117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3308 

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. 

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

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

3 Tribes Water Resiliency Act of 2022’’. 

4 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 

5 The purposes of this Act are to authorize— 

6 (1) the CRIT to enter into lease or exchange 

7 agreements, storage agreements, and agreements for 

8 conserved water for the economic well-being of the 

9 CRIT; and 

10 (2) the Secretary to approve any lease or ex11 change agreements, storage agreements, or agree12 ments for conserved water entered into by the CRIT. 

13 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

14 In this Act: 

15 (1) AGREEMENT FOR CONSERVED WATER.— 

16 The term ‘‘agreement for conserved water’’ means 

17 an agreement for the creation of system conserva18 tion, storage of conserved water in Lake Mead, or 

19 other mechanisms for voluntarily leaving a portion of 

20 the CRIT reduced consumptive use in Lake Mead. 

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

22 individual who holds a beneficial real property inter23 est in an allotment of Indian land that is— 

24 (A) located within the exterior boundaries 

25 of the Reservation; and 

26 (B) held in trust by the United States. 
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1 (3) CONSOLIDATED DECREE.—The term ‘‘Con2 solidated Decree’’ means the decree entered by the 

3 Supreme Court of the United States in Arizona v. 

4 California, 547 U.S. 150 (2006). 

5 (4) CONSUMPTIVE USE.—The term ‘‘consump6 tive use’’ means a portion of the decreed allocation 

7 that has a recent history of use by the CRIT within 

8 the exterior boundary of the Reservation. Any 

9 verified reduction in consumptive use pursuant to a 

10 lease or exchange agreement, a storage agreement, 

11 or an agreement for conserved water shall be 

12 deemed to be a consumptive use in the year in which 

13 the reduction occurred, subject to the condition that 

14 the reduction is reflected in the Water Accounting 

15 Report. 

16 (5) CRIT.—The term ‘‘CRIT’’ means the Colo17 rado River Indian Tribes, a federally recognized In18 dian Tribe. 

19 (6) DECREED ALLOCATION.—The term ‘‘de20 creed allocation’’ means the volume of water of the 

21 mainstream of the Colorado River allocated to the 

22 CRIT that is accounted for as part of the apportion23 ment for the State in part I–A of the Appendix of 

24 the Consolidated Decree. 
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1 (7) LOWER BASIN.—The term ‘‘Lower Basin’’ 

2 has the meaning given the term in article II(g) of 

3 the Colorado River Compact of 1922, as approved by 

4 Congress in section 13 of the Boulder Canyon 

5 Project Act (43 U.S.C. 617l) and by the Presidential 

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

7 (8) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ means an in8 dividual, a public or private corporation, a company, 

9 a partnership, a joint venture, a firm, an associa10 tion, a society, an estate or trust, a private organiza11 tion or enterprise, the United States, an Indian 

12 Tribe, a governmental entity, or a political subdivi13 sion or municipal corporation organized under, or 

14 subject to, the constitution and laws of the State. 

15 (9) RESERVATION.—The term ‘‘Reservation’’ 

16 means the portion of the reservation established for 

17 the CRIT that is located in the State. 

18 (10) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

19 means the Secretary of the Interior. 

20 (11) STATE.—Except for purposes of section 

21 16, the term ‘‘State’’ means the State of Arizona. 

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

23 underground storage, in accordance with State law, 

24 of a portion of the consumptive use off the Reserva25 tion within the Lower Basin in the State. 
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1 (13) WATER ACCOUNTING REPORT.—The term 

2 ‘‘Water Accounting Report’’ means the annual re3 port of the Bureau of Reclamation entitled the ‘‘Col4 orado River Accounting and Water Use Report: Ari5 zona, California, and Nevada’’ which includes the 

6 compilation of records in accordance with article V 

7 of the Consolidated Decree. 

8 SEC. 4. LEASE OR EXCHANGE AGREEMENTS. 

9 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—Notwithstanding section 2116 

10 of the Revised Statutes (commonly known as the ‘‘Indian 

11 Trade and Intercourse Act’’) (25 U.S.C. 177) or any other 

12 provision of law, the CRIT is authorized, subject to the 

13 approval of the Secretary under section 7(a), and has the 

14 sole authority, to enter into, with any person, an agree15 ment to lease or exchange, or an option to lease or ex16 change, a portion of the consumptive use for a use off 

17 the Reservation (referred to in this Act as a ‘‘lease or ex18 change agreement’’), subject to the conditions that the use 

19 off the Reservation is located in the Lower Basin in the 

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

21 or Cochise in the State. 

