HB6931, the Yavapai-Apache Nation Water Rights Settlement Act of 2025, would approve and implement a negotiated settlement of the Yavapai-Apache Nation’s water-rights claims in Arizona. The bill ratifies the settlement agreement, directs the Secretary of the Interior to execute it, and confirms the Nation’s water rights as described in the agreement. It also establishes the legal framework for the Nation’s use of water on the reservation, trust land, and after-acquired trust land, including rules governing CAP water, leasing and exchange of water, storage, and limits on off-reservation use.
A major feature of the bill is authorization for the Tu´n´lnı´choh Water Infrastructure Project, which includes the Cragin-Verde Pipeline Project and the Yavapai-Apache Nation Drinking Water System Project. The bill requires the federal government to plan, design, and construct these facilities, sets performance and capacity requirements, and creates a dedicated project fund to pay for construction, environmental compliance, and related costs. It also establishes a separate Yavapai-Apache Nation Water Settlement Trust Fund with multiple accounts for implementation, water projects, wastewater projects, operation and maintenance, and watershed restoration.
The bill would appropriate substantial federal funding to carry out the settlement and infrastructure work, including more than $883 million for the infrastructure project fund and additional amounts for the trust fund accounts. It also provides for the transfer of certain lands into trust for the Nation, defines the Yavapai-Apache Reservation to include specified trust lands, and authorizes the Secretary to accept additional water rights into trust under certain conditions. The bill further amends a prior settlement statute to make additional C.C. Cragin Reservoir water available for municipal and domestic uses in Yavapai County, subject to contracting deadlines.
The bill’s legal effect is broad: it would extinguish and release a wide range of past, present, and future water-rights and injury claims by the Nation and the United States, while preserving specified retained claims and enforcement rights. It also sets an enforceability date tied to a series of conditions, including execution of revised agreements, deposit of funds, state and court approvals, and completion of federal approvals. If those conditions are not met by June 30, 2035, the bill generally repeals itself and reverts unused funds, though the land provisions would remain in effect.
Because there are no committee transcripts or recorded votes in the provided material, there is no documented debate or vote history to gauge sentiment. Based on the bill text alone, the measure appears to be a comprehensive settlement package intended to resolve long-running water disputes and provide infrastructure and funding benefits to the Yavapai-Apache Nation, while also protecting other water users through detailed carveouts and retained rights. Potential points of contention likely include the size of the federal appropriation, the scope of claim waivers, the land-trust provisions, the use of C.C. Cragin water, and the bill’s effects on neighboring municipalities, water providers, and other users in the Verde River watershed and Yavapai County.
The bill would create a new federal statutory settlement for the Yavapai-Apache Nation’s water claims and would amend federal law to authorize construction, funding, and administration of major water infrastructure and trust-fund programs. It would also ratify the settlement agreement, direct the Secretary of the Interior to carry out federal obligations, establish enforceable water-rights terms, and create land-trust and CAP-water provisions that affect the Nation, the United States, SRP, and certain local water users. In addition, it would amend the Gila River Indian Community Water Rights Settlement Act of 2004 to make additional C.C. Cragin Reservoir water available for Yavapai County municipal and domestic use.
No committee transcript or vote data were provided, so there is no recorded legislative debate or roll-call history to summarize. On its face, the bill reflects a negotiated settlement approach and appears designed to be mutually beneficial to the Yavapai-Apache Nation, the United States, and other signatories by resolving claims, funding infrastructure, and clarifying future water use. The detailed conditions, carveouts, and retained rights suggest the measure is intended to balance tribal water security with protections for existing users and state water administration.
The main likely points of contention are the size and structure of the federal funding commitment, the breadth of the waiver and release of claims, and the extent to which the bill affects off-reservation water users, municipal providers, and neighboring communities in the Verde River watershed. The land-into-trust provisions, the permanent water-delivery and CAP-water terms, and the amendment allowing additional C.C. Cragin Reservoir water for Yavapai County could also draw scrutiny from local governments, water districts, and other stakeholders concerned about water allocation, future development, and administrative burdens. Because no transcripts were provided, no specific member or stakeholder objections can be identified.