II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 5068 

To amend the Northwestern New Mexico Rural Water Projects Act to make 

improvements to that Act, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 11, 2022 

Mr. KING (for Mr. LUJA ́N) introduced the following bill; which was read twice 

and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To amend the Northwestern New Mexico Rural Water 

Projects Act to make improvements to that Act, and 

for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Navajo-Gallup Water 

5 Supply Project Amendments Act of 2022’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 Section 10302 of the Northwestern New Mexico 

8 Rural Water Projects Act (43 U.S.C. 407 note; Public 

9 Law 111–11) is amended— 


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1 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (12), (13), 

2 (14), (15), (16), (17), (18), (19), (20), (21), (22), 

3 (23), (24), (25), (26), (27), (28), (29), and (30) as 

4 paragraphs (13), (14), (15), (16), (17), (18), (19), 

5 (20), (21), (22), (23), (24), (25), (28), (29), (30), 

6 (31), (32), and (33), respectively; 

7 (2) by inserting after paragraph (11) the fol8 lowing: 

9 ‘‘(12) DEFERRED CONSTRUCTION FUND.—The 

10 term ‘Deferred Construction Fund’ means the Nav11 ajo Nation’s Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project 

12 Deferred Construction Fund established by section 

13 10602(i)(1)(A).’’; 

14 (3) in paragraph (14) (as so redesignated)— 

15 (A) in the paragraph heading, by striking 

16 ‘‘DRAFT’’ and inserting ‘‘FINAL ENVIRON17 MENTAL’’; 

18 (B) by striking ‘‘Draft Impact’’ and insert19 ing ‘‘Final Environmental’’; 

20 (C) by striking ‘‘draft environmental’’ and 

21 inserting ‘‘final environmental’’; and 

22 (D) by striking ‘‘March 2007’’ and insert23 ing ‘‘July 6, 2009’’; 


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1 (4) in paragraph (19) (as so redesignated), by 

2 striking ‘‘Draft’’ and inserting ‘‘Final Environ3 mental’’; 

4 (5) by inserting after paragraph (25) (as so re5 designated) the following: 

6 ‘‘(26) PROJECT SERVICE AREA.—The term 

7 ‘Project Service Area’ means the area that encom8 passes the 43 Nation chapters, the southwest por9 tion of the Jicarilla Apache Reservation, and the 

10 City that is identified to be served by the Project, 

11 as illustrated in figure IV–5 (Drawing No. 1695– 

12 406–49) of the Final Environmental Impact State13 ment. 

14 ‘‘(27) SAN JUAN GENERATING STATION.—The 

15 term ‘San Juan Generating Station’ means the coal16 fired, 4-unit electric power plant and ancillary fea17 tures located by the San Juan Mine near Waterflow, 

18 New Mexico.’’; and 

19 (6) by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(34) WORKING COST ESTIMATE.—The term 

21 ‘Working Cost Estimate’ means the Bureau of Rec22 lamation document entitled ‘NGWSP October 2020 

23 WCE’ and dated May 20, 2021, that details the 

24 costs totaling $1,705,174,000, at the October 2020 


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1 price level, of the Project, as configured on that 

2 date.’’. 

3 SEC. 3. NAVAJO-GALLUP WATER SUPPLY PROJECT. 

4 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF NAVAJO-GALLUP WATER

5 SUPPLY PROJECT.—Section 10602 of the Northwestern 

6 New Mexico Rural Water Projects Act (Public Law 111– 

7 11; 123 Stat. 1379) is amended— 

8 (1) in subsection (a)— 

9 (A) in the subsection heading, by striking 

10 ‘‘IN GENERAL’’ and inserting ‘‘AUTHORIZA11 TION’’; 

12 (B) by striking ‘‘The Secretary’’ and in13 serting the following: 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary’’; 

15 (C) in paragraph (1) (as so designated), by 

16 striking ‘‘Draft Impact Statement’’ and insert17 ing ‘‘Final Environmental Impact Statement, as 

18 further refined in, and including the facilities 

19 identified in, the Working Cost Estimate and 

20 any subsequent supplemental documents pre21 pared in accordance with the National Environ22 mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 

23 seq.).’’; and 

24 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

25 ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL SERVICE AREAS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

2 ‘‘(i) expanding the Project Service 

3 Area would create opportunities to increase 

4 service for additional Nation Tribal mem5 bers and would not increase the cost of the 

