Hualapai Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act of 2016

Hualapai Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act of 2016

This bill: (1) ratifies and modifies the Hualapai Tribe water rights settlement agreement negotiated between the tribe, the United States, Arizona, and others; and (2) satisfies the claims of the tribe for water rights and injury to water rights under all law with respect to the Hualapai land.

The bill enumerates the tribe's water rights in the Bill Williams, Colorado, and Verde River basins. The tribe may divert, use, and store the tribe water from the Central Arizona Project, but the tribe must pay charges associated with the delivery of the water as well as the tribe's water project costs.

The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) must plan, design, and construct the Hualapai Water Project, which must be designed to divert, treat, and convey no less than 3,414 acre-feet per year of water from the Colorado River for municipal, commercial, and industrial uses on the Hualapai Reservation. Reclamation must convey to the tribe title for the project once it is substantially complete.

The bill establishes the: (1) Hualapai Water Project Account for constructing the project; and (2) Hualapai OM&R Trust Account for the operation, maintenance and replacement charges associated with the project.

The Department of the Interior must accept certain parcels of land to hold in trust for the benefit of the tribe. In the future, land located outside the boundaries of the reservation may only be taken into trust by the United States for the benefit of the tribe through an act of Congress.

The bill outlines: (1) waivers, releases, and retentions of claims by the tribe and the United States under the settlement agreement; and (2) a limited waiver of sovereign immunity by the United States and the tribe with respect to certain claims.