H.R. 4598 — Technical Corrections to the Northwestern New Mexico Rural Water Projects Act, Taos Pueblo Indian Water Rights Settlement Act, and Aamodt Litigation Settlement Act

This section authorizes a $6,357,674.46 appropriation for deposit into the Navajo Nation Water Resources Development Trust Fund as adjusted interest payments, in addition to amounts under sec. 10702(f) (i.e., the fund established by P.L. 111-11 to finance Navajo water infrastructure projects pursuant to a water rights settlement), and excludes such deposits from the interest distribution calculation in sec. 10701(e)(1)(A)(vii). It also updates cross-references in sec. 10702(a)(1) to include the new subsection (g).

This section authorizes an appropriation of $7,794,297.52 for deposit into the Taos Pueblo Water Development Fund—established under the Claims Resolution Act of 2010 to support water infrastructure for the Taos Pueblo's settled water rights claims—as adjusted interest payments, in addition to amounts made available under section 509(c) of that Act.

This section authorizes an appropriation of $4,314,709.18 for deposit into the Aamodt Settlement Pueblos’ Fund—established under the Claims Resolution Act of 2010 to finance the Pueblos of Nambe, Pojoaque, San Ildefonso, and Tesuque’s share of water infrastructure costs—for the Pueblos’ share of operating, maintaining, and replacing the Pueblo Water Facilities and Regional Water System. It also directs the Secretary of the Treasury to waive any payment to the United States of interest earned prior to September 15, 2017, on amounts made available under section 617(c)(1)(A).

This section provides that nothing in the Act affects (1) the prior satisfaction of conditions precedent under section 509(f)(2) of the Claims Resolution Act of 2010 or the validity of the Secretarial finding published October 7, 2016, that those conditions were met; or (2) the prior satisfaction of conditions precedent under section 623(a)(2) of that Act or the validity of the Secretarial finding published September 15, 2017, that those conditions were met.