11.2.24.030 Findings

The Council hereby finds that:

(a) The Pueblo de San Ildefonso ("Pueblo") is a party in the federal water adjudication case of State v. Aamodt, U.S. District Court of New Mexico, No. 66CV6639, and in 2010, the United States enacted the Aamodt Litigation Settlement Act, as part of the Claims Resolution Act of 2010, Pub. L. No. 11-291, Title VI, §§ 601-626, 124 Stat. 3064, 3134-56 (2010), which was signed into law by the President on December 8, 2010 ("Settlement Act" or "Act"); and,

(b) The Settlement Act requires the Secretary, acting through the Bureau of Reclamation, to plan, design and construct a regional water system to divert and distribute water to four Pueblos and to Santa Fe County pursuant to an Engineering Report; and,

(c) It has been determined that the current total cost to design and construct the Regional Water System exceeds the amount authorized in the Settlement Act and related cost-sharing agreements; and,

(d) Section 611(g)(1) of the Settlement Act provides that the Secretary shall initiate negotiations among the parties to address the funding shortfall and related matters; and,

(e) The Pueblos of Nambe, Tesuque, Pojoaque and San Ildefonso, the County of Santa Fe, the City of Santa Fe, the State of New Mexico and the United States of America negotiated an agreement ("611(g) Agreement") that addresses the funding authorization shortfall, cost-sharing among the State, County and the United States, cost-saving changes to the design of the Regional Water System, limited construction, and related matters; and,

(f) The 611(g) Agreement sets forth how the construction of the project will proceed in accordance with the consensus design concept and an amended Engineering Report based on the consensus design concept; the total cost of such construction; the allocation of the funding shortfall and funding contributions; the conditions for commencing construction of the regional water system project and transfer of such facilities; and the definition of what constitutes substantial completion of the project.; and,

(g) The Council, having reviewed a form of the 611(g) Agreement and exhibits thereto, finds approval of the 611(g) Agreement is in the best interest of this Pueblo.