[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1276 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1276

 To approve, ratify, and confirm the settlement agreement entered into 
  to resolve claims by the Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians relating to 
alleged interences with the water resources of the Tribe, to authorize 
  and direct the Secretary of the Interior to execute and perform the 
   Settlement Agreement and related waivers, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 1, 2007

  Mrs. Bono (for herself, Mr. Lewis of California, Mr. Baca, and Mr. 
   Kildee) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To approve, ratify, and confirm the settlement agreement entered into 
  to resolve claims by the Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians relating to 
alleged interences with the water resources of the Tribe, to authorize 
  and direct the Secretary of the Interior to execute and perform the 
   Settlement Agreement and related waivers, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians 
Settlement Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians is a federally 
        recognized Indian tribe whose Reservation of approximately 
        6,000 acres, extending east and north from the banks of San 
        Jacinto River in Riverside County, California, was created by 
        an Executive Order of June 19, 1883, and enlarged and modified 
        by subsequent Executive Orders, purchases, and an Act of 
        Congress.
            (2) The Tribe's water rights have not been quantified, and 
        the Tribe has longstanding unresolved claims for interferences 
        with the water resources of its Reservation, which the Tribe 
        maintains have rendered much of the Tribe's Reservation useless 
        for habitation, livestock, or agriculture. On April 20, 2000, 
        the Tribe filed a lawsuit against the Metropolitan Water 
        District of Southern California for interference with the 
        Tribe's water resources and damages to its Reservation 
        allegedly caused by Metropolitan Water District of Southern 
        California's construction and operation of the San Jacinto 
        Tunnel, which is part of the Colorado River Aqueduct. The 
        lawsuit, titled Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians v. Metropolitan 
        Water District of Southern California, No. 00-04208 GAF (MANx), 
        is pending in the United States District Court for the Central 
        District of California.
            (3) The Tribe also has made claims against Eastern 
        Municipal Water District and Lake Hemet Municipal Water 
        District, located adjacent to the Reservation, seeking to 
        secure its water rights and damages arising from alleged past 
        interference with the Tribe's water resources.
            (4) Recognizing that the final resolution of its water 
        rights and claims through litigation will take many years and 
        entail great expense to all parties, continue to limit the 
        Tribe's access to water with economic, social, and cultural 
        consequences to the Tribe, prolong uncertainty as to the 
        availability of water supplies, and seriously impair the long-
        term economic planning and development of all parties, the 
        Tribe and non-Indian entities have sought to settle their 
        water-related disputes and reduce the burdens of litigation.
            (5) After negotiations, which included participation by 
        representatives of the Tribe, the United States, the 
        Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, the Eastern 
        Municipal Water District, and Lake Hemet Municipal Water 
        District, the parties have entered into a Settlement Agreement 
        to determine the Tribe's water rights, resolve all of its 
        claims for interference with the water resources of, and 
        damages to, its Reservation, and provide for the construction 
        of water projects to facilitate the exercise of the Tribe's 
        rights.
            (6) Pursuant to the Settlement Agreement, Eastern Municipal 
        Water District and Lake Hemet Municipal Water District 
        acknowledge and assure the Tribe's prior and paramount right, 
        superior to all others, to pump 9,000 acre-feet of water 
        annually from the San Jacinto River basin. To provide water to 
        the Tribe and to reduce the overdraft of the basin, the two 
        water districts and the Metropolitan Water District of Southern 
        California will contract to import and recharge supplemental 
        water supplies into the basin. The water districts also will 
        make substantial additional contributions to the settlement, 
        including the conveyance of certain replacement lands and 
        economic development funds to the Tribe, to carry out the 
        Settlement Agreement's provisions.
            (7) It is appropriate that the United States participate in 
        the implementation of the Settlement Agreement, and contribute 
        funds to enable the Tribe to use its water entitlement in 
        developing its Reservation, and to assist the neighboring non-
        Indian entities in the construction, operation, and maintenance 
        of the facilities required to recharge the imported water.
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act include--
            (1) to approve, ratify, and confirm the Settlement 
        Agreement entered into by the Tribe and non-Indians entities;
            (2) to authorize and direct the Secretary of the Interior 
        to execute and perform the Settlement Agreement and related 
        waivers; and
            (3) to authorize the actions, agreements, and 
        appropriations as provided in the Settlement Agreement and this 
        Act.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act, the following definitions apply:
            (1) Development fund.--The term ``Development Fund'' means 
        the Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians Water Development Fund 
        established by section 7.
            (2) Reservation.--The term ``Reservation'' means the Soboba 
        Indian Reservation created by an Executive Order dated June 19, 
        1883, and enlarged and modified by subsequent Executive Orders, 
        purchases, and an Act of Congress, excluding the 950 acres 
        northwest of and contiguous to the Reservation known as the 
        ``Jones Ranch,'' purchased by the Soboba Tribe in fee on July 
        21, 2001, and placed into trust on January 13, 2003, the 129.19 
        acres southeast of and contiguous to the Reservation known as 
        the ``Horseshoe Properties,'' purchased by the Soboba Tribe in 
        fee in four separate transactions in June and December 2001, 
        and the 478 acres north of and contiguous to the Reservation 
        known as ``Kwiili,'' purchased by the Soboba Tribe in fee on 
        April 4, 2004.
            (3) Restoration fund.--The term ``Restoration Fund'' means 
        the San Jacinto Basin Restoration Fund established by this Act.
            (4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the Interior or the Secretary's designee.
            (5) Settlement agreement.--The term ``Settlement 
        Agreement'' means that agreement dated June 7, 2006, together 
        with all exhibits thereto. The parties to the Settlement 
        Agreement are the Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians and its 
        members, the United States on behalf of the Tribe and its 
        members, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern 
        California, Eastern Municipal Water District, and Lake Hemet 
        Municipal Water District.
            (6) Tribe, soboba tribe, or soboba band of luiseno 
        indians.--The terms ``Tribe'', ``Soboba Tribe'', or ``Soboba 
        Band of Luiseno Indians'' means the body politic and federally 
        recognized Indian tribe, and its members.
            (7) Water management