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![handle is hein.amindian/ziidntew0001 and id is 1 raw text is: AUTHENTICATED
U.S. GOVERNMENT
INFORMATION
GPO
117 STAT. 782 PUBLIC LAW 108-34-JUNE 23, 2003
Public Law 108-34
108th Congress
An Act
June 23, 2003 To approve the settlement of the water rights claims of the Zuni Indian Tribe
[S. 222] in Apache County, Arizona, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
Zuni Indian the United States of America in Congress assembled,
Tribe Water
Rights SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
Settlement This Act may be cited as the Zuni Indian Tribe Water Rights
Settlement Act of 2003.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.
(a) FINDINGS.-Congress makes the following findings:
(1) It is the policy of the United States, in keeping with
its trust responsibility to Indian tribes, to promote Indian self-
determination, religious freedom, political and cultural integ-
rity, and economic self-sufficiency, and to settle, wherever pos-
sible, the water rights claims of Indian tribes without lengthy
and costly litigation.
(2) Quantification of rights to water and development of
facilities needed to use tribal water supplies effectively is essen-
tial to the development of viable Indian reservation commu-
nities, particularly in arid western States.
(3) On August 28, 1984, and by actions subsequent thereto,
the United States established a reservation for the Zuni Indian
Tribe in Apache County, Arizona upstream from the confluence
of the Little Colorado and Zuni Rivers for long-standing reli-
gious and sustenance activities.
(4) The water rights of all water users in the Little Colorado
River basin in Arizona have been in litigation since 1979,
in the Superior Court of the State of Arizona in and for the
County of Apache in Civil No. 6417, In re The General Adjudica-
tion of All Rights to Use Water in the Little Colorado River
System and Source.
(5) Recognizing that the final resolution of the Zuni Indian
Tribe's water claims through litigation will take many years
and entail great expense to all parties, continue to limit the
Tribe's access to water with economic, social, and cultural con-
sequences to the Tribe, prolong uncertainty as to the avail-
ability of water supplies, and seriously impair the long-term
economic planning and development of all parties, the Tribe
and neighboring non-Indians have sought to settle their dis-
putes to water and reduce the burdens of litigation.
(6) After more than 4 years of negotiations, which included
participation by representatives of the United States, the Zuni
Indian Tribe, the State of Arizona, and neighboring non-Indian](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.amindian/ziidntew0001&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)