A view of the area affected by the Bill Williams River Water Rights Settlement Act. Photo from Freeport Minerals Corp / Planet Ranch Project Fact Sheet

All members of Arizona's Congressional delegation are supporting a bill to settle a water rights dispute that affects the Hualapai Tribe.

S. 2503, the Bill Williams River Water Rights Settlement Act, ensures that the tribe and tribal allottees have sufficient access to water from the Big Sandy River, a tributary of the Bill Williams River. The bill resolves a dispute that arose involving a a mining operation in Bagdad.

The Obama administration supports the goals of the bill, Bureau of Indian Affairs Director Mike Black told the Senate Indian Affairs Committee yesterday. But he raised concerns about a provision to waive the tribe's sovereign immunity.

Chairwoman Sherry Counts urged the committee to move quickly because some of the water rights held by Freemont Minerals Corporation are due to expire under Arizona law.

The hearing lasted about an hour and 29 minutes. Audio can be found on the Indianz.Com SoundCloud, with Counts's testimony in Panel 2 Testimony, Pt. 2. .

Get the Story:
Senate panel takes up plan to settle Bill Williams River water dispute (Cronkite News Service 7/10)

Committee Notice:
Legislative Hearing to receive testimony on the following bills (July 9, 2014)

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Audio from Senate Indian Affairs Committee's hearing on five bills (7/9)
Witness list for Senate Indian Affairs Committee hearing on bills (7/7)
Senate Committee on Indian Affairs plans four hearings in July (06/30)