S. Rpt. 119-94 accompanies infrastructure legislation titled "Technical Correction to the Shoshone-paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley Reservation Water Rights Settlement Act of 2025". Infrastructure bills affect highways, bridges, airports, transit, water systems, broadband, ports, or federal buildings. The Indian Affairs Committee's report describes the infrastructure need, the proposed federal investment or regulatory change, and projected economic and community benefits. Infrastructure reports typically include analysis of safety, efficiency, environmental impact, and regional effects.
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Senate Report 119-94 - TECHNICAL CORRECTION TO THE SHOSHONE-PAIUTE TRIBES OF THE DUCK VALLEY RESERVATION WATER RIGHTS SETTLEMENT ACT OF 2025
[Senate Report 119-94]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 261
119th Congress} { Report
SENATE
1st Session } { 119-94
======================================================================
TECHNICAL CORRECTION TO THE SHOSHONE-PAIUTE TRIBES OF THE DUCK VALLEY
RESERVATION WATER RIGHTS SETTLEMENT ACT OF 2025
_______
November 4, 2025.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Ms. Murkowski, from the Committee on Indian Affairs,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 546]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Indian Affairs, to which was referred the
bill (S. 546) to amend the Omnibus Public Land Management Act
of 2009 to make a technical correction to the water rights
settlement for the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley
Reservation, and for other purposes, having considered the
same, reports favorably thereon without amendment and
recommends that the bill do pass.
PURPOSE
The purpose of S. 546 is to amend the Omnibus Public Land
Management Act of 2009 to authorize payment to the Shoshone-
Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley Reservation (Tribes) in an
amount equivalent to the unpaid interest that would have
accrued if interest accrual were permitted on the Tribes' water
settlement trust funds deposited between October 1, 2009 and
January 25, 2016.
BACKGROUND AND NEED
The Duck Valley Reservation encompasses 290,000 acres of
land on the border between Nevada and Idaho, along the East
Fork of the Owyhee River, a tributary to the Snake River. The
Reservation was established by executive order in 1877 and
expanded by executive orders in 1886 and 1910.
The Tribes have consistently used the water sources on the
Reservation for agriculture, livestock, and domestic purposes.
The Reservation, however, lacks sufficient reliable
infrastructure to provide dependable water for irrigation and
drinking, and this lack of water infrastructure has been a
chronic problem since the Reservation was first established in
1877.
Inconsistent natural flows and non-Indian settlement north
and south of the Reservation in Nevada have led to chronic
water stress and conflict with other water users over
generations. Additionally, federal attempts to alleviate these
concerns--including the Bureau of Reclamation's nearby Owyhee
Project and the Bureau of Indian Affairs' Duck Valley Indian
Irrigation Project--further complicated water storage and
economic development on the Reservation.
For example, in the 1930s, the federal government
authorized and built the Bureau of Indian Affairs' Duck Valley
Indian Irrigation Project (Project) to provide water storage
along the East Fork of the Owyhee River for irrigation and
stock water purposes on the Reservation. The Project failed to
provide the Tribes complete relief because the Project's
primary water storage facility, the Wild Horse Reservoir, was
located approximately 15 miles from the Reservation, which
increased potential conflict with off-reservation water users
and reduced the number of acres available to the Tribes for
cultivation and other development opportunities. Moreover, the
Project did not receive sufficient funding for the Tribes to
perform adequate operation and maintenance activities pursuant
to their self-governance compact. As a result, the Project
facilities fell into disrepair, which led to fallow lands and
sub-optimal production.
In 2009, Congress enacted the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes of the
Duck Valley Reservation Water Rights Settlement (``Settlement
Act'') as part of the Omnibus Lands Act of 2009.\1\ The
Settlement Act quantified the Tribes' disputed water rights,
including federal reserved water rights. The Settlement Act
also (1) resolved the Tribes' claims against the United States
for its failure to protect the Tribes' water rights and natural
resources; (2) assisted the Tribes in their efforts to
rehabilitate the Duck Valley Indian Irrigation Project; and (3)
provided municipal water supplies and other critical water
related projects.\2\
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\1\Pub. L. 111-11 Sec. Sec. 10801-10809 (2009).
\2\81 Fed. Reg. 4063-4064 (Jan. 25, 2016).
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Specifically, the Settlement Act authorized a total of $60
million to two Trust Funds for the Tribes to rehabilitate the
Project and for other activities over a five-year period.
Between Fiscal Years 2010-2014, $45 million was deposited into
a Development Fund\3\ and $15 million was deposited into a
Maintenance Fund.\4\ Pursuant to the Settlement Act, the
settlement funds began to be appropriated on October 1, 2009,
and the Department of the Interior (Department) immediately
began investing the funds, earning interest.
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\3\Supra, note 1 at Sec. 10807(b)(3).
\4\Supra, note 1 at Sec. 10807(c)(3).
