106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2508

AN ACT

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.

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’’.
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1 (b) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find2 ings:

3 (1) In order to provide for a full and final set4 tlement of the claims of the Colorado Ute Indian

5 Tribes on the Animas and La Plata Rivers, the

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

7 non-Indian parties to the Agreement have proposed

8 certain modifications to the Colorado Ute Indian

9 Water Rights Settlement Act of 1988 (Public Law

10 100–585; 102 Stat. 2973).

11 (2) The claims of the Colorado Ute Indian

12 Tribes on all rivers in Colorado other than the

13 Animas and La Plata Rivers have been settled in ac14 cordance with the provisions of the Colorado Ute In15 dian Water Rights Settlement Act of 1988 (Public

16 Law 100–585; 102 Stat. 2973).

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

18 southwest Colorado and northwest New Mexico will

19 be benefited by a settlement of the tribal claims on

20 the Animas and La Plata Rivers that provides the

21 Tribes with a firm water supply without taking

22 water away from existing uses.

23 (4) The Agreement contemplated a specific

24 timetable for the delivery of irrigation and municipal

25 and industrial water and other benefits to the Tribes
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1 from the Animas-La Plata Project, which timetable

2 has not been met. The provision of irrigation water

3 can not presently be satisfied under the current im4 plementation of the Federal Water Pollution Control

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

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

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

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

9 seq.), and in particular the various biological opin10 ions issued by the Fish and Wildlife Service, the

11 amendments made by this Act are needed to provide

12 for a significant reduction in the facilities and water

13 supply contemplated under the Agreement.

14 (6) The substitute benefits provided to the

15 Tribes under the amendments made by this Act, in16 cluding the waiver of capital costs and the provisions

17 of funds for natural resource enhancement, result in

18 a settlement that provides the Tribes with benefits

19 that are equivalent to those that the Tribes would

20 have received under the Colorado Ute Indian Water

21 Rights Settlement Act of 1988 (Public Law 100–

22 585; 102 Stat. 2973).

23 (7) The requirement that the Secretary of the

24 Interior comply with the National Environmental

25 Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and
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1 other national environmental laws before imple2 menting the proposed settlement will ensure that the

3 satisfaction of the tribal water rights is accomplished

4 in an environmentally responsible fashion.

5 (8) In considering the full range of alternatives

6 for satisfying the water rights claims of the South7 ern Ute Indian Tribe and Ute Mountain Ute Indian

8 Tribe, Congress has held numerous legislative hear9 ings and deliberations, and reviewed the considerable

10 record including the following documents:

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

12 dated July 1, 1980.

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

14 INT–DES–92–41, dated October 13, 1992.

15 (C) The Final Supplemental to the FES

16 No. 96–23, dated April 26, 1996;

17 (D) The Draft Supplemental EIS, dated

18 January 14, 2000.

19 (E) The Final Supplemental EIS, dated

20 July 2000.

21 (F) The Record of Decision for the Settle22 ment of the Colorado Ute Indian Waters, Sep23 tember 25, 2000.

24 (9) In the Record of Decision referred to in

25 paragraph (8)(F), the Secretary determined that the
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1 preferred alternative could only proceed if Congress

2 amended the Colorado Ute Indian Water Rights Set3 tlement Act of 1988 (Public Law 100–585; 102

4 Stat. 2973) so as to satisfy the Tribal water rights

5 claim through the construction of the features au6 thorized by this Act. The amendments to the Colo7 rado Ute Indian Water Rights Settlement Act of

8 1988 set forth in this Act will provide the Ute

9 Tribes with substitute benefits equivalent to those

10 that the Tribes would have received under the Colo11 rado Ute Indian Water Rights Settlement Act of

12 1988, in a manner consistent with paragraph (8)

13 and the Federal Government’s trust obligation.

14 (10) Based upon paragraph (8), it is the intent

15 of Congress to enact legislation that implements the

16 Record of Decision referred to in paragraph (8)(F).

17 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act:

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

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

20 Colorado Ute Indian Water Rights Settlement Act of

21 1988 (Public Law 100–585; 102 Stat. 2973).

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

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

24 that term in section 3(2) of the Colorado Ute Indian
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1 Water Rights Settlement Act of 1988 (Public Law

2 100–585; 102 Stat. 2973).

