S. 3617 — Yavapai-Apache Nation Water Rights Settlement Act of 2026

This section establishes the short title of the Act as the “Yavapai-Apache Nation Water Rights Settlement Act of 2026” and sets forth the table of contents.

This section states the five purposes of the Act: (1) to resolve all water rights claims, including for damages, in the state—including in the Verde River Watershed and Colorado River—for the Yavapai-Apache Nation (excluding members as allottees) and the United States as trustee (with the same exclusion); (2) to authorize, ratify, and confirm the Yavapai-Apache Nation Water Rights Settlement Agreement, to the extent consistent with the Act; (3) to authorize and direct the Secretary to execute and carry out duties under the Agreement and Act; (4) to authorize appropriations necessary to implement the Agreement and Act; and (5) to recognize the cultural, traditional, and religious value of the Verde River—known as Hatayakehela ("Big River") to the Yavapai (Yavepé) and Tú ńlį́į́níchoh ("Big Water flowing") to the Apache (Dilzhę́’é)—and to protect existing flows, including flood flows, on the Yavapai-Apache Reservation as described in the Agreement and Act.

This section defines terms used throughout the Act, including “AFY” (acre-feet per year); “Agreement” (the Yavapai-Apache Nation Water Rights Settlement Agreement dated June 26, 2024, and approved amendments); “Allottee” (individual Indians or tribes holding undivided fractional beneficial interests in the Dinah Hood Allotment); “Available CAP Supply” (Fourth Priority River Water, water from CAP dams other than Modified Roosevelt Dam, and captured return flows available through the Central Arizona Project (CAP)); multiple CAP-related terms (e.g., “CAP Contract,” “CAP Fixed OM&R Charge,” “CAP Indian Priority Water,” “CAP Repayment Contract,” “CAP Repayment Stipulation,” “CAP System,” and “CAP Water” as defined in specified CAP documents); “CAWCD” (Central Arizona Water Conservation District, the CAP contractor and operating agency); “C.C. Cragin Dam and Reservoir” (U.S.-owned dam on East Clear Creek in Arizona, operated by Salt River Project, and associated facilities, excluding the Cragin-Verde Pipeline Project); “Colorado River Water” (waters apportioned to Arizona under specified laws, contracts, and decrees, for purposes of interpreting only this Act and the Agreement); “Commissioner” (Commissioner of Reclamation); and “Cragin Capital Costs” (Salt River Project costs for acquisition and improvement of C.C. Cragin Dam and Reservoir land, facilities, equipment, and inventories, including labor, overhead, materials, and supplies).

This section ratifies and directs the Secretary of the Interior to execute the Yavapai-Apache Nation Water Rights Settlement Agreement (the Agreement), except to the extent the Agreement conflicts with this Act, and authorizes consistent amendments and modifications thereto—including any requiring the Secretary's signature—without congressional approval under 25 U.S.C. 177 (i.e., the statute generally prohibiting conveyances of tribal lands absent a treaty or congressional ratification). In implementing the Agreement, the Secretary must comply with applicable environmental laws (e.g., Endangered Species Act of 1973, National Environmental Policy Act of 1969), independently evaluate related documentation, and deem the Agreement's execution not a major federal action under NEPA; compliance costs are paid from the Tú ńlį́į́níchoh Water Infrastructure Project Fund established under section 7(a), except for inherently federal functions borne by the Secretary.

This section ratifies, confirms, and declares valid the water rights of the Yavapai-Apache Nation (YAN) as described in the Agreement, subject to the Agreement and this Act (with this Act controlling in any conflict). It requires the United States to hold in trust for the YAN (1) the water rights specified in Agreement paragraphs 5.0, 6.0, 8.0, 9.0, and 11.0; (2) water rights appurtenant to YAN after-acquired trust land (subject to valid existing rights); and (3) on YAN request and in accordance with federal law, any water rights severed and transferred to YAN reservation, trust, or after-acquired trust land (subject to valid existing rights). The section further (1) prohibits sale, lease, transfer, or off-reservation use of water rights under Agreement subparagraph 4.1 (except for specified effluent, YAN Central Arizona Project [CAP] water, and water subject to state-law exchange); (2) protects all specified trust water rights from forfeiture, abandonment, or loss through non-use or operation of law; and (3) authorizes YAN to divert, use, and store its CAP water in accordance with the Agreement and specified Act provisions. (Thus, the provision settles YAN water claims by federally confirming tribal rights, placing them in trust to shield from state law challenges, and limiting uses to reservation boundaries.)

