New Mexico Court of Appeals uphold Navajo water settlement

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The New Mexico Court of Appeals has upheld a major legal settlement that allocates water rights from the state's largest river to the Navajo Nation. In an opinion Tuesday signed by three judges, the appeals court rejected a challenge to the settlement by more than 20 community water and irrigation districts in the San Juan River basin. The water districts claimed the resources from the San Juan River are not needed for troubled Navajo irrigation systems. The appeals court said Indian tribes are not required to prove immediate beneficial use of water, and ordered sanctions against an attorney for the water districts for attempting to discredit the work of a district court judge on the case. Congress approved the Navajo water rights settlement in 2009. State approval followed in 2013.