H.R. 6205: Taos Pueblo Indian Water Rights Settlement Amendments Act of 2025

HR6205 is an implementation bill with a big price tag. It would appropriate $161,000,000 for mutual-benefit projects, $190,000,000 for a new Taos Pueblo Groundwater Development Supplemental Trust Fund, and $16,000,000 for a new Taos Pueblo Surface Water Sharing Supplemental Trust Fund. All three amounts can be increased for changes in construction costs since July 2025 using the Bureau of Reclamation Construction Cost Index-Composite Trend, and they can also be adjusted for unforeseen market volatility. That means the final federal cost could rise above the stated $367,000,000 total.

The bill is very specific about what the new money is for. The groundwater supplemental trust fund would pay or reimburse costs for groundwater production, treatment, or delivery infrastructure. The surface water sharing supplemental trust fund would pay or reimburse costs for surface water sharing infrastructure and gages needed to carry out Article 8.2 of the Settlement Agreement. It also formally defines a "mitigation well system" as a system of wells, pipelines, and treatment infrastructure used to offset surface water depletion effects in the stream segments identified in Article 7.3.3.1.9 of the Settlement Agreement.

The measure also tries to force timely construction. To qualify as an Eligible Non-Pueblo Entity, an applicant must have applied for funding under section 507(a) before 90 days after enactment and must apply for supplemental funding under section 507(c) no later than 180 days after enactment. After an award, non-mitigation well system projects must spend 10% of funding within 3 years, reach substantial completion within 6 years, and full completion within 8 years. Mitigation well system projects face even tighter rules: 15% spent within 3 years, substantial completion within 4 years, and full completion within 5 years. If those deadlines are missed, the Commissioner of Reclamation may terminate the agreement and require the return of unexpended funds.

Just as important, the bill clears away legal uncertainty. It says the Act does not require any amendment to the Settlement Agreement or the Partial Final Decree to take effect, and it does not disturb the Secretary of the Interior's October 7, 2016 Federal Register finding that the settlement's conditions precedent were satisfied. It also bars the Commissioner of Reclamation from holding title to property acquired or built with funding from sections 509(c)(2)(A) and 509(k), and it waives any non-Federal cost share for alternative or interim offset infrastructure constructed by the Pueblo.