I
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 3112
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
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.
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the
‘‘Colorado Ute Settlement Act Amendments of 1999’’.
(b) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—
(1) in order to provide for a full and final set-
tlement 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 parties to the Agreement have proposed
certain modifications to the Colorado Ute Indian
Water Rights Settlement Act of 1988;
(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 ac-
cordance with the provisions of the Colorado Ute In-
dian Water Rights Settlement Act of 1988;
(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
cannot presently be satisfied under the current im-
plementation of the Federal Water Pollution Control
Act (33 U.S.C. 1251–1387) and the Endangered
Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531–1534);
(5) in order to meet the requirements of the
Endangered Species Act of 1973, and in particular
the various biological opinions issued by the Fish
and Wildlife Service, this Act provides for a signifi-
cant reduction in the facilities and water supply con-
templated under the Agreement;
(6) the substitute benefits provided to the
Tribes under this Act, including the waiver of capital
costs and the provisions of funds for natural re-
source enhancement result in a settlement that pro-
vides the Tribes with benefits that are equivalent to
those that the Tribes would have received under the
Colorado Ute Indian Water Rights Settlement Act of
1988; and
(7) the requirement that the Secretary of the
Interior comply with the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969 and other national environmental
laws before implementing the proposed settlement
will ensure that the satisfaction of the tribal water
rights is accomplished in an environmentally respon-
sible fashion.
SEC. 2. 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).
(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).
(3) DOLORES
PROJECT.—The term ‘‘Dolores
Project’’ has the meaning given that term in section
3(3) of the Colorado Ute Indian Water Rights Set-
tlement Act of 1988 (Public Law 100–585).
(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 Set-
tlement Act of 1988 (Public Law 100–585).
SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO SECTION 6 OF THE COLORADO
UTE INDIAN WATER RIGHTS SETTLEMENT
ACT OF 1988.
(a) 
RESERVOIR; 
MUNICIPAL
AND
INDUSTRIAL
WATER.—Section 6(a) of the Colorado Ute Indian Water
Rights Settlement Act of 1988 (Public Law 100–585) is
amended to read as follows:
‘‘(a) RESERVOIR; MUNICIPAL
AND
INDUSTRIAL
WATER.—