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

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

5 3(3) of the Colorado Ute Indian Water Rights Set6 tlement Act of 1988 (Public Law 100–585; 102

7 Stat. 2974).

8 (4) TRIBE; TRIBES.—The term ‘‘Tribe’’ or

9 ‘‘Tribes’’ has the meaning given that term in section

10 3(6) of the Colorado Ute Indian Water Rights Set11 tlement Act of 1988 (Public Law 100–585; 102

12 Stat. 2974).

13 SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO SECTION 6 OF THE COLORADO

14 UTE INDIAN WATER RIGHTS SETTLEMENT

15 ACT OF 1988.

16 Subsection (a) of section 6 of the Colorado Ute In17 dian Water Rights Settlement Act of 1988 (Public Law

18 100–585; 102 Stat. 2975) is amended to read as follows:

19 ‘‘(a) RESERVOIR; MUNICIPAL AND INDUSTRIAL

20 WATER.—

21 ‘‘(1) FACILITIES.—

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—After the date of en23 actment of this subsection, but prior to January

24 1, 2005, or the date established in the Amended

25 Final Decree described in section 18(c), the
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1 Secretary, in order to settle the outstanding

2 claims of the Tribes on the Animas and La

3 Plata Rivers, acting through the Bureau of

4 Reclamation, is specifically authorized to—

5 ‘‘(i) complete construction of, and op6 erate and maintain, a reservoir, a pumping

7 plant, a reservoir inlet conduit, and appur8 tenant facilities with sufficient capacity to

9 divert and store water from the Animas

10 River to provide for an average annual de11 pletion of 57,100 acre-feet of water to be

12 used for a municipal and industrial water

13 supply, which facilities shall—

14 ‘‘(I) be designed and operated in

15 accordance with the hydrologic regime

16 necessary for the recovery of the en17 dangered fish of the San Juan River

18 as determined by the San Juan River

19 Recovery Implementation Program;

20 ‘‘(II) be operated in accordance

21 with the Animas-La Plata Project

22 Compact as approved by Congress in

23 Public Law 90-537;

24 ‘‘(III) include an inactive pool of

25 an appropriate size to be determined
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1 by the Secretary following the comple2 tion of required environmental compli3 ance activities; and

4 ‘‘(IV) include those recreation fa5 cilities determined to be appropriate

6 by agreement between the State of

7 Colorado and the Secretary that shall

8 address the payment of any of the

9 costs of such facilities by the State of

10 Colorado in addition to the costs de11 scribed in paragraph (3); and

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

13 project components referred to in clause

14 (i), municipal and industrial water

15 allocations—

16 ‘‘(I) with an average annual de17 pletion not to exceed 16,525 acre-feet

18 of water, to the Southern Ute Indian

19 Tribe for its present and future needs;

20 ‘‘(II) with an average annual de21 pletion not to exceed 16,525 acre-feet

22 of water, to the Ute Mountain Ute In23 dian Tribe for its present and future

24 needs;
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1 ‘‘(III) with an average annual de2 pletion not to exceed 2,340 acre-feet

3 of water, to the Navajo Nation for its

4 present and future needs;

5 ‘‘(IV) with an average annual de6 pletion not to exceed 10,400 acre-feet

7 of water, to the San Juan Water

8 Commission for its present and future

9 needs;

10 ‘‘(V) with an average annual de11 pletion of an amount not to exceed

12 2,600 acre-feet of water, to the

13 Animas-La Plata Conservancy Dis14 trict for its present and future needs;

15 ‘‘(VI) with an average annual de16 pletion of an amount not to exceed

17 5,230 acre-feet of water, to the State

18 of Colorado for its present and future

19 needs; and

20 ‘‘(VII) with an average annual

21 depletion of an amount not to exceed

22 780 acre-feet of water, to the La

23 Plata Conservancy District of New

24 Mexico for its present and future

25 needs.
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1 ‘‘(B) APPLICABILITY OF OTHER FEDERAL

2 LAW.—The responsibilities of the Secretary de3 scribed in subparagraph (A) are subject to the

4 requirements of Federal laws related to the pro5 tection of the environment and otherwise appli6 cable to the construction of the proposed facili7 ties, including the National Environmental Pol8 icy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), the

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

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

11 1531 et seq.). Nothing in this Act shall be con12 strued to predetermine or otherwise affect the

13 outcome of any analysis conducted by the Sec14 retary or any other Federal official under appli15 cable laws.

16 ‘‘(C) LIMITATION.—

17 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—If constructed, the

18 facilities described in subparagraph (A)

19 shall constitute the Animas-La Plata

20 Project. Construction of any other project

21 features authorized by Public Law 90-537

22 shall not be commenced without further ex23 press authorization from Congress.

24 ‘‘(ii) CONTINGENCY IN APPLICA25 TION.—If the facilities described in sub-
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1 paragraph (A) are not constructed and op2 erated, clause (i) shall not take effect.

