PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 714.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Mar 17, 1998
Colorado Ute Settlement Act Amendments of 1998 - Amends the Colorado Ute Indian Water Rights Settlement Act of 1988 to require the Secretary of the Interior to provide: (1) for construction of a reservoir with a storage capacity of 260,000 acre-feet, a pumping plant, and a reservoir inlet conduit as components of the Animas-La Plata Project (Project), Colorado and New Mexico; and (2) through the use of such components, specified municipal and industrial water allocations to the San Juan Water Commission, Animas-La Plata Conservancy District (Conservancy District), Southern Ute and Ute Mountain Ute tribes, and Navajo Nation. Provides that construction costs allocable to the Navajo Nation and to each tribe's water allocation from the Project shall be nonreimbursable. Requires nontribal water capital repayment obligations for the Project to be satisfied upon the payment of specified amounts by the Commission, Conservancy District, and the State of Colorado. Provides that costs of Project components attributed to and required for recreation, environmental compliance, protection of cultural resources, or fish and wildlife mitigation and enhancement shall be nonreimbursable. Sets forth provisions regarding the repayment of Project costs. Requires the Secretary, at the request of the Conservancy District or the La Plata Conservancy District of New Mexico, to provide specified water allocations to such parties. Requires the Secretary, upon request of the State Engineer of New Mexico, to transfer to the New Mexico Project beneficiaries or the New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission all Department of the Interior interests in water rights under a specified permit in order to fulfill the New Mexico purposes of the Project. Considers a specified supplement to an environmental impact statement and a biological opinion for the Project to be adequate for purposes of requirements under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, or the Federal Water Pollution Control Act with respect to: (1) amendments made by this Act; (2) initiation and completion of construction of facilities; and (3) an aggregate depletion of 57,100 acre-feet of water as approved in the opinion. Requires the provision of water to the Ute tribes to constitute final settlement of the tribal claims to water rights on the Animas and La Plata Rivers.
People & committees
Sen. Campbell, Ben Nighthorse [R-CO] · R–CO
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 714.
Committee on Indian Affairs. Reported to Senate by Senator Campbell with an amendment in the nature of a substitute and an amendment to the title. Without written report.
Committee on Indian Affairs. Reported to Senate by Senator Campbell with an amendment in the nature of a substitute and an amendment to the title. Without written report.
Committee on Indian Affairs. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably. Substitute amendment incorporated the text of S. 1899.
Committee on Indian Affairs. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 105-811.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs.
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S2115-2117)
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Jun 20, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Analyze S.1771 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
Examine S.1771 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
Examine S.1771 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
Examine S.1771 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.