Northeastern Arizona Indian Water Rights Settlement Act of 2025
Key claim: The bill would settle Arizona water-rights claims of the Navajo Nation, Hopi Tribe, and San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe, fund a Bureau of Reclamation water-delivery pipeline and three tribal settlement trust funds, and establish an approximately 5,400-acre reservation for the San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe.
Abstract
(HR2025 · 119th Congress) Northeastern Arizona Indian Water Rights Settlement Act of 2025 This bill recognizes and settles certain water rights claims in Arizona of the Navajo Nation, the Hopi Tribe, and the San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe. It also provides funding for a water pipeline and three settlement trust funds. Specifically, the bill authorizes, ratifies, and confirms a specified water rights settlement agreement entered into by the tribes, the United States, Arizona, and others, thus satisfying claims to water rights in Arizona (including with respect to the Little Colorado River and the Colorado River). Additionally, the bill outlines the water rights of the tribes. For example, the bill allocates and assigns Colorado River water from Arizona’s share to the Navajo Nation and the Hopi Tribe. The bill establishes and provides funding for an implementation fund account for the Bureau of Reclamation to plan, design, and construct a pipeline to deliver water to the tribes. Further, the bill establishes and provides funding for the Navajo Nation Water Settlement Trust Fund, the Hopi Tribe Water Settlement Trust Fund, and the San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe Water Settlement Trust Fund. The bill also establishes a reservation consisting of approximately 5,400 acres of land in Arizona and Utah for the San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe by ratifying and confirming the treaty entered into by the Navajo Nation and the San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe. The bill outlines waivers, releases, and retention of claims by the tribes and the United States under the settlement agreement. Latest action (2025-03-11): Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.
Why this matters
Indian water-rights settlements couple land use (reservation boundaries, rights-of-way) with federal water infrastructure financing, shaping housing and development capacity on and adjacent to tribal lands. Establishing a formal 5,400-acre reservation for the San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe—which currently lacks its own land base—would materially change tribal land tenure in northeastern Arizona, while the pipeline and trust funds affect long-term water availability for tribal homebuilders and residents.