Ohkay Owingeh Rio Chama Water Rights Settlement Act of 2025
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The bill would ratify a water rights settlement between Ohkay Owingeh, New Mexico, and other parties resolving decades-old claims to water in the Rio Chama Stream System, and would establish a federally funded trust to pay for water infrastructure, bosque restoration, and related projects.
It would authorize $745 million in mandatory federal funding plus state contributions, permanently settling litigation and waiving further claims once specific conditions are met, offering the Pueblo certainty over its water rights while committing significant taxpayer funds to the settlement.
What this bill would do
What it would do
The bill would authorize, ratify, and confirm the Ohkay Owingeh Rio Chama Water Rights Settlement Agreement, quantifying the Pueblo's water rights in the Rio Chama Stream System and directing the Secretary of the Interior to execute the agreement. It would establish the Ohkay Owingeh Water Rights Settlement Trust Fund, funded with $745,000,000 in mandatory appropriations, to be used for water infrastructure, bosque restoration, watershed and habitat protection, water rights acquisition, and related administrative costs. New Mexico would separately contribute over $131 million toward acequia improvements, municipal water systems, and groundwater mitigation. In exchange, Ohkay Owingeh and the United States (as trustee) would waive and release a broad set of past water rights and related claims, including litigation, effective once an "Enforceability Date" is reached — requiring court approval, full funding, and state legislative changes. The bill would not affect other tribes' water rights, would not waive U.S. sovereign immunity, and would expire if enforceability conditions are not met by July 1, 2038.
Key provisions
- 1Would authorize, ratify, and confirm the Ohkay Owingeh Rio Chama Water Rights Settlement Agreement and direct the Secretary to execute it
- 2Would recognize and hold in trust the Pueblo's water rights in the Rio Chama Stream System, protected from forfeiture or abandonment
- 3Would establish the Ohkay Owingeh Water Rights Settlement Trust Fund for water infrastructure, restoration, and related uses
- 4Would provide $745,000,000 in mandatory federal funding for the trust fund, adjusted for construction cost fluctuations, plus specified state cost-share contributions
- 5Would set an Enforceability Date contingent on court approval, full funding, and state legal changes before the settlement takes effect
- 6Would require Ohkay Owingeh and the United States to waive and release specified past water rights and related claims once the settlement is enforceable
- 7Would terminate the Act and its waivers if the enforceability conditions are not met by July 1, 2038
Who would be affected
Ohkay Owingeh (the Pueblo) and its members, the U.S. Department of the Interior, the State of New Mexico, the City of Espanola, signatory acequia associations, non-Indian water users and landowners along the Rio Chama, and federal agencies such as the Army Corps of Engineers involved in bosque restoration coordination.
Why it matters
The settlement would give Ohkay Owingeh legally confirmed, federally protected water rights and dedicated funding for infrastructure and restoration, ending decades of adjudication litigation. Non-Indian water users and the City of Espanola would gain more certainty and funded improvements, while the federal government would commit $745 million and New Mexico over $131 million to fulfill the agreement's terms.
What would change
Changes to existing law
Creates Ohkay Owingeh Rio Chama Water Rights Settlement Agreement (July 5, 2023) (Sec. 4)
Authorizes, ratifies, and confirms the settlement agreement as federal law, subject to consistency with the Act
Agencies directed to act
Effective dates
- Waivers and releases of claims by the Pueblo and United States take effect
- Deadline for the Secretary to publish enforceability findings before the Act expires
Funding and costs
- $745,000,000
Mandatory federal deposit into the Ohkay Owingeh Water Rights Settlement Trust Fund
- $98,500,000
New Mexico state contribution for Signatory Acequias ditch improvements and related projects
- $32,000,000
New Mexico state contribution for City of Espanola water system improvement projects
- $500,000
State deposit to mitigate impairment to non-Pueblo domestic and livestock groundwater rights
- $100,000,000
Portion of trust fund available immediately for bosque restoration, acequia improvements, and water administration
Congressional Budget Office estimate
CBO estimates S. 563 would increase direct spending (and the deficit) by $90 million over the 2026–2036 period, plus approximately $1.3 billion in 2038 when the trust fund is transferred to the Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo.
CBO estimates that enacting S. 563 would increase direct spending by $90 million over the 2026–2036 period, driven mainly by outlays from an $838 million appropriation to capitalize the Ohkay Owingeh Water Rights Settlement Trust Fund (including an inflation adjustment) and interest credited to the fund. Revenues would not change, so the deficit would rise by the same $90 million over that window. In 2038, when CBO expects all settlement conditions to be satisfied, the federal government would transfer ownership of the full trust fund — estimated at roughly $1.3 billion including accumulated interest — to the Pueblo, which would be recorded as a federal expenditure at that time. The bill would also require spending subject to appropriation of less than $500,000 per year (totaling about $1 million over 2026–2031) for DOI oversight of water projects. CBO identified no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined under the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
How implementation would work
The Secretary of the Interior would execute the settlement agreement, comply with environmental laws, and establish the trust fund upon appropriation of the $745 million. Ohkay Owingeh could withdraw trust funds either under a Secretary-approved tribal management plan or an approved expenditure plan, with annual reporting requirements. The settlement becomes enforceable only after a federal court enters a final judgment on the Pueblo's water rights, all federal and state funding is provided, and New Mexico amends its leasing law—triggering the waivers of past claims. If these conditions are not met by July 1, 2038, the Act, its ratification, and waivers all expire, and federal funds and property must be returned.
Legislative status & sources
Latest action
Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 428.
Official CRS summary
Show the CRS summaryHide the CRS summary
This bill recognizes and settles certain water rights claims in New Mexico of the pueblo of Ohkay Owingeh. It also establishes and provides funding for a settlement trust fund.
Specifically, the bill authorizes, ratifies, and confirms a specified water rights settlement agreement entered into by Ohkay Owingeh, New Mexico, and others, thus satisfying claims to water rights in the Rio Chama Stream System in New Mexico.
The bill establishes and provides funding for the Ohkay Owingeh Water Rights Settlement Trust Fund. This trust fund may only be used for five specified purposes, including for activities related to water production, treatment, or delivery infrastructure.
The bill also (1) specifies the water rights of the pueblo; and (2) outlines waivers, releases, and retentions of claims by the pueblo and the United States.
Legislative subjects
Federal-Indian relations; Government trust funds; Indian claims; Indian lands and resources rights; Land transfers; Land use and conservation; Native Americans; New Mexico; State and local finance; Water quality; Water use and supply; Watersheds; Wildlife conservation and habitat protection
Committee report
S. Rept. 119-124