117 STAT. 782
PUBLIC LAW 108–34—JUNE 23, 2003
Public Law 108–34 108th Congress An Act June 23, 2003 [S. 222] Zuni Indian Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act of 2003.
To approve the settlement of the water rights claims of the Zuni Indian Tribe in Apache County, Arizona, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Zuni Indian Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act of 2003’’. SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following findings: (1) It is the policy of the United States, in keeping with its trust responsibility to Indian tribes, to promote Indian selfdetermination, religious freedom, political and cultural integrity, and economic self-sufficiency, and to settle, wherever possible, the water rights claims of Indian tribes without lengthy and costly litigation. (2) Quantification of rights to water and development of facilities needed to use tribal water supplies effectively is essential to the development of viable Indian reservation communities, particularly in arid western States. (3) On August 28, 1984, and by actions subsequent thereto, the United States established a reservation for the Zuni Indian Tribe in Apache County, Arizona upstream from the confluence of the Little Colorado and Zuni Rivers for long-standing religious and sustenance activities. (4) The water rights of all water users in the Little Colorado River basin in Arizona have been in litigation since 1979, in the Superior Court of the State of Arizona in and for the County of Apache in Civil No. 6417, In re The General Adjudication of All Rights to Use Water in the Little Colorado River System and Source. (5) Recognizing that the final resolution of the Zuni Indian Tribe’s water claims through litigation will take many years and entail great expense to all parties, continue to limit the Tribe’s access to water with economic, social, and cultural consequences to the Tribe, prolong uncertainty as to the availability of water supplies, and seriously impair the long-term economic planning and development of all parties, the Tribe and neighboring non-Indians have sought to settle their disputes to water and reduce the burdens of litigation. (6) After more than 4 years of negotiations, which included participation by representatives of the United States, the Zuni Indian Tribe, the State of Arizona, and neighboring non-Indian
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