|
<br />quantification of the Tribes' outstanding reserved water rights claims. This resulted in the
<br />Colorado Ute Indian Water Rights "Final Settlement Agreement" of December 10, 1986.
<br />Portions of that Agreement were ratified by Congress in sections 2(5) and 11 of the Colorado Ute
<br />Indian Water Rights Settlement Act of 1988, Public Law 100-585. Pursuant to the terms of the
<br />Final Settlement Agreement and the 1988 Act, the Tribes' water rights were quantified in the
<br />Colorado Water Court by consent decrees entered on December 19, 1991. Water rights for
<br />existing uses of water in all drainages within the two Tribes' Reservations were recognized, with
<br />a March 2, 1868 priority date,
<br />
<br />On the Animas and La Plata Rivers, the water rights of the two Tribes were quantified through
<br />Tribal participation in the proposed Animas-La Plata Project (ALP), The Ute Mountain Utes
<br />were adjudicated water rights of 6,000 acre-feet per year (afY) of municipal and industrial water,
<br />26,300 afy of agricultural irrigation water in Colorado, and 900 afy of agricultural irrigation
<br />water in New Mexico, all to be supplied from the ALP. The Southern Utes were adjudicated a
<br />water right, to be supplied from ALP, of26,500 afy of municipal and industrial water, and 3,400
<br />afy irrigation water.
<br />
<br />The ALP, located in La Plata County in southwestern Colorado, was authorized by the Colorado
<br />River Basin Project Act of September 30,1968 (Public Law 90-537, CRBPA) as a participating
<br />project under the 1956 Colorado River Storage Project Act (CRSP). The ALP, as described in
<br />the 1980 Definite Plan Report, was to store water pumped from the Animas River in Ridges
<br />Basin Reservoir for irrigation, municipal, and industrial purposes, fish and wildlife preservation,
<br />and recreation facilities, and would store water diverted from the La Plata and Animas Rivers in
<br />Southem Ute Reservoir. Construction of the ALP was also tied to a 1986 cost-sharing agreement
<br />between the Department of the Interior and the States of Colorado and New Mexico.
<br />
<br />Under the Ute Settlement Agreement and 1988 Settlement Act, water rights were also recognized
<br />for the Southem Utes for future domestic and livestock wells, for oil and gas development, and
<br />for road construction and maintenance. The Ute Mountain Utes received a similar award, On
<br />the Mancos River the Ute Mountain Utes were adjudicated a water right for direct flow and/or
<br />storage of21,000 acre-feet for irrigation of 7,200 acres of tribal lands, with an 1868 priority date
<br />subordinated to pre-1985 adjudicated rights. The Ute Mountain Ute Tribe also received 4,800
<br />acre-feet in Navajo Wash, In addition, the Settlement Agreement and decree resolved the
<br />Southem Ute Indian Tribe's reserved water rights claims on the Florida, Piedra, and San Juan
<br />Rivers and several other streams that cross the Tribe's reservations.
<br />
<br />Besides quantifying the two Tribes' water rights, the 1988 Settlement Act provided for $60
<br />million in development funds for water resource development other than ALP, The State of
<br />Colorado agreed to build the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe a domestic water pipeline, And the Tribe
<br />received 25,100 acre-feet per year from McPhee Reservoir, a Bureau of Reclamation facility of
<br />the Dolores Project located near Dolores, Colorado, to resolve the Tribe's reserved water rights
<br />claims on the Mancos River.
<br />
<br />6
<br />
|