Calendar No. 392

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1146

[Report No. 103–239]

A BILL

To provide for the settlement of the water rights

Yavapai County, Arizona, and for other purposes.claims of the Yavapai-Prescott Indian Tribe in

MARCH 22 (legislative day, FEBRUARY 22), 1994

Reported wtih an amendment
II

Calendar No. 392

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1146

[Report No. 103–239]

To provide for the settlement of the water rights claims of the YavapaiPrescott Indian Tribe in Yavapai County, Arizona, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JUNE 23 (legislative day, JUNE 22), 1993

Mr. MCCAIN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred

to the Committee on Indian Affairs

MARCH 22 (legislative day, FEBRUARY 22), 1994

Reported by Mr. MITCHELL (for Mr. INOUYE), with an amendment

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]

A BILL

To provide for the settlement of the water rights claims

of the Yavapai-Prescott Indian Tribe in Yavapai County,

Arizona, 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 ‘‘Yavapai-Prescott

5 Indian Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act of 1993’’.
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1 SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS AND DECLARATIONS.

2 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that—

3 (1) it is the policy of the United States, in ful4 fillment of its trust responsibility to the Indian

5 tribes, to promote Indian self-determination and eco6 nomic self-sufficiency, and to settle, wherever pos7 sible, the water rights claims of Indian tribes with8 out lengthy and costly litigation;

9 (2) meaningful Indian self-determination and

10 economic self-sufficiency depend on the development

11 of viable Indian reservation economies;

12 (3) quantification of rights to water and devel13 opment of facilities needed to utilize tribal water

14 supplies effectively is essential to the development of

15 viable Indian reservation economies, particularly in

16 arid western States;

17 (4) on June 7, 1935, and by actions subsequent

18 thereto, the United States established a reservation

19 for the Yavapai-Prescott Indian Tribe in Arizona ad20 jacent to the city of Prescott;

21 (5) proceedings to determine the full extent of

22 Yavapai-Prescott Tribe’s water rights are currently

23 pending before the Superior Court of the State of

24 Arizona in and for Maricopa County, as part of the

25 general adjudication of the Gila River system and

26 source;
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1 (6) recognizing that final resolution of the gen2 eral adjudication will take many years and entail

3 great expense to all parties, prolong uncertainty as

4 to the full extent of the Yavapai-Prescott Tribe’s en5 titlement to water and the availability of water sup6 plies to fulfill that entitlement, and impair orderly

7 planning and development by the Tribe and the city

8 of Prescott; the Tribe, the city of Prescott, the

9 Chino Valley Irrigation District, the State of Ari10 zona and the United States have sought to settle all

11 claims to water between and among them;

12 (7) representatives of the Yavapai-Prescott

13 Tribe, the city of Prescott, the Chino Valley Irriga14 tion District, the State of Arizona and the United

15 States have negotiated a Settlement Agreement to

16 resolve all water rights claims between and among

17 them, and to provide the Tribe with long term, reli18 able water supplies for the orderly development and

19 maintenance of the Tribe’s reservation;

20 (8) pursuant to the Settlement Agreement and

21 the Water Service Agreement, the quantity of water

22 made available to the Yavapai-Prescott Tribe by the

23 city of Prescott and the Chino Valley Irrigation Dis24 trict will be secured, such Agreements will be contin25 ued in perpetuity, and the Tribe’s continued on-res-
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1 ervation use of water for municipal and industrial,

2 recreational and agricultural purposes will be pro3 vided for;

4 (9) to advance the goals of Federal Indian pol5 icy and to fulfill the trust responsibility of the Unit6 ed States to the Tribe, it is appropriate that the

7 United States participate in the implementation of

8 the Settlement Agreement and contribute funds to

9 firm up the city of Prescott and the Yavapai-Pres10 cott Tribe’s long-term water supplies so as to enable

11 the Tribe to utilize fully its water entitlements in de12 veloping a diverse, efficient reservation economy; and

13 (10) providing funds for the acquisition and de14 velopment of replacement water in exchange for the

15 CAP contract of the Yavapai-Prescott Tribe and the

16 CAP subcontract of the city of Prescott is a cost-ef17 fective means for the United States to ensure reli18 able, long-term water supplies for the Yavapai-Pres19 cott Tribe and to promote efficient, environmentally

20 sound use of available water supplies in the Verde

21 River basin.

22 (b) DECLARATION OF PURPOSES.—The Congress de23 clares that the purposes of this Act are:

24 (1) to approve, ratify and confirm the Settle25 ment Agreement among the Yavapai-Prescott Tribe,
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1 the city of Prescott, the Chino Valley Irrigation Dis2 trict, the State of Arizona and the United States;

3 (2) to authorize and direct the Secretary of the

4 Interior to execute and perform the Settlement

5 Agreement;

6 (3) to authorize the actions and appropriations

7 necessary for the United States to fulfill its legal

8 and trust obligations to the Yavapai-Prescott Tribe

9 as provided in the Settlement Agreement and this

10 Act;

11 (4) to authorize appropriation of such sums as

12 may be agreed upon by the Secretary, city of Pres13 cott, and the Yavapai-Prescott Tribe as necessary

14 for the Secretary to acquire the contract of the

15 Yavapai-Prescott Tribe for 500 acre-feet of CAP

16 water and the subcontract of the city of Prescott for

17 7,167 acre-feet of CAP water for use in the settle18 ment of water rights of other Indian tribes having

19 claims to the water in the Salt and Verde River

20 system;

21 (5) to require that expenditures of such appro22 priations by the Yavapai-Prescott Tribe and Prescott

23 for the acquisition or development of replacement

24 water supplies in the Verde River basin shall not be

25 inconsistent with the goals of the Prescott Active
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1 Management Area, preservation of riparian habitat,