6 Project beyond authorization levels de7 scribed in section 10609(a); and 

8 ‘‘(ii) the unit operations and mainte9 nance costs of the Project would be re10 duced by adding more customers to the 

11 Project. 

12 ‘‘(B) AUTHORIZATIONS FOR ADDITIONAL

13 PROJECT SERVICE AREAS.— 

14 ‘‘(i) NEW MEXICO.—In addition to de15 livering water supply from the Project to 

16 the Nation communities in the San Juan 

17 River Basin, the Nation may expand the 

18 Project Service Area in order to deliver 

19 water supply from the Project to commu20 nities of the Nation within the Rio San 

21 Jose Basin, New Mexico. 

22 ‘‘(ii) ARIZONA.—In addition to deliv23 ering water supply from the Project to the 

24 Nation communities of Fort Defiance and 

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1 tion 10603(c)(1), the Nation may expand 

2 the Project Service Area in order to deliver 

3 water supply from the Project to the Na4 tion community of Lupton, Arizona, within 

5 the Little Colorado River Basin, Arizona.’’; 

6 (2) in subsection (b)— 

7 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph 

8 (1)— 

9 (i) by inserting ‘‘acquire,’’ before 

10 ‘‘construct,’’; and 

11 (ii) by striking ‘‘Draft Impact State12 ment’’ and inserting ‘‘Final Environmental 

13 Impact Statement, as further refined in, 

14 and including the facilities identified in, 

15 the Working Cost Estimate and any subse16 quent supplemental documents prepared in 

17 accordance with the National Environ18 mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 

19 4321 et seq.)’’; 

20 (B) by striking paragraph (1) and insert21 ing the following: 

22 ‘‘(1) SAN JUAN GENERATING STATION.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The water conveyance 

24 and storage facilities associated with the San 

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1 sion dam, the intake structure, the river pump2 ing plant, the pipeline from the river to the res3 ervoir, the dam and associated reservoir, the 

4 power line between the river and reservoir, and 

5 any associated land, rights-of-way, easements, 

6 or ancillary features. 

7 ‘‘(B) WAIVER OF APPRAISAL.—Notwith8 standing any other provision of law, the Sec9 retary may waive an appraisal relating to the 

10 acquisition of the water conveyance and storage 

11 facilities associated with the San Juan Gener12 ating Station described in subparagraph (A).’’; 

13 (C) in paragraph (2)(A)— 

14 (i) by striking ‘‘River near Kirtland, 

15 New Mexico,’’ and inserting ‘‘Generating 

16 Station Reservoir’’; and 

17 (ii) by inserting ‘‘generally’’ before 

18 ‘‘follows United States Highway 491’’; 

19 (D) in paragraph (3)(A), by inserting 

20 ‘‘generally’’ before ‘‘follows United States High21 way 550’’; and 

22 (E) in paragraph (5), by inserting ‘‘(in23 cluding any reservoir facility)’’ after ‘‘treatment 

24 facility’’; 

25 (3) in subsection (c)— 


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1 (A) in the subsection heading, by inserting 

2 ‘‘AND FACILITIES’’ after ‘‘LAND’’; 

3 (B) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘any 

4 land or interest in land that is’’ and inserting 

5 ‘‘any land or facilities, or interest in land or fa6 cilities, that are’’; and 

7 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(4) LAND TO BE TAKEN INTO TRUST.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—On satisfaction of the 

10 conditions described in paragraph (7) of the 

11 Agreement and after the requirements of sec12 tions 10701(e) and 10703 are met, the Sec13 retary shall take legal title to the following land 

14 and, subject to subparagraph (D), hold that 

15 land in trust for the benefit of the Nation: 

16 ‘‘(i) Fee land of the Nation, includ17 ing— 

18 ‘‘(I) the parcels of land on which 

19 the Tohlakai Pumping Plant, Reach 

20 12A and Reach 12B, are located, in21 cluding, in McKinley County, New 

22 Mexico— 

23 ‘‘(aa) sec. 5, T. 16 N., R. 18 

24 W., New Mexico Prime Meridian; 

25 and 


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1 ‘‘(bb) sec. 33, T. 17 N., R. 

