CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS AND DECLARATIONS.

SEC. 102. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS AND DECLARATIONS. (a) Findings.— The Congress finds that— (1) it is the policy of the United States, in fulfillment of its trust responsibility to the Indian tribes, to promote Indian self-determination and economic self-sufficiency, and to settle, wherever possible, the water rights claims of Indian tribes without lengthy and costly litigation; (2) meaningful Indian self-determination and economic self-sufficiency depend on the development of viable Indian reservation economies; (3) quantification of rights to water and development of facilities needed to utilize tribal water supplies effectively is essential to the development of viable Indian reservation economies, particularly in arid western States; (4) on June 7, 1935, and by actions subsequent thereto, the United States established a reservation for the Yavapai-Prescott Indian Tribe in Arizona adjacent to the city of Prescott; (5) proceedings to determine the full extent of Yavapai-Prescott Tribe’s water rights are currently pending before the Superior Court of the State of Arizona in and for Maricopa County, as part of the general adjudication of the Gila River system and source; (6) recognizing that final resolution of the general adjudication will take many years and entail great expense to all parties, prolong uncertainty as to the full extent of the Yavapai-Prescott Tribe’s entitlement to water and the availability of water supplies to fulfill that entitlement, and impair orderly planning and development by the Tribe and the city of Prescott; the Tribe, the city of Prescott, the Chino Valley Irrigation 108 STAT. 4527District, the State of Arizona and the United States have sought to settle all claims to water between and among them; (7) representatives of the Yavapai-Prescott Tribe, the city of Prescott, the Chino Valley Irrigation District, the State of Arizona and the United States have negotiated a Settlement Agreement to resolve all water rights claims between and among them, and to provide the Tribe with long term, reliable water supplies for the orderly development and maintenance of the Tribe’s reservation; (8) pursuant to the Settlement Agreement and the Water Service Agreement, the quantity of water made available to the Yavapai-Prescott Tribe by the city of Prescott and the Chino Valley Irrigation District will be secured, such Agreements will be continued in perpetuity, and the Tribe’s continued on-reservation use of water for municipal and industrial, recreational and agricultural purposes will be provided for; (9) to advance the goals of Federal Indian policy and to fulfill the trust responsibility of the United States to the Tribe, it is appropriate that the United States participate in the implementation of the Settlement Agreement and assist in firming up the long-term water supplies of the city of Prescott and the Yavapai-Prescott Tribe so as to enable the Tribe to utilize fully its water entitlements in developing a diverse, efficient reservation economy; and (10) the assignment of the CAP contract of the Yavapai-Prescott Tribe and the CAP subcontract of the city of Prescott is a cost-effective means to ensure reliable, long-term water supplies for the Yavapai-Prescott Tribe and to promote efficient, environmentally sound use of available water supplies in the Verde River basin. (b) Declaration of Purposes.— The Congress declares that the purposes of this title are— (1) to approve, ratify and confirm the Settlement Agreement among the Yavapai-Prescott Tribe, the city of Prescott, the Chino Valley Irrigation District, the State of Arizona and the United States; (2) to authorize and direct the Secretary of the Interior to execute and perform the Settlement Agreement; (3) to authorize the actions and appropriations necessary for the United States to fulfill its legal and trust obligations to the Yavapai-Prescott Tribe as provided in the Settlement Agreement and this title; (4) to require that expenditures of funds obtained through the assignment of CAP contract entitlements by the Yavapai-Prescott Tribe and Prescott for the acquisition or development of replacement water supplies in the Verde River basin shall not be inconsistent with the goals of the Prescott Active Management Area, preservation of riparian habitat, flows and biota of the Verde River and its tributaries; and (5) to repeal section 406(k) of Public Law 101-628 which authorizes $30,000,000 in appropriations for the acquisition of land and water resources in the Verde River basin and for the development thereof as an alternative source of water for the Fort McDowell Indian Community.