2 flows and biota of the Verde River and its tribu3 taries;

4 (6) to authorize the Secretary to substitute all

5 or part of CAP Indian and non-Indian municipal

6 and industrial priority water acquired pursuant to

7 this Act for CAP water of agricultural or municipal

8 and industrial priority acquired by the Secretary

9 pursuant to Public Law 101–628, the Fort

10 McDowell Indian Community Water Rights Settle11 ment Act, and assigned to that Community; and

12 (7) to repeal section 406(k) of Public Law 101–

13 628 which authorizes $30,000,000 in appropriations

14 for the acquisition of land and water resources in

15 the Verde River basin and for the development

16 thereof as an alternative source of water for the

17 Fort McDowell Indian Community.

18 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

19 For purposes of this Act:

20 (1) The term ‘‘CAP’’ means the Central Ari21 zona Project, a reclamation project authorized under

22 title III of the Colorado River Basin Project Act of

23 1968 (43 U.S.C. 1521 et seq.).

24 (2) The term ‘‘CAWCD’’ means the Central Ar25 izona Water Conservation District, organized under
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1 the laws of the State of Arizona, which is the con2 tractor under a contract with the United States,

3 dated December 1, 1988, for the delivery of water

4 and repayment of costs of the Central Arizona

5 Project.

6 (3) The term ‘‘CVID’’ means the Chino Valley

7 Irrigation District, an irrigation district organized

8 under the laws of the State of Arizona.

9 (4) The term ‘‘Community’’ means the Fort

10 McDowell Indian Community, a community of

11 Yavapai Indians organized under section 16 of the

12 Indian Reorganization Act of June 18, 1934 (25

13 U.S.C. 476), and duly recognized by the Secretary.

14 (5) The term ‘‘Prescott AMA’’ means the Ac15 tive Management Area, established pursuant to Ari16 zona law and encompassing the Prescott ground

17 water basin, wherein the primary goal is to achieve

18 balance between annual ground water withdrawals

19 and natural and artificial recharge by the year 2025.

20 (6) The term ‘‘Prescott’’ means the city of

21 Prescott, an Arizona municipal corporation.

22 (7) The term ‘‘Reservation’’ means the reserva23 tion established by the Act of June 7, 1935 (49

24 Stat. 332) and the Act of May 18, 1956 (70 Stat.

25 157) for the Yavapai-Prescott Tribe of Indians.
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1 (8) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary

2 of the United States Department of the Interior.

3 (9) The term ‘‘Settlement Agreement’’ means

4 that agreement entered into by the city of Prescott,

5 the Chino Valley Irrigation District, the Yavapai6 Prescott Indian Tribe, the State of Arizona, and the

7 United States, providing for the settlement of all

8 water claims between and among them.

9 (10) The term ‘‘Tribe’’ means the Yavapai10 Prescott Indian Tribe, a tribe of Yavapai Indians

11 duly recognized by the Secretary.

12 (11) The term ‘‘Water Service Agreement’’

13 means that agreement between the Yavapai-Prescott

14 Indian Tribe and the city of Prescott providing for

15 water, sewer, and effluent service from the city of

16 Prescott to the Yavapai-Prescott Tribe.

17 SEC. 4. RATIFICATION OF SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT.

18 (a) APPROVAL OF SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT.—To

19 the extent the Settlement Agreement does not conflict with

20 the provisions of this Act, such Agreement is approved,

21 ratified and confirmed. The Secretary shall execute and

22 perform such Agreement, and shall execute any amend23 ments to the Agreement and perform any action required

24 by any amendments to the Agreement which may be mutu25 ally agreed upon by the parties.
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1 (b) PERPETUITY.—The Settlement Agreement and

2 Water Service Agreement shall include provisions which

3 will ensure that the benefits to the Tribe thereunder shall

4 be secure in perpetuity. Notwithstanding the provisions of

5 section 2103 of the Revised Statutes of the United States

6 (25 U.S.C. 81) relating to the term of the Agreement, the

7 Secretary is authorized and directed to approve the Water

8 Service Agreement with a perpetual term.

9 SEC. 5. ACQUISITION AND ALLOCATION OF CAP WATER.

10 (a) ACQUISITION OF CONTRACTS.—The Secretary is

11 authorized and directed to acquire the CAP contract of

12 the Tribe, and the CAP subcontract of the city of Prescott

13 in exchange for an appropriate share of funds appro14 priated to the Verde River Basin Water Fund established

15 pursuant to section 6.

16 (b) ALLOCATION OF WATER.—The Secretary may al17 locate to the Fort McDowell Indian Community all or part

18 of the water acquired pursuant to section 5(a) directly or

19 in lieu of water which the Secretary acquired from the

20 Harquahala Valley Irrigation District (hereinafter

21 ‘‘HVID’’) pursuant to section 406(b) of the Act of Novem22 ber 28, 1990 (Public Law 101–628; 104 Stat. 4483), and

23 allocated to the Community in fulfillment of the United

24 States’ obligations. In the event the Secretary allocates

25 water acquired pursuant to section 5(a) in lieu of water
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1 acquired from the HVID, the Secretary may reallocate

2 HVID water to one or more other Arizona Indian tribes,

3 bands or communities with claims to the Salt and Verde

4 River System. The Secretary may reallocate HVID water

5 either with its original CAP agricultural priority or as con6 verted to a CAP Indian priority.

7 (c) PRIORITY.—The priority of water acquired under

8 this section, if allocated by the Secretary to the Commu9 nity, or to any other Arizona Indian tribe, band or commu10 nity, shall be the same as established in the Notice of

11 Final Water Allocations to Indian and non-Indian Water

12 Users and Related Decisions, dated March 24, 1983 (48

13 FR 2446 et seq.). The Community or any other Arizona

14 tribe, band or community to whom such water may be allo15 cated shall pay the United States or, if directed by the

16 Secretary, the CAWCD, all operation, maintenance and

17 replacement costs associated with such CAP water. Water

18 service capital charges, or any other charges or payments

19 for such CAP water other than operation, maintenance

20 and replacement costs shall be nonreimbursable.

