$2.5B headed to tribes for long-standing water settlements

By SUMAN NAISHADHAM and FELICIA FONSECA
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Native American tribes are awaiting a one-time windfall that could help deliver reliable, clean water to their residents. The federal infrastructure bill signed last month includes $2.5 billion for tribal water rights settlements. The Interior Department hasn’t said how it will be doled out. But the agency says tribes included in more than 30 settlements are eligible. Among them is the White Mountain Apache Tribe in eastern Arizona. Congress approved the tribe’s water settlement more than a decade ago. But the tribe says it hasn’t received the money it needs for water storage, surface water treatment facilities and miles of water pipelines.