II

Calendar No. 723

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2508

To amend the Colorado Ute Indian Water Rights Settlement Act of 1988

to provide for a final settlement of the claims of the Colorado Ute

Indian Tribes, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MAY 4, 2000

Mr. CAMPBELL (for himself, Mr. ALLARD, and Mr. DOMENICI) introduced the

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs

JULY 26, 2000

Reported by Mr. CAMPBELL, without amendment

JULY 26, 2000

Referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources pursuant to the

order of June 23, 2000, for a period not to exceed 30 calendar days

JULY 26, 2000

Committee on Energy and Natural Resources discharged ursuant to the order

on June 23, 2000, and placed on the calendar

A BILL

To amend the Colorado Ute Indian Water Rights Settlement

Act of 1988 to provide for a final settlement of the

claims of the Colorado Ute Indian Tribes, and for other

purposes.
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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; FINDINGS; DEFINITIONS.

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the

5 ‘‘Colorado Ute Settlement Act Amendments of 2000’’.

6 (b) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find7 ings:

8 (1) In order to provide for a full and final set9 tlement of the claims of the Colorado Ute Indian

10 Tribes on the Animas and La Plata Rivers, the

11 Tribes, the State of Colorado, and certain of the

12 non-Indian parties to the Agreement have proposed

13 certain modifications to the Colorado Ute Indian

14 Water Rights Settlement Act of 1988 (Public Law

15 100–585; 102 Stat. 2973).

16 (2) The claims of the Colorado Ute Indian

17 Tribes on all rivers in Colorado other than the

18 Animas and La Plata Rivers have been settled in ac19 cordance with the provisions of the Colorado Ute In20 dian Water Rights Settlement Act of 1988 (Public

21 Law 100–585; 102 Stat. 2973).

22 (3) The Indian and non-Indian communities of

23 southwest Colorado and northwest New Mexico will

24 be benefited by a settlement of the tribal claims on

25 the Animas and La Plata Rivers that provides the
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1 Tribes with a firm water supply without taking

2 water away from existing uses.

3 (4) The Agreement contemplated a specific

4 timetable for the delivery of irrigation and municipal

5 and industrial water and other benefits to the Tribes

6 from the Animas-La Plata Project, which timetable

7 has not been met. The provision of irrigation water

8 can not presently be satisfied under the current im9 plementation of the Federal Water Pollution Control

10 Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.) and the Endangered

11 Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).

12 (5) In order to meet the requirements of the

13 Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et

14 seq.), and in particular the various biological opin15 ions issued by the Fish and Wildlife Service, the

16 amendments made by this Act are needed to provide

17 for a significant reduction in the facilities and water

18 supply contemplated under the Agreement.

19 (6) The substitute benefits provided to the

20 Tribes under the amendments made by this Act, in21 cluding the waiver of capital costs and the provisions

22 of funds for natural resource enhancement, result in

23 a settlement that provides the Tribes with benefits

24 that are equivalent to those that the Tribes would

25 have received under the Colorado Ute Indian Water
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1 Rights Settlement Act of 1988 (Public Law 100–

2 585; 102 Stat. 2973).

3 (7) The requirement that the Secretary of the

4 Interior comply with the National Environmental

5 Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and

6 other national environmental laws before imple7 menting the proposed settlement will ensure that the

8 satisfaction of the tribal water rights is accomplished

9 in an environmentally responsible fashion.

10 (8) Federal courts have considered the nature

11 and the extent of Congressional participation when

12 reviewing Federal compliance with the requirements

13 of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969

14 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).

15 (9) In considering the full range of alternatives

16 for satisfying the water rights claims of the South17 ern Ute Indian Tribe and Ute Mountain Ute Indian

18 Tribe, Congress has held numerous legislative hear19 ings and deliberations, and reviewed the considerable

20 record including the following documents:

21 (A) The Final EIS No. INT–FES–80–18,

22 dated July 1, 1980.

23 (B) The Draft Supplement to the FES No.

24 INT–DES–92–41, dated October 13, 1992.
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1 (C) The Final Supplemental to the FES

2 No. 96–23, dated April 26, 1996;

3 (D) The Draft Supplemental EIS, dated

4 January 14, 2000.

5 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act:

6 (1) AGREEMENT.—The term ‘‘Agreement’’ has

7 the meaning given that term in section 3(1) of the

8 Colorado Ute Indian Water Rights Settlement Act of

9 1988 (Public Law 100–585; 102 Stat. 2973).

