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1 S. 664, Navajo Utah Water Rights Settlement Act of 2018 1 (November 28, 2018)

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                  CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE
                             COST ESTIMATE

                                                              November  28, 2018


                                     S. 664
              Navajo  Utah  Water   Rights Settlement   Act of 2018

    As ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs on October 3, 2018


SUMMARY

S. 664 would secure up to 81,500 acre-feet of water annually for the Navajo Nation by
ratifying a settlement being negotiated between the United States, the state of Utah, and
the Navajo Nation. The bill would authorize the appropriation of $209 million to
capitalize the Navajo Utah Settlement Trust Fund, an interest-bearing fund established
under the bill. After the parties meet certain conditions, the federal government would
transfer ownership of the fund (including any earned interest that is appropriated to the
fund) to the nation for constructing projects to deliver water to the reservation of the
Navajo Nation in Utah. The bill also would direct the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) to
survey water use on the reservation. Using information from BOR, CBO estimates that
enacting those provisions would cost $242 million over the 2019-2023 period, assuming
appropriation of the authorized and necessary amounts.

Enacting S. 664 would affect direct spending by increasing offsetting receipts because the
state of Utah would be required to contribute $8 million to the trust fund; therefore pay-
as-you-go procedures apply. However, because the federal government would record a
federal expenditure of the fund's balance when ownership of the fund is transferred to the
Navajo Nation, there would be no net effect on direct spending over the 2019-2023
period. Enacting the bill would not affect revenues.

CBO  estimates that enacting S. 664 would not increase direct spending or on-budget
deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2029.

S. 664 contains intergovernmental mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates
Reform Act (UMRA).  CBO  cannot determine whether the cost of those mandates would
exceed the annual threshold established in UMRA ($80 million in 2018, adjusted
annually for inflation). S. 664 contains no private-sector mandate as defined in UMRA.


ESTIMATED COST TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

The estimated budgetary effect of S. 664 is shown in the following table. The costs of the
legislation fall within budget function 300 (natural resources and environment).

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