Zuni Indian Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act of 2025

Key Points

• This bill settles a long-running legal dispute over the Zuni Tribe's water rights in the Zuni River system in New Mexico. It officially recognizes and protects the tribe's water rights, which cannot be lost through non-use, forfeiture, or abandonment. The tribe can allocate, distribute, and lease those rights on tribal lands or, with federal approval, off tribal lands for up to 99 years.
• The federal government would provide about $685 million in mandatory funding to a new trust fund for the tribe. Roughly $655.5 million goes toward a Water Rights Settlement Trust Account for building and repairing water infrastructure, and $29.5 million goes to an Operation, Maintenance, and Replacement Trust Account.
• Up to $50 million of the trust fund can be accessed immediately for urgent needs like groundwater wells, irrigation repairs, environmental compliance, and water resource planning, even before the full settlement takes effect.
• The bill protects the Zuni Salt Lake and roughly 217,000 acres of surrounding sanctuary land by withdrawing about 92,364 acres of federal land from mining, mineral leasing, and new development. Motor vehicle use is limited, no new water wells can be drilled, and no new grazing permits are allowed.
• New Mexico must contribute $1.25 million and pass legislation allowing the tribe to lease its water rights for up to 99 years. The entire settlement expires if the Secretary of the Interior fails to publish required findings by July 1, 2030, or a later agreed-upon date.
• In exchange for these benefits, the Zuni Tribe and the United States (as trustee) waive all past claims for water rights damages in the Zuni River system. However, they retain the right to enforce the new water rights and to bring future claims related to water quality and environmental contamination.