10 (2) ANIMAS-LA PLATA PROJECT.—The term

11 ‘‘Animas-La Plata Project’’ has the meaning given

12 that term in section 3(2) of the Colorado Ute Indian

13 Water Rights Settlement Act of 1988 (Public Law

14 100–585; 102 Stat. 2973).

15 (3) DOLORES PROJECT.—The term ‘‘Dolores

16 Project’’ has the meaning given that term in section

17 3(3) of the Colorado Ute Indian Water Rights Set18 tlement Act of 1988 (Public Law 100–585; 102

19 Stat. 2974).

20 (4) TRIBE; TRIBES.—The term ‘‘tribe’’ or

21 ‘‘tribes’’ has the meaning given that term in section

22 3(6) of the Colorado Ute Indian Water Rights Set23 tlement Act of 1988 (Public Law 100–585; 102

24 Stat. 2974).
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1 SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO SECTION 6 OF THE COLORADO

2 UTE INDIAN WATER RIGHTS SETTLEMENT

3 ACT OF 1988.

4 Subsection (a) of section 6 of the Colorado Ute In5 dian Water Rights Settlement Act of 1988 (Public Law

6 100–585; 102 Stat. 2975) is amended to read as follows:

7 ‘‘(a) RESERVOIR; MUNICIPAL AND INDUSTRIAL

8 WATER.—

9 ‘‘(1) FACILITIES.—

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—After the date of en11 actment of this subsection, but prior to January

12 1, 2005, the Secretary, in order to settle the

13 outstanding claims of the Tribes on the Animas

14 and La Plata Rivers, acting through the Bu15 reau of Reclamation, is specifically authorized

16 to—

17 ‘‘(i) complete construction of, and op18 erate and maintain, a reservoir, a pumping

19 plant, a reservoir inlet conduit, and appur20 tenant facilities with sufficient capacity to

21 divert and store water from the Animas

22 River to provide for an average annual de23 pletion of 57,100 acre-feet of water to be

24 used for a municipal and industrial water

25 supply, which facilities shall—
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1 ‘‘(I) be designed and operated in

2 accordance with the hydrologic regime

3 necessary for the recovery of the en4 dangered fish of the San Juan River

5 as determined by the San Juan River

6 Recovery Implementation Program;

7 ‘‘(II) include an inactive pool of

8 an appropriate size to be determined

9 by the Secretary following the comple10 tion of required environmental compli11 ance activities; and

12 ‘‘(III) include those recreation fa13 cilities determined to be appropriate

14 by agreement between the State of

15 Colorado and the Secretary that shall

16 address the payment of any of the

17 costs of such facilities by the State of

18 Colorado in addition to the costs de19 scribed in paragraph (3); and

20 ‘‘(ii) deliver, through the use of the

21 project components referred to in clause

22 (i), municipal and industrial water

23 allocations—

24 ‘‘(I) with an average annual de25 pletion not to exceed 16,525 acre-feet
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1 of water, to the Southern Ute Indian

2 Tribe for its present and future needs;

3 ‘‘(II) with an average annual de4 pletion not to exceed 16,525 acre-feet

5 of water, to the Ute Mountain Ute In6 dian Tribe for its present and future

7 needs;

8 ‘‘(III) with an average annual de9 pletion not to exceed 2,340 acre-feet

10 of water, to the Navajo Nation for its

11 present and future needs;

12 ‘‘(IV) with an average annual de13 pletion not to exceed 10,400 acre-feet

14 of water, to the San Juan Water

15 Commission for its present and future

16 needs;

17 ‘‘(V) with an average annual de18 pletion of an amount not to exceed

19 2,600 acre-feet of water, to the

20 Animas-La Plata Conservancy Dis21 trict for its present and future needs;

22 ‘‘(VI) with an average annual de23 pletion of an amount not to exceed

24 5,230 acre-feet of water, to the State
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1 of Colorado for its present and future

2 needs; and

3 ‘‘(VII) with an average annual

4 depletion of an amount not to exceed

5 780 acre-feet of water, to the La

6 Plata Conservancy District of New

7 Mexico for its present and future

8 needs.

9 ‘‘(B) APPLICABILITY OF OTHER FEDERAL

10 LAW.—The responsibilities of the Secretary de11 scribed in subparagraph (A) are subject to the

12 requirements of Federal laws related to the pro13 tection of the environment and otherwise appli14 cable to the construction of the proposed facili15 ties, including the National Environmental Pol16 icy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), the

17 Clean Water Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.), and

18 the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C.