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On January 25, 2016, and pursuant to the Settlement Act,
the Secretary of the Interior published a notice of findings in
the Federal Register making the settlement enforceable.\5\ In
February 2016, the Department opined that this ``enforceability
date'' was the earliest date upon which the settlement funds
could be invested per the terms of the settlement.\6\
Accordingly, the Department withdrew all the interest accrued
before the enforceability date and deposited it in the Federal
Treasury.
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\5\81 Fed. Reg. 4063-4064 (Jan. 25, 2016); Pub. L. No. 111-11
Sec. 10808(d).
\6\See Senate Committee on Indian Affairs Legislative Hearing,
October 6, 2021 (Statement of Brian Thomas, Chairman, Shoshone-Paiute
Tribes of the Duck Valley Reservation).
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The Department agrees that prohibiting investment of a
Tribe's settlement funds prior to the enforceability date is
uncommon in Indian water settlements.\7\ In fact, only five
Tribes are subject to this unusual restriction, and the
Department supports reimbursement in all five of these
cases.\8\ S. 546 will provide parity with other Indian Water
Settlements by authorizing the appropriation of the unpaid
interest that would have accrued before the enforceability
date.
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\7\See Senate Committee on Indian Affairs Legislative Hearing,
October 6, 2021 (Statement of Bryan Newland Assistant Secretary for
Indian Affairs, United States Department of the Interior) (stating
``[t]he provision in the Duck Valley Settlement Act prohibiting
investment until an enforceability date is reached is not common in
Indian water rights settlements. It appears in the Duck Valley
settlement and other settlements enacted in 2009-2010, including the
Crow Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act of 2010, Pub. L. No. 111-291;
the Taos Pueblo Indian Water Rights Settlement Act, Pub. L. No. 111-
291; the Aamodt Litigation Settlement Act, Pub. L. No. 111-291; and the
Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project and Navajo Nation Water Rights, Pub.
L. No. 111-11.'').
\8\See, id. (stating ``[t]he Department supports S. 648 and, as a
matter of equity, would support similar legislation to resolve this
same issue in the four other Indian water rights settlements approved
by Congress in 2009 and 2010'').
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SUMMARY
S. 546 authorizes the appropriation of $5,124,902.12 for
deposit into the Settlement Act's Development Fund. This
represents the amount of unpaid interest that would have
accrued if interest accrual were permitted on the Tribes' water
settlement trust funds deposited between October 1, 2009 (when
the funds were initially appropriated) and January 25, 2016
(the enforceability date).
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
S. 546 was introduced by Senator Cortez Masto on February
12, 2025, with Senators Crapo, Risch and Rosen as cosponsors.
On March 5, 2025, the Committee met at a duly convened business
meeting and ordered S. 546 reported favorably, without
amendment, by voice vote.
In the 118th Congress, an identical bill, S. 950, was
introduced by Senator Cortez Masto on March 22, 2023, with
Senators Crapo, Risch and Rosen as cosponsors. On March 29,
2023, the Committee held a business meeting to consider S. 950
and ordered the bill to be reported favorably, with an
amendment, by voice vote (S. Rept. 118-80). S. 950 passed the
Senate on December 18, 2023, by unanimous consent.
H.R. 1738, identical companion legislation to S. 950 was
introduced by Representative Amodei in the House of
Representatives on March 23, 2023. H.R. 1738 was referred to
the House Committee on Natural Resources.
In the 117th Congress, a similar bill, S. 648, was
introduced by Senator Cortez Masto on March 9, 2021, with
Senators Crapo, Risch and Rosen as cosponsors. The Committee
held a hearing on S. 648 on October 6, 2021 (S. Hrg. 117-138).
The Committee held a business meeting to consider S. 648 on
November 17, 2021, and ordered the bill reported favorably,
with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. (S. Rept. 117-
93).
On March 12, 2021, Representative Amodei (R-NV) introduced
H.R. 1869, identical companion legislation to S. 648. A hearing
was held on H.R. 1869 in the House Natural Resources
Subcommittee on Water, Oceans and Wildlife on June 29, 2021.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs in an open business
meeting on March 5, 2025, by a majority voice vote of a quorum
present, recommends that the Senate pass, S. 546, without
amendment.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1--Short title
This section sets forth the short title as the ``Technical
Correction to the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley
Reservation Water Rights Settlement Act of 2025.''
Section 2--Authorization of payment of interest on trust funds
established under settlement
This section amends section 10807(b)(3) of the Omnibus
Public Lands Management Act of 2009 (P.L. 111-11) to add a new
subparagraph that authorizes an appropriation of $5,124,902.12
for deposit into the Development Fund.
COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS
S. 546 would authorize the appropriation of $5.125 million
to be deposited into the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes Water Rights
Development Fund. The fund was established pursuant to the
Shoshone-Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley Reservation Water
Rights Settlement Act of 2009 to rehabilitate water
infrastructure projects located on the reservation in Idaho and
Nevada.
