Duchesne City Water Rights Conveyance Act

Summary: Directs the Secretary to require as terms of any such conveyance that the City: (1) allow the Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation, its members, and any person leasing or utilizing land that is held in trust for the Tribe and is located within the water service area of the City to connect to the City's municipal water system; and (2) not require such tribe, members, or person to pay any water impact, connection, or similar fee or to deliver or transfer any water or water rights for such connection (but permits charging any person that connects to the City's municipal water system reasonable and customary fees for system operation and maintenance costs to treat, transport, and deliver water). Provides that nothing in this Act may be construed: (1) as a relinquishment or reduction of any water rights secured by the United States in Utah; and (2) to affect or modify any treaty or other right of the Tribe or any other Indian tribe.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Duchesne City Water Rights 
Conveyance Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
        (1) In 1861, President Lincoln established the Uintah Valley 
    Reservation by Executive order. The Congress confirmed the 
    Executive order in 1864 (13 Stat. 63), and additional lands were 
    added to form the Uintah Indian Reservation (now known as the 
    Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation).
        (2) Pursuant to subsequent Acts of Congress, lands were 
    allotted to the Indians of the reservation, and unallotted lands 
    were restored to the public domain to be disposed of under 
    homestead and townsite laws.
        (3) In July 1905, President Theodore Roosevelt reserved lands 
    for the townsite for Duchesne, Utah, by Presidential proclamation 
    and pursuant to the applicable townsite laws.
        (4) In July 1905, the United States, through the Acting United 
    States Indian Agent in Behalf of the Indians of the Uintah Indian 
    Reservation, Utah, filed two applications, 43-180 and 43-203, under 
    the laws of the State of Utah to appropriate certain waters.
        (5) The stated purposes of the water appropriation applications 
    were, respectively, ``for irrigation and domestic supply for 
    townsite purposes in the lands herein described'', and ``for the 
    purpose of irrigating Indian allotments on the Uintah Indian 
    Reservation, Utah, * * * and for an irrigating and domestic water 
    supply for townsite purposes in the lands herein described''.
        (6) The United States subsequently filed change applications 
    which provided that the entire appropriation would be used for 
    municipal and domestic purposes in the town of Duchesne, Utah.
        (7) The State Engineer of Utah approved the change 
    applications, and the State of Utah issued water right 
    certificates, identified as Certificate Numbers 1034 and 1056, in 
    the name of the United States Indian Service in 1921, pursuant to 
    the applications filed, for domestic and municipal uses in the town 
    of Duchesne.
        (8) Non-Indians settled the town of Duchesne, and the 
    inhabitants have utilized the waters appropriated by the United 
    States for townsite purposes.
        (9) Pursuant to title V of Public Law 102-575, Congress 
    ratified the quantification of the reserved waters rights of the 
    Ute Indian Tribe, subject to reratification of the water compact by 
    the State of Utah and the Tribe.
        (10) The Ute Indian Tribe does not oppose legislation that will 
    convey the water rights appropriated by the United States in 1905 
    to the city of Duchesne because the appropriations do not serve the 
    purposes, rights, or interests of the Tribe or its members, because 
    the full amount of the reserved water rights of the Tribe will be 
    quantified in other proceedings, and because the Tribe and its 
    members will receive substantial benefits through such legislation.
        (11) The Secretary of the Interior requires additional 
    authority in order to convey title to those appropriations made by 
    the United States in 1905 in order for the city of Duchesne to 
    continue to enjoy the use of those water rights and to provide 
    additional benefits to the Ute Indian Tribe and its members as 
    originally envisioned by the 1905 appropriations.

SEC. 3. CONVEYANCE OF WATER RIGHTS TO DUCHESNE CITY, UTAH.

    (a) Conveyance.--The Secretary of the Interior, as soon as 
practicable after the date of the enactment of this Act, and in 
accordance with all applicable law, shall convey to Duchesne City, 
Utah, or a water district created by Duchesne City, all right, title, 
and interest of the United States in and to those water rights 
appropriated under the laws of the State of Utah by the Department of 
the Interior's United States Indian Service and identified as Water 
Rights Nos. 43-180 (Certificate No. 1034) and 43-203 (Certificate No. 
1056) in the records of the State Engineer of Utah.
    (b) Required Terms.--
        (1) In general.--As terms of any conveyance under subsection 
    (a), the Secretary shall require that Duchesne City--
            (A) shall allow the Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and 
        Ouray Reservation, its members, and any person leasing or 
        utilizing land that is held in trust for the Tribe by the 
        United States and is located within the Duchesne City water 
        service area (as such area may be adjusted from time to time), 
        to connect to the Duchesne City municipal water system;
            (B) shall not require such tribe, members, or person to pay 
        any water impact, connection, or similar fee for such 
        connection; and
            (C) shall not require such tribe, members, or person to 
        deliver or transfer any water or water rights for such 
        connection.
        (2) Limitation.--Paragraph (1) shall not be construed to 
    prohibit Duchesne City from charging any person that connects to 
    the Duchesne City municipal water system pursuant to paragraph (1) 
    reasonable, customary, and nondiscriminatory fees to recover costs 
    of the operation and maintenance of the water system to treat, 
    transport, and deliver water to the person.

SEC. 4. WATER RIGHTS.

    (a) No Relinquishment or Reduction.--Except as provided in section 
3, nothing in this Act may be construed as a relinquishment or 
reduction of any water rights reserved, appropriated, or otherwise 
secured by the United States in the State of Utah on or before the date 
of the enactment of this Act.
    (b) No Precedent.--Nothing in this Act may be construed as 
establishing a precedent for conveying or otherwise transferring water 
rights held by the United States.

SEC. 5. TRIBAL RIGHTS.

    Nothing in this Act may be construed to affect or modify any treaty 
or other right of the Ute Indian Tribe or any other Indian tribe.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.