CO HJR1017

Colorado General Assembly calls on the federal government to fulfill trust obligations to the Southern Ute Indian Tribe and Ute Mountain Ute Tribe regarding water rights established in the 1986 Colorado Ute Indian Water Rights Final Settlement Agreement

Each tribe negotiated 16,525 acre-feet of water per year through the Animas-La Plata Project stored in Lake Nighthorse, but no infrastructure exists to deliver water to either reservation despite the reservoir being full since 2011

The Pine River Indian Irrigation Project serving the Southern Ute Reservation has over $126 million in deferred maintenance (inflation-adjusted), with only 15% of its 175 miles of canals in good condition, while the tribe has spent $5 million in unreimbursed repairs

Federal funds for Ute Mountain Ute infrastructure projects including the Farm and Ranch Enterprise and municipal water transmission line to Towaoc have been frozen by the current administration

Resolution urges federal funding for infrastructure rehabilitation, timely payment of water maintenance obligations, and facilitation of tribal participation in a compensated Lake Powell conservation pool program