Pending Legislation

S. 3573, A bill to amend the Aamodt Litigation Settlement Act to modify a provision relating to the extension of certain dates for the completion of the Regional Water System
S. 3617, Yavapai-Apache Nation Water Rights Settlement Act of 2026
S. 4368, Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians Water Rights Settlement Act
S. 4417, Pechanga Band of Indians Water Rights Settlement Technical Amendments Act
S. 4890, Protecting Indian Water Rights Settlements Act of 2026

TESTIMONY OF
SCOTT CAMERON
PRINCIPAL DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR WATER AND SCIENCE
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
BEFORE THE
UNITED STATES SENATE 
COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS

S. 4890, Protecting Indian Water Rights Settlements Act of 2026; S. 3573, A bill to amend the Aamodt Litigation Settlement Act to modify a provision relating to the extension of certain dates for the completion of the Regional Water System; S. 3617, Yavapai-Apache Nation Water Rights Settlement Act of 2026; S. 4368, Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians Water Rights Settlement Act; S. 4417, Pechanga Band of Indians Water Rights Settlement Technical Amendments Act

Good afternoon, Chairman Murkowski, Vice Chairman Schatz, and members of the Committee. My name is Scott Cameron, and I am the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Water and Science at the Department of the Interior (Department). Thank you for the opportunity to testify on S. 4890, Protecting Indian Water Rights Settlements Act of 2026; S. 3573, A bill to amend the Aamodt Litigation Settlement Act to modify a provision relating to the extension of certain dates for the completion of the Regional Water System; S. 3617, Yavapai-Apache Nation Water Rights Settlement Act of 2026; S. 4368, Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians Water Rights Settlement Act; and S. 4417, Pechanga Band of Indians Water Rights Settlement Technical Amendments Act.

S. 4890, Protecting Indian Water Rights Settlements Act of 2026

S. 4890 would create two new subaccounts in the Indian Water Rights Settlement Completion Fund: (1) an “Operations, Maintenance, Repair, and Ongoing Obligations Subaccount,” and (2) a “New and Continuing Settlements Subaccount.” The bill would also authorize and appropriate $45 million in mandatory funding for deposit in the Operations, Maintenance, Repair, and Ongoing Obligations Subaccount on October 1 of each year, beginning on October 1, 2026, through October 1, 2035. These funds would be available to the Secretary to fulfill the Department’s ongoing obligation under specifically identified enacted Indian water rights settlements. S. 4890 would further authorize and appropriate $250 million in mandatory funding for deposit in the New and Continuing Settlements Subaccount on October 1 of each year, beginning on October 1, 2026, through October 1, 2035, to be used by the Secretary to fulfill the Department’s discretionary funding obligations under Indian water rights settlement enacted both before and after enactment of the S. 4890. Finally, subsection 2(b) of S. 4890 would amend the White Mountain Apache Tribe Water Rights Quantification Act of 2010 (WMAT Settlement) to allow the Department to use funds provided pursuant to S. 4890 to satisfy the Department’s outstanding obligations under the WMAT Settlement.

The Department is committed to implementing enacted Indian water rights settlements so long as the funding necessary for such implementation is available. Funding enacted settlements is a priority for the Administration. The Administration has demonstrated this commitment by requesting funding to implement enacted settlements through the annual Budget and appropriations process and by maximizing the use of available funds. We rely on Congress to appropriate the funds necessary to reach enforceability and we look forward to working with the Committee to ensure appropriate funding is included as part of the annual Budget and appropriations process.

S. 3573, A bill to amend the Aamodt Litigation Settlement Act to modify a provision  relating to the extension of certain dates for the completion of the Regional Water System

S. 3573 would amend the Aamodt Litigation Settlement Act, which was also enacted as part of the Claims Resolution Act of 2010, Public Law No. 111-291, and was then subsequently amended by Public Law No. 116-260 in 2020 (collectively, Act). The Act approved a settlement agreement among the Pueblos of Nambé, Tesuque, San Ildefonso, and Pojoaque (collectively, Pueblos), the State of New Mexico, and other local parties and authorized the Secretary of the Interior to sign the agreement consistent with the Act. It also authorized and directed the Bureau of Reclamation to construct the Pojoaque Basin Regional Water System (Regional Water System), as specified in the Act, to serve the Pueblos and non-Indian water users in the Tesuque-Pojoaque Basin in New Mexico. In 2017, it became clear that construction costs for the Regional Water System were going to exceed the appropriated funds authorized by Congress, so pursuant to the Act the parties reached agreement on how to deal with inadequate funding to complete the Regional Water System and that agreement became codified in the 2020 amendments to the Act. While Congress provided additional funding to complete the Regional Water System, the 2020 amendments to the Act also provided that the Regional Water System would be considered substantially completed when either (1) construction of the Regional Water System actually occurs, or (2) Reclamation meets various requirements and makes diligent efforts to complete construction of the Regional Water System by the statutory deadline of June 30, 2028. Recently, the parties have agreed to reassess the phased construction schedule and, if necessary, make changes, which will likely delay substantial completion beyond the existing statutory deadline of June 30, 2028.

The Department supports S. 3573, which would allow the settlement parties to mutually agree to extend the statutory deadline for substantial completion. This will allow the Department to work closely with our Pueblo, State, and County partners to ensure the best use of the remaining Federal funding for construction of the Regional Water System. S. 3573 provides no additional Federal funding and would provide an opportunity to maximize the strategic expenditure of the remaining funding for the Regional Water System.

