ARIZONA: ARIZONA WATER SETTLEMENT ACT BECOMES LAW

摘要

On December 10, 2004, in a matter of great significance to the State of Arizona, President Bush signed into law S. 437, the Arizona Water Settlements Act (the Act), now codified as Pub. L. No. 108-451, 118 Stat. 3478. Passage of the Act is an important step in the process of settling water claims of two major Arizona Indian tribes and of implementing the settlement of a long-standing dispute between the United States and Arizona pertaining to the construction of the Central Arizona Project (CAP) and other contentious issues. The Act contains provisions related to three separate settlements. The first (Title Ⅰ—Central Arizona Project Settlement Act of 2004) addresses a number of CAP issues, including CAP water allocations for current and future Indian water settlements. The second (Title Ⅱ—Gila River Indian Community Water Rights Settlement Act of 2004) addresses the water rights claims of the Gila River Indian Community (the Community). The third (Title Ⅲ—Southern Arizona Water Rights Settlement Amendments Act of 2004) amends the 20-year-old Southern Arizona Water Rights Settlement Act to resolve water rights claims by the Tohono O'odham Nation (the Nation) on the San Xavier Reservation and Eastern Schuk Toak District. Passage of the Act brings the full implementation of these three important settlements one step closer to completion.