2 17 W., New Mexico Prime Meridian (except lot 9 and the NW1 3 ⁄4

4 of lot 4); 

5 ‘‘(II) the parcel of land on which 

6 Reach 12.1 is located, including— 

‘‘(aa) NW1⁄4 and SW1 7 ⁄4 sec. 

8 5, T. 16 N., R. 18 W.; 

‘‘(bb) N1 9 ⁄2 sec. 11, T. 16 N., 

10 R. 19 W.; and 

11 ‘‘(cc) sec. 12, T. 16 N., R. 

12 20 W.; and 

13 ‘‘(III) the parcel of land on which 

14 Reach 12.2 is located, including 

NW1 15 ⁄4. sec. 2, T. 16 N., R. 21 W. 

16 ‘‘(ii) Public domain land managed by 

17 the Bureau of Land Management, includ18 ing— 

19 ‘‘(I) the parcel of land on which 

20 the Cutter Lateral Water Treatment 

Plant is located, including S1 21 ⁄2 sec. 9, 

22 T. 25 N., R. 9 W., New Mexico Prime 

23 Meridian; and 

24 ‘‘(II) the parcel of land on which 

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1 dustry turnout is located, including 

NW1⁄4 and NE1 2 ⁄4 sec. 34, T. 26 N., 

3 R. 9 W., New Mexico Prime Meridian. 

4 ‘‘(iii) Public domain land managed by 

5 the Bureau of Reclamation, including the 

6 land underlying the San Juan Generating 

7 Station facilities acquired by the United 

8 States. 

9 ‘‘(B) PART OF NAVAJO NATION.—The land 

10 taken into trust under subparagraph (A) shall 

11 be part of the Navajo Reservation and adminis12 tered in accordance with the laws and regula13 tions generally applicable to land held in trust 

14 by the United States for the benefit of an In15 dian Tribe. 

16 ‘‘(C) LIMITATIONS.—The land taken into 

17 trust under subparagraph (A) shall be subject 

18 to valid existing rights, contracts, and manage19 ment agreements, including easements and 

20 rights-of-way. 

21 ‘‘(D) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in this 

22 paragraph affects any— 

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1 ment of the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply 

2 Project Amendments Act of 2022; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) right or claim of the Nation to 

4 any land or interest in land in existence on 

5 the day before the date of enactment of the 

6 Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project 

7 Amendments Act of 2022.’’; 

8 (4) in subsection (d)(1)(D), by striking ‘‘Draft’’ 

9 and inserting ‘‘Final Environmental’’; 

10 (5) in subsection (e)— 

11 (A) by striking ‘‘The Secretary’’ and in12 serting the following: 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary’’; and 

14 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(2) RENEWABLE ENERGY AND HYDRO16 ELECTRIC POWER.— 

17 ‘‘(A) RENEWABLE ENERGY.—For any por18 tion of the Project that does not have access to 

19 Colorado River Storage Project power, the Sec20 retary may use not more than $6,250,000 of 

21 the amounts made available under section 

22 10609(a)(1) to develop renewable energy. 

23 ‘‘(B) HYDROELECTRIC POWER.—Notwith24 standing whether a Project facility has access 

25 to Colorado River Storage Project power, the 


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1 Secretary may use not more than $1,250,000 of 

2 the $6,250,000 authorized to be used to develop 

3 renewable energy under subparagraph (A) to 

4 develop hydroelectric power for any Project fa5 cility that can use hydraulic head to produce 

6 electricity.’’; 

7 (6) in subsection (h)(1), in the matter pre8 ceding subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘, store,’’ 

9 after ‘‘treat’’; and 

10 (7) by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(i) DEFERRED CONSTRUCTION OF PROJECT FA12 CILITIES.— 

13 ‘‘(1) DEFERRED CONSTRUCTION OF PROJECT

14 FACILITIES.—On mutual agreement between the Na15 tion and the Secretary, and the Jicarilla Apache Na16 tion if the deferred Project facilities benefit the 

17 Jicarilla Apache Nation, construction of selected 

18 Project facilities may be deferred to save operation 

19 and maintenance expenses associated with that con20 struction. 

21 ‘‘(2) DEFERRED CONSTRUCTION FUND.— 

22 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is estab23 lished in the Treasury a fund, to be known as 

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1 ply Project Deferred Construction Fund’, to 

2 consist of— 

3 ‘‘(i) amounts that correspond to por4 tions of the Project that have been de5 ferred under paragraph (1); and 

6 ‘‘(ii) any interest or other gains on 

7 amounts referred to in clause (i). 