21 (d) EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN COSTS.—The Secretary

22 shall, for the purpose of determining the allocation and

23 repayment of costs of the CAP as provided in Article 9.3

24 of Contract No. 14–06–W–245, Amendment No. 1, be25 tween the United States and the CAWCD dated December
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1 1, 1988, and any amendment or revision thereof, exclude

2 the costs associated with water acquired under this section

3 from the CAWCD’s repayment obligation and such costs

4 shall be nonreimbursable.

5 SEC. 6. REPLACEMENT WATER FUND; CONTRACTS.

6 (a) FUND.—The Secretary shall establish a fund to

7 be known as the ‘‘Verde River Basin Water Fund’’ (here8 inafter called the ‘‘Fund’’) to provide replacement water

9 for the CAP water relinquished by the Tribe and by Pres10 cott. Moneys in the Fund shall be available without fiscal

11 year limitations.

12 (b) CONTENT OF FUND.—The Fund shall consist of

13 moneys appropriated to it pursuant to the authorization

14 in section 9(a), and any moneys returned to the Fund pur15 suant to subsection (d).

16 (c) PAYMENTS FROM FUND.—The Secretary shall,

17 subsequent to the publication of a statement of findings

18 as provided in section 12(a), cause to be paid from the

19 Fund to the Tribe and to Prescott an amount equal to

20 the number of acre-feet of CAP water relinquished by the

21 Tribe and by Prescott times a value to be negotiated by

22 the Secretary with the Tribe and Prescott, respectively,

23 together with interest as provided in section 9(b).

24 (d) CONTRACTS.—The Secretary shall require, as a

25 condition precedent to the payment of any moneys pursu-
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1 ant to subsection (c), that the Tribe and Prescott agree,

2 by contract with the Secretary, to establish trust accounts

3 into which the payments would be deposited and adminis4 tered, to use such moneys consistent with the purpose and

5 intent of section 7, to provide for audits of such accounts,

6 and for the repayment to the Fund, with interest, any

7 amount determined by the Secretary not to have been used

8 within the purpose and intent of section 7.

9 SEC. 7. EXPENDITURES OF FUNDS.

10 (a) BY THE CITY.—All moneys paid to Prescott for

11 relinquishing its CAP subcontract to the Secretary and de12 posited into a trust account pursuant to section 6(d), shall

13 be used for the purposes of defraying expenses associated

14 with the investigation, acquisition or development of alter15 native sources of water to replace the CAP water relin16 quished under this Act. Alternative sources shall be under17 stood to include, but not be limited to, retirement of agri18 cultural land and acquisition of associated water rights,

19 development of ground water resources outside the Pres20 cott Active Management Area established pursuant to the

21 laws of the State of Arizona, and artificial recharge.

22 (b) BY THE TRIBE.—All funds paid to the Tribe for

23 relinquishing its CAP contract to the Secretary, and de24 posited into a trust account pursuant to section 6(d), shall

25 be used to defray its water service costs under the Water
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1 Service Agreement or to develop and maintain facilities

2 for on-reservation water or effluent use.

3 (c) NO PER CAPITA PAYMENTS.—No amount of the

4 Tribe’s portion of the Fund may be used to make per cap5 ita payments to any member of the Tribe, nor may any

6 amount of any payment made pursuant to section 6(c) be

7 distributed as a dividend or per capita payment to any

8 constituent, member, shareholder, director or employee of

9 Prescott.

10 (d) DISCLAIMER.—Effective with the payment of

11 funds pursuant to section 6(c), the United States shall not

12 be liable for any claim or cause of action arising from the

13 use of such funds by the Tribe or by Prescott.

14 SEC. 8. ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE.

15 The Secretary, the Tribe and Prescott shall comply

16 with all applicable Federal environmental and State envi17 ronmental and water laws in developing alternative water

18 sources pursuant to section 7(a). Development of such al19 ternative water sources shall not be inconsistent with the

20 goals of the Prescott Active Management Area, preserva21 tion of the riparian habitat, flows and biota of the Verde

22 River and its tributaries.
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1 SEC. 9. APPROPRIATIONS AUTHORIZATION AND REPEAL.

2 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—There are authorized to be ap3 propriated to the Fund established pursuant to section

4 6(a):

5 (1) Such sums as may be required to meet the

6 amount agreed upon by the Secretary, city of Pres7 cott, and the Yavapai-Prescott Tribe as necessary

8 for the acquisition of the CAP contract of the Tribe

9 and the CAP subcontract of the city of Prescott,

10 plus an amount necessary for any accrued interest

11 in accordance with subsection (b).

12 (2) Such sums as may be necessary, but not to

13 exceed $200,000, to the Secretary for the Tribe’s

14 costs associated with judicial confirmation of the set15 tlement.

16 (3) Such sums as may be necessary to provide

17 for the study required under section 11(d).

18 (4) Such sums as may be necessary to estab19 lish, maintain and operate the gauging station re20 quired under section 11(e).

21 (b) INTEREST.—Interest shall accrue and be paid by

22 the United States on the amount authorized in subsection

23 (a)(1) beginning October 1, 1993, or the date the agree24 ment referred to in subsection (a) is entered into, which25 ever last occurs, and shall continue to accrue until appro26 priated, at rates determined by the Secretary of the Treas-
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1 ury, taking into consideration the average market yield on

2 outstanding Federal obligations of comparable maturity.