22 (b) TERM OF LEASE OR EXCHANGE AGREEMENT.— 

23 The term of any lease or exchange agreement entered into 

24 under subsection (a) shall be mutually agreed, except that 

25 the term shall not exceed 100 years. 
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1 (c) MODIFICATIONS.—Any lease or exchange agree2 ment entered into under subsection (a) may be renegoti3 ated or modified at any time during the term of the lease 

4 or exchange agreement, subject to the approval of the Sec5 retary under section 7(a), subject to the condition that the 

6 term of the renegotiated lease or exchange agreement does 

7 not exceed 100 years. 

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

9 lease or exchange agreement with the CRIT under this 

10 section shall use the water received under the lease or ex11 change agreement in accordance with applicable Federal 

12 and State law. 

13 SEC. 5. STORAGE AGREEMENTS. 

14 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—Notwithstanding section 2116 

15 of the Revised Statutes (commonly known as the ‘‘Indian 

16 Trade and Intercourse Act’’) (25 U.S.C. 177) or any other 

17 provision of law, the CRIT is authorized, subject to the 

18 approval of the Secretary under section 7(a), and has the 

19 sole authority, to enter into an agreement, including with 

20 the Arizona Water Banking Authority (or a successor 

21 agency or entity), for the storage of a portion of the con22 sumptive use, or the water received under an exchange 

23 pursuant to an exchange agreement under section 4, at 

24 1 or more underground storage facilities or groundwater 

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

2 that the facility is located in the Lower Basin in the State 

3 and is not located in the counties of Navajo, Apache, or 

4 Cochise in the State. 

5 (b) MODIFICATIONS.—Any storage agreement en6 tered into under subsection (a) may be renegotiated or 

7 modified at any time during the term of the storage agree8 ment, subject to the approval of the Secretary under sec9 tion 7(a). 

10 (c) APPLICABLE LAW.—Any storage agreement en11 tered into under subsection (a) shall be in accordance with 

12 applicable Federal and State law. 

13 (d) DELEGATION OF RIGHTS.—The CRIT may as14 sign or sell any long-term storage credits accrued as a re15 sult of a storage agreement, subject to the condition that 

16 the assignment or sale is in accordance with applicable 

17 State law. 

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

19 COLORADO RIVER SYSTEM FOR STORING 

20 WATER IN LAKE MEAD. 

21 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—Notwithstanding section 2116 

22 of the Revised Statutes (commonly known as the ‘‘Indian 

23 Trade and Intercourse Act’’) (25 U.S.C. 177) or any other 

24 provision of law, the CRIT is authorized, subject to the 

25 approval of the Secretary under section 7(a), and has the 
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1 sole authority, to enter into, with any person, an agree2 ment for conserved water, subject to the conditions that 

3 if the conserved water is delivered, the delivery is to a loca4 tion in the Lower Basin in the State and is not to a loca5 tion in the counties of Navajo, Apache, or Cochise in the 

6 State. 

7 (b) TERM OF AN AGREEMENT FOR CONSERVED

8 WATER.—The term of any agreement for conserved water 

9 entered into under subsection (a) shall be mutually agreed, 

10 except that the term shall not exceed 100 years. 

11 (c) MODIFICATIONS.—Any agreement for conserved 

12 water entered into under subsection (a) may be renegoti13 ated or modified at any time during the term of the agree14 ment for conserved water, subject to the approval of the 

15 Secretary under section 7(a). 

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

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

18 conserved water, shall be in accordance with Federal law, 

19 including any program authorized by Federal law. 

20 SEC. 7. SECRETARIAL APPROVAL; DISAPPROVAL; AGREE21 MENTS. 

22 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary shall approve 

23 or disapprove any— 

24 (1) lease or exchange agreement; 
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1 (2) modification to a lease or exchange agree2 ment; 

3 (3) storage agreement; 

4 (4) modification to a storage agreement; 

5 (5) agreement for conserved water; or 

6 (6) modification to an agreement for conserved 

7 water. 

8 (b) SECRETARIAL AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary is 

9 authorized to enter into a lease or exchange agreement, 

10 a storage agreement, or an agreement for conserved water 

11 with the CRIT, subject to the condition that the Secretary 

12 pays the fair market value for the CRIT reduced consump13 tive use. 

