IB
Union Calendar No. 584
106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3112
[Report No. 106–1001]
To amend the Colorado Ute Indian Water Rights Settlement Act to provide
for a final settlement of the claims of the Colorado Ute Indian Tribes,
and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
OCTOBER 20, 1999
Mr. MCINNIS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Resources
OCTOBER 25, 2000
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on October 20, 1999]
A BILL
To amend the Colorado Ute Indian Water Rights Settlement
Act to provide for a final settlement of the claims of
the Colorado Ute Indian Tribes, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; FINDINGS; DEFINITIONS.
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Col-
orado Ute Settlement Act Amendments of 2000’’.
(b) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following findings:
(1) In order to provide for a full and final settle-
ment of the claims of the Colorado Ute Indian Tribes
on the Animas and La Plata Rivers, the Tribes, the
State of Colorado, and certain of the non-Indian par-
ties to the Agreement have proposed certain modifica-
tions to the Colorado Ute Indian Water Rights Settle-
ment Act of 1988 (Public Law 100–585; 102 Stat.
2973).
(2) The claims of the Colorado Ute Indian Tribes
on all rivers in Colorado other than the Animas and
La Plata Rivers have been settled in accordance with
the provisions of the Colorado Ute Indian Water
Rights Settlement Act of 1988 (Public Law 100–585;
102 Stat. 2973).
(3) The Indian and non-Indian communities of
southwest Colorado and northwest New Mexico will be
benefited by a settlement of the tribal claims on the
Animas and La Plata Rivers that provides the Tribes
with a firm water supply without taking water away
from existing uses.
(4) The Agreement contemplated a specific time-
table for the delivery of irrigation and municipal and
industrial water and other benefits to the Tribes from
the Animas-La Plata Project, which timetable has not
been met. The provision of irrigation water can not
presently be satisfied under the current implementa-
tion of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33
U.S.C. 1251 et seq.) and the Endangered Species Act
of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
(5) In order to meet the requirements of the En-
dangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.),
and in particular the various biological opinions
issued by the Fish and Wildlife Service, the amend-
ments made by this Act are needed to provide for a
significant reduction in the facilities and water sup-
ply contemplated under the Agreement.
(6) The substitute benefits provided to the Tribes
under the amendments made by this Act, including
the waiver of capital costs and the provisions of funds
for natural resource enhancement, result in a settle-
ment that provides the Tribes with benefits that are
equivalent to those that the Tribes would have re-
ceived under the Colorado Ute Indian Water Rights
Settlement Act of 1988 (Public Law 100–585; 102
Stat. 2973).
(7) The requirement that the Secretary of the In-
terior comply with the National Environmental Pol-
icy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and other na-
tional environmental laws before implementing the
proposed settlement will ensure that the satisfaction of
the tribal water rights is accomplished in an environ-
mentally responsible fashion.
(8) Federal courts have considered the nature
and the extent of Congressional participation when
reviewing Federal compliance with the requirements
of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42
U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).
(9) In considering the full range of alternatives
for satisfying the water rights claims of the Southern
Ute Indian Tribe and Ute Mountain Ute Indian
Tribe, Congress has held numerous legislative hear-
ings and deliberations, and reviewed the considerable
record including the following documents:
(A) The Final EIS No. INT–FES–80–18,
dated July 1, 1980.
(B) The Draft Supplement to the FES No.
INT–DES–92–41, dated October 13, 1992.
(C) The Final Supplemental to the FES
No. 96–23, dated April 26, 1996;
(D) The Draft Supplemental EIS, dated
January 14, 2000.
(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act:
(1) AGREEMENT.—The term ‘‘Agreement’’ has
the meaning given that term in section 3(1) of the
Colorado Ute Indian Water Rights Settlement Act of
1988 (Public Law 100–585; 102 Stat. 2973).
(2) ANIMAS-LA
PLATA
PROJECT.—The term
‘‘Animas-La Plata Project’’ has the meaning given
that term in section 3(2) of the Colorado Ute Indian
Water Rights Settlement Act of 1988 (Public Law
100–585; 102 Stat. 2973).