3 (c) STATE CONTRIBUTION.—The State of Arizona

4 shall contribute $200,000 to the trust account established

5 by the Tribe pursuant to the Settlement Agreement and

6 section 6(d) for uses consistent with section 7(b).

7 (d) REPEAL.—Subsection 406(k) of the Act of No8 vember 28, 1990 (Public Law 101–628; 104 Stat. 4487)

9 is repealed.

10 SEC. 10. SATISFACTION OF CLAIMS.

11 (a) WAIVER.—The benefits realized by the Tribe and

12 its members under the Settlement Agreement and this Act

13 shall constitute full and complete satisfaction of all mem14 bers’ claims for water rights or injuries to water rights

15 under Federal and State laws (including claims for water

16 rights in ground water, surface water and effluent) from

17 time immemorial to the effective date of this Act, and for

18 any and all future claims of water rights (including claims

19 for water rights in ground water, surface water, and efflu20 ent) from and after the effective date of this Act. Nothing

21 in this Act shall be deemed to recognize or establish any

22 right of a member of the Tribe to water on the Tribe’s

23 reservation.

24 (b) WAIVER AND RELEASE.—The Tribe, on behalf of

25 itself and its members, and the Secretary on behalf of the
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1 United States, are authorized and required, as a condition

2 to the implementation of this Act, to execute a waiver and

3 release, except as provided in subsection (d) and the Set4 tlement Agreement, of all claims of water rights or injuries

5 to water rights (including water rights in ground water,

6 surface water and effluent), from and after the effective

7 date of this Act, which the Tribe and its members may

8 have, against the United States, the State of Arizona or

9 any agency or political subdivision thereof, or any other

10 person, corporation, or municipal corporation, arising

11 under the laws of the United States or the State of Ari12 zona.

13 (c) WAIVER BY UNITED STATES.—Except as pro14 vided in subsection (d) and the Settlement Agreement, the

15 United States, in its own right or on behalf of the Tribe,

16 shall not assert any claim against the State of Arizona

17 or any political subdivision thereof, or against any other

18 person, corporation, or municipal corporation, arising

19 under the laws of the United States or the State of Ari20 zona based upon water rights or injuries to water rights

21 of the Tribe and its members or based upon water rights

22 or injuries to water rights held by the United States on

23 behalf of the Tribe and its members.

24 (d) RIGHTS RETAINED.—In the event the waivers of

25 claims authorized in subsection (b) of this section do not
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1 become effective pursuant to section 12(a), the Tribe, and

2 the United States on behalf of the Tribe, shall retain the

3 right to assert past and future water rights claims as to

4 all reservation lands.

5 (e) JURISDICTION.—The United States District

6 Court for the District of Arizona shall have original juris7 diction of all actions arising under this Act, the Settlement

8 Agreement and the Water Service Agreement, including

9 review pursuant to title 9, United States Code, of any ar10 bitration and award under the Water Service Agreement.

11 (f) CLAIMS.—Nothing in this Act shall be deemed to

12 prohibit the Tribe, or the United States on behalf of the

13 Tribe, from asserting or maintaining any claims for the

14 breach or enforcement of the Settlement Agreement or the

15 Water Service Agreement.

16 (g) DISCLAIMER.—Nothing in this Act shall affect

17 the water rights or claims related to any trust allotment

18 located outside the exterior boundaries of the reservation

19 of any member of the Tribe.

20 (h) FULL SATISFACTION OF CLAIMS.—Payments

21 made to Prescott under this Act shall be in full satisfac22 tion for any claim that Prescott might have against the

23 Secretary or the United States related to the allocation,

24 reallocation, relinquishment or delivery of CAP water.
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1 SEC. 11. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS.

2 (a) JOINING OF PARTIES.—In the event any party

3 to the Settlement Agreement should file a lawsuit in any

4 United States district court relating only and directly to

5 the interpretation or enforcement of the Settlement Agree6 ment or this Act, naming the United States of America

7 or the Tribe as parties, authorization is hereby granted

8 to join the United States of America or the Tribe, or both,

9 in any such litigation, and any claim by the United States

10 of America or the Tribe to sovereign immunity from such

11 suit is hereby waived. In the event Prescott submits a dis12 pute under the Water Service Agreement to arbitration

13 or seeks review by the United States District Court for

14 the District of Arizona of an arbitration award under the

15 Water Service Agreement, any claim by the Tribe to sov16 ereign immunity from such arbitration or review is hereby

17 waived.

18 (b) NO REIMBURSEMENT.—The United States of

19 America shall make no claims for reimbursement of costs

20 arising out of the implementation of the Settlement Agree21 ment or this Act against any lands within the Yavapai22 Prescott Indian Reservation, and no assessment shall be

23 made with regard to such costs against such lands.

24 (c) GROUND WATER MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The Sec25 retary, in consultation with the Tribe, is authorized to es26 tablish a ground water management plan for the reserva-
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1 tion which, except as is necessary to be consistent with

2 the Water Service Agreement, the Settlement Agreement

3 and this Act, will be compatible with the ground water

4 management plan in effect for the Prescott Active Man5 agement Area. In establishing a ground water manage6 ment plan pursuant to this section, the Secretary may con7 sult with the Arizona Department of Water Resources or

8 the Prescott Active Management Area Director.

