Akin Gump Joins Crow Tribe in Celebrating Full Enforceability of Landmark Water Settlement

(Washington, D.C.) Today, members of Akin Gump will join the Crow Tribe of Montana in celebrating the implementation of the tribe’s landmark water settlement. The settlement, which follows the 2010 passage of the Crow Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act—one of the largest Indian water rights settlements in U.S. history—became fully enforceable on June 22, 2016, following nearly six years of work fulfilling the Act’s enforceability requirements. A team from Akin Gump represented the Crow Tribe in both the passage of the Act and its implementation.

The full enforceability of the settlement represents a significant accomplishment for the Crow Tribe. The settlement provides the tribe with water rights in excess of 1 million acre feet per year and over $460 million in federal benefits, including the first clean drinking water system for the Crow Reservation, rehabilitation of a dilapidated irrigation project on the reservation, a clean energy development fund and hydropower development rights on the Big Horn River.

The Akin Gump team involved in the final stage and push for enforceability included members of the firm’s public law and policy, American Indian law and policy and appellate practices.

“We are thrilled to be able to join the Crow Tribe today in celebrating this momentous occasion,” said Akin Gump American Indian law and policy practice head Donald Pongrace. “This represents the culmination of six years of diligent work by the tribe, our team and the federal government, and it is tremendously gratifying to be able to see this settlement through to its full implementation.”

Details about Akin Gump’s involvement in the 2010 passage of the Act can be found here.

Founded in 1945, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP is a leading international law firm with more than 900 lawyers in offices throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

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