(3) DOLORES
PROJECT.—The term ‘‘Dolores
Project’’ has the meaning given that term in section
3(3) of the Colorado Ute Indian Water Rights Settle-
ment Act of 1988 (Public Law 100–585; 102 Stat.
2974).
(4) TRIBE; 
TRIBES.—The term ‘‘tribe’’ or
‘‘tribes’’ has the meaning given that term in section
3(6) of the Colorado Ute Indian Water Rights Settle-
ment Act of 1988 (Public Law 100–585; 102 Stat.
2974).
SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO SECTION 6 OF THE COLORADO
UTE INDIAN WATER RIGHTS SETTLEMENT
ACT OF 1988.
Subsection (a) of section 6 of the Colorado Ute Indian
Water Rights Settlement Act of 1988 (Public Law 100–585;
102 Stat. 2975) is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(a) 
RESERVOIR; 
MUNICIPAL
AND
INDUSTRIAL
WATER.—
‘‘(1) FACILITIES.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—After the date of enact-
ment of this subsection, but prior to January 1,
2005, the Secretary, in order to settle the out-
standing claims of the Tribes on the Animas and
La Plata Rivers, acting through the Bureau of
Reclamation, is specifically authorized to—
‘‘(i) complete construction of, and oper-
ate and maintain, a reservoir, a pumping
plant, a reservoir inlet conduit, and appur-
tenant facilities with sufficient capacity to
divert and store water from the Animas
River to provide for an average annual de-
pletion of 57,100 acre-feet of water to be
used for a municipal and industrial water
supply, which facilities shall—
‘‘(I) be designed and operated in
accordance with the hydrologic regime
necessary for the recovery of the endan-
gered fish of the San Juan River as de-
termined by the San Juan River Re-
covery Implementation Program;
‘‘(II) include an inactive pool of
an appropriate size to be determined
by the Secretary following the comple-
tion of required environmental compli-
ance activities; and
‘‘(III) include those recreation fa-
cilities determined to be appropriate
by agreement between the State of Col-
orado and the Secretary that shall ad-
dress the payment of any of the costs
of such facilities by the State of Colo-
rado in addition to the costs described
in paragraph (3); and
‘‘(ii) deliver, through the use of the
project components referred to in clause (i),
municipal 
and 
industrial 
water
allocations—
‘‘(I) with an average annual de-
pletion not to exceed 16,525 acre-feet of
water, to the Southern Ute Indian
Tribe for its present and future needs;
‘‘(II) with an average annual de-
pletion not to exceed 16,525 acre-feet of
water, to the Ute Mountain Ute Indian
Tribe for its present and future needs;
‘‘(III) with an average annual de-
pletion not to exceed 2,340 acre-feet of
water, to the Navajo Nation for its
present and future needs;
‘‘(IV) with an average annual de-
pletion not to exceed 10,400 acre-feet of
water, to the San Juan Water Com-
mission for its present and future
needs;
‘‘(V) with an average annual de-
pletion of an amount not to exceed
2,600 acre-feet of water, to the Animas-
La Plata Conservancy District for its
present and future needs;
‘‘(VI) with an average annual de-
pletion of an amount not to exceed
5,230 acre-feet of water, to the State of
Colorado for its present and future
needs; and
‘‘(VII) with an average annual
depletion of an amount not to exceed
780 acre-feet of water, to the La Plata
Conservancy District of New Mexico
for its present and future needs.
‘‘(B) APPLICABILITY
OF
OTHER
FEDERAL
LAW.—The responsibilities of the Secretary de-
scribed in subparagraph (A) are subject to the
requirements of Federal laws related to the pro-
tection of the environment and otherwise appli-
cable to the construction of the proposed facili-
ties, including the National Environmental Pol-
icy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), the
Clean Water Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.), and
the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C.
