11.2.8.010 Findings

(a) The Pueblo is a party in the federal water adjudication State v. Aamodt, U.S. District Court of New Mexico No 66CV6639;

(b) 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").

(c) 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 and System Integration Agreement ("CSSIA") as required by the Act.

(d) The Council after due consideration approved the Revised Agreement, the Waivers and the CSSIA on behalf of the Pueblo in Resolution No. SI-R12-035.

(e) The four Pueblos signed the Settlement Agreement conformed to the Act on March 14, 2013, together with the other four governments affected by the Act.

(f) The Act at Section 671(c)(1)(A) appropriated "$15 million, as adjusted according to the CPI-Urban Indexed beginning on October 1, 2006, which will be allocated to the Pueblos, in accordance with Section 2.7.1 of the Settlement Agreement for the rehabilitation, improvement, operation, maintenance, and replacement of the agriculture delivery facilities, wastewater systems, and other water related infrastructure of the applicable Pueblo" (the "Fund").

(g) The four Pueblos have agreed on terms to divide the so-called "economic development water" described in Section 2.7.1 of the Settlement Agreement, and the $15 million Fund plus indexing increases appropriated by Congress.

(h) The attached Pueblo Economic Development Water Agreement describes the allocation of economic development water, the Fund, and indexing increases through January 2013 as negotiated by representatives of the four Pueblos meeting together as the Northern Pueblos Tributary Water Rights Association (NPTWRA).

(i) In return for the Pueblo de San Ildefonso agreeing to release 131.25 acre feet yearly (afy) of so-called Economic Development Water, as required by the Settlement Agreement, the Pueblo of San Ildefonso will receive $5,576,250 of the Fund plus an increase due to indexing through January 2013 in the amount of $1,012,074, plus future indexing increases on the unspent amount of the Pueblo's share of the Fund.

(j) The Pueblo Economic Development Water Agreement calls for the Forbearance Agreement between the Pueblo and the Pueblo of Pojoaque to be amended so that, in return for Pojoaque's assigning its share of $506,038 due to indexing increase through January 2013 to the Pueblo de San Ildefonso, this Pueblo agrees to waive all future payments owing from the Pueblo of Pojoaque under the Forbearance Agreement, beginning the month after all four Pueblos have signed the Pueblo Economic Development Agreement.

(k) Each Pueblo's water representatives agreed to recommend to the respective Tribal Councils approval of the attached Pueblo Economic Development water Agreement as documented by NPTWRA Resolution No. 2013-004.

(l) Action by the individual Tribal Councils of the Pueblos of Nambe, Pojoaque, San Ildefonso, and Tesuque, is needed in order to submit the Pueblo Economic Development Water Agreement to the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) for approval and allocation of funds appropriated in the Act for access by the Pueblo through the Office of Special Trustee (OST).

(m) Each Pueblo's share of the Fund, plus indexing increases, may be used in coordination with work by the Bureau of Reclamation on the Pojoaque Basin Regional Water System once the Secretary of the Interior or designee determines that "any activity...is more cost effective when implemented in conjunction with the construction of the Regional Water System" (Section 615(c)(7)(ii)).

(n) The Pueblo wishes to access those funds as soon as possible in order to have water infrastructure improvements made in conjunction with the design, environmental review, and construction of the Pojoaque Basin Regional Water System.

(o) Approval of the attached Pueblo Economic Development Water Agreement is in the best interest of this Pueblo.