S. 3617, Yavapai-Apache Nation Water Rights Settlement Act of 2026

S. 3617 would, among other things: ratify a water rights settlement agreement among the Yavapai-Apache Nation (Nation), the State of Arizona, and other parties; authorize the Secretary to execute the agreement as amended to conform with S. 3617; authorize and direct the Secretary and the Nation to execute certain waivers of claims in favor of the United States and other settlement parties; quantify the Nation’s water rights in Arizona; appropriate $1,039,549,000 in mandatory funding for implementation of the settlement; direct the Secretary to plan, design, and construct the Cragin-Verde Pipeline Project and the Yavapai-Apache Nation (YAN) Drinking Water System Project (collectively, Projects); require the Secretary to increase the capacity of the Cragin-Verde Pipeline Project to serve Apache County communities without any local contribution toward capital costs; establish trust funds for the Nation; and require the Secretary to hold in trust certain State law-based instream flow rights.

The Department has significant concerns regarding the cost of this settlement. S. 3617 would appropriate approximately $731,059,000 for the Pipeline based on a less-than-feasibility and preliminary cost estimate prepared by the Bureau of Reclamation and $152,490,000 for the YAN Drinking Water System based on a less-than-feasibility cost estimate prepared by the Nation’s consultants. Less-than-feasibility cost estimates for project authorizations are unreliable indicators of final cost. Past project-based settlements that were authorized based on less-than-feasibility cost estimates have seen high cost-overruns that have strained the Department’s budget, forced the parties to return to Congress for additional funding, and frustrated the Department’s ability to determine at the outset whether the cost of a settlement is reasonable. Second, the Department questions whether the size and scope of the Projects is reasonable relative to the claims filed on behalf of the Nation. Specifically, S. 3617 would require the Secretary to construct a pipeline with a capacity that exceeds the United States’ water rights claims on behalf of the Nation by nearly 40%. Importing more water than was claimed makes little sense, especially where, as here, on-Reservation water resources may be available to satisfy much of the Nation’s future domestic, commercial, municipal, and light industrial demands. Furthermore, over-sized projects are more expensive to construct, operate, and maintain than appropriately sized projects. Third, the Department has concerns with financial and liability aspects of the proposed operation, maintenance, and ownership of the Cragin-Verde Pipeline, which needs further consideration. As proposed, the Cragin-Verde Pipeline would become a Federal reclamation facility as part of the Salt River Project, but as drafted it would not conform to reclamation law and contracts regarding financial responsibility requirements. The Department also has concerns with provisions related to the Verde River, including a requirement that the United States hold in trust State law-based instream flow rights. These Verde River provisions have the potential to create new liability and sovereign immunity concerns in a bill intended to resolve the United States’ potential liability. Finally, the Department notes that, if enacted, S. 3617 would provide significant benefits to State and local parties without any financial contribution from the same. This lack of appropriate cost-sharing is a significant concern for the Department. While the Department supports the goals of S. 3617, it has several significant concerns and is committed to working with the Nation, parties, sponsors, and Committee to address these concerns.

S. 4368, Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians Water Rights Settlement Act

Among other things, S. 4368 would: ratify a water rights settlement agreement among the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians (Tribe), the Desert Water Agency, and the Coachella Valley Water District (collectively, Districts); authorize the Secretary to execute the agreement as amended to conform with S. 4368; quantify the Tribe’s groundwater rights in California as between the Tribe and the Districts; authorize and direct the Secretary and the Tribe to execute certain waivers of claims in favor of the United States and other settlement parties; establish a trust fund for the Tribe; appropriate $500,000,000 in mandatory funding for implementation of the settlement; resolve disputes related to the assessment of charges by the Districts on tribal and allottee water use; authorize a Tribal pumping fee, water fee, and water delivery charge within the Reservation, including on non-Indians; authorize a Tribal possessory interest tax (PIT) that would preempt and replace Riverside County’s PIT within the Reservation, but would ensure no change in the distribution of PIT revenues to public services that currently receive them; direct that certain Federal lands adjacent to the Tribe’s Reservation and currently managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) be transferred into trust for the Tribe; and provide for the direct sale, for appraised value, to the Coachella Valley Water District of BLM lands on which the Coachella Valley Water District’s groundwater recharge facility is located and currently operated pursuant to a right-of-way from BLM. S. 4368 and the settlement agreement it would ratify are the culmination of over a decade of litigation and negotiation among the parties and would provide certainty to the Tribes and non-Indian stakeholders who rely on shared groundwater resources.

The Department has concerns about the $500,000,000 Federal contribution included in S. 4368. In addition, S. 4368 includes novel provisions, including the preemption of certain State and local tax laws, that the Department would like to work with the parties to better understand. Finally, the Department has some technical concerns regarding language transferring certain BLM lands into trust for the Tribe. The Department looks forward to working with the parties, sponsors, and the Committee.

S. 4417, Pechanga Band of Indians Water Rights Settlement Technical Amendments Act

S. 4417 would amend the Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians Water Rights Settlement Act, which was enacted in 2016 as part of the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act, Public Law No. 114-322 (2016 Act). The settlement became enforceable in 2020 upon publication in the Federal Register of the statement of findings that the terms of the settlement have been met, including the appropriation of Federal funds and the execution of all necessary waivers.

S. 4417 would make two discrete changes to the 2016 Act to aid in its implementation. First, S. 4417 would amend the definition of “Reservation” to include those lands identified in the 2016 Act, contiguous lands that have since been taken into trust for the benefit of the Tribe, and any contiguous lands taken into trust on behalf of the Tribe in the future. This amendment will extend the benefits and compromises in the 2016 Act to any contiguous lands taken into trust since enactment of the 2016 Act. Second, S. 4417 would also expand the eligible uses of the Pechanga Water Quality Account beyond desalination to include activities to address other water quality issues requiring treatment in the Wolf Valley Basin. This amendment will allow the Tribe to use the settlement fund to address water quality concerns without increasing the Federal contribution toward the settlement.

The Department supports S. 4417.