1531 et seq.). Nothing in this Act shall be con-
strued to predetermine or otherwise affect the
outcome of any analysis conducted by the Sec-
retary or any other Federal official under appli-
cable laws.
‘‘(C) LIMITATION.—
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—If constructed, the
facilities described in subparagraph (A)
constitute the Animas-La Plata Project.
Construction of any other project features
authorized by the Colorado River Basin
Project Act (Public Law 90–537; 82 Stat.
885) shall not be commenced without fur-
ther authorization from Congress.
‘‘(ii) CONTINGENCY IN APPLICATION.—
If the facilities described in subparagraph
(A) are not constructed and operated, clause
(i) shall not take effect.
‘‘(2) TRIBAL CONSTRUCTION COSTS.—Construc-
tion costs allocable to the facilities that are required
to deliver the municipal and industrial water alloca-
tions described in subclauses (I), (II) and (III) of
paragraph (1)(A)(ii) shall be nonreimbursable to the
United States.
‘‘(3) 
NONTRIBAL
WATER
CAPITAL
OBLIGA-
TIONS.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Under the provisions of
section 9 of the Act of August 4, 1939 (43 U.S.C.
485h), the nontribal municipal and industrial
water capital repayment obligations for the fa-
cilities described in paragraph (1)(A)(i) may be
initially satisfied upon the payment in full of
the nontribal water capital obligations prior to
the initiation of construction. The amount of the
obligations described in the preceding sentence
shall be determined by agreement between the
Secretary of the Interior and the entity respon-
sible for such repayment as to the appropriate
reimbursable share of the construction costs allo-
a new agreement, the portion of the water supply
relinquished by such election should be available
to the Secretary for allocation to other project
purposes. Additional repayment shall only be
warranted for reasonable and unforeseen costs
associated with project construction as deter-
mined by the Secretary in consultation with the
relevant repayment entities.
‘‘(C) REPORT.—Not later than April 1,
2001, the Secretary shall report to Congress on
the status of the cost-share agreements con-
templated in subparagraph (A). In the event that
no agreement is reached with either the Animas-
La Plata Conservancy District or the State of
Colorado for the water allocations set forth in
subclauses (V) and (VI) of paragraph (1)(A)(ii),
those allocations shall be reallocated equally to
the Colorado Ute Tribes.
‘‘(4) TRIBAL WATER ALLOCATIONS.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—With respect to munic-
ipal and industrial water allocated to a Tribe
from the Animas-La Plata Project or the Dolores
Project, until that water is first used by a Tribe
or used pursuant to a water use contract with
the Tribe, the Secretary shall pay the annual op-
eration, maintenance, and replacement costs al-
locable to that municipal and industrial water
allocation of the Tribe.
‘‘(B) TREATMENT OF COSTS.—A Tribe shall
not be required to reimburse the Secretary for the
payment of any cost referred to in subparagraph
(A).
‘‘(5) REPAYMENT OF PRO RATA SHARE.—Upon a
Tribe’s first use of an increment of a municipal and
industrial water allocation described in paragraph
(4), or the Tribe’s first use of such water pursuant to
the terms of a water use contract—
‘‘(A) repayment of that increment’s pro
rata share of those allocable construction costs
for the Dolores Project shall be made by the
Tribe; and
‘‘(B) the Tribe shall bear a pro rata share
of the allocable annual operation, maintenance,
and replacement costs of the increment as re-
ferred to in paragraph (4).’’.
SEC. 3. MISCELLANEOUS.
The Colorado Ute Indian Water Rights Settlement Act
of 1988 (Public Law 100–585; 102 Stat. 2973) is amended
by adding at the end the following:
‘‘SEC. 15. NEW MEXICO AND NAVAJO NATION WATER
MATTERS.
‘‘(a) ASSIGNMENT OF WATER PERMIT.—Upon the re-
quest of the State Engineer of the State of New Mexico, the
Secretary shall, in a manner consistent with applicable
law, assign, without consideration, to the New Mexico
Animas-La Plata Project beneficiaries or to the New Mexico
Interstate Stream Commission in accordance with the re-
quest such portion of the Department of the Interior’s inter-
est in New Mexico Engineer Permit Number 2883, dated
May 1, 1956, in order to fulfill the New Mexico purposes
of the Animas-La Plata Project, so long as the permit as-
signment does not affect the application of the Endangered
Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) to the use of
the water involved.