9 (d) WATER STUDY.—The Secretary is authorized and

10 directed to study the sources and costs of water supplies

11 which may be available to fulfill the trust responsibility

12 of the United States to the Tonto Apache Tribe of Arizona

13 with respect to water. Sources to be studied shall include

14 water service from the town of Payson, Arizona. The study

15 shall be commenced within 180 days after the enactment

16 of this Act and shall be completed within 1 year after it

17 is commenced. Copies of this study shall be provided to

18 the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs of the

19 House of Representatives and the Select Committee on In20 dian Affairs of the Senate.

21 (e) GAUGING STATION.—The Secretary, acting

22 through the Geological Survey, shall establish, maintain

23 and operate a gauging station at the State Highway 89

24 bridge across Granite Creek adjacent to the reservation

25 to assist the Tribe and the CVID in allocating the surface
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1 flows from Granite Creek as provided in the Settlement

2 Agreement.

3 SEC. 12. EFFECTIVE DATE.

4 (a) WAIVERS AND RELEASES.—The waivers and re5 leases required by section 10(b) of this Act shall become

6 effective as of the date the Secretary causes to be pub7 lished in the Federal Register a statement of findings

8 that—

9 (1) the Secretary has executed contracts for the

10 acquisition of the Tribe’s CAP contract and the city

11 of Prescott’s CAP subcontract as provided in section

12 6(d);

13 (2) the stipulation which is attached to the Set14 tlement Agreement as exhibit 9.5, has been approved

15 in substantially the form of such exhibit no later

16 than December 31, 1994, such approval conditioned

17 upon subsequent appropriation of funds authorized

18 in section 9(a)(1) and deposit of such funds into the

19 Tribe’s and Prescott’s respective trust accounts;

20 (3) the Settlement Agreement has been modi21 fied to the extent it is in conflict with this Act and

22 has been executed by the Secretary; and

23 (4) the State of Arizona has appropriated and

24 deposited into the Tribe’s trust account $200,000 as

25 required by the Settlement Agreement.
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1 (b) DEADLINE.—If the actions described in para2 graphs (1), (2), (3), and (4) of subsection (a) have not

3 occurred by December 31, 1995, any contract between

4 Prescott and the United States entered into pursuant to

5 section 6(d) shall not thereafter be effective, any funds

6 appropriated pursuant to section 9(a)(1) shall be returned

7 to the Treasury of the United States, and any funds ap8 propriated by the State of Arizona pursuant to the Settle9 ment Agreement shall be returned by the Tribe to the

10 State of Arizona.

11 SEC. 13. OTHER CLAIMS.

12 (a) OTHER TRIBES.—Nothing in the Settlement

13 Agreement or this Act shall be construed in any way to

14 quantify or otherwise adversely affect the land and water

15 rights, claims or entitlements to water of any Arizona In16 dian tribe, band or community, other than the Tribe.

17 (b) FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Nothing in this Act shall

18 be construed to affect the water rights or the water rights

19 claims of any Federal agency, other than the Bureau of

20 Indian Affairs on behalf of the Tribe.

21 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

22 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Yavapai-Prescott Indian

23 Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act of 1994’’.

24 SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS AND DECLARATIONS.

25 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that—
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1 (1) it is the policy of the United States, in ful2 fillment of its trust responsibility to the Indian tribes,

3 to promote Indian self-determination and economic

4 self-sufficiency, and to settle, wherever possible, the

5 water rights claims of Indian tribes without lengthy

6 and costly litigation;

7 (2) meaningful Indian self-determination and

8 economic self-sufficiency depend on the development of

9 viable Indian reservation economies;

10 (3) quantification of rights to water and develop11 ment of facilities needed to utilize tribal water sup12 plies effectively is essential to the development of via13 ble Indian reservation economies, particularly in arid

14 western States;

15 (4) on June 7, 1935, and by actions subsequent

16 thereto, the United States established a reservation for

17 the Yavapai-Prescott Indian Tribe in Arizona adja18 cent to the city of Prescott;

19 (5) proceedings to determine the full extent of

20 Yavapai-Prescott Tribe’s water rights are currently

21 pending before the Superior Court of the State of Ari22 zona in and for Maricopa County, as part of the gen23 eral adjudication of the Gila River system and source;

24 (6) recognizing that final resolution of the gen25 eral adjudication will take many years and entail
23

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1 great expense to all parties, prolong uncertainty as to

2 the full extent of the Yavapai-Prescott Tribe’s entitle3 ment to water and the availability of water supplies

4 to fulfill that entitlement, and impair orderly plan5 ning and development by the Tribe and the city of

6 Prescott; the Tribe, the city of Prescott, the Chino Val7 ley Irrigation District, the State of Arizona and the

8 United States have sought to settle all claims to water

9 between and among them;

10 (7) representatives of the Yavapai-Prescott Tribe,

11 the city of Prescott, the Chino Valley Irrigation Dis12 trict, the State of Arizona and the United States have

13 negotiated a Settlement Agreement to resolve all water

14 rights claims between and among them, and to pro15 vide the Tribe with long term, reliable water supplies

16 for the orderly development and maintenance of the

17 Tribe’s reservation;

18 (8) pursuant to the Settlement Agreement and

19 the Water Service Agreement, the quantity of water

20 made available to the Yavapai-Prescott Tribe by the

21 city of Prescott and the Chino Valley Irrigation Dis22 trict will be secured, such Agreements will be contin23 ued in perpetuity, and the Tribe’s continued on-res24 ervation use of water for municipal and industrial,
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1 recreational and agricultural purposes will be pro2 vided for;

3 (9) to advance the goals of Federal Indian policy

4 and to fulfill the trust responsibility of the United

5 States to the Tribe, it is appropriate that the United

6 States participate in the implementation of the Set7 tlement Agreement and assist in firming up the long8 term water supplies of the city of Prescott and the

9 Yavapai-Prescott Tribe so as to enable the Tribe to

10 utilize fully its water entitlements in developing a di11 verse, efficient reservation economy; and

12 (10) the assignment of the CAP contract of the

13 Yavapai-Prescott Tribe and the CAP subcontract of

14 the city of Prescott is a cost-effective means to ensure

15 reliable, long-term water supplies for the Yavapai16 Prescott Tribe and to promote efficient, environ17 mentally sound use of available water supplies in the