19 1531 et seq.). Nothing in this Act shall be con20 strued to predetermine or otherwise affect the

21 outcome of any analysis conducted by the Sec22 retary or any other Federal official under appli23 cable laws.

24 ‘‘(C) LIMITATION.—
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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—If constructed, the

2 facilities described in subparagraph (A)

3 shall not be used in conjunction with any

4 other facility authorized as part of the

5 Animas-La Plata Project without express

6 authorization from Congress.

7 ‘‘(ii) CONTINGENCY IN APPLICA8 TION.—If the facilities described in sub9 paragraph (A) are not constructed and op10 erated, clause (i) shall not take effect.

11 ‘‘(2) TRIBAL CONSTRUCTION COSTS.—Construc12 tion costs allocable to the facilities that are required

13 to deliver the municipal and industrial water alloca14 tions described in subclauses (I), (II) and (III) of

15 paragraph (1)(A)(ii) shall be nonreimbursable to the

16 United States.

17 ‘‘(3) NONTRIBAL WATER CAPITAL OBLIGA18 TIONS.—Under the provisions of section 9 of the Act

19 of August 4, 1939 (43 U.S.C. 485h), the nontribal

20 municipal and industrial water capital repayment

21 obligations for the facilities described in paragraph

22 (1)(A)(i) may be satisfied upon the payment in full

23 of the nontribal water capital obligations prior to the

24 initiation of construction. The amount of the obliga25 tions described in the preceding sentence shall be de-
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1 termined by agreement between the Secretary of the

2 Interior and the entity responsible for such repay3 ment as to the appropriate reimbursable share of the

4 construction costs allocated to that entity’s munic5 ipal water supply. Such agreement shall take into

6 account the fact that the construction of facilities to

7 provide irrigation water supplies from the Animas8 La Plata Project is not authorized under paragraph

9 (1)(A)(i) and no costs associated with the design or

10 development of such facilities, including costs associ11 ated with environmental compliance, shall be allo12 cable to the municipal and industrial users of the

13 facilities authorized under such paragraph.

14 ‘‘(4) TRIBAL WATER ALLOCATIONS.—

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—With respect to mu16 nicipal and industrial water allocated to a Tribe

17 from the Animas-La Plata Project or the Dolo18 res Project, until that water is first used by a

19 Tribe or used pursuant to a water use contract

20 with the Tribe, the Secretary shall pay the an21 nual operation, maintenance, and replacement

22 costs allocable to that municipal and industrial

23 water allocation of the Tribe.

24 ‘‘(B) TREATMENT OF COSTS.—A Tribe

25 shall not be required to reimburse the Secretary
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1 for the payment of any cost referred to in sub2 paragraph (A).

3 ‘‘(5) REPAYMENT OF PRO RATA SHARE.—Upon

4 a Tribe’s first use of an increment of a municipal

5 and industrial water allocation described in para6 graph (4), or the Tribe’s first use of such water pur7 suant to the terms of a water use contract—

8 ‘‘(A) repayment of that increment’s pro

9 rata share of those allocable construction costs

10 for the Dolores Project shall be made by the

11 Tribe; and

12 ‘‘(B) the Tribe shall bear a pro rata share

13 of the allocable annual operation, maintenance,

14 and replacement costs of the increment as re15 ferred to in paragraph (4).’’.

16 SEC. 3. COMPLIANCE WITH THE NATIONAL ENVIRON17 MENTAL POLICY ACT OF 1969.

18 Section 6 of the Colorado Ute Indian Water Rights

19 Settlement Act of 1988 (Public Law 100–585; 102 Stat.

20 2975) is amended by adding at the end the following:

21 ‘‘(i) COMPLIANCE WITH THE NATIONAL ENVIRON22 MENTAL POLICY ACT OF 1969.—

23 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY.—Nothing in this Act shall be

24 construed to alter, amend, or modify the authority

25 or discretion of the Secretary or any other Federal
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1 official under the National Environmental Policy Act

2 of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) or any other Fed3 eral law.

