As ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs on February 25, 2015
S. 501 would amend the Navajo Settlement Act to authorize the Bureau of Reclamation to use funds for planning and designing certain groundwater well projects for the Navajo Nation in New Mexico. The bill also would clarify certain provisions of that act and shift some spending among authorized activities. Based on information from the bureau, CBO estimates that implementing the legislation would have no significant effect on the federal budget. Because enacting S. 501 would not affect revenues or direct spending, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
Under current law, the bureau is authorized to construct and rehabilitate groundwater wells and related pipeline facilities for municipal and domestic use by the Navajo Nation. The bureau is also authorized to plan and design groundwater wells subject to the availability of funding for those activities from local sponsors. S. 501 would clarify the bureau’s authority to allocate federal resources for those purposes. Based on information from the bureau, those activities could be accommodated under the existing authorization ceilings for those projects.
The bill would clarify that the Navajo Nation can take delivery of nonproject water but is responsible for any associated operation and maintenance costs. S. 501 also would reallocate a portion of authorized spending for certain groundwater well projects from fish and wildlife facilities to the preservation of archaeological resources near those projects. CBO estimates those changes would have no significant effect on federal spending.
S. 501 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