3 ‘‘(2) TRIBAL CONSTRUCTION COSTS.—Construc4 tion costs allocable to the facilities that are required

5 to deliver the municipal and industrial water alloca6 tions described in subclauses (I), (II) and (III) of

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

8 United States.

9 ‘‘(3) NONTRIBAL WATER CAPITAL OBLIGA10 TIONS.—

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Under the provisions

12 of section 9 of the Act of August 4, 1939 (43

13 U.S.C. 485h), the nontribal municipal and in14 dustrial water capital repayment obligations for

15 the facilities described in paragraph (1)(A)(i)

16 may be satisfied upon the payment in full of the

17 nontribal water capital obligations prior to the

18 initiation of construction. The amount of the

19 obligations described in the preceding sentence

20 shall be determined by agreement between the

21 Secretary of the Interior and the entity respon22 sible for such repayment as to the appropriate

23 reimbursable share of the construction costs al24 located to that entity’s municipal water storage.

25 Such repayment shall be consistent with Fed-
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1 eral reclamation law, including the Colorado

2 River Storage Project Act of 1956 (43 U.S.C.

3 620 et seq.). Such agreement shall take into ac4 count the fact that the construction of certain

5 project facilities, including those facilities re6 quired to provide irrigation water supplies from

7 the Animas-La Plata Project, is not authorized

8 under paragraph (1)(A)(i) and no costs associ9 ated with the design or development of such fa10 cilities, including costs associated with environ11 mental compliance, shall be allocable to the mu12 nicipal and industrial users of the facilities au13 thorized under such paragraph.

14 ‘‘(B) NONTRIBAL REPAYMENT OBLIGATION

15 SUBJECT TO FINAL COST ALLOCATION.—The

16 nontribal repayment obligation set forth in sub17 paragraph (A) shall be subject to a final cost

18 allocation by the Secretary upon project comple19 tion. In the event that the final cost allocation

20 indicates that additional repayment is war21 ranted based on the applicable entity’s share of

22 project water storage and determination of

23 overall reimbursable cost, that entity may elect

24 to enter into a new agreement to make the ad25 ditional payment necessary to secure the full
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1 water supply identified in paragraph (1)(A)(ii).

2 If the repayment entity elects not to enter into

3 a new agreement, the portion of project storage

4 relinquished by such election shall be available

5 to the Secretary for allocation to other project

6 purposes. Additional repayment shall only be

7 warranted for reasonable and unforeseen costs

8 associated with project construction as deter9 mined by the Secretary in consultation with the

10 relevant repayment entities.

11 ‘‘(C) REPORT.—Not later than April 1,

12 2001, the Secretary shall report to Congress on

13 the status of the cost-share agreements con14 templated in subparagraph (A). In the event

15 that no agreement is reached with either the

16 Animas-La Plata Conservancy District or the

17 State of Colorado for the water allocations set

18 forth in subclauses (V) and (VI) of paragraph

19 (1)(A)(ii), those allocations shall be reallocated

20 equally to the Colorado Ute Tribes.

21 ‘‘(4) TRIBAL WATER ALLOCATIONS.—

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—With respect to mu23 nicipal and industrial water allocated to a Tribe

24 from the Animas-La Plata Project or the Dolo25 res Project, until that water is first used by a
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1 Tribe or used pursuant to a water use contract

2 with the Tribe, the Secretary shall pay the an3 nual operation, maintenance, and replacement

4 costs allocable to that municipal and industrial

5 water allocation of the Tribe.

6 ‘‘(B) TREATMENT OF COSTS.—A Tribe

7 shall not be required to reimburse the Secretary

8 for the payment of any cost referred to in sub9 paragraph (A).

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

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

12 and industrial water allocation described in para13 graph (4), or the Tribe’s first use of such water pur14 suant to the terms of a water use contract—

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

16 rata share of those allocable construction costs

17 for the Dolores Project shall be made by the

18 Tribe; and

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

20 of the allocable annual operation, maintenance,

21 and replacement costs of the increment as re22 ferred to in paragraph (4).’’.
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1 SEC. 3. MISCELLANEOUS.

2 The Colorado Ute Indian Water Rights Settlement

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

4 amended by adding at the end the following:

5 ‘‘SEC. 15. NEW MEXICO AND NAVAJO NATION WATER MAT6 TERS.