8 ‘‘(B) USE OF THE DEFERRED CONSTRUC9 TION FUND.—The Nation may use amounts in 

10 the Deferred Construction Fund— 

11 ‘‘(i) to construct Project facilities that 

12 have been deferred under paragraph (1); 

13 or 

14 ‘‘(ii) to construct alternate facilities 

15 agreed on under subparagraph (C). 

16 ‘‘(C) ALTERNATE FACILITIES CONSISTENT

17 WITH THE PURPOSE OF THE PROJECT.—On 

18 agreement between the Nation and the Sec19 retary, and the Jicarilla Apache Nation if the 

20 deferred Project facilities benefit the Jicarilla 

21 Apache Nation, and in compliance with all ap22 plicable environmental and cultural resource 

23 protection laws, facilities other than those pre24 viously agreed to be deferred under paragraph 

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1 ties are consistent with the purposes of the 

2 Project described in section 10601. 

3 ‘‘(3) AMOUNTS TO BE DEPOSITED.—Funds allo4 cated from the amounts made available under sec5 tion 10609(a)(1) to build facilities referred to in 

6 paragraph (1) shall be deposited into the Deferred 

7 Construction Fund. 

8 ‘‘(4) ADJUSTMENTS.—On deposit of amounts 

9 into the Deferred Construction Fund under para10 graph (3), the adjustments to authorized appropria11 tions under section 10609(a)(2) shall no longer 

12 apply to those amounts. 

13 ‘‘(5) DEADLINE TO CONSTRUCT PROJECT FA14 CILITIES.—On deposit of all amounts into the De15 ferred Construction Fund for construction of Project 

16 facilities agreed on under paragraph (1), the Sec17 retary shall be deemed to have met the obligation 

18 under section 10701(e)(1)(A)(ix). 

19 ‘‘(6) FUTURE CONSTRUCTION OF PROJECT FA20 CILITIES.—On agreement between the Nation and 

21 the Secretary, and the Jicarilla Apache Nation if the 

22 deferred Project facilities benefit the Jicarilla 

23 Apache Nation, the Nation shall use amounts depos24 ited into the Deferred Construction Fund to con25 struct— 


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1 ‘‘(A) Project facilities deferred under para2 graph (1); or 

3 ‘‘(B) alternate Project facilities described 

4 in paragraph (2)(C).’’. 

5 (b) DELIVERY AND USE OF NAVAJO-GALLUP WATER

6 SUPPLY PROJECT WATER.—Section 10603(a)(3)(B) of 

7 the Northwestern New Mexico Rural Water Projects Act 

8 (Public Law 111–11; 123 Stat. 1383) is amended— 

9 (1) in clause (i), by inserting ‘‘or, if generated 

10 on City-owned facilities, by the City’’ after ‘‘the Na11 tion’’; and 

12 (2) in clause (ii), by inserting ‘‘, except that the 

13 City shall retain all revenue from the sale of hydro14 electric power that is generated on City-owned facili15 ties’’ after ‘‘hydroelectric power’’. 

16 (c) PROJECT CONTRACTS.—Section 10604 of the 

17 Northwestern New Mexico Rural Water Projects Act 

18 (Public Law 111–11; 123 Stat. 1388) is amended— 

19 (1) in subsection (b)(3)— 

20 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘sub21 paragraph (B)’’ and inserting ‘‘subparagraphs 

22 (B) and (C)’’; 

23 (B) in subparagraph (B)— 


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1 (i) in the subparagraph heading, by 

2 striking ‘‘MINIMUM PERCENTAGE’’ and in3 serting ‘‘MAXIMUM PERCENTAGE’’; 

4 (ii) by striking ‘‘at least 25 percent’’ 

5 and inserting ‘‘not more than 25 percent’’; 

6 and 

7 (iii) by striking ‘‘, but shall in no 

8 event exceed 35 percent’’; and 

9 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(C) MAXIMUM REPAYMENT OBLIGA11 TION.—The repayment obligation of the City 

12 referred to in subparagraphs (A) and (B) shall 

13 not exceed $76,000,000.’’; 

14 (2) in subsection (c)(1)(B), by inserting ‘‘sub15 section (f) and’’ before ‘‘section 10603(g)’’; 