14 (c) REQUIREMENTS.— 

15 (1) LEASE OR EXCHANGE AGREEMENTS AND

16 STORAGE AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary shall not 

17 approve any lease or exchange agreement, or any 

18 modification to a lease or exchange agreement, or 

19 any storage agreement, or any modification to a 

20 storage agreement, that is not in compliance with— 

21 (A) this Act; and 

22 (B) the agreement entered into between 

23 the CRIT, the State, and the Secretary under 

24 section 10(a). 
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1 (2) AGREEMENTS FOR CONSERVED WATER.— 

2 The Secretary shall not approve any agreement for 

3 conserved water, or any modification to an agree4 ment for conserved water, that is not in compliance 

5 with— 

6 (A) this Act; and 

7 (B) other applicable Federal law, including 

8 any program authorized by Federal law. 

9 (3) PERMANENT ALIENATION.—The Secretary 

10 shall not approve any lease or exchange agreement, 

11 or any modification to a lease or exchange agree12 ment, any storage agreement, or any modification to 

13 a storage agreement, or any agreement for conserved 

14 water, or any modification to an agreement for con15 served water, that permanently alienates any portion 

16 of the CRIT decreed allocation. 

17 (d) OTHER REQUIREMENTS.—The requirement for 

18 Secretarial approval under subsection (a) shall satisfy the 

19 requirements of section 2116 of the Revised Statutes 

20 (commonly known as the ‘‘Indian Trade and Intercourse 

21 Act’’) (25 U.S.C. 177). 

22 (e) AUTHORITY OF THE SECRETARY.—Nothing in 

23 this Act, or any agreement entered into or approved by 

24 the Secretary under this Act, including any lease or ex25 change agreement, storage agreement, or agreement for 
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1 conserved water, shall diminish or abrogate the authority 

2 of the Secretary to act under applicable Federal law or 

3 regulation, including the Consolidated Decree. 

4 SEC. 8. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE SECRETARY. 

5 (a) COMPLIANCE.—When approving a lease or ex6 change agreement, a storage agreement, or an agreement 

7 for conserved water, the Secretary shall promptly comply 

8 with all aspects of the National Environmental Policy Act 

9 of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), the Endangered Species 

10 Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), and all other appli11 cable environmental laws and regulations. 

12 (b) DOCUMENTATION.—The Secretary shall docu13 ment any lease or exchange agreement, storage agreement, 

14 or agreement for conserved water in the Water Accounting 

15 Report. 

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

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

18 lease or exchange agreement or storage agreement, the 

19 CRIT shall enter into an agreement with the State that 

20 outlines all notice, information sharing, and collaboration 

21 requirements that shall apply to any potential lease or ex22 change agreement or storage agreement the CRIT may 

23 enter into. 

24 (b) REQUIREMENT.—The agreement required under 

25 subsection (a) shall include a provision that requires the 
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1 CRIT to submit to the State all documents regarding a 

2 potential lease or exchange agreement or storage agree3 ment. 

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

5 THE SECRETARY. 

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

7 or exchange agreement or storage agreement under sec8 tion 7, the Secretary shall enter into an agreement with 

9 the State and the CRIT that describes the procedural, 

10 technical, and accounting methodologies for any lease or 

11 exchange agreement or storage agreement the CRIT may 

12 enter into, including quantification of the reduction in con13 sumptive use and water accounting. 

14 (b) NEPA.—The execution of the agreement re15 quired under subsection (a) shall not constitute a major 

16 Federal action for purposes of the National Environ17 mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). 

18 (c) EFFECT.—Nothing in this Act prohibits the Sec19 retary from agreeing with the CRIT and the State to a 

20 modification to an agreement entered into under sub21 section (a) (including an appendix or exhibit to the agree22 ment) if the modification— 

23 (1) is in compliance with this Act; and 

24 (2) does not otherwise require congressional ap25 proval under section 2116 of the Revised Statutes 
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1 (commonly known as the ‘‘Indian Trade and Inter2 course Act’’) (25 U.S.C. 177) or any other provision 

3 of law. 

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

5 (a) TEMPORARY USE.—A lease or exchange agree6 ment, a storage agreement, or an agreement for conserved 

7 water— 

8 (1) shall provide for the temporary use, storage, 

9 or conservation of a portion of the consumptive use 

10 off the Reservation; and 

11 (2) shall not permanently alienate the decreed 

12 allocation. 

