# Northeastern Arizona Indian Water Rights Settlement Act of 2024
This legislation finalizes a comprehensive water rights settlement among three Native American tribes in northeastern Arizona: the Navajo Nation, the Hopi Tribe, and the San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe. The settlement resolves decades of disputes over Colorado River water allocations and establishes new water delivery systems for tribal communities.
The bill allocates specific quantities of Colorado River water to each tribe. The Navajo Nation receives 44,700 acre-feet per year of Upper Basin water plus additional Lower Basin water allocations. The Hopi Tribe receives 2,300 acre-feet per year of Upper Basin water plus existing entitlements. The San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe gains recognized water rights tied to a newly established reservation of approximately 5,400 acres.
Congress authorizes $5 billion in total federal funding: $1.715 billion for constructing the "iiná bá – paa tuwaqat'si pipeline," which will deliver potable water from Lake Powell to tribal communities, and $3.285 billion distributed among three tribal trust funds for water projects, operations and maintenance, agricultural conservation, renewable energy, and water acquisition. These funds become available once the Secretary of the Interior publishes findings that all settlement conditions are met, with a deadline of June 30, 2035.
The settlement requires the three tribes to waive most historical water rights claims against Arizona, the federal government, and each other, in exchange for the confirmed allocations and funding. However, the tribes retain rights to enforce claims under the settlement itself and certain adjudication decrees. The bill also ratifies a separate 2000 treaty between the Navajo Nation and San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe, formally creating the San Juan Southern Paiute Reservation.
The settlement is complex and conditional, taking effect only when specified parties sign the agreement, the tribes approve limited waivers of sovereign immunity, and all funding is appropriated. If these conditions are not met by 2035, the act repeals and previously expended funds must be offset against future tribal claims.
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