Protecting Indian Water Settlements Act

Summary#

This bill adds two new subaccounts to the Indian Water Rights Settlement Completion Fund (part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act).

The first subaccount is called the Operations, Maintenance, Repair, and Ongoing Obligations Subaccount. Starting on the later of October 1, 2026 or the date this change becomes law, and each October 1 through October 1, 2035, the Treasury must deposit $45,000,000 into that subaccount. Money in this subaccount is available to the Secretary of the Interior without further appropriation and must be used to pay for water delivery, operations, maintenance, repair, and related obligations for specific Indian water rights settlements listed in the bill. The bill lists five named settlements or statutes (including Ak-Chin, Animas‑La Plata/Colorado Ute, a Northwestern New Mexico provision, the Snake River Water Rights Act flow component, and the Hualapai settlement and its trust account).

The second subaccount is called the New and Continuing Settlements Subaccount. From the later of October 1, 2026 or the date of enactment, and each October 1 through October 1, 2035, the Treasury must deposit $250,000,000 into that subaccount. Those amounts are available to the Secretary of the Interior without further appropriation. The Secretary may transfer funds from this subaccount to accounts (including tribal trust funds established by Congress) or otherwise use the money to satisfy obligations of the United States under any Indian water rights settlement that has been approved and authorized by an Act of Congress. The Secretary may determine the amounts, timing, sequence, and appropriate indexing of transfers to substantially complete eligible settlements.

The bill also makes a conforming amendment to the White Mountain Apache Tribe Water Rights Quantification Act of 2010 to change a prohibition so that certain amounts are not made available from the Reclamation Water Settlements Fund.

What it means for you#

• The bill creates dedicated, recurring Treasury deposits to help pay for operation and completion costs of Indian water rights settlements named in the bill and other settlements approved by Congress.
• The Secretary of the Interior can transfer these funds to tribal trust accounts or other accounts authorized to receive discretionary appropriations without needing additional yearly appropriations.
• The Secretary has discretion over which settlements are funded first and how transfers are timed and indexed.

Expenses#

• Operations, Maintenance, Repair, and Ongoing Obligations Subaccount: $45,000,000 deposited each year on October 1 from 2026 through 2035.
• New and Continuing Settlements Subaccount: $250,000,000 deposited each year on October 1 from 2026 through 2035.
• The deposits are to come from Treasury funds not otherwise appropriated. The bill makes deposited amounts available to the Secretary of the Interior without further appropriation or fiscal year limitation.
• No other cost details or budgetary estimates are included in the bill text provided.

Proponents' View#

No publicly available information.

Opponents' View#

No publicly available information.