16 (3) in subsection (d)(1), by striking ‘‘Draft’’ 

17 and inserting ‘‘Final Environmental’’; 

18 (4) in subsection (e), by striking ‘‘Draft’’ and 

19 inserting ‘‘Final Environmental’’; and 

20 (5) in subsection (f)— 

21 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (1) 

22 through (5) as subparagraphs (A) through (E), 

23 respectively, and indenting appropriately; 

24 (B) by inserting before subparagraph (A) 

25 (as so designated) the following: 


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1 ‘‘(1) NAVAJO NATION.—’’; 

2 (C) in paragraph (1) (as so designated)— 

3 (i) in subparagraph (A) (as so redes4 ignated), by striking ‘‘may waive’’ and all 

5 that follows through the period at the end 

6 and inserting ‘‘shall waive, for a period of 

7 15 years, the operation, maintenance, and 

8 replacement costs allocable to the Na9 tion.’’; 

10 (ii) in subparagraph (B) (as so redes11 ignated)— 

12 (I) by striking ‘‘paragraph (1)’’ 

13 and inserting ‘‘subparagraph (A) ex14 pires’’; 

15 (II) by striking ‘‘allocated’’; and 

16 (III) by inserting ‘‘that are allo17 cated to the Nation’’ after ‘‘Project’’; 

18 (iii) in subparagraph (C) (as so redes19 ignated), by striking ‘‘paragraph (1)’’ and 

20 inserting ‘‘subparagraph (A)’’; 

21 (iv) by striking subparagraph (D) (as 

22 so redesignated) and inserting the fol23 lowing: 

24 ‘‘(D) ANTIDEFICIENCY.—The Secretary 

25 shall not be liable for any failure to carry out 


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1 any obligation or activity authorized by this 

2 subsection if adequate appropriations are not 

3 provided expressly by an Act of Congress to 

4 carry out the purposes of this subsection.’’; and 

5 (v) by striking subparagraph (E) (as 

6 so redesignated) and inserting the fol7 lowing: 

8 ‘‘(E) TERMINATION OF WAIVER.—The 

9 waiver authorized under subparagraph (A) shall 

10 terminate with respect to a section of the 

11 Project on the earlier of— 

12 ‘‘(i) the date on which that section of 

13 the Project is transferred to the Nation 

14 under section 10602(f); and 

15 ‘‘(ii) the date on which the waiver 

16 granted by the Secretary under that sub17 paragraph has been in place for 15 

18 years.’’; and 

19 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(2) JICARILLA APACHE NATION.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—On the date on which 

22 the Secretary declares a section of the Project 

23 to be substantially complete and delivery of 

24 water generated by and through that section of 

25 the Project can be made to the Jicarilla Apache 


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1 Nation, the Secretary shall waive, for a period 

2 of 10 years, the operation, maintenance, and re3 placement costs allocable to the Jicarilla 

4 Apache Nation. 

5 ‘‘(B) SUBSEQUENT PAYMENT BY

6 JICARILLA APACHE NATION.—After a waiver 

7 under subparagraph (A) expires, the Jicarilla 

8 Apache Nation shall pay all operation, mainte9 nance, and replacement costs of that section of 

10 the Project that are allocated to the Jicarilla 

11 Apache Nation. 

12 ‘‘(C) PAYMENT BY UNITED STATES.—Any 

13 operation, maintenance, or replacement costs 

14 waived by the Secretary under subparagraph 

15 (A) shall be paid by the United States and shall 

16 be nonreimbursable. 

17 ‘‘(D) ANTIDEFICIENCY.—The Secretary 

18 shall not be liable for any failure to carry out 

19 any obligation or activity authorized by this 

20 subsection if adequate appropriations are not 

21 provided expressly by an Act of Congress to 

22 carry out the purposes of this subsection. 

23 ‘‘(3) CITY OF GALLUP.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—On the date on which 

25 the Secretary declares a section of the Project 


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1 to be substantially complete and delivery of 

2 water generated by and through that section of 

3 the Project can be made to the City, the Sec4 retary shall waive, for a period of 10 years, the 

5 operation, maintenance, and replacement costs 

6 allocable to the City. 

