Crow Tribe Water Rights Settlement Amendments Act of 2025

Core Policy Mechanism Top 1

Repeal and Replace MR&I Water System Provision

Repeals the existing tribal water system provision from the 2010 settlement law and replaces it with a new framework governing how water and wastewater infrastructure funds are managed and spent for the Crow Tribe.

• Population Scope Low Directly affects Crow Tribe members in Montana, a small, geographically bounded tribal population representing a fraction of a percent of the U.S. population.
• Budgetary Magnitude Medium Creates a new dedicated account funded by appropriated amounts and section 414(h)(2) deposits for tribal water infrastructure, but no specific dollar figure is stated in the bill, leaving magnitude dependent on future appropriations.
• Legal / Regulatory Depth Medium Repeals an existing statutory provision and substitutes a new funding account with defined authorized uses — a structural reorganization of existing statutory authority rather than the creation of a new substantive mandate or enforceable entitlement across a broader regulated population.
• Degree of Discretion Granted Medium The Secretary of the Interior (DOI) gains expanded authority to manage, invest, and distribute Crow Settlement Fund amounts, while the Tribe holds spending discretion over MR&I Projects Account funds within the defined categories of authorized uses.
• Implementation & Enforcement Burden Low No new enforcement mechanisms, penalties, or compliance obligations are created; the framework governs fund administration and authorized expenditure categories through an existing joint signature account arrangement.
• Temporal Commitment High Funds remain available until expended, withdrawn, or reverted to the Treasury, with no sunset or reauthorization requirement, so the account structure persists indefinitely until Congress acts to change it.