San Carlos Irrigation Project Divestiture Act of 2026

(a) Findings. The Congress finds the following:

(1) To provide water for irrigating, first, land allotted to Pima Indians on the Gila River Reservation and, second, other lands in public or private ownership which, in the opinion of the Secretary of the Interior, could be served without diminishing the supply necessary for the Indian lands, Congress, by the Act of June 7, 1924, authorized construction of Coolidge Dam and creation of San Carlos Reservoir on the Gila River in Arizona.

(2) The Secretary, through the San Carlos Irrigation Project (SCIP) administered by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, operates Coolidge Dam and approximately two hundred irrigation wells to provide water to SCIP lands on the Gila River Reservation and to the SCIP lands outside the reservation which is within the San Carlos Irrigation and Drainage District.

(3) A hydroelectric power system was developed at Coolidge Dam pursuant to the Act of March 7, 1928, as amended, to generate power incidental to the use of San Carlos Reservoir for storing irrigation water. The system’s primary purpose was to provide power for irrigation pumping on SCIP lands and for BIA agency and school purposes and for irrigation pumping by Apache Indians on the San Carlos Reservation.

(4) SCIP’s transmission and distribution electric system, which has been extended to domestic and commercial users on SCIP lands and to other homes and businesses not on SCIP lands, currently provides service within portions of Pinal, Pima, Maricopa, Graham, and Gila Counties covering approximately 2,400 square miles.

(5) Unexpectedly low and erratic Gila River flows into San Carlos Reservoir since 1928 have limited power generation at Coolidge Dam, causing SCIP to secure additional power through market purchases, contracts with the Western Area Power Administration, the Salt River Project, and Arizona Public Service Company to meet its customers’ needs. Since October 1988, when a flood damaged the switchyard at Coolidge Dam, no power has been generated at the dam.

(6) Much of SCIP’s power system needs modernization, with some facilities over eighty years old, well past their design life. However, Federal budgetary and administrative policies have impaired long-range, consistent planning and construction necessary for efficient SCIP operation and maintenance and for timely replacement of obsolete or worn-out facilities.

(7) Based on these conditions, Congress, by the San Carlos Indian Irrigation Project Divestiture Act of 1991, authorized the Secretary of the Interior to transfer the electrical transmission and distribution system of SCIP to the Gila River Indian Community, the San Carlos Apache Tribe and several Arizona utilities, consistent with the agreements entered into between and among them.

(8) The agreements related to the San Carlos Indian Irrigation Project Divestiture Act of 1991 have since expired and the issues prompting the first divestiture have persisted.

(9) Because SCIP is subject to Federal procedures and regulations, it has been challenging to acquire long-term contracts for power and instead relies on short-term contracts and the day ahead market. As a result, SCIP’s services to approximately 10,000 residential customers are both expensive and unreliable.

(10) Additionally, SCIP requires infrastructure updates. SCIP is unable to raise money for new infrastructure through bonds, which has resulted in increased customer rates.

(11) The Arizona Legislature, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Gila River Indian Community, the San Carlos Apache Indian Tribe, and the San Carlos Irrigation and Drainage District have petitioned the Congress to authorize the Secretary to divest the United States of ownership and responsibility for SCIP’s electric power transmission and distribution systems and to take such other actions as necessary to carry out divestiture.

(12) The Gila River Indian Community Utility Authority, Trico Electric Cooperative, Inc. Graham County Electric Cooperative, Inc., the San Carlos Irrigation and Drainage District, Electrical District No. 2 of Pinal County, Arizona, Electrical District No. 3 of Pinal County, Arizona, Electrical District No. 4 of Pinal County, Arizona, and Hohokam Irrigation & Drainage District, Arizona (collectively the Not for Profit Utilities Group) have established principles by which divestiture and continued service to SCIP customers would be implemented between and among them, subsequent to enactment of Federal enabling authorities as provided in this Act. The Not-for-Profit Utilities Group’s agreed upon principles provide a prudent method for ensuring safe, reliable, cost-effective, and long-term electric service to the residents and businesses currently served by SCIP.

(b) Purpose. The purposes of this Act are—

(1) to authorize the Secretary to divest the United States of ownership of the electric transmission and distribution system of the San Carlos Irrigation Project;

(2) to facilitate the implementation of divestiture in an orderly and economic manner, consistent with the principles of the Not-for-Profit Utilities Group and with due regard for the rights and interests of current SCIP customers and employees;

(3) to support the long-term provision of safe, reliable, and cost-effective power to the existing customers of SCIP by the Not-for-Profit Utilities Group;

(4) to provide for the reallocation of power resources currently allocated to SCIP from Federal hydroelectric power sources to the Not-for-Profit Utilities Group; and

(5) to assist the Gila River Indian Community and the San Carlos Apache Tribe in their efforts to achieve greater self-determination and economic self-sufficiency.