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S. Rept. 117-286 1 (2022-12-22)

handle is hein.congrecreports/crptxafex0001 and id is 1 raw text is: AUTHENTICATED ..GOVERNMENT INFORMATION 117TH CONGRESS REPORT 2d Session SENATE 117-286 COLORADO RIVER INDIAN TRIBES WATER RESILIENCY ACT OF 2022 DECEMBER 22, 2022.-Ordered to be printed Mr. SCHATZ, from the Committee on Indian Affairs, submitted the following R E P O R T [To accompany S. 3308] The Committee on Indian Affairs, to which was referred the bill (S. 3308) to authorize the Colorado River Indian Tribes to enter into lease or exchange agreements and storage agreements relating to water of the Colorado River allocated to the Colorado River In- dian Tribes, and for other purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon with an amendment, in the nature of a substitute, and recommends that the bill, as amended, do pass. PURPOSE S. 3308 authorizes the Colorado River Indian Tribes (CRIT) to enter into agreements to lease or exchange a portion of their water allocation for off-reservation use, or to store water in off-reserva- tion facilities, subject to Secretarial approval. S. 3308 further pro- vides that any off-reservation use or storage of the Tribes' allocated water must be located in the Lower Basin of the Colorado River in Arizona and not within Navajo, Apache, or Cochise counties. BACKGROUND & NEED FOR LEGISLATION In Arizona v. California, the U.S. Supreme Court confirmed CRIT's first-priority present perfected water rights in the State of Arizona.1 These water rights are superior to many others in the state and are less vulnerable to restriction and curtailment in times of drought. However, because CRIT secured these rights through litigation rather than settlement, it is currently unable to engage in water leasing, exchange, storage, and conservation agree- ments on par with the 24 other Tribes-including eight Tribes in 1547 U.S. 150 (1963). 39-010