S. 3308 

One Hundred Seventeenth Congress 

of the 

United States of America 

AT THE SECOND SESSION 

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Monday, 

the third day of January, two thousand and twenty two 

An Act 

To authorize the Colorado River Indian Tribes to enter into lease or exchange 

agreements and storage agreements relating to water of the Colorado River allocated to the Colorado River Indian Tribes, and for other purposes. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 

the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Colorado River Indian Tribes 

Water Resiliency Act of 2022’’. 

SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 

The purposes of this Act are to authorize— 

(1) the CRIT to enter into lease or exchange agreements, 

storage agreements, and agreements for conserved water for 

the economic well-being of the CRIT; and 

(2) the Secretary to approve any lease or exchange agreements, storage agreements, or agreements for conserved water 

entered into by the CRIT. 

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

In this Act: 

(1) AGREEMENT FOR CONSERVED WATER.—The term ‘‘agreement for conserved water’’ means an agreement for the creation 

of system conservation, storage of conserved water in Lake 

Mead, or other mechanisms for voluntarily leaving a portion 

of the CRIT reduced consumptive use in Lake Mead. 

(2) ALLOTTEE.—The term ‘‘allottee’’ means an individual 

who holds a beneficial real property interest in an allotment 

of Indian land that is— 

(A) located within the exterior boundaries of the Reservation; and 

(B) held in trust by the United States. 

(3) CONSOLIDATED DECREE.—The term ‘‘Consolidated 

Decree’’ means the decree entered by the Supreme Court of 

the United States in Arizona v. California, 547 U.S. 150 (2006). 

(4) CONSUMPTIVE USE.—The term ‘‘consumptive use’’ means 

a portion of the decreed allocation that has a recent history 

of use by the CRIT within the exterior boundary of the Reservation. Any verified reduction in consumptive use pursuant to 

a lease or exchange agreement, a storage agreement, or an 

agreement for conserved water shall be deemed to be a 

consumptive use in the year in which the reduction occurred, 

subject to the condition that the reduction is reflected in the 

Water Accounting Report. 
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(5) CRIT.—The term ‘‘CRIT’’ means the Colorado River 

Indian Tribes, a federally recognized Indian Tribe. 

(6) DECREED ALLOCATION.—The term ‘‘decreed allocation’’ 

means the volume of water of the mainstream of the Colorado 

River allocated to the CRIT that is accounted for as part of 

the apportionment for the State in part I–A of the Appendix 

of the Consolidated Decree. 

(7) LOWER BASIN.—The term ‘‘Lower Basin’’ has the 

meaning given the term in article II(g) of the Colorado River 

Compact of 1922, as approved by Congress in section 13 of 

the Boulder Canyon Project Act (43 U.S.C. 617l) and by the 

Presidential Proclamation of June 25, 1929 (46 Stat. 3000). 

(8) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ means an individual, a 

public or private corporation, a company, a partnership, a joint 

venture, a firm, an association, a society, an estate or trust, 

a private organization or enterprise, the United States, an 

Indian Tribe, a governmental entity, or a political subdivision 

or municipal corporation organized under, or subject to, the 

constitution and laws of the State. 

(9) RESERVATION.—The term ‘‘Reservation’’ means the portion of the reservation established for the CRIT that is located 

in the State. 

(10) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of the Interior. 

(11) STATE.—Except for purposes of section 16, the term 

‘‘State’’ means the State of Arizona. 

(12) STORAGE.—The term ‘‘storage’’ means the underground 

storage, in accordance with State law, of a portion of the 

consumptive use off the Reservation within the Lower Basin 

in the State. 

(13) WATER ACCOUNTING REPORT.—The term ‘‘Water 

Accounting Report’’ means the annual report of the Bureau 

of Reclamation entitled the ‘‘Colorado River Accounting and 

Water Use Report: Arizona, California, and Nevada’’ which 

includes the compilation of records in accordance with article 

V of the Consolidated Decree. 

SEC. 4. LEASE OR EXCHANGE AGREEMENTS. 

