Zuni Indian Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act of 2025
U.S. Congress · HR1444 ·
What the bill says
Introduced 2025-02-18. Latest action: Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.
Summary (plain-language)
Zuni Indian Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act of 2025 This bill recognizes and settles certain water rights claims in New Mexico of the pueblo of Zuni and establishes and provides funding for a related settlement trust fund. It also requires federal actions related to the Zuni Salt Lake in New Mexico. Specifically, the bill authorizes, ratifies, and confirms a specified water rights settlement agreement entered into by Zuni, New Mexico, and others, thus satisfying claims to water rights in the Zuni River Stream System in New Mexico. The bill establishes and provides funding for the Zuni Tribe Settlement Trust Fund (and specified accounts) for purposes of carrying out this bill. Additionally, the bill (1) specifies the water rights of the pueblo; and (2) outlines waivers, releases, and retentions of claims by the pueblo and the United States. The bill also withdraws certain federal land in New Mexico from mineral development. The bill reserves this federal land for the following three purposes: (1) the protection of the Zuni Salt Lake and Sanctuary, (2) the protection of the quality and quantity of the Zuni Salt Lake's water supply, and (3) the protection of any cultural resources associated with the Zuni Salt Lake and Sanctuary. The Bureau of Land Management must manage this land. The Department of the Interior must take certain land surrounding the Zuni Salt Lake into trust for the benefit of Zuni.
Sponsors
Text versions
- Introduced in House — 2025-02-18 — XML
What analysts say
No nonpartisan analysis on file for this measure yet.
What politicians say
No linked claims or utterances yet — no one on record has cited this measure to justify a public argument.
Action History
| Date | Action |
|---|---|
| 2025-02-18 | Introduced in House |
| 2025-02-18 | Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources. |
Lobbying on this bill
Showing 2 of 2 bill mentions.
Honesty note: each filer below disclosed lobbying on this bill — that much the filing tells us. But the dollar figure is their total lobbying spend for the whole quarter across all their issues, not the amount spent on this bill, and the filing never says whether they supported or opposed it.
| Registrant (lobbying firm) | Client | Period | Reported quarterly amount | Extraction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SONOSKY, CHAMBERS, SACHSE, ENDRESON & PERRY, LLP | PUEBLO OF ZUNI | Q2 2026 | not reported | |
| SONOSKY, CHAMBERS, SACHSE, ENDRESON & PERRY, LLP | PUEBLO OF ZUNI | Q1 2026 | not reported |
Source: Senate LDA filings.