The U.S. Department of the Interior will allocate tens of millions of dollars in funding for tribal water rights settlements in Arizona and elsewhere.
Nearly $140 million from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will go to the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project and another 40 million will be devoted to a settlement between the Navajo Nation and the State of Utah.
Funds will also go to the San Carlos Apache Tribe and other projects in Arizona, Montana and elsewhere. It’s part of a nearly $580 million package set aside by the federal government to settle tribal water rights claims.
Officials say it’ll help bring water resources to Indigenous people, many who’ve been waiting for decades for federal assistance.
As of November 2021, there were 34 congressionally enacted Indian Water Rights settlements for which the U.S. government has a trust responsibility.