This section directs the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner, to plan, design, and construct the Tú ńlį́į́níchoh Water Infrastructure Project, consisting of (1) the Cragin-Verde Pipeline Project as part of the Salt River Federal Reclamation Project (with title held by the United States) and (2) the Yavapai-Apache Nation Drinking Water System Project. The Cragin-Verde Pipeline Project must deliver not less than 6,836.92 acre-feet per year of water from C.C. Cragin Dam and Reservoir to the Yavapai-Apache Nation (YAN), plus up to an additional 1,912.18 acre-feet per year for Yavapai County water users; include necessary diversion, storage, and delivery facilities to the YAN delivery point; minimize operation and maintenance costs; and permanently withdraw and reserve necessary National Forest System lands from entry, mining, and leasing for project purposes (with a map to be prepared by the Secretary). Following substantial completion, the Salt River Project assumes operation and maintenance responsibility under its 1917 contract with the United States, but YAN and other beneficiaries bear those costs pro rata (with the Secretary bearing them beforehand). The Yavapai-Apache Nation Drinking Water System Project must generally follow the July 2024 Yavapai-Apache Nation Drinking Water Infrastructure Plan (with adjustable design if requirements are met without cost increases); include a surface water treatment facility capable of treating up to 2,250,000 gallons per day (with a peak of 3,000,000 gallons per day) of Cragin Reservoir water delivered via the pipeline; and incorporate pipelines, storage tanks, pump stations, transmission mains, and associated infrastructure for distribution. (Thus, the projects fulfill YAN water rights under the settlement agreement ratified by the Act.)

This section establishes the Tú ńlį́į́níchoh Water Infrastructure Project Fund as a non-trust interest-bearing account managed by the Secretary of the Interior to carry out the Act, including two sub-accounts: (1) the Cragin-Verde Pipeline Account and (2) the Yavapai-Apache Nation (YAN) Drinking Water System Account. The section directs deposits into these accounts from amounts made available under section 10(a)(1)—specifically, section 10(a)(1)(A) into the Cragin-Verde Pipeline Account and section 10(a)(1)(B) into the YAN Drinking Water System Account—and specifies uses as follows: (1) the Cragin-Verde Pipeline Account to carry out section 6(b), including environmental compliance under section 4(c), for the Cragin-Verde Pipeline Project and to reimburse the Salt River Project for proportional capital and operations and maintenance costs associated with water delivered to the YAN from C.C. Cragin Dam and Reservoir; and (2) the YAN Drinking Water System Account to carry out section 6(c), including environmental compliance under section 4(c), for the YAN Drinking Water System Project. Amounts in the accounts generally become available after the Enforceability Date of the settlement agreement, except that $13 million is available beforehand for Bureau of Reclamation environmental compliance and preliminary design of the Tú ńlį́į́níchoh Water Infrastructure Project, subject to revision and execution of the agreement (including waivers under section 11). The section authorizes appropriation of investment earnings for the specified uses; directs deposit of cost savings from section 6(b) or (c) into the other account if needed to complete project components; and requires remaining funds after the Date of Substantial Completion to be deposited within 60 days into the Yavapai-Apache Nation Water Settlement Trust Fund under section 8(a), with allocation directed by the Nation within 30 days (or, absent direction, fully to the Yavapai-Apache Water Projects Account under section 8(b)(2)).