7 ‘‘(B) SUBSEQUENT PAYMENT BY CITY OF

8 GALLUP.—After a waiver under subparagraph 

9 (A) expires, the City shall pay all operation, 

10 maintenance, and replacement costs of that sec11 tion of the Project that are allocated to the 

12 City. 

13 ‘‘(C) PAYMENT BY UNITED STATES.—Any 

14 operation, maintenance, or replacement costs 

15 waived by the Secretary under subparagraph 

16 (A) shall be paid by the United States and shall 

17 be nonreimbursable. 

18 ‘‘(D) ANTIDEFICIENCY.—The Secretary 

19 shall not be liable for any failure to carry out 

20 any obligation or activity authorized by this 

21 subsection if adequate appropriations are not 

22 provided expressly by an Act of Congress to 

23 carry out the purposes of this subsection.’’. 

24 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF CONJUNCTIVE USE

25 WELLS.—Section 10606 of the Northwestern New Mexico 


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1 Rural Water Projects Act (Public Law 111–11; 123 Stat. 

2 1392) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

3 ‘‘(i) WELLS SERVING THE CITY OF GALLUP RE4 GIONAL WATER SYSTEM.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall enter 

6 into a financial assistance agreement with the City 

7 to provide funding, using amounts made available 

8 under section 10609(b)(3), for the construction or 

9 rehabilitation of wells and related pipeline facilities 

10 to provide capacity for the diversion and distribution 

11 by the City of not more than 1,500 acre feet of 

12 groundwater per year. 

13 ‘‘(2) WATER RIGHTS.—The water rights associ14 ated with any wells constructed or rehabilitated 

15 under paragraph (1)— 

16 ‘‘(A) shall not be considered to be part of 

17 the Agreement; and 

18 ‘‘(B) shall be considered to be already ex19 isting water rights permitted by the New Mex20 ico State Engineer to the City for municipal 

21 and domestic uses. 

22 ‘‘(3) TITLE TO WELLS.—Title to the wells and 

23 related pipeline facilities constructed or rehabilitated 

24 in accordance with paragraph (1) shall remain with 

25 the City at all times. 


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1 ‘‘(4) ASSOCIATED COSTS.—All operation, main2 tenance, and replacement costs associated with wells 

3 and related pipeline facilities constructed or rehabili4 tated in accordance with paragraph (1) shall be the 

5 responsibility of the City.’’. 

6 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

7 10609 of the Northwestern New Mexico Rural Water 

8 Projects Act (Public Law 111–11; 123 Stat. 1395) is 

9 amended— 

10 (1) in subsection (a)— 

11 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking 

12 ‘‘$870,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 

13 2009 through 2024’’ and inserting 

14 ‘‘$1,923,200,000 for the period of fiscal years 

15 2009 through 2029’’; 

16 (B) by striking paragraph (2) and insert17 ing the following: 

18 ‘‘(2) ADJUSTMENTS.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The amount under 

20 paragraph (1) shall be adjusted by such 

21 amounts as may be required— 

22 ‘‘(i) by reason of changes since Octo23 ber 2020 in construction cost changes in 

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1 cated by engineering cost indices applicable 

2 to the types of construction involved; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) to address construction cost 

4 changes necessary to account for unfore5 seen market volatility that may not other6 wise be captured by engineering cost indi7 ces described in clause (i), as determined 

8 by the Secretary, including repricing appli9 cable to the types of construction and cur10 rent industry standards involved. 

11 ‘‘(B) DEFERRED CONSTRUCTION FUND.— 

12 Amounts deposited in the Deferred Construc13 tion Fund shall not be adjusted pursuant to 

14 this paragraph.’’; and 

15 (C) in paragraph (4)(B), by striking ‘‘10 

16 years’’ and inserting ‘‘15 years’’; 

17 (2) in subsection (b)— 

18 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking 

19 ‘‘$30,000,000, as adjusted under paragraph 

20 (3), for the period of fiscal years 2009 through 

21 2019’’ and inserting ‘‘$37,500,000, as adjusted 

22 under paragraph (4), for the period of fiscal 

23 years 2009 through 2032’’; 

24 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘2024’’ 

25 and inserting ‘‘2032’’; 


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1 (C) by redesignating paragraphs (3) 

2 through (6) as paragraphs (4) through (7), re3 spectively; 

4 (D) by inserting after paragraph (2) the 

5 following: 