‘‘(b) NAVAJO NATION MUNICIPAL PIPELINE.—The Sec-
retary may construct a water line to augment the existing
system that conveys the municipal water supplies, in an
amount not less than 4,680 acre-feet per year, of the Navajo
Nation to the Navajo Indian Reservation at Shiprock, New
Mexico. The Secretary shall comply with all applicable en-
vironmental laws with respect to such water line. Construc-
tion costs allocated to the Navajo Nation for such water
line shall be nonreimbursable to the United States.
‘‘(c) PROTECTION OF NAVAJO WATER CLAIMS.—Noth-
ing in this Act shall be construed to quantify or otherwise
adversely affect the water rights and the claims of entitle-
ment to water of the Navajo Nation.
‘‘SEC. 16. TRIBAL RESOURCE FUNDS.
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—
‘‘(1) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.—
There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out
this section, $8,000,000 per year for 5 fiscal years be-
ginning in fiscal year 2002. Not later than 60 days
after amounts are appropriated and available to the
Secretary for a fiscal year under this paragraph, the
Secretary shall make a payment to each of the Tribal
Resource Funds established under paragraph (2).
Each such payment shall be equal to 50 percent of the
amount appropriated for the fiscal year involved.
‘‘(2) FUNDS.—The Secretary shall establish a—
‘‘(A) Southern Ute Tribal Resource Fund;
and
‘‘(B) Ute Mountain Ute Tribal Resource
Fund.
A separate account shall be maintained for each such
Fund.
‘‘(b) TRIBAL DEVELOPMENT.—
‘‘(1) INVESTMENT.—The Secretary shall, in the
absence of an approved tribal investment plan pro-
vided for under paragraph (2), invest the amount in
each Tribal Resource Fund in accordance with the
Act entitled, ‘An Act to authorize the deposit and in-
vestment of Indian funds’ approved June 24, 1938
(25 U.S.C. 162a). The Secretary, subject to subsection
(e), shall disburse, at the request of a Tribe, the prin-
cipal and income in its Resource Fund, or any part
thereof, in accordance with a resource acquisition and
enhancement plan approved under paragraph (3).
‘‘(2) INVESTMENT PLAN.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In lieu of the invest-
ment provided for in paragraph (1), a Tribe
may submit a tribal investment plan applicable
to all or part of the Tribe’s Tribal Resource
Fund.
‘‘(B) APPROVAL.—Not later than 60 days
after the date on which an investment plan is
submitted under subparagraph (A), the Secretary
shall approve such investment plan if the Sec-
retary finds that the plan is reasonable and
sound. If the Secretary does not approve such in-
vestment plan, the Secretary shall set forth in
writing and with particularity the reasons for
such disapproval. If such investment plan is ap-
proved by the Secretary subject to subsection (e),
the Tribal Resource Fund involved shall be dis-
bursed to the Tribe to be invested by the Tribe
in accordance with the approved investment
plan.
‘‘(C) COMPLIANCE.—The Secretary may
take such steps as the Secretary determines to be
necessary to monitor the compliance of a Tribe
with an investment plan approved under sub-
paragraph (B). The United States shall not be
responsible for the review, approval, or audit of
any individual investment under the plan. The
United States shall not be directly or indirectly
liable with respect to any such investment, in-
cluding any act or omission of the Tribe in man-
aging or investing such funds.
‘‘(D) ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PLAN.—The
principal and income derived from tribal invest-
ments under an investment plan approved under
subparagraph (B) shall be subject to the provi-
sions of this section and shall be expended only
in accordance with an economic development
plan approved under paragraph (3).