(a) AUTHORIZATION.—Notwithstanding section 2116 of the 

Revised Statutes (commonly known as the ‘‘Indian Trade and Intercourse Act’’) (25 U.S.C. 177) or any other provision of law, the 

CRIT is authorized, subject to the approval of the Secretary under 

section 7(a), and has the sole authority, to enter into, with any 

person, an agreement to lease or exchange, or an option to lease 

or exchange, a portion of the consumptive use for a use off the 

Reservation (referred to in this Act as a ‘‘lease or exchange agreement’’), subject to the conditions that the use off the Reservation 

is located in the Lower Basin in the State and is not located 

in the counties of Navajo, Apache, or Cochise in the State. 

(b) TERM OF LEASE OR EXCHANGE AGREEMENT.—The term of 

any lease or exchange agreement entered into under subsection 

(a) shall be mutually agreed, except that the term shall not exceed 

100 years. 

(c) MODIFICATIONS.—Any lease or exchange agreement entered 

into under subsection (a) may be renegotiated or modified at any 

time during the term of the lease or exchange agreement, subject 

to the approval of the Secretary under section 7(a), subject to 
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the condition that the term of the renegotiated lease or exchange 

agreement does not exceed 100 years. 

(d) APPLICABLE LAW.—Any person entering into a lease or 

exchange agreement with the CRIT under this section shall use 

the water received under the lease or exchange agreement in accordance with applicable Federal and State law. 

SEC. 5. STORAGE AGREEMENTS. 

(a) AUTHORIZATION.—Notwithstanding section 2116 of the 

Revised Statutes (commonly known as the ‘‘Indian Trade and Intercourse Act’’) (25 U.S.C. 177) or any other provision of law, the 

CRIT is authorized, subject to the approval of the Secretary under 

section 7(a), and has the sole authority, to enter into an agreement, 

including with the Arizona Water Banking Authority (or a successor 

agency or entity), for the storage of a portion of the consumptive 

use, or the water received under an exchange pursuant to an 

exchange agreement under section 4, at 1 or more underground 

storage facilities or groundwater savings facilities off the Reservation (referred to in this Act as a ‘‘storage agreement’’), subject 

to the conditions that the facility is located in the Lower Basin 

in the State and is not located in the counties of Navajo, Apache, 

or Cochise in the State. 

(b) MODIFICATIONS.—Any storage agreement entered into under 

subsection (a) may be renegotiated or modified at any time during 

the term of the storage agreement, subject to the approval of the 

Secretary under section 7(a). 

(c) APPLICABLE LAW.—Any storage agreement entered into 

under subsection (a) shall be in accordance with applicable Federal 

and State law. 

(d) DELEGATION OF RIGHTS.—The CRIT may assign or sell 

any long-term storage credits accrued as a result of a storage 

agreement, subject to the condition that the assignment or sale 

is in accordance with applicable State law. 

SEC. 6. AGREEMENTS FOR CREATION OF WATER FOR THE COLORADO 

RIVER SYSTEM FOR STORING WATER IN LAKE MEAD. 

(a) AUTHORIZATION.—Notwithstanding section 2116 of the 

Revised Statutes (commonly known as the ‘‘Indian Trade and Intercourse Act’’) (25 U.S.C. 177) or any other provision of law, the 

CRIT is authorized, subject to the approval of the Secretary under 

section 7(a), and has the sole authority, to enter into, with any 

person, an agreement for conserved water, subject to the conditions 

that if the conserved water is delivered, the delivery is to a location 

in the Lower Basin in the State and is not to a location in the 

counties of Navajo, Apache, or Cochise in the State. 

(b) TERM OF AN AGREEMENT FOR CONSERVED WATER.—The 

term of any agreement for conserved water entered into under 

subsection (a) shall be mutually agreed, except that the term shall 

not exceed 100 years. 

(c) MODIFICATIONS.—Any agreement for conserved water 

entered into under subsection (a) may be renegotiated or modified 

at any time during the term of the agreement for conserved water, 

subject to the approval of the Secretary under section 7(a). 

(d) APPLICABLE LAW.—Any agreement for conserved water 

entered into under subsection (a), and any use of conserved water, 

shall be in accordance with Federal law, including any program 

authorized by Federal law. 
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SEC. 7. SECRETARIAL APPROVAL; DISAPPROVAL; AGREEMENTS. 