This section establishes the Yavapai-Apache Nation Water Settlement Trust Fund, managed, invested, and distributed by the Secretary of the Interior consistent with the first section of the Act of June 24, 1938 (25 U.S.C. 162a)—which authorizes the deposit and investment of tribal trust funds in banks—and the American Indian Trust Fund Management Reform Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 4001 et seq.)—which allows qualified tribes to assume management of their trust funds. The trust fund consists of amounts deposited under section 10(a)(2) into five accounts—(1) Yavapai-Apache Water Settlement Implementation Account, (2) Yavapai-Apache Water Projects Account, (3) Yavapai-Apache Wastewater Projects Account, (4) Yavapai-Apache OM&R Account, and (5) Yavapai-Apache Watershed Rehabilitation and Restoration Account—plus investment earnings, and remains available until expended, withdrawn, or reverted to the Treasury. Amounts in the trust fund become available to the Yavapai-Apache Nation on the enforceability date of the settlement agreement via (1) an approved tribal management plan under the 1994 Act or (2) a Secretary-approved expenditure plan, with uses limited to settlement implementation (e.g., permitting fees, planning, and environmental compliance), water projects, wastewater projects, operations and maintenance, and watershed rehabilitation; the Secretary may enforce compliance through judicial and administrative actions.

This section directs the Secretary, acting through the Director of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), to continue maintaining and operating the existing USGS gaging station at the Yavapai-Apache Nation (YAN) Point of Compliance—identified as “Verde River Above Camp Verde - 09504950” in Exhibit 11.1B to the Agreement and located within the Yavapai-Apache Reservation—for monitoring the Nation's instream flow right to the Verde River as described in paragraph 11.0 of the Agreement.

This section provides mandatory appropriations from the Treasury, to remain available until expended, withdrawn, or reverted, as follows: (1) $731,059,000 to the Cragin-Verde Pipeline Account and $152,490,000 to the YAN Drinking Water System Account of the Tú ńlį́į́níchoh Water Infrastructure Project Fund established under section 7(a); and (2) $300,000 to the Yavapai-Apache Water Settlement Implementation Account, $58,000,000 to the Yavapai-Apache Water Projects Account, $31,000,000 to the Yavapai-Apache Wastewater Projects Account, $66,000,000 to the Yavapai-Apache OM&R Account, and $700,000 to the Yavapai-Apache Watershed Rehabilitation and Restoration Account of the Yavapai-Apache Nation Water Settlement Trust Fund established under section 8(a). The section adjusts these amounts up or down for ordinary cost fluctuations after January 1, 2024, using applicable Bureau of Reclamation Construction Cost Indexes, plus additional adjustments for unforeseen market volatility as determined by the Secretary, with the process repeating annually (for the project fund until project completion; for the trust fund until deposit) until the adjusted amounts are fully appropriated. Upon deposit of funds into the Tú ńlį́į́níchoh Water Infrastructure Project Fund, the section directs the Secretary to commence planning, design, environmental, cultural, and historical compliance activities necessary to implement the agreement and this Act.

This section requires the Yavapai-Apache Nation (YAN), on behalf of itself and its members (but not members as allottees), and the United States acting as trustee for the YAN (but not allottees), to execute a waiver and release—in the form specified in exhibit 13.1 of the settlement agreement and effective on the enforceability date—of all past, present, and future claims for water rights (including Colorado River water) and injuries thereto against the State of Arizona (or its agencies or political subdivisions) and other persons or entities. The waiver covers (1) claims for water rights for YAN land arising from time immemorial forever; (2) claims based on aboriginal occupancy of land by the YAN, its predecessors, members, or their predecessors, from time immemorial forever; (3) past and present injuries to water rights for YAN land through the enforceability date; (4) past, present, and future injuries based on aboriginal occupancy from time immemorial forever; (5) post-enforceability injuries to water rights for YAN land from off-reservation diversion or use not violating the agreement or state law; and (6) claims relating to negotiation, execution, or adoption of the agreement, related judgments or decrees, or this Act. Notwithstanding the waiver, the YAN and the United States retain rights to (1) enforce the agreement and Act in federal or state court; (2) enforce rights under judgments or decrees of the Gila River Adjudication Court, including the Verde River Decree; (3) assert water rights or injury claims acquired before the enforceability date under the agreement; (4) challenge claims by or for other Indian tribes or the United States on their behalf; (5) assert injury claims against other Indian tribes or the United States on their behalf; and (6) assert post-enforceability injury claims for YAN land from specified off-reservation surface water diversions or well uses in the Verde River Watershed (e.g., post-effective date diversions without prior permits or certain new wells above USGS Gage No. 09506000).