13 (b) PRIORITY STATUS.— 

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

15 portion of the consumptive use shall not cause that 

16 portion to lose or change its priority under the Con17 solidated Decree. 

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

19 a party to any lease or exchange agreement or stor20 age agreement with the CRIT shall not result in for21 feiture, abandonment, relinquishment, or other loss 

22 by the CRIT of all or any portion of the decreed al23 location. 

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

25 storage, or conservation of a portion of the consumptive 
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1 use shall not reduce or limit the right of the CRIT to use 

2 the remaining portion of the decreed allocation on the Res3 ervation. 

4 (d) STORAGE AGREEMENTS.—A storage agreement 

5 entered into under this Act shall account for the quantity 

6 of water in storage off the Reservation in accordance with 

7 applicable State law. 

8 SEC. 12. ALLOTTEE USE OF WATER. 

9 (a) INTERFERENCE.—The lease, exchange, storage, 

10 or conservation of a portion of the consumptive use shall 

11 not directly or indirectly interfere with, or diminish, any 

12 entitlement to water for an allottee under Federal or Trib13 al law. 

14 (b) WATER RIGHTS OF ALLOTTEES.—The Secretary 

15 shall protect the rights of the allottees to a just and equi16 table distribution of water for irrigation purposes, pursu17 ant to section 7 of the Act of February 8, 1887 (commonly 

18 known as the ‘‘Indian General Allotment Act’’) (24 Stat. 

19 390, chapter 119; 25 U.S.C. 381) (referred to in this sec20 tion as the ‘‘Act’’). 

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

22 any claim against the United States pursuant to the Act, 

23 or any other applicable law, an allottee shall exhaust all 

24 remedies available under applicable Tribal law. 
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1 (d) RELIEF UNDER THE INDIAN GENERAL ALLOT2 MENT ACT.—Following an exhaustion of remedies avail3 able under applicable Tribal law, an allottee may seek re4 lief under the Act or any other applicable law. 

5 (e) RELIEF FROM THE SECRETARY.—Following ex6 haustion of remedies available under the Act, or any other 

7 applicable law, an allottee may petition the Secretary for 

8 relief. 

9 SEC. 13. CONSIDERATION PAID TO THE CRIT. 

10 The CRIT, and not the United States in any capac11 ity, shall be entitled to all consideration due to the CRIT 

12 under any lease or exchange agreement, storage agree13 ment, or agreement for conserved water. 

14 SEC. 14. LIABILITY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

15 (a) LIMITATION OF LIABILITY.—The United States 

16 shall not be liable to the CRIT or to any party to a lease 

17 or exchange agreement, a storage agreement, or an agree18 ment for conserved water in any claim relating to the ne19 gotiation, execution, or approval of any lease or exchange 

20 agreement, storage agreement, or agreement for conserved 

21 water, including any claim relating to the terms included 

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

23 requirements of section 8(a). 
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1 (b) OBLIGATIONS.—The United States shall have no 

2 trust obligation or other obligation to monitor, administer, 

3 or account for— 

4 (1) any funds received by the CRIT as consid5 eration under any lease or exchange agreement, stor6 age agreement, or agreement for conserved water; or 

7 (2) the expenditure of such funds. 

8 SEC. 15. APPLICATION. 

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

10 portion of the decreed allocation that is available for use 

11 in the State. 

12 (b) REQUIREMENT.—The portion of the decreed allo13 cation that is available for use in the State shall not be 

14 used, directly or indirectly outside the Lower Basin in the 

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

16 the State. 

17 SEC. 16. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

18 Nothing in this Act establishes, or shall be considered 

19 to establish, a precedent in any litigation involving, or al20 ters, affects, or quantifies, any water right with respect 

21 to— 

22 (1) the United States; 

23 (2) any other Indian Tribe, band, or commu24 nity; 
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1 (3) any State or political subdivision or district 

2 of a State; or 

3 (4) any person. 

Passed the Senate December 19, 2022. 

Attest: 

Secretary. 
117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3308 

AN ACT 

To authorize the Colorado River Indian Tribes to 

Tribes, and for other purposes. rado River allocated to the Colorado River Indian storage agreements relating to water of the Coloenter into lease or exchange agreements and