4 ‘‘(2) DETERMINATION OF CONGRESS.—Subject

5 to paragraph (3), in any defense to a challenge of

6 the Final Environmental Impact Statement prepared

7 pursuant to the Notice of Intent to Prepare a Draft

8 Environmental Impact Statement, as published in

9 the Federal Register on January 4, 1999 (64 Fed

10 Reg 176–179), or the compliance with the National

11 Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321

12 et seq.) or the Federal Water Pollution Control Act

13 (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.), and in addition to the

14 Record of Decision and any other documents or ma15 terials submitted in defense of its decision, the

16 United States may assert in its defense that Con17 gress, based upon the deliberations and review de18 scribed in paragraph (9) of section 1(b) of the Colo19 rado Ute Settlement Act Amendments of 2000, has

20 determined that the alternative described in such

21 Final Statement meets the Federal government’s

22 water supply obligations to the Ute tribes under this

23 Act in a manner that provides the most benefits to,

24 and has the least impact on, the quality of the

25 human environment.
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1 ‘‘(3) APPLICATION OF PROVISION.—This sub2 section shall only apply if Alternative #4, as pre3 sented in the Draft Supplemental Environmental

4 Impact Statement dated January 14, 2000, or an al5 ternative substantially similar to Alternative #4, is

6 selected by the Secretary.

7 ‘‘(4) NO EFFECT OF MODIFICATION OF FACILI8 TIES.—The application of this section shall not be

9 affected by a modification of the facilities described

10 in subsection (a)(1)(A)(i) to address the provisions

11 in the San Juan River Recovery Implementation

12 Program.’’.

13 SEC. 4. COMPLIANCE WITH THE ENDANGERED SPECIES

14 ACT OF 1973.

15 Section 6 of the Colorado Ute Indian Water Rights

16 Settlement Act of 1988 (Public Law 100–585; 102 Stat.

17 2975), as amended by section 3, is amended by adding

18 at the end the following:

19 ‘‘(j) COMPLIANCE WITH THE ENDANGERED SPECIES

20 ACT OF 1973.—

21 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY.—Nothing in this section shall

22 be construed to alter, amend, or modify the author23 ity or discretion of the Secretary or any other Fed24 eral official under the Endangered Species Act of
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1 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) or any other Federal

2 law.

3 ‘‘(2) DETERMINATION OF CONGRESS.—Subject

4 to paragraph (3), in any defense to a challenge of

5 the Biological Opinion resulting from the Bureau of

6 Reclamation Biological Assessment, January 14,

7 2000, or the compliance with the Endangered Spe8 cies Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), and in

9 addition to the Record of Decision and any other

10 documents or materials submitted in defense of its

11 decision, the United States may assert in its defense

12 that Congress, based on the deliberations and review

13 described in paragraph (9) of section 1(b) of the

14 Colorado Ute Settlement Act Amendments of 2000,

15 has determined that constructing and operating the

16 facilities described in subsection (a)(1)(A)(i) meets

17 the Federal government’s water supply obligation to

18 the Ute tribes under that Act without violating the

19 Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531

20 et seq.).

21 ‘‘(3) APPLICATION OF PROVISION.—This sub22 section shall only apply if the Biological Opinion re23 ferred to in paragraph (2) or any reasonable and

24 prudent alternative suggested by the Secretary pur25 suant to section 7 of the Endangered Species Act of
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1 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1536) authorizes an average an2 nual depletion of at least 57,100 acre-feet of water.

3 ‘‘(4) NO EFFECT OF MODIFICATION OF FACILI4 TIES.—The application of this subsection shall not

5 be affected by a modification of the facilities de6 scribed in subsection (a)(1)(A)(i) to address the pro7 visions in the San Juan River Recovery Implementa8 tion Program.’’.

9 SEC. 5. MISCELLANEOUS.

10 The Colorado Ute Indian Water Rights Settlement

11 Act of 1988 (Public Law 100–585; 102 Stat. 2973) is

12 amended by adding at the end the following:

13 ‘‘SEC. 15. NEW MEXICO AND NAVAJO NATION WATER

14 MATTERS.

15 ‘‘(a) ASSIGNMENT OF WATER PERMIT.—Upon the

16 request of the State Engineer of the State of New Mexico,

17 the Secretary shall, in a manner consistent with applicable

18 State law, assign, without consideration, to the New Mex19 ico Animas-La Plata Project beneficiaries or the New

20 Mexico Interstate Stream Commission any portion of the

21 Department of the Interior’s interest in New Mexico Engi22 neer Permit Number 2883, dated May 1, 1956, in order

23 to fulfill the New Mexico purposes of the Animas-La Plata

24 Project, so long as the permit assignment does not affect
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1 the application of the Endangered Species Act of 1973

2 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) to the use of the water involved.

