Hualapai Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2459 To approve the settlement of water rights claims of the Hualapai Tribe and certain allottees in the State of Arizona, to authorize construction of a water project relating to those water rights claims, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 1, 2019 Mr. O’HALLERAN (for himself, Mr. STANTON, Mrs. KIRKPATRICK, Mr. GALLEGO, Mr. BIGGS, Mr. GOSAR, Mr. SCHWEIKERT, and Mrs. LESKO) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources A BILL To approve the settlement of water rights claims of the Hualapai Tribe and certain allottees in the State of Arizona, to authorize construction of a water project relating to those water rights claims, and for other pur- poses. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Hualapai Tribe Water 4 Rights Settlement Act of 2019’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:31 May 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2459.IH H2459 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2459 IH SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 1 The purposes of this Act are— 2 (1) to resolve, fully and finally, all claims to 3 rights to water in the State, including the Verde 4 River, the Bill Williams River, and the Colorado 5 River, of— 6 (A) the Hualapai Tribe, on behalf of the 7 Hualapai Tribe and the members of the 8 Hualapai Tribe; and 9 (B) the United States, acting as trustee 10 for the Hualapai Tribe, the members of the 11 Hualapai Tribe, and the allottees; 12 (2) to authorize, ratify, and confirm the 13 Hualapai Tribe water rights settlement agreement 14 entered into among the Hualapai Tribe, the United 15 States, the State, and others, to the extent that 16 agreement is consistent with this Act; 17 (3) to authorize and direct the Secretary to exe- 18 cute and perform the duties and obligations of the 19 Secretary under the Hualapai Tribe water rights 20 settlement agreement and this Act; and 21 (4) to authorize the appropriation of amounts 22 necessary for the implementation of the Hualapai 23 Tribe water rights settlement agreement and this 24 Act. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:31 May 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2459.IH H2459 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2459 IH SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 1 In this Act: 2 (1) 1947 JUDGMENT.—The term ‘‘1947 Judg- 3 ment’’ means the Judgment and the Stipulation and 4 Agreement, including exhibits to the Judgment and 5 the Stipulation and Agreement, entered on March 6 13, 1947, in United States v. Santa Fe Pac. R.R. 7 Co., No. E–190 (D. Ariz.) and attached to the 8 Hualapai Tribe water rights settlement agreement 9 as Exhibit 3.1.1. 10 (2) AFY.—The term ‘‘AFY’’ means acre-feet 11 per year. 12 (3) ALLOTMENT.—The term ‘‘allotment’’ means 13 any of the 4 off-reservation parcels that are— 14 (A) held in trust by the United States for 15 individual Indians in the Big Sandy River basin 16 in Mohave County, Arizona, under the patents 17 numbered 1039995, 1039996, 1039997, and 18 1019494; and 19 (B) identified as Parcels 1A, 1B, 1C, and 20 2 on the map attached to the Hualapai Tribe 21 water rights settlement agreement as Exhibit 22 3.1.6. 23 (4) ALLOTTEE.—The term ‘‘allottee’’ means 24 any Indian owner of an allotment. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:31 May 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2459.IH H2459 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2459 IH (5) AVAILABLE CAP SUPPLY.—The term ‘‘avail- 1 able CAP supply’’ means, for any year— 2 (A) all fourth priority water available for 3 delivery through the CAP system; 4 (B) water available from Central Arizona 5 Project dams and reservoirs other than the 6 Modified Roosevelt Dam; and 7 (C) return flows captured by the Secretary 8 for Central Arizona Project use. 9 (6) BILL WILLIAMS ACT.—The term ‘‘Bill Wil- 10 liams Act’’ means the Bill Williams River Water 11 Rights Settlement Act of 2014 (Public Law 113– 12 223; 128 Stat. 2096). 13 (7) BILL WILLIAMS AGREEMENTS.—The term 14 ‘‘Bill Williams agreements’’ means the Amended and 15 Restated Big Sandy River-Planet Ranch Water 16 Rights Settlement Agreement and the Amended and 17 Restated Hualapai Tribe Bill Williams River Water 18 Rights Settlement Agreement, including all exhibits 19 to each agreement, copies of which (excluding exhib- 20 its) are attached to the Hualapai Tribe water rights 21 settlement agreement as Exhibit 3.1.11. 22 (8) BILL WILLIAMS RIVER PHASE 2 WATER 23 RIGHTS SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT.—The term ‘‘Bill 24 Williams River phase 2 water rights settlement 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:31 May 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2459.IH H2459 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2459 IH agreement’’ means the agreement of that name that 1 is attached to, and incorporated in, the Hualapai 2 Tribe water rights settlement agreement as Exhibit 3 4.3.3. 