes $180 million to implement the Navajo settlement that Congress enacted last year.

The legislation approved today – which must pass the House of Representatives before being sent to the president -- resolves disputes over two of the longest-standing water rights cases in New Mexico. The Taos Pueblo Indian Water Rights Settlement Act, which settles the Abeyta case, approves an agreement signed in 2006 by officials from Taos Pueblo, the State of New Mexico and other interested water rights owners in the Taos area. The measure quantifies Taos Pueblo's water rights and also protects the interests of local acequias, the Town of Taos, and other water users.

The Aamodt Litigation Settlement Act approves the 2006 agreement entered into between the Pueblos, the State, Santa Fe County, and non-Indian water rights owners in the Pojoaque Valley. The legislation resolves the water rights claims of the Pueblos in the Rio Pojoaque stream system and authorizes the construction of a regional water system in Santa Fe County that will benefit Pueblo and non-Pueblo residents.

In addition to codifying the Aamodt and Taos settlements, the bill includes $147.8 million to begin implementing them now and authorizes an additional $150.5 million to fully implement them in the years to come.

"With the strong backing of the Obama administration, we are able to finally bring these long-standing water claims to a positive conclusion. Under these settlements, thousands of New Mexicans will have the certainty about their water rights – a goal that is 40 years in the making," Bingaman said.

"Decades of work and negotiation have gone into the passage of this agreement to resolve the water rights claims of five tribes along New Mexico's Rio Grande," said Udall.  "In an arid state like ours the importance of water rights cannot be overstated and this resolution is mutually beneficial to all water users in the Pojoaque and Taos valleys."

The measure includes $66 million to purchase water rights and construct a number of projects to help improve water use efficiency, groundwater management, and water quality in the Taos Valley. The Pueblo will use its funding to assist with management of its water resources as specified in the settlement. The measure authorizes an additional $58 million in future spending, subject to the appropriations process to fully implement the settlement. The State of New Mexico is expected to contribute approximately $20 million to the effort.

Separately, the bill contains $81.8 million toward the implementation of the Aamodt settlement; it will be used to construct of a water system in the Pojaoque Valley that will serve Pueblo and non-Pueblo residents. An additional $92.5 million has been authorized for the project, also subject to the appropriations process. The State of New Mexico and County of Santa Fe will contribute approximately $117 million toward the cost of the water system and settlement implementation.

Finally, the bill sets aside $180 million to implement a third water settlement approved by Congress last year and construct the Navajo-Gallup pipeline.

"One of the most important aspects of this legislation is that it contains funding to implement the settlements of three of the longest-standing water rights cases in our state's history. I applaud all of the parties who have worked so hard and for so long on these settlements," Bingaman said.

"What also makes this passage so significant is that it puts in place the funding necessary to finally close the book on these agreements," Udall continued. "It's a major accomplishment that could not have been reached without the support of the President and the tribes, city, county, and community groups involved. I look forward to the House's passage of this landmark legislation for these tribes."

The legislation was included in a package of bills that also settled Native American water rights claims in Montana and Arizona and resolved the United States' outstanding liability obligations to tribal members across the nation in the Cobell litigation and for farmers in the Pigford litigation.