3 ‘‘(b) NAVAJO NATION MUNICIPAL PIPELINE.—The

4 Secretary may construct a water line to augment the exist5 ing system that conveys the municipal water supplies, in

6 an amount not less than 4,680 acre-feet per year, of the

7 Navajo Nation to the Navajo Indian Reservation at

8 Shiprock, New Mexico. The Secretary shall comply with

9 all applicable environmental laws with respect to such

10 water line. Construction costs allocated to the Navajo Na11 tion for such water line shall be nonreimbursable to the

12 United States.

13 ‘‘(c) PROTECTION OF NAVAJO WATER CLAIMS.—

14 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to quantify or oth15 erwise adversely affect the water rights and the claims of

16 entitlement to water of the Navajo Nation.

17 ‘‘SEC. 16. TRIBAL RESOURCE FUNDS.

18 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—

19 ‘‘(1) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

20 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out

21 this section, $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2001 and

22 $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2002. Not later than 60

23 days after amounts are appropriated and available

24 to the Secretary for a fiscal year under this para25 graph, the Secretary shall make a payment to each
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1 of the Tribal Resource Funds established under

2 paragraph (2). Each such payment shall be equal to

3 50 percent of the amount appropriated for the fiscal

4 year involved.

5 ‘‘(2) FUNDS.—The Secretary shall establish

6 a—

7 ‘‘(A) Southern Ute Tribal Resource Fund;

8 and

9 ‘‘(B) Ute Mountain Ute Tribal Resource

10 Fund.

11 A separate account shall be maintained for each

12 such Fund.

13 ‘‘(b) ADJUSTMENT.—To the extent that the amount

14 appropriated under subsection (a)(1) in any fiscal year is

15 less than the amount authorized for such fiscal year under

16 such subsection, the Secretary shall, subject to the avail17 ability of appropriations, pay to each of the Tribal Reserve

18 Funds an adjustment amount equal to the interest income,

19 as determined by the Secretary in his or her sole discre20 tion, that would have been earned on the amount author21 ized but not appropriated under such subsection had that

22 amount been placed in the Fund as required under such

23 subsection.

24 ‘‘(c) TRIBAL DEVELOPMENT.—
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1 ‘‘(1) INVESTMENT.—The Secretary shall, in the

2 absence of an approved tribal investment plan pro3 vided for under paragraph (2), invest the amount in

4 each Tribal Resource Fund in accordance with the

5 Act entitled, ‘An Act to authorize the deposit and in6 vestment of Indian funds’ approved June 24, 1938

7 (25 U.S.C. 162a). The Secretary shall disburse, at

8 the request of a Tribe, the principal and income in

9 its Resource Fund, or any part thereof, in accord10 ance with a resource acquisition and enhancement

11 plan approved under paragraph (3).

12 ‘‘(2) INVESTMENT PLAN.—

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In lieu of the invest14 ment provided for in paragraph (1), a Tribe

15 may submit a tribal investment plan applicable

16 to all or part of the Tribe’s Tribal Resource

17 Fund.

18 ‘‘(B) APPROVAL.—Not later than 60 days

19 after the date on which an investment plan is

20 submitted under subparagraph (A), the Sec21 retary shall approve such investment plan if the

22 Secretary finds that the plan is reasonable and

23 sound. If the Secretary does not approve such

24 investment plan, the Secretary shall set forth in

25 writing and with particularity the reasons for
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1 such disapproval. If such investment plan is ap2 proved by the Secretary, the Tribal Resource

3 Fund involved shall be disbursed to the Tribe to

4 be invested by the Tribe in accordance with the

5 approved investment plan.

6 ‘‘(C) COMPLIANCE.—The Secretary may

7 take such steps as the Secretary determines to

8 be necessary to monitor the compliance of a

9 Tribe with an investment plan approved under

10 subparagraph (B). The United States shall not

11 be responsible for the review, approval, or audit

12 of any individual investment under the plan.

13 The United States shall not be directly or indi14 rectly liable with respect to any such invest15 ment, including any act or omission of the

16 Tribe in managing or investing such funds.

17 ‘‘(D) ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PLAN.—

18 The principal and income derived from tribal

19 investments under an investment plan approved

20 under subparagraph (B) shall be subject to the

21 provisions of this section and shall be expended

22 only in accordance with an economic develop23 ment plan approved under paragraph (3).

24 ‘‘(3) ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PLAN.—
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each Tribe shall sub2 mit to the Secretary a resource acquisition and

3 enhancement plan for all or any portion of its

4 Tribal Resource Fund.

5 ‘‘(B) APPROVAL.—Not later than 60 days

6 after the date on which a plan is submitted

7 under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall ap8 prove such investment plan if the Secretary

9 finds that the plan is reasonably related to the

10 protection, acquisition, enhancement, or devel11 opment of natural resources for the benefit of

12 the Tribe and its members. If the Secretary

13 does not approve such plan, the Secretary shall,

14 at the time of such determination, set forth in

15 writing and with particularity the reasons for

16 such disapproval.