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

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

9 the Secretary shall, as soon as practicable, in a manner

10 consistent with applicable law, assign, without consider11 ation, to the New Mexico Animas-La Plata Project bene12 ficiaries or to the New Mexico Interstate Stream Commis13 sion in accordance with the request of the State Engineer,

14 the Department of the Interior’s interest in New Mexico

15 State Engineer Permit Number 2883, dated May 1, 1956,

16 in order to fulfill the New Mexico non-Navajo purposes

17 of the Animas-La Plata Project, so long as the permit as18 signment does not affect the application of the Endan19 gered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) to

20 the use of the water involved.

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

22 Secretary is specifically authorized to construct a water

23 line to augment the existing system that conveys the mu24 nicipal water supplies, in an amount not less than 4,680

25 acre-feet per year, to the Navajo Indian Reservation at

26 or near Shiprock, New Mexico. The Secretary shall comply
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1 with all applicable environmental laws with respect to such

2 water line. Construction costs allocated to the Navajo Na3 tion for such water line shall be nonreimbursable to the

4 United States.

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

6 Nothing in this Act, including the permit assignment au7 thorized by subsection (a), shall be construed to quantify

8 or otherwise adversely affect the water rights and the

9 claims of entitlement to water of the Navajo Nation.

10 ‘‘SEC. 16. RESOURCE FUNDS.

11 ‘‘(a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

12 is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section,

13 $8,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2002 through 2006.

14 Not later than 60 days after amounts are appropriated

15 and available to the Secretary for a fiscal year under this

16 paragraph, the Secretary shall make a payment to each

17 of the Tribal Resource Funds established under subsection

18 (b). Each such payment shall be equal to 50 percent of

19 the amount appropriated for the fiscal year involved.

20 ‘‘(b) FUNDS.—The Secretary shall establish a—

21 ‘‘(1) Southern Ute Tribal Resource Fund; and

22 ‘‘(2) Ute Mountain Ute Tribal Resource Fund.

23 ‘‘(c) TRIBAL DEVELOPMENT.—

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

25 absence of an approved tribal investment plan pro-
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1 vided for under paragraph (2), invest the amount in

2 each Tribal Resource Fund established under sub3 section (b) in accordance with the Act entitled, ‘An

4 Act to authorize the deposit and investment of In5 dian funds’ approved June 24, 1938 (25 U.S.C.

6 162a). With the exception of the funds referred to

7 in paragraph (3)(B)(i), the Secretary shall disburse,

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

9 in 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, except with respect to the funds referred

18 to in paragraph (3)(B)(i).

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

20 after the date on which an investment plan is

21 submitted under subparagraph (A), the Sec22 retary shall approve such investment plan if the

23 Secretary finds that the plan is reasonable and

24 sound. If the Secretary does not approve such

25 investment plan, the Secretary shall set forth in
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1 writing and with particularity the reasons for

2 such disapproval. If such investment plan is ap3 proved by the Secretary, the Tribal Resource

4 Fund involved shall be disbursed to the Tribe to

5 be invested by the Tribe in accordance with the

6 approved investment plan, subject to subsection

7 (d).

8 ‘‘(C) COMPLIANCE.—The Secretary may

9 take such steps as the Secretary determines to

10 be necessary to monitor the compliance of a

11 Tribe with an investment plan approved under

12 subparagraph (B). The United States shall not

13 be responsible for the review, approval, or audit

14 of any individual investment under the plan.

15 The United States shall not be directly or indi16 rectly liable with respect to any such invest17 ment, including any act or omission of the

18 Tribe in managing or investing such funds.

19 ‘‘(D) ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PLAN.—

20 The principal and income derived from tribal

21 investments under an investment plan approved

22 under subparagraph (B) shall be subject to the

23 provisions of this section and shall be expended

24 only in accordance with an economic develop25 ment plan approved under paragraph (3)(B).
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1 ‘‘(3) ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PLAN.—

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each Tribe shall sub3 mit to the Secretary a resource acquisition and

4 enhancement plan for all or any portion of its

5 Tribal Resource Fund.

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

7 after the date on which a plan is submitted

8 under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall ap9 prove such plan if it is consistent with the fol10 lowing requirements:

‘‘(i) With respect to at least 3 11 ⁄4 of the

12 funds appropriated pursuant to this sec13 tion and consistent with the long-standing

14 practice of the Tribes and other local enti15 ties and communities to work together to

16 use their respective water rights and resources for mutual benefit, at least 3 17 ⁄4 of

18 the funds appropriated pursuant to this

19 section shall be utilized to enhance, re20 store, and utilize the Tribes’ natural re21 sources in partnership with adjacent non22 Indian communities or entities in the area.

23 ‘‘(ii) The plan must be reasonably re24 lated to the protection, acquisition, en25 hancement, or development of natural re-
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1 sources for the benefit of the Tribe and its

2 members.