18 Verde River basin.

19 (b) DECLARATION OF PURPOSES.—The Congress de20 clares that the purposes of this Act are—

21 (1) to approve, ratify and confirm the Settlement

22 Agreement among the Yavapai-Prescott Tribe, the city

23 of Prescott, the Chino Valley Irrigation District, the

24 State of Arizona and the United States;
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1 (2) to authorize and direct the Secretary of the

2 Interior to execute and perform the Settlement Agree3 ment;

4 (3) to authorize the actions and appropriations

5 necessary for the United States to fulfill its legal and

6 trust obligations to the Yavapai-Prescott Tribe as pro7 vided in the Settlement Agreement and this Act;

8 (4) to require that expenditures of funds obtained

9 through the assignment of CAP contract entitlements

10 by the Yavapai-Prescott Tribe and Prescott for the ac11 quisition or development of replacement water sup12 plies in the Verde River basin shall not be inconsist13 ent with the goals of the Prescott Active Management

14 Area, preservation of riparian habitat, flows and

15 biota of the Verde River and its tributaries; and

16 (5) to repeal section 406(k) of Public Law 101–

17 628 which authorizes $30,000,000 in appropriations

18 for the acquisition of land and water resources in the

19 Verde River basin and for the development thereof as

20 an alternative source of water for the Fort McDowell

21 Indian Community.

22 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

23 For purposes of this Act:

24 (1) The term ‘‘CAP’’ means the Central Arizona

25 Project, a reclamation project authorized under title
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1 III of the Colorado River Basin Project Act of 1968

2 (43 U.S.C. 1521 et seq.).

3 (2) The term ‘‘CAWCD’’ means the Central Ari4 zona Water Conservation District, organized under

5 the laws of the State of Arizona, which is the contrac6 tor under a contract with the United States, dated

7 December 1, 1988, for the delivery of water and re8 payment of costs of the Central Arizona Project.

9 (3) The term ‘‘CVID’’ means the Chino Valley

10 Irrigation District, an irrigation district organized

11 under the laws of the State of Arizona.

12 (4) The term ‘‘Prescott AMA’’ means the Active

13 Management Area, established pursuant to Arizona

14 law and encompassing the Prescott ground water

15 basin, wherein the primary goal is to achieve balance

16 between annual ground water withdrawals and natu17 ral and artificial recharge by the year 2025.

18 (5) The term ‘‘Prescott’’ means the city of Pres19 cott, an Arizona municipal corporation.

20 (6) The term ‘‘Reservation’’ means the reserva21 tion established by the Act of June 7, 1935 (49 Stat.

22 332) and the Act of May 18, 1956 (70 Stat. 157) for

23 the Yavapai-Prescott Tribe of Indians.

24 (7) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of

25 the United States Department of the Interior.
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1 (8) The term ‘‘Settlement Agreement’’ means that

2 agreement entered into by the city of Prescott, the

3 Chino Valley Irrigation District, the Yavapai-Prescott

4 Indian Tribe, the State of Arizona, and the United

5 States, providing for the settlement of all water

6 claims between and among them.

7 (9) The term ‘‘Tribe’’ means the Yavapai-Pres8 cott Indian Tribe, a tribe of Yavapai Indians duly

9 recognized by the Secretary.

10 (10) The term ‘‘Water Service Agreement’’ means

11 that agreement between the Yavapai-Prescott Indian

12 Tribe and the city of Prescott, as approved by the

13 Secretary, providing for water, sewer, and effluent

14 service from the city of Prescott to the Yavapai15 Prescott Tribe.

16 SEC. 4. RATIFICATION OF SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT.

17 (a) APPROVAL OF SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT.—To the

18 extent the Settlement Agreement does not conflict with the

19 provisions of this Act, such Agreement is approved, ratified

20 and confirmed. The Secretary shall execute and perform

21 such Agreement, and shall execute any amendments to the

22 Agreement and perform any action required by any amend23 ments to the Agreement which may be mutually agreed

24 upon by the parties.
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1 (b) PERPETUITY.—The Settlement Agreement and

2 Water Service Agreement shall include provisions which

3 will ensure that the benefits to the Tribe thereunder shall

4 be secure in perpetuity. Notwithstanding the provisions of

5 section 2103 of the Revised Statutes of the United States

6 (25 U.S.C. 81) relating to the term of the Agreement, the

7 Secretary is authorized and directed to approve the Water

8 Service Agreement with a perpetual term.

9 SEC. 5. ASSIGNMENT OF CAP WATER.

10 The Secretary is authorized and directed to arrange

11 for the assignment of, or to purchase, the CAP contract of

12 the Tribe and the CAP subcontract of the city of Prescott

13 to provide funds for deposit into the Verde River Basin

14 Water Fund established pursuant to section 6.

15 SEC. 6. REPLACEMENT WATER FUND; CONTRACTS.

16 (a) FUND.—The Secretary shall establish a fund to be

17 known as the ‘‘Verde River Basin Water Fund’’ (hereinafter

18 called the ‘‘Fund’’) to provide replacement water for the

19 CAP water relinquished by the Tribe and by Prescott.

20 Moneys in the Fund shall be available without fiscal year

21 limitations.

22 (b) CONTENT OF FUND.—The Fund shall consist of

23 moneys obtained through the assignment or purchase of the

24 contract and subcontract referenced in section 5, appropria-
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1 tions as authorized in section 9, and any moneys returned

2 to the Fund pursuant to subsection (d) of this section.

