11.2.3.010 Findings

(a) The Pueblo is a party in the federal water adjudication case of State v. Aamodt.

(b) In 2006, after thirty-give years of litigation, and five years of negotiations, the Pueblo, the three Pueblos of Nambe, Pojoaque and Tesuque, and other parties in the Aamodt case signed the Settlement Agreement (Jan. 19, 2006) to settle the water rights adjudication.

(c) In 2010, the Aamodt Litigation Settlement Act, as part of the Claims Resolution Act of 2010, was signed into law by the President on December 8, 2010 ("Settlement Act" or "Act").

(d) The Settlement Act approved the initial Settlement Agreement with certain changes, and required the Pueblos to execute revised waivers and releases of their water rights defenses in the Pojoaque River Basin and any claims for more water rights in that Basin beyond what the Settlement Agreeent provides ("Waivers), and approved the Cost Sharing and System Integration Agreement ("Cost Sharing Agreement").

(e) The parties revised the Settlement Agreement (April 19, 2012) ("Revised Agreement") to reflect the terms of the Settlement Act, prepared Waivers consistent with the Act and completed the Cost Sharing Agreement as required by the Act.

(f) The Pueblo recognizes that the terms of the Revised Agreement, the Waivers and the Cost Sharing Agreement are controlled by the Settlement Act and failure to sign these documents would jeopardize the settlement and result in the case going back to court to litigate the Pueblo's water rights.

(g) After careful consideration, the Council approved and authorized the Governor to sign the Revised Agreement, the Waivers and the Cost Sharing Agreement as a sign of the Pueblo's good faith to continue with the Aamodt Settlement process.

(h) The Council recognized that subsequent documents and agreements must still be prepared and executed in order to complete the process described in the Settlement Act and the Revised Agreement.

(i) The Council is concerned about further protecting the Pueblo's interest and ensuring that the Pueblo and its members receive a fair and just share of benefits from the Aamodt Settlement and related projects since the Pueblo bears the burden of having the project infrastructure, designed to benefit not just the Pueblo, but Indian and non-Indians outside of the Pueblo, located on and running through the Pueblo's lands.

(j) The Council has determined it is of great importance that the Pueblo evaluate and negotiate the terms of all subsequent documents and agreements as best possible within the parameters of the Act and Settlement.

(k) The Council is particularly concerned about the terms of the proposed Joint Powers Agreement and supports negotiation for a reasonable rate of 2.68% assessed on the gross operational revenue of the water project in perpetuity, and the relocation of the project infrastructure to a more southern location.