3 ‘‘(iii) Notwithstanding any other pro4 vision of law and in order to ensure that

5 the Federal Government fulfills the objec6 tives of the Record of Decision referred to

7 in section 1(b)(8)(F) of the Colorado Ute

8 Settlement Act Amendments of 2000 by

9 requiring that the funds referred to in

10 clause (i) are expended directly by employ11 ees of the Federal Government, the Sec12 retary acting through the Bureau of Reclamation shall expend not less than 1 13 ⁄3 of

14 the funds referred to in clause (i) for mu15 nicipal or rural water development and not

less than 2 16 ⁄3 of the funds referred to such

17 clause for resource acquisition and en18 hancement.

19 ‘‘(C) MODIFICATION.—Subject to the pro20 visions of this Act and the approval of the Sec21 retary, each Tribe may modify a plan approved

22 under subparagraph (B).

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

24 not be directly or indirectly liable for any claim

25 or cause of action arising from the approval of
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1 a plan under this paragraph, or from the use

2 and expenditure by the Tribe of the principal or

3 interest of the Funds.

4 ‘‘(d) LIMITATION ON PER CAPITA DISTRIBUTIONS.—

5 No part of the principal contained in the Tribal Resource

6 Fund, or of the income accruing to such funds, or the rev7 enue from any water use contract, shall be distributed to

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

9 ‘‘(e) LIMITATION ON SETTING ASIDE FINAL CON10 SENT DECREE.—Neither the Tribes nor the United States

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

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

13 complied with or implemented.

14 ‘‘(f) LIMITATION ON DISBURSEMENT OF TRIBAL RE15 SOURCE FUNDS.—Any funds appropriated under this sec16 tion shall be placed into the Southern Ute Tribal Resource

17 Fund and the Ute Mountain Ute Tribal Resource Fund

18 in the Treasury of the United States but shall not be avail19 able for disbursement under this section until the final set20 tlement of the tribal claims as provided in section 18. The

21 Secretary of the Interior may, in the Secretary’s sole dis22 cretion, authorize the disbursement of funds prior to the

23 final settlement in the event that the Secretary determines

24 that substantial portions of the settlement have been com25 pleted. In the event that the funds are not disbursed under
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1 the terms of this section by December 31, 2012, such

2 funds shall be deposited in the general fund of the Treas3 ury.

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

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

6 established within the Treasury of the United States a

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

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

9 is authorized to be appropriated to the Colorado Ute Set10 tlement Fund such funds as are necessary to complete the

11 construction of the facilities described in sections

12 6(a)(1)(A) and 15(b) within 7 years of the date of enact13 ment of this section. Such funds are authorized to be ap14 propriated for each of the first 5 fiscal years beginning

15 with the first full fiscal year following the date of enact16 ment of this section.

17 ‘‘SEC. 18. FINAL SETTLEMENT.

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

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

20 supply from those facilities to the Tribes as described in

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

22 accordance with section 16 and the issuance of an amend23 ed final consent decree as contemplated in subsection (c)

24 shall constitute final settlement of the tribal claims to
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1 water rights on the Animas and La Plata Rivers in the

2 State of Colorado.

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

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

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

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

7 to receive the amounts of water dedicated to tribal use

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

9 laws of the State of Colorado.

10 ‘‘(c) ACTION BY THE ATTORNEY GENERAL.—The At11 torney General shall file with the District Court, Water

12 Division Number 7, of the State of Colorado, such instru13 ments as may be necessary to request the court to amend

14 the final consent decree to provide for the amendments

15 made to this Act under the Colorado Ute Indian Water

16 Rights Settlement Act Amendments of 2000. The amend17 ed final consent decree shall specify terms and conditions

18 to provide for an extension of the current January 1,

19 2005, deadline for the Tribes to commence litigation of

20 their reserved rights claims on the Animas and La Plata

21 Rivers.

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

23 CERTAIN FUNDS.

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

25 made by the Colorado Ute Settlement Act Amendments
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1 of 2000 shall be construed to affect the applicability of

2 any provision of this Act.

3 ‘‘(b) TREATMENT OF UNCOMMITTED PORTION OF

4 COST-SHARING OBLIGATION.—The uncommitted portion

5 of the cost-sharing obligation of the State of Colorado re6 ferred to in section 6(a)(3) shall be made available, upon

7 the request of the State of Colorado, to the State of Colo8 rado after the date on which payment is made of the

9 amount specified in that section.’’.

Passed the Senate October 25 (legislative day, September 22), 2000.

Attest:

Secretary.
106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2508

AN ACT

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.