‘‘(3) ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PLAN.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each Tribe shall sub-
mit to the Secretary a resource acquisition and
Fund, or of the income accruing to such funds, or the rev-
enue from any water use contract, shall be distributed to
any member of either Tribe on a per capita basis.
‘‘(d) LIMITATION ON SETTING ASIDE FINAL CONSENT
DECREE.—Neither the Tribes nor the United States shall
have the right to set aside the final consent decree solely
because the requirements of subsection (b) are not complied
with or implemented.
‘‘(e) LIMITATION ON DISBURSEMENT OF TRIBAL RE-
SOURCE FUNDS.—Any moneys appropriated under this sec-
tion shall be placed into the Southern Ute Tribal Resource
Fund and the Ute Mountain Ute Tribal Resource Fund in
the Treasury of the United States but shall not be available
for disbursement under this section until the final settle-
ment of the tribal claims as provided in section 18. The
Secretary of the Interior may, in the Secretary’s sole discre-
tion, authorize the disbursement of funds prior to the final
settlement in the event that the Secretary determines that
substantial portions of the settlement have been completed.
In the event that the funds are not disbursed under the
terms of this section by December 31, 2012, such funds shall
be deposited in the general fund of the Treasury.
‘‘SEC. 17. COLORADO UTE SETTLEMENT FUND.
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF FUND.—There is hereby es-
tablished within the Treasury of the United States a fund
to be known as the ‘Colorado Ute Settlement Fund’.
‘‘(b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is
authorized to be appropriated to the Colorado Ute Settle-
ment Fund such funds as are necessary to complete the con-
struction of the facilities described in section 6(a)(1)(A)
within 7 years of the date of enactment of this section. Such
funds are authorized to be appropriated for each of the first
5 fiscal years beginning with the first full fiscal year fol-
lowing the date of enactment of this section.
‘‘SEC. 18. FINAL SETTLEMENT.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The construction of the facilities
described in section 6(a)(1)(A), the allocation of the water
supply from those facilities to the Tribes as described in
that section, the provision of funds to the Tribes in accord-
ance with section 16, and the issuance of an amended final
consent decree as contemplated in subsection (c) shall con-
stitute final settlement of the tribal claims to water rights
on the Animas and La Plata Rivers in the State of Colo-
rado.
‘‘(b) STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this
section shall be construed to affect the right of the Tribes
to water rights on the streams and rivers described in the
Agreement, other than the Animas and La Plata Rivers,
to receive the amounts of water dedicated to tribal use under
the Agreement, or to acquire water rights under the laws
of the State of Colorado.
‘‘(c) ACTION BY THE ATTORNEY GENERAL.—The At-
torney General shall file with the District Court, Water Di-
vision Number 7, of the State of Colorado, such instruments
as may be necessary to request the court to amend the final
consent decree to provide for the amendments made to this
Act under the Colorado Ute Settlement Act Amendments of
2000. The amended final consent decree shall specify terms
and conditions to provide for an extension of the current
January 1, 2005, deadline for the tribes to commence litiga-
tion of their reserved rights claims on the Animas and La
Plata Rivers.
‘‘SEC. 19. STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION; TREATMENT OF
CERTAIN FUNDS.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in the amendments made
by the Colorado Ute Settlement Act Amendments of 2000
shall be construed to affect the applicability of any provi-
sion of this Act other than those provisions amended.
‘‘(b) TREATMENT
OF UNCOMMITTED PORTION
OF
COST-SHARING OBLIGATION.—The uncommitted portion of
the cost-sharing obligation of the State of Colorado referred
to in section 6(a)(3) shall be made available, upon the re-
quest of the State of Colorado, to the State of Colorado after
the date on which payment is made of the amount specified
in that section.’’.
Union Calendar No. 584
106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3112
[Report No. 106–1001]
A BILL
To amend the Colorado Ute Indian Water Rights
Settlement Act to provide for a final settlement
of the claims of the Colorado Ute Indian Tribes,
and for other purposes.
OCTOBER 25, 2000
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Com-
mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union,
and ordered to be printed