(a) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary shall approve or disapprove 

any— 

(1) lease or exchange agreement; 

(2) modification to a lease or exchange agreement; 

(3) storage agreement; 

(4) modification to a storage agreement; 

(5) agreement for conserved water; or 

(6) modification to an agreement for conserved water. 

(b) SECRETARIAL AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary is authorized 

to enter into a lease or exchange agreement, a storage agreement, 

or an agreement for conserved water with the CRIT, subject to 

the condition that the Secretary pays the fair market value for 

the CRIT reduced consumptive use. 

(c) REQUIREMENTS.— 

(1) LEASE OR EXCHANGE AGREEMENTS AND STORAGE AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary shall not approve any lease or exchange 

agreement, or any modification to a lease or exchange agreement, or any storage agreement, or any modification to a storage agreement, that is not in compliance with— 

(A) this Act; and 

(B) the agreement entered into between the CRIT, 

the State, and the Secretary under section 10(a). 

(2) AGREEMENTS FOR CONSERVED WATER.—The Secretary 

shall not approve any agreement for conserved water, or any 

modification to an agreement for conserved water, that is not 

in compliance with— 

(A) this Act; and 

(B) other applicable Federal law, including any program authorized by Federal law. 

(3) PERMANENT ALIENATION.—The Secretary shall not 

approve any lease or exchange agreement, or any modification 

to a lease or exchange agreement, any storage agreement, or 

any modification to a storage agreement, or any agreement 

for conserved water, or any modification to an agreement for 

conserved water, that permanently alienates any portion of 

the CRIT decreed allocation. 

(d) OTHER REQUIREMENTS.—The requirement for Secretarial 

approval under subsection (a) shall satisfy the requirements of 

section 2116 of the Revised Statutes (commonly known as the 

‘‘Indian Trade and Intercourse Act’’) (25 U.S.C. 177). 

(e) AUTHORITY OF THE SECRETARY.—Nothing in this Act, or 

any agreement entered into or approved by the Secretary under 

this Act, including any lease or exchange agreement, storage agreement, or agreement for conserved water, shall diminish or abrogate 

the authority of the Secretary to act under applicable Federal 

law or regulation, including the Consolidated Decree. 

SEC. 8. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE SECRETARY. 

(a) COMPLIANCE.—When approving a lease or exchange agreement, a storage agreement, or an agreement for conserved water, 

the Secretary shall promptly comply with all aspects of the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), the 

Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), and 

all other applicable environmental laws and regulations. 
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(b) DOCUMENTATION.—The Secretary shall document any lease 

or exchange agreement, storage agreement, or agreement for conserved water in the Water Accounting Report. 

SEC. 9. AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CRIT AND THE STATE. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—Before entering into the first lease or 

exchange agreement or storage agreement, the CRIT shall enter 

into an agreement with the State that outlines all notice, information sharing, and collaboration requirements that shall apply to 

any potential lease or exchange agreement or storage agreement 

the CRIT may enter into. 

(b) REQUIREMENT.—The agreement required under subsection 

(a) shall include a provision that requires the CRIT to submit 

to the State all documents regarding a potential lease or exchange 

agreement or storage agreement. 

SEC. 10. AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CRIT, THE STATE, AND THE SECRETARY. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—Before approving the first lease or exchange 

agreement or storage agreement under section 7, the Secretary 

shall enter into an agreement with the State and the CRIT that 

describes the procedural, technical, and accounting methodologies 

for any lease or exchange agreement or storage agreement the 

CRIT may enter into, including quantification of the reduction 

in consumptive use and water accounting. 

(b) NEPA.—The execution of the agreement required under 

subsection (a) shall not constitute a major Federal action for purposes of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 

4321 et seq.). 

(c) EFFECT.—Nothing in this Act prohibits the Secretary from 

agreeing with the CRIT and the State to a modification to an 

agreement entered into under subsection (a) (including an appendix 

or exhibit to the agreement) if the modification— 

(1) is in compliance with this Act; and 

(2) does not otherwise require congressional approval under 

section 2116 of the Revised Statutes (commonly known as the 

‘‘Indian Trade and Intercourse Act’’) (25 U.S.C. 177) or any 

other provision of law. 