This section provides that the benefits under the Agreement and this Act fully satisfy and replace any claims to water rights or other benefits waived by the Yavapai-Apache Nation (YAN), acting on behalf of itself and its members (excluding members as allottees of the Dinah Hood Allotment), against the parties to the Agreement—including the United States—pursuant to specified waivers in section 11 and the Agreement. It further states that any water entitlements of the YAN, its members (excluding as allottees), or the United States as trustee for YAN Land are satisfied exclusively by the water resources and benefits provided in the Agreement and this Act. This section includes savings provisions clarifying that (1) neither the Agreement nor this Act recognizes any individual member's right to water on YAN Land or prohibits the YAN from acquiring additional water rights by purchase or donation; and (2) except as specified, the Agreement and this Act do not affect any member's water rights for land outside YAN Land. With respect to the Dinah Hood Allotment, this section preserves all existing water rights and claims of its beneficial owners (or the United States as trustee); authorizes such owners or the United States to pursue and adjudicate individual water rights claims in the state; and prohibits the YAN, as holder of a beneficial interest in the allotment, from objecting to water users' claims from the Verde River Watershed in the Gila River Adjudication Proceedings or any other proceeding.

This section defines the Yavapai-Apache Reservation to include (1) lands within the exterior boundaries as described and depicted in Exhibits 2.96A through 2.96E and 2.102 to the Agreement; (2) lands taken into trust under subsection (b); (3) nine specified trust parcels identified in Exhibit 2.98A as Montezuma Parcel A (NF1) through Middle Verde Parcel C (NF9); and (4) lands added to the reservation pursuant to federal law as of the enforceability date. It further directs the Secretary of the Interior to accept transfer of title to and hold in trust for the benefit of the Yavapai-Apache Nation, within 30 days of enactment, the parcels depicted in Exhibits 2.98A and 2.98B consisting of (1) Otter Waters property; (2) Cemetery property; (3) Brown property (Parcels 1 and 2); (4) Distant Drums RV Park property (Parcels 1, 2, and 3); (5) Sonic/Chevron property (Parcels 1, 2, and 3); and (6) Arena del Loma property (Parcels 1, 2, and 3). (Thus, these trust lands will be excluded from state civil and criminal jurisdiction and subject to tribal and federal jurisdiction.)

This section directs the Secretary to enter into an amended Central Arizona Project (CAP) water delivery contract with the Yavapai-Apache Nation (YAN Amended CAP Water Delivery Contract) for permanent service (i.e., as defined in the Boulder Canyon Project Act) without term limit, effective on the enforceability date of the Yavapai-Apache Nation Water Rights Settlement Agreement. (The CAP delivers Colorado River water to central and southern Arizona for municipal, industrial, agricultural, and tribal uses.) The contract provides for delivery of YAN CAP water through the CAP system or other authorized projects; computes shortage deliveries of CAP Indian priority water per the YAN Amended CAP Repayment Contract; allows the tribe, with Secretary approval, to lease or exchange water for up to 100 years in specified Arizona counties (Coconino, Gila, Maricopa, Pinal, Pima, and Yavapai), prohibiting permanent alienation and use outside Arizona; and authorizes tribal use on or off-reservation, state-law-compliant storage with assignable credits, and retention of all lease/exchange revenues (with U.S. trust obligations only if proceeds are deposited in a tribal trust account). The section further (1) requires CAP fixed operations, maintenance, and replacement (OM&R) charges to be paid by the Secretary from the Lower Colorado River Basin Development Fund (43 U.S.C. 1543(f)(2)(A)) or, if unavailable, by the tribe; (2) requires CAP pumping energy charges (for CAP system deliveries) to be paid by the tribe, except for non-CAP deliveries; (3) makes lessees responsible for such charges on leased water; and (4) waives property tax equivalency payments for CAP water delivery or storage.