17 ‘‘(C) MODIFICATION.—Subject to the ap18 proval of the Secretary, each Tribe may modify

19 a plan approved under subparagraph (B).

20 ‘‘(D) LIABILITY.—The United States shall

21 not be directly or indirectly liable for any claim

22 or cause of action arising from the approval of

23 a plan under this paragraph, or from the use

24 and expenditure by the Tribe of the principal or

25 interest of the Funds.
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1 ‘‘(d) LIMITATION ON PER CAPITA DISTRIBUTIONS.—

2 No part of the principal contained in the Tribal Resource

3 Fund, or of the income accruing to such funds, or the rev4 enue from any water use contract, shall be distributed to

5 any member of either Tribe on a per capita basis.

6 ‘‘(e) LIMITATION ON SETTING ASIDE FINAL CON7 SENT DECREE.—Neither the Tribes nor the United States

8 shall have the right to set aside the final consent decree

9 solely because the requirements of subsection (c) are not

10 complied with or implemented.

11 ‘‘SEC. 17. COLORADO UTE SETTLEMENT FUND.

12 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF FUND.—There is hereby

13 established within the Treasury of the United States a

14 fund to be known as the ‘Colorado Ute Settlement Fund’.

15 ‘‘(b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

16 is authorized to be appropriated to the Colorado Ute Set17 tlement Fund such funds as are necessary to complete the

18 construction of the facilities described in section

19 6(a)(1)(A) within 6 years of the date of enactment of this

20 section. Such funds are authorized to be appropriated for

21 each of the first 5 fiscal years beginning with the first

22 full fiscal year following the date of enactment of this sec23 tion.

24 ‘‘(c) INTEREST.—Amounts appropriated under sub25 section (b) shall accrue interest, to be paid on the dates
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1 that are 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 years after the date of enactment

2 of this section, at a rate to be determined by the Secretary

3 of the Treasury taking into consideration the average mar4 ket yield on outstanding Federal obligations of comparable

5 maturity, except that no such interest shall be paid during

6 any period where a binding final court order prevents con7 struction of the facilities described in section 6(a)(1)(A).

8 ‘‘SEC. 18. FINAL SETTLEMENT.

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The construction of the facilities

10 described in section 6(a)(1)(A), the allocation of the water

11 supply from those facilities to the Tribes as described in

12 that section, and the provision of funds to the Tribes in

13 accordance with sections 16 and 17 shall constitute final

14 settlement of the tribal claims to water rights on the

15 Animas and La Plata Rivers in the State of Colorado.

16 ‘‘(b) STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this

17 section shall be construed to affect the right of the Tribes

18 to water rights on the streams and rivers described in the

19 Agreement, other than the Animas and La Plata Rivers,

20 to receive the amounts of water dedicated to tribal use

21 under the Agreement, or to acquire water rights under the

22 laws of the State of Colorado.

23 ‘‘(c) ACTION BY THE ATTORNEY GENERAL.—The At24 torney General shall file with the District Court, Water

25 Division Number 7, of the State of Colorado, such instru-
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1 ments as may be necessary to request the court to amend

2 the final consent decree to provide for the amendments

3 made to this Act under the Colorado Ute Indian Water

4 Rights Settlement Act Amendments of 2000.

5 ‘‘SEC. 19. STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION; TREATMENT OF

6 CERTAIN FUNDS.

7 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in the amendments

8 made by the Colorado Ute Settlement Act Amendments

9 of 2000 shall be construed to affect the applicability of

10 any provision of this Act.

11 ‘‘(b) TREATMENT OF UNCOMMITTED PORTION OF

12 COST-SHARING OBLIGATION.—The uncommitted portion

13 of the cost-sharing obligation of the State of Colorado re14 ferred to in section 6(a)(3) shall be made available, upon

15 the request of the State of Colorado, to the State of Colo16 rado after the date on which payment is made of the

17 amount specified in that section.’’.

Calendar No. 723

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2508

A BILL

To amend the Colorado Ute Indian Water Rights

Settlement Act of 1988 to provide for a final settlement of the claims of the Colorado Ute IndianTribes, and for other purposes.

JULY 26, 2000

Committee on Energy and Natural Resources discharged

pursuant to the order on June 23, 2000, and placedon the calendar