3 (c) PAYMENTS FROM FUND.—The Secretary shall, sub4 sequent to the publication of a statement of findings as pro5 vided in section 12(a), promptly cause to be paid from the

6 Fund to the Tribe the amounts deposited to the Fund from

7 the assignment or purchase of the Tribe’s CAP contract,

8 and, to the city of Prescott, the amounts deposited to the

9 Fund from the assignment or purchase of the city’s CAP

10 subcontract.

11 (d) CONTRACTS.—The Secretary shall require, as a

12 condition precedent to the payment of any moneys pursuant

13 to subsection (c), that the Tribe and Prescott agree, by con14 tract with the Secretary, to establish trust accounts into

15 which the payments would be deposited and administered,

16 to use such moneys consistent with the purpose and intent

17 of section 7, to provide for audits of such accounts, and

18 for the repayment to the Fund, with interest, any amount

19 determined by the Secretary not to have been used within

20 the purpose and intent of section 7.

21 SEC. 7. EXPENDITURES OF FUNDS.

22 (a) BY THE CITY.—All moneys paid to Prescott for

23 relinquishing its CAP subcontract and deposited into a

24 trust account pursuant to section 6(d), shall be used for the

25 purposes of defraying expenses associated with the inves-
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1 tigation, acquisition or development of alternative sources

2 of water to replace the CAP water relinquished under this

3 Act. Alternative sources shall be understood to include, but

4 not be limited to, retirement of agricultural land and acqui5 sition of associated water rights, development of ground

6 water resources outside the Prescott Active Management

7 Area established pursuant to the laws of the State of Ari8 zona, and artificial recharge; except that none of the moneys

9 paid to Prescott may be used for construction or renovation

10 of the city’s existing waterworks or water delivery system.

11 (b) BY THE TRIBE.—All funds paid to the Tribe for

12 relinquishing its CAP contract and deposited into a trust

13 account pursuant to section 6(d), shall be used to defray

14 its water service costs under the Water Service Agreement

15 or to develop and maintain facilities for on-reservation

16 water or effluent use.

17 (c) NO PER CAPITA PAYMENTS.—No amount of the

18 Tribe’s portion of the Fund may be used to make per capita

19 payments to any member of the Tribe, nor may any amount

20 of any payment made pursuant to section 6(c) be distrib21 uted as a dividend or per capita payment to any constitu22 ent, member, shareholder, director or employee of Prescott.

23 (d) DISCLAIMER.—Effective with the payment of funds

24 pursuant to section 6(c), the United States shall not be lia-
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1 ble for any claim or cause of action arising from the use

2 of such funds by the Tribe or by Prescott.

3 SEC. 8. ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE.

4 The Secretary, the Tribe and Prescott shall comply

5 with all applicable Federal environmental and State envi6 ronmental and water laws in developing alternative water

7 sources pursuant to section 7(a). Development of such alter8 native water sources shall not be inconsistent with the goals

9 of the Prescott Active Management Area, preservation of the

10 riparian habitat, flows and biota of the Verde River and

11 its tributaries.

12 SEC. 9. APPROPRIATIONS AUTHORIZATION AND REPEAL.

13 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—There are authorized to be ap14 propriated to the Fund established pursuant to section 6(a):

15 (1) Such sums as may be necessary, but not to

16 exceed $200,000, to the Secretary for the Tribe’s costs

17 associated with judicial confirmation of the settle18 ment.

19 (2) Such sums as may be necessary to establish,

20 maintain and operate the gauging station required

21 under section 11(e).

22 (b) STATE CONTRIBUTION.—The State of Arizona shall

23 contribute $200,000 to the trust account established by the

24 Tribe pursuant to the Settlement Agreement and section

25 6(d) for uses consistent with section 7(b).
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1 (c) REPEAL.—Subsection 406(k) of the Act of Novem2 ber 28, 1990 (Public Law 101–628; 104 Stat. 4487) is

3 repealed.

4 SEC. 10. SATISFACTION OF CLAIMS.

5 (a) WAIVER.—The benefits realized by the Tribe or any

6 of its members under the Settlement Agreement and this

7 Act shall constitute full and complete satisfaction of all

8 claims by the Tribe and all members’ claims for water

9 rights or injuries to water rights under Federal and State

10 laws (including claims for water rights in ground water,

11 surface water and effluent) from time immemorial to the

12 effective date of this Act, and for any and all future claims

13 of water rights (including claims for water rights in ground

14 water, surface water, and effluent) from and after the effec15 tive date of this Act. Nothing in this Act shall be deemed

16 to recognize or establish any right of a member of the Tribe

17 to water on the Tribe’s reservation.

18 (b) WAIVER AND RELEASE.—The Tribe, on behalf of

19 itself and its members, and the Secretary on behalf of the

20 United States, are authorized and required, as a condition

21 to the implementation of this Act, to execute a waiver and

22 release, except as provided in subsection (d) and the Settle23 ment Agreement, of all claims of water rights or injuries

24 to water rights (including water rights in ground water,

25 surface water and effluent), from and after the effective date
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1 of this Act, which the Tribe and its members may have,

2 against the United States, the State of Arizona or any agen3 cy or political subdivision thereof, or any other person, cor4 poration, or municipal corporation, arising under the laws

5 of the United States or the State of Arizona.

6 (c) WAIVER BY UNITED STATES.—Except as provided

7 in subsection (d) and the Settlement Agreement, the United

8 States, in its own right or on behalf of the Tribe, shall not

9 assert any claim against the State of Arizona or any politi10 cal subdivision thereof, or against any other person, cor11 poration, or municipal corporation, arising under the laws

12 of the United States or the State of Arizona based upon

13 water rights or injuries to water rights of the Tribe and

14 its members or based upon water rights or injuries to water

15 rights held by the United States on behalf of the Tribe and

16 its members.