SEC. 11. NO EFFECT ON THE CRIT DECREED ALLOCATION. 

(a) TEMPORARY USE.—A lease or exchange agreement, a storage 

agreement, or an agreement for conserved water— 

(1) shall provide for the temporary use, storage, or conservation of a portion of the consumptive use off the Reservation; and 

(2) shall not permanently alienate the decreed allocation. 

(b) PRIORITY STATUS.— 

(1) IN GENERAL.—The lease or exchange of a portion of 

the consumptive use shall not cause that portion to lose or 

change its priority under the Consolidated Decree. 

(2) NONUSE.—Any nonuse by a person who is a party 

to any lease or exchange agreement or storage agreement with 

the CRIT shall not result in forfeiture, abandonment, relinquishment, or other loss by the CRIT of all or any portion 

of the decreed allocation. 

(c) RESERVATION OF RIGHTS.—The lease, exchange, storage, or 

conservation of a portion of the consumptive use shall not reduce 
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or limit the right of the CRIT to use the remaining portion of 

the decreed allocation on the Reservation. 

(d) STORAGE AGREEMENTS.—A storage agreement entered into 

under this Act shall account for the quantity of water in storage 

off the Reservation in accordance with applicable State law. 

SEC. 12. ALLOTTEE USE OF WATER. 

(a) INTERFERENCE.—The lease, exchange, storage, or conservation of a portion of the consumptive use shall not directly or 

indirectly interfere with, or diminish, any entitlement to water 

for an allottee under Federal or Tribal law. 

(b) WATER RIGHTS OF ALLOTTEES.—The Secretary shall protect 

the rights of the allottees to a just and equitable distribution 

of water for irrigation purposes, pursuant to section 7 of the Act 

of February 8, 1887 (commonly known as the ‘‘Indian General 

Allotment Act’’) (24 Stat. 390, chapter 119; 25 U.S.C. 381) (referred 

to in this section as the ‘‘Act’’). 

(c) RELIEF UNDER TRIBAL LAW.—Prior to asserting any claim 

against the United States pursuant to the Act, or any other 

applicable law, an allottee shall exhaust all remedies available 

under applicable Tribal law. 

(d) RELIEF UNDER THE INDIAN GENERAL ALLOTMENT ACT.— 

Following an exhaustion of remedies available under applicable 

Tribal law, an allottee may seek relief under the Act or any other 

applicable law. 

(e) RELIEF FROM THE SECRETARY.—Following exhaustion of 

remedies available under the Act, or any other applicable law, 

an allottee may petition the Secretary for relief. 

SEC. 13. CONSIDERATION PAID TO THE CRIT. 

The CRIT, and not the United States in any capacity, shall 

be entitled to all consideration due to the CRIT under any lease 

or exchange agreement, storage agreement, or agreement for conserved water. 

SEC. 14. LIABILITY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

(a) LIMITATION OF LIABILITY.—The United States shall not be 

liable to the CRIT or to any party to a lease or exchange agreement, 

a storage agreement, or an agreement for conserved water in any 

claim relating to the negotiation, execution, or approval of any 

lease or exchange agreement, storage agreement, or agreement 

for conserved water, including any claim relating to the terms 

included in such an agreement, except for claims relating to the 

requirements of section 8(a). 

(b) OBLIGATIONS.—The United States shall have no trust obligation or other obligation to monitor, administer, or account for— 

(1) any funds received by the CRIT as consideration under 

any lease or exchange agreement, storage agreement, or agreement for conserved water; or 

(2) the expenditure of such funds. 

SEC. 15. APPLICATION. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—This Act shall only apply to the portion 

of the decreed allocation that is available for use in the State. 

(b) REQUIREMENT.—The portion of the decreed allocation that 

is available for use in the State shall not be used, directly or 

indirectly outside the Lower Basin in the State or in the counties 

of Navajo, Apache, or Cochise in the State. 
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SEC. 16. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

Nothing in this Act establishes, or shall be considered to establish, a precedent in any litigation involving, or alters, affects, or 

quantifies, any water right with respect to— 

(1) the United States; 

(2) any other Indian Tribe, band, or community; 

(3) any State or political subdivision or district of a State; 

or 

(4) any person. 

Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.