WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall today said legislation to settle the water rights claims of Taos Pueblo and the claims of the Pueblos of Nambe, Pojoaque, San Ildefonso and Tesuque has cleared its final legislative hurdle. The measure will now be sent to the president for signature.
The bill not only codifies the settlements, it also provides funding to implement them -- including $180 million to implement the Navajo settlement that Congress enacted last year.
The legislation, which was approved in the House of Representatives today and in the Senate earlier this month, settles two of the longest-standing water rights cases in New Mexico.
The bill contains the Taos Pueblo Indian Water Rights Settlement Act, which settles the Abeyta case. That measure codifies 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. It quantifies Taos Pueblo’s water rights and also protects the interests of local acequias, the Town of Taos, and other water users.
The bill also contains the Aamodt Litigation Settlement Act, which codifies 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.
“These water claims were in the courts for more than four decades, but in the end settlements were negotiated by the parties in a way that provides mutually beneficial outcomes. The passage of this bill not only ratifies these settlements, but sets aside the funding to implement them,” Bingaman said. “As an added benefit, this bill helps advance the Navajo-Gallup water settlement. I believe this is an extremely important – and very positive – piece of legislation for our state.”
“My sincere congratulations to all of the parties who poured a tremendous amount of time and effort into making these landmark settlements law,” said Udall. “The importance of water rights in an arid state like ours cannot be overstated and I am pleased that both chambers of Congress and the President have recognized their importance for the people in our state.”
Specifically, 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.
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.