This section establishes the enforceability date for the Agreement—including waivers and releases of claims in section 11—upon the Secretary's publication in the Federal Register of findings confirming satisfaction of specified conditions, including (1) revisions and execution of the Agreement to eliminate conflicts with the Act; (2) execution of waivers, releases, and claim retentions by the Yavapai-Apache Nation (YAN), the United States, and other parties; (3) deposits totaling the full adjusted amounts specified in section 10 into designated accounts of the Tú ńlį́į́níchoh Water Infrastructure Project Fund and the Trust Fund; (4) conditional approvals by the Arizona Department of Water Resources of a water rights transfer from SRP (up to 3,410.26 acre-feet per year on average, maximum 3,977.92 acre-feet annually) and related changes in places of use and points of diversion; (5) approvals by the Gila River Adjudication Court of the YAN Judgment (substantially as described in specified exhibits); (6) issuance of a final record of decision for the Tú ńlį́į́níchoh Water Infrastructure Project; (7) execution of water and sewer service and interconnection agreements with the Towns of Clarkdale and Camp Verde (each waivable by YAN); and (8) adoption by the YAN tribal council of a specified resolution consenting to a limited sovereign immunity waiver. If the Secretary fails to publish the findings by June 30, 2035 (or a later date agreed by YAN, the Secretary, and the State), the Act is repealed (except section 13 remains in effect), prior actions and agreements are voided, the United States may offset expended federal funds against YAN claims, and unexpended appropriated amounts (plus earnings, less specified expenditures) revert to the Treasury general fund.

This section establishes administrative provisions for the Act. Specifically, it (1) provides a limited waiver of sovereign immunity for the Yavapai-Apache Nation and the United States as trustee, allowing them to be joined as parties in specified actions in courts of competent jurisdiction—including by parties to the Agreement for interpretation or enforcement of the Act or Agreement (without seeking monetary damages, court costs, or attorney fees against them, except under certain Yavapai-Apache Nation-Salt River Project agreements) and by landowners or water users in the Gila River Watershed for interpretation or enforcement of specified Agreement provisions, the Gila River Adjudication Decree, or section 11 (similarly without such awards); (2) includes antideficiency protections stating that the United States is not liable for failing to carry out non-appropriated obligations under the Act or ratified agreements; and (3) exempts individuals, entities, or lands from the acreage limitations and full-cost pricing requirements of the Reclamation Reform Act of 1982 (43 U.S.C. 390aa et seq.) and similar federal provisions solely due to receipt of Act benefits, execution or performance of the Agreement, or use, storage, delivery, lease, or exchange of Central Arizona Project (CAP) water.

This section (1) amends the Gila River Indian Community Water Rights Settlement Act of 2004 to replace references to the Blue Ridge Reservoir with the C.C. Cragin Dam and Reservoir and to authorize up to 1,639.74 acre-feet of water per year from the C.C. Cragin Reservoir for municipal and domestic uses in Yavapai County, Arizona, without cost to the Salt River Federal Reclamation Project if Yavapai County water users contract for it by December 31, 2029; (2) specifies that nothing in the Act affects water rights of any Indian tribe, band, or community other than the Yavapai-Apache Nation; and (3) directs the Forest Service to expeditiously transfer title to up to 40 acres of Forest Service land at the intersection of Interstate 17 and General Crook Trail to the Town of Camp Verde, Arizona, for public safety and municipal purposes.