4 (9) CAP CONTRACT.—The term ‘‘CAP con- 5 tract’’ means a long-term contract (as defined in the 6 CAP repayment stipulation) with the United States 7 for delivery of CAP water through the CAP system. 8 (10) CAP CONTRACTOR.— 9 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘CAP con- 10 tractor’’ means a person that has entered into 11 a CAP contract. 12 (B) INCLUSION.—The term ‘‘CAP con- 13 tractor’’ includes the Hualapai Tribe. 14 (11) CAP FIXED OM&R CHARGE.—The term 15 ‘‘CAP fixed OM&R charge’’ has the meaning given 16 the term ‘‘Fixed OM&R Charge’’ in the CAP repay- 17 ment stipulation. 18 (12) CAP M&I PRIORITY WATER.—The term 19 ‘‘CAP M&I priority water’’ means the CAP water 20 that has a municipal and industrial delivery priority 21 under the CAP repayment contract. 22 (13) CAP NIA PRIORITY WATER.—The term 23 ‘‘CAP NIA priority water’’ means the CAP water 24 deliverable under a CAP contract or a CAP sub- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:31 May 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2459.IH H2459 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2459 IH contract providing for the delivery of non-Indian ag- 1 ricultural priority water. 2 (14) CAP OPERATING AGENCY.—The term 3 ‘‘CAP operating agency’’ means— 4 (A) the one or more entities authorized to 5 assume responsibility for the care, operation, 6 maintenance, and replacement of the CAP sys- 7 tem; and 8 (B) as of the date of enactment of this 9 Act, the Central Arizona Water Conservation 10 District. 11 (15) CAP PUMPING ENERGY CHARGE.—The 12 term ‘‘CAP pumping energy charge’’ has the mean- 13 ing given the term ‘‘Pumping Energy Charge’’ in the 14 CAP repayment stipulation. 15 (16) CAP REPAYMENT CONTRACT.—The term 16 ‘‘CAP repayment contract’’ means— 17 (A) the contract entitled ‘‘Contract be- 18 tween the United States and CAWCD for Deliv- 19 ery of Water and Repayment of Costs of the 20 CAP’’, numbered 14–06–W–245 (Amendment 21 No. 1), and dated December 1, 1988; and 22 (B) any amendment to, or revision of, that 23 contract. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:31 May 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2459.IH H2459 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2459 IH (17) CAP REPAYMENT STIPULATION.—The 1 term ‘‘CAP repayment stipulation’’ means the Stipu- 2 lated Judgment and the Stipulation for Judgment, 3 including any exhibits to those documents, entered 4 on November 21, 2007, in the United States District 5 Court for the District of Arizona in the consolidated 6 civil action Central Arizona Water Conservation Dis- 7 trict v. United States, numbered CIV 95–625–TUC– 8 WDB (EHC) and CIV 95–1720–PHX–EHC. 9 (18) CAP SUBCONTRACT.—The term ‘‘CAP 10 subcontract’’ means a long-term subcontract (as de- 11 fined in the CAP repayment stipulation) with the 12 United States and the Central Arizona Water Con- 13 servation District for the delivery of CAP water 14 through the CAP system. 15 (19) CAP SUBCONTRACTOR.—The term ‘‘CAP 16 subcontractor’’ means a person that has entered into 17 a CAP subcontract. 18 (20) CAP SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘CAP system’’ 19 means— 20 (A) the Mark Wilmer Pumping Plant; 21 (B) the Hayden-Rhodes Aqueduct; 22 (C) the Fannin-McFarland Aqueduct; 23 (D) the Tucson Aqueduct; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:31 May 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2459.IH H2459 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 2459 IH (E) any pumping plant or appurtenant 1 work of a feature described in subparagraph 2 (A), (B), (C), or (D); and 3 (F) any extension of, addition to, or re- 4 placement for a feature described in subpara- 5 graph (A), (B), (C), (D), or (E). 6 (21) CAP WATER.—The term ‘‘CAP water’’ has 7 the meaning given the term ‘‘Project Water’’ in the 8 CAP repayment stipulation. 9 (22) CENTRAL ARIZONA PROJECT.—The term 10 ‘‘Central Arizona Project’’ means the reclamation 11 project authorized and constructed by the United 12 States in accordance with title III of the Colorado 13 River Basin Project Act (43 U.S.C. 1521 et seq.). 14 (23) CENTRAL ARIZONA WATER CONSERVATION 15 DISTRICT.—The term ‘‘Central Arizona Water Con- 16 servation District’’ means the political subdivision of 17 the State that is the contractor under the CAP re- 18 payment contract. 19 (24) COLORADO RIVER COMPACT.—The term 20 ‘‘Colorado River Compact’’ means the Colorado 21 River Compact of 1922, as ratified and reprinted in 22 article 2 of chapter 7 of title 45, Arizona Revised 23 Statutes. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:31 May 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2459.IH H2459 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 2459 IH (25) COLORADO RIVER WATER.