6 ‘‘(3) CITY OF GALLUP WELLS.—There is au7 thorized to be appropriated for the construction or 

8 rehabilitation and operation and maintenance of con9 junctive use wells for the City $18,000,000, as ad10 justed under paragraph (4), for the period of fiscal 

11 years 2021 through 2029.’’; 

12 (E) in paragraph (4) (as so redesig13 nated)— 

14 (i) by striking ‘‘The amount under 

15 paragraph (1)’’ and inserting the following: 

16 ‘‘(A) SAN JUAN WELLS AND WELLS IN THE

17 LITTLE COLORADO AND RIO GRANDE BASINS.— 

18 The amount under paragraphs (1) and (2)’’; 

19 and 

20 (ii) by adding at the end the fol21 lowing: 

22 ‘‘(B) CITY OF GALLUP WELLS.—The 

23 amount under paragraph (3) shall be adjusted 

24 by such amounts as may be required by reason 

25 of changes since 2021 in construction costs, as 


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1 indicated by engineering cost indices applicable 

2 to the types of construction or rehabilitation in3 volved.’’; 

4 (F) in paragraph (5) (as so redesignated), 

5 by striking ‘‘paragraphs (1) and (2)’’ and in6 serting ‘‘paragraphs (1), (2), and (3)’’; and 

7 (G) in paragraph (6) (as so redesignated), 

8 by striking ‘‘paragraphs (1) and (2)’’ and in9 serting ‘‘paragraphs (1), (2), and (3)’’. 

10 (f) TAXATION OF CONSTRUCTION, OPERATION, AND

11 MAINTENANCE OF PROJECT FACILITIES.—Part III of the 

12 Northwestern New Mexico Rural Water Projects Act 

13 (Public Law 111–11; 123 Stat. 1379) is amended by add14 ing at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘SEC. 10610. TAXATION OF CONSTRUCTION, OPERATION, 

16 AND MAINTENANCE OF PROJECT FACILITIES. 

17 ‘‘(a) NATION LAND.—Any activity constituting the 

18 construction, operation, or maintenance of Project facili19 ties— 

20 ‘‘(1) shall, if the activity takes place on land 

21 that is held in trust by the United States for the 

22 benefit of the Nation, be subject to taxation by the 

23 Nation; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) shall not be subject to any fee, tax, assess2 ment, levy, or other charge imposed by any State or 

3 political subdivision of a State. 

4 ‘‘(b) OTHER LAND.—Any activity constituting the 

5 construction, operation, or maintenance of Project facili6 ties— 

7 ‘‘(1) shall, if the activity takes place on land 

8 other than the land described in subsection (a)(1), 

9 be subject to taxation by the State in which the land 

10 is located, or by a political subdivision of that State 

11 to the extent authorized by the laws of that State; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(2) shall not be subject to any fee, tax, assess14 ment, levy, or other charge imposed by the Nation.’’. 

15 SEC. 4. NAVAJO NATION WATER RIGHTS. 

16 (a) AGREEMENT.—Section 10701(e)(1)(A) of the 

17 Northwestern New Mexico Rural Water Projects Act 

18 (Public Law 111–11; 123 Stat. 1400) is amended— 

19 (1) in clause (ix), by striking ‘‘2024’’ and in20 serting ‘‘2029’’; and 

21 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(x) DEFERRED CONSTRUCTION

23 FUND.— 

24 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Not later 

25 than December 31, 2029, the United 


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1 States shall make all deposits into the 

2 Deferred Construction Fund in ac3 cordance with section 10602(i)(3). 

4 ‘‘(II) PROJECT DEADLINE.—On 

5 deposit of the amounts into the De6 ferred Construction Fund under sub7 clause (I), even if certain Project fa8 cilities have not yet been constructed, 

9 the Secretary shall be deemed to have 

10 met the deadline described in clause 

11 (ix).’’. 

12 (b) WAIVERS AND RELEASES.—Section 10703 of the 

13 Northwestern New Mexico Rural Water Projects Act 

14 (Public Law 111–11; 123 Stat. 1403) is amended— 

15 (1) in subsection (d)(1)(A), by striking ‘‘2025’’ 

16 and inserting ‘‘2030’’; and 

17 (2) in subsection (e)(2), in the matter preceding 

18 subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘2025’’ and inserting 

19 ‘‘2030’’. 

Æ 


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