The settlement agreement was made effective in 2016, and
ownership of the fund was transferred to the tribes to be held
in trust by the federal government. Assuming appropriation of
the authorized amount, CBO estimates that implementing the bill
would cost $5 million over the 2025-2030 period.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Alaina Rhee. The
estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Director
of Budget Analysis.
Phillip L. Swagel,
Director, Congressional Budget Office.
REGULATORY AND PAPERWORK IMPACT STATEMENT
Paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the
Senate requires each report accompanying a bill to evaluate the
regulatory and paperwork impact that would be incurred in
carrying out the bill. The Committee believes that S. 546 will
have minimal impact on regulatory or paperwork requirements.
EXECUTIVE TESTIMONY AND COMMUNICATIONS
The testimony provided by the U.S. Department of the
Interior from the October 6, 2021, hearing on S. 648 follows:
statement of bryan newland, assistant secretary for indian affairs,
u.s. department of the interior
s. 648, technical correction to the shoshone-paiute tribes of the duck
valley reservation water rights settlement act of 2021
Aanii (Hello)! Good afternoon Chairman Schatz, Vice
Chairman Murkowski, and Members of the Committee. My name is
Bryan Newland. I am the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs
at the Department of the Interior (Department). Thank you for
the opportunity to present testimony regarding S. 648, the
Technical Correction to the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes of the Duck
Valley Reservation Water Rights Settlement Act of 2021.
S. 648 would amend the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes of the Duck
Valley Reservation Water Rights Settlement Act to authorize
funding equivalent to interest payments that would have been
earned between October 1, 2009 and January 25, 2016 if the
Department had then had the authority to invest the funds. The
Department supports S. 648.
a. Background
The Duck Valley Reservation, home to the Shoshone-Paiute
Tribes (Tribes), straddles the IdahoNevada border along the
Owyhee River, a tributary to the Snake River. The Reservation
was established by Executive Order on April 16, 1877 and
expanded by Executive Orders on May 4, 1886 and July 1, 1910.
The State of Idaho initiated the Snake River Basin Adjudication
(SRBA) in 1987. Soon thereafter, the State of Nevada reopened
its adjudication of the Owyhee River, a tributary to the Snake
River, an adjudication originally initiated in 1924. Both of
these adjudications involve the water rights of the Tribes. The
United States filed claims in Idaho's SRBA and Nevada's Owyhee
River adjudication on behalf of the Tribes.
At the request of the Parties, a Federal Negotiation Team
was formed, and a settlement was reached. In 2009, Congress
enacted the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley
Reservation Water Rights Settlement as part of the Omnibus
Lands Act of 2009 (Duck Valley Settlement Act). The legislation
authorized $60 million across two Trust Funds to rehabilitate
the Duck Valley Indian Irrigation Project, which is owned by
the Bureau of Indian Affairs and operated by the Tribes under a
Self-Governance compact, and for other activities. Under the
legislation, the Trust Funds could only be invested and earn
interest on the ``enforceability'' date which is the date that
the Secretary published a statement in the Federal Register
finding that all conditions for full effectiveness and
enforceability of the settlement had occurred. The deadline to
publish the statement of findings was March 31, 2016, and the
Secretary published it on January 25, 2016.
Under the Duck Valley Settlement Act, the Secretary had no
authority to invest the Trust Funds until January 25, 2016.
However, the Department began investing funds as they were
appropriated and transferred to the Department. The
Department's Solicitor's Office determined that the amounts
earned prior to January 25, 2016 were contrary to the Anti-
Deficiency Act and, in accordance with 31 U.S.C. Sec. 3302,
must be returned to the Federal Treasury. Accordingly, the
Department returned to the Treasury all interest accrued before
January 25, 2016.
S. 648 would authorize the appropriation of the interest
that would have accrued on balances in the Trust Funds during
the period beginning on October 1, 2009 (when the funds were
initially appropriated), and ending on January 25, 2016 (the
enforceability date), for deposit into the Trust Funds.
b. Department's Views
The provision in the Duck Valley Settlement Act prohibiting
investment until an enforceability date is reached is not
common in Indian water rights settlements. It appears in the
Duck Valley settlement and other settlements enacted in 2009-
2010, including the Crow Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act of
2010, Pub. L. No. 111-291; the Taos Pueblo Indian Water Rights
Settlement Act, Pub. L. No. 111-291; the Aamodt Litigation
Settlement Act, Pub. L. No. 111-291; and the Navajo-Gallup
Water Supply Project and Navajo Nation Water Rights, Pub. L.
No. 111-11. In each of these settlements, funds were
inadvertently invested and were returned to Treasury. In total
for the five settlements, over $11 million was returned to the
Federal Treasury. The Department supports S. 648 and, as a
matter of equity, would support similar legislation to resolve
this same issue in the four other Indian water rights
settlements approved by Congress in 2009 and 2010.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW
In compliance with subsection 12 of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee waives the
requirement to detail changes in existing law to expedite the
business of the Senate.
[all]