—The term 1 ‘‘Colorado River water’’ means the water of the Col- 2 orado River within the United States, including— 3 (A) the water of reservoirs on the Colorado 4 River within the United States; 5 (B) the water of all tributaries to the Colo- 6 rado River within the United States, other than 7 tributaries located within the State; 8 (C) the water beneath the surface of the 9 Earth that is hydraulically connected to the 10 Colorado River within the United States; and 11 (D) all water beneath the surface of the 12 Earth that is hydraulically connected to tribu- 13 taries to the Colorado River within the United 14 States, other than tributaries located within the 15 State. 16 (26) COLORADO RIVER WATER ENTITLE- 17 MENT.— 18 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘Colorado 19 River water entitlement’’ means the right or au- 20 thorization to use Colorado River water in the 21 State. 22 (B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘‘Colorado 23 River water entitlement’’ does not include the 24 right of the Hualapai Tribe to use Hualapai 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:31 May 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2459.IH H2459 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 2459 IH Tribe CAP water in accordance with the 1 Hualapai Tribe water delivery contract. 2 (27) COMMISSIONER.—The term ‘‘Commis- 3 sioner’’ means the Commissioner of Reclamation. 4 (28) DIVERSION.—The term ‘‘diversion’’ means 5 an act to divert. 6 (29) DIVERT.—The term ‘‘divert’’ means the 7 receipt, withdrawal, development, production, or cap- 8 ture of water using a ditch, canal, flume, bypass, 9 pipeline, pit, collection or infiltration gallery, con- 10 duit, well, pump, turnout, dam, or any other me- 11 chanical device, or any other act of man. 12 (30) EFFLUENT.—The term ‘‘effluent’’ means 13 water that— 14 (A) has been used in the State for domes- 15 tic, municipal, or industrial purposes, other 16 than solely for hydropower generation; and 17 (B) is available for reuse for any purpose, 18 whether or not the water has been treated to 19 improve the quality of the water. 20 (31) ENFORCEABILITY DATE.—The term ‘‘en- 21 forceability date’’ means the date described in sec- 22 tion 12(a). 23 (32) EXCHANGE.—The term ‘‘exchange’’ means 24 a trade between one or more persons of any water 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:31 May 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2459.IH H2459 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 2459 IH for any other water, if each person has a right or 1 claim to use the water the person provides in the 2 trade, regardless of whether the water is traded in 3 equal amounts or other consideration is included in 4 the trade. 5 (33) FOURTH PRIORITY WATER.—The term 6 ‘‘fourth priority water’’ means Colorado River water 7 that is available for delivery in the State for the sat- 8 isfaction of entitlements— 9 (A) in accordance with contracts, Secre- 10 tarial reservations, perfected rights, and other 11 arrangements between the United States and 12 water users in the State entered into or estab- 13 lished more recently than September 30, 1968, 14 for use on Federal, State, or privately owned 15 land in the State, in a total quantity not great- 16 er than 164,652 AFY of diversions; and 17 (B) after first providing for the delivery of 18 Colorado River water for the CAP system, in- 19 cluding for use on Indian land, under section 20 304(e) of the Colorado River Basin Project Act 21 (43 U.S.C. 1524(e)), in accordance with the 22 CAP repayment contract. 23 (34) FREEPORT.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:31 May 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2459.IH H2459 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 2459 IH (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘Freeport’’ 1 means the Delaware corporation named ‘‘Free- 2 port Minerals Corporation’’. 3 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘Freeport’’ 4 includes all subsidiaries, affiliates, successors, 5 and assigns of Freeport, including Byner Cattle 6 Company, a Nevada corporation. 7 (35) GILA RIVER ADJUDICATION.—The term 8 ‘‘Gila River adjudication’’ means the action pending 9 in the Superior Court of the State, in and for the 10 County of Maricopa, In Re the General Adjudication 11 of All Rights To Use Water In The Gila River Sys- 12 tem and Source, W–1 (Salt), W–2 (Verde), W–3 13 (Upper Gila), W–4 (San Pedro) (Consolidated). 14 (36) GILA RIVER ADJUDICATION COURT.—The 15 term ‘‘Gila River adjudication court’’ means the Su- 16 perior Court of the State, in and for the County of 17 Maricopa, exercising jurisdiction over the Gila River 18 adjudication. 19 (37) GILA RIVER ADJUDICATION DECREE.—The 20 term ‘‘Gila River adjudication decree’’ means the 21 judgment or decree entered by the Gila River adju- 22 dication court in substantially the same form as the 23 form of judgment attached to the Hualapai Tribe 24 water rights settlement agreement as Exhibit 3.1.43. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:31 May 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2459.IH H2459 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 2459 IH (38) GROUNDWATER.—The term ‘‘grou [Text truncated for display. 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