$2.5B headed to tribes for long-standing water settlements

by The Associated Press

Fri, December 24th 2021, 5:44 PM UTC

A boat moves along Wahweap Bay along the Upper Colorado River Basin, Wednesday, June 9, 2021, at the Utah and Arizona border near Wahweap, Ariz. Included in the infrastructure deal that became law last month is $2.5 billion for Native American water rights settlements, which quantify individual tribes’ claims to water and identify infrastructure projects to help deliver it to residents. On the Navajo Nation, the largest reservation in the U.S., the money could fund a settlement reached in 2020 over water in the upper Colorado River basin. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Low water levels at Wahweap Bay at Lake Powell along the Upper Colorado River Basin are shown Wednesday, June 9, 2021, at the Utah and Arizona border at Wahweap, Ariz. Included in the infrastructure deal that became law last month is $2.5 billion for Native American water rights settlements, which quantify individual tribes’ claims to water and identify infrastructure projects to help deliver it to residents. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Boats move along Lake Powell along the Upper Colorado River Basin Wednesday, June 9, 2021, in Wahweap, Ariz. Included in the infrastructure deal that became law last month is $2.5 billion for Native American water rights settlements, which quantify individual tribes’ claims to water and identify infrastructure projects to help deliver it to residents. On the Navajo Nation, the largest reservation in the U.S., the money could fund a settlement reached in 2020 over water in the upper Colorado River basin. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

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A boat moves along Wahweap Bay along the Upper Colorado River Basin, Wednesday, June 9, 2021, at the Utah and Arizona border near Wahweap, Ariz. Included in the infrastructure deal that became law last month is $2.5 billion for Native American water rights settlements, which quantify individual tribes’ claims to water and identify infrastructure projects to help deliver it to residents. On the Navajo Nation, the largest reservation in the U.S., the money could fund a settlement reached in 2020 over water in the upper Colorado River basin. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

WASHINGTON — Native American tribes are awaiting a one-time windfall that could help deliver reliable, clean water to their residents.

The federal infrastructure bill signed last month includes $2.5 billion for tribal water rights settlements.

The Interior Department hasn't said how it will be doled out. But the agency says tribes included in more than 30 settlements are eligible.

Among them is the White Mountain Apache Tribe in eastern Arizona.

Congress approved the tribe's water settlement more than a decade ago. But the tribe says it hasn't received the money it needs for water storage, surface water treatment facilities and miles of water pipelines.

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