17 (d) RIGHTS RETAINED.—In the event the waivers of

18 claims authorized in subsection (b) of this section do not

19 become effective pursuant to section 12(a), the Tribe, and

20 the United States on behalf of the Tribe, shall retain the

21 right to assert past and future water rights claims as to

22 all reservation lands.

23 (e) JURISDICTION.—The United States District Court

24 for the District of Arizona shall have original jurisdiction

25 of all actions arising under this Act, the Settlement Agree-
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1 ment and the Water Service Agreement, including review

2 pursuant to title 9, United States Code, of any arbitration

3 and award under the Water Service Agreement.

4 (f) CLAIMS.—Nothing in this Act shall be deemed to

5 prohibit the Tribe, or the United States on behalf of the

6 Tribe, from asserting or maintaining any claims for the

7 breach or enforcement of the Settlement Agreement or the

8 Water Service Agreement.

9 (g) DISCLAIMER.—Nothing in this Act shall affect the

10 water rights or claims related to any trust allotment located

11 outside the exterior boundaries of the reservation of any

12 member of the Tribe.

13 (h) FULL SATISFACTION OF CLAIMS.—Payments made

14 to Prescott under this Act shall be in full satisfaction for

15 any claim that Prescott might have against the Secretary

16 or the United States related to the allocation, reallocation,

17 relinquishment or delivery of CAP water.

18 SEC. 11. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS.

19 (a) JOINING OF PARTIES.—In the event any party to

20 the Settlement Agreement should file a lawsuit in any Unit21 ed States district court relating only and directly to the

22 interpretation or enforcement of the Settlement Agreement

23 or this Act, naming the United States of America or the

24 Tribe as parties, authorization is hereby granted to join the

25 United States of America or the Tribe, or both, in any such
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1 litigation, and any claim by the United States of America

2 or the Tribe to sovereign immunity from such suit is hereby

3 waived. In the event Prescott submits a dispute under the

4 Water Service Agreement to arbitration or seeks review by

5 the United States District Court for the District of Arizona

6 of an arbitration award under the Water Service Agree7 ment, any claim by the Tribe to sovereign immunity from

8 such arbitration or review is hereby waived.

9 (b) NO REIMBURSEMENT.—The United States of

10 America shall make no claims for reimbursement of costs

11 arising out of the implementation of the Settlement Agree12 ment or this Act against any lands within the Yavapai13 Prescott Indian Reservation, and no assessment shall be

14 made with regard to such costs against such lands.

15 (c) WATER MANAGEMENT.—The Tribe shall establish

16 a ground water management plan for the Reservation

17 which, except to be consistent with the Water Service Agree18 ment, the Settlement Agreement and this Act, will be com19 patible with the ground water management plan in effect

20 for the Prescott Active Management Area and will include

21 an annual information exchange with the Arizona Depart22 ment of Water Resources. In establishing a ground water

23 management plan pursuant to this section, the Tribe may

24 enter into a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ari25 zona Department of Water Resources for consultation. Not-
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1 withstanding any other law, the Tribe may establish a trib2 al water code, consistent with the above-described water

3 management plan, under which the Tribe will manage, reg4 ulate, and control the water resources granted it in the Set5 tlement Act, the Settlement Agreement, and the Water Serv6 ice Agreement, except that such management, regulation

7 and control shall not authorize any action inconsistent with

8 the trust ownership of the Tribe’s water resources.

9 (d) GAUGING STATION.—The Secretary, acting

10 through the Geological Survey, shall establish, maintain

11 and operate a gauging station at the State Highway 89

12 bridge across Granite Creek adjacent to the reservation to

13 assist the Tribe and the CVID in allocating the surface flows

14 from Granite Creek as provided in the Settlement Agree15 ment.

16 SEC. 12. EFFECTIVE DATE.

17 (a) WAIVERS AND RELEASES.—The waivers and re18 leases required by section 10(b) of this Act shall become ef19 fective as of the date the Secretary causes to be published

20 in the Federal Register a statement of findings that—

21 (1)(A) the Secretary has determined that an ac22 ceptable party, or parties, have executed contracts for

23 the assignments of the Tribe’s CAP contract and the

24 city of Prescott’s CAP subcontract, and the proceeds
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1 from the assignments have been deposited into the

2 Fund as provided in section 6(d); or,

3 (B) the Secretary has executed contracts for the

4 acquisition of the Tribe’s CAP contract and the city

5 of Prescott’s CAP subcontract as provided in section

6 6(d);

7 (2) the stipulation which is attached to the Set8 tlement Agreement as exhibit 9.5, has been approved

9 in substantially the form of such exhibit no later than

10 December 31, 1994;

11 (3) the Settlement Agreement has been modified

12 to the extent it is in conflict with this Act and has

13 been executed by the Secretary; and

14 (4) the State of Arizona has appropriated and

15 deposited into the Tribe’s trust account $200,000 as

16 required by the Settlement Agreement.

17 (b) DEADLINE.—If the actions described in paragraphs

18 (1), (2), (3), and (4) of subsection (a) have not occurred

19 by December 31, 1995, any contract between Prescott and

20 the United States entered into pursuant to section 6(d) shall

21 not thereafter be effective, and any funds appropriated by

22 the State of Arizona pursuant to the Settlement Agreement

23 shall be returned by the Tribe to the State of Arizona.
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1 SEC. 13. OTHER CLAIMS.

2 (a) OTHER TRIBES.—Nothing in the Settlement Agree3 ment or this Act shall be construed in any way to quantify

4 or otherwise adversely affect the land and water rights,

5 claims or entitlements to water of any Arizona Indian tribe,

6 band or community, other than the Tribe.

7 (b) FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Nothing in this Act shall be

8 construed to affect the water rights or the water rights

9 claims of any Federal agency, other than the Bureau of

10 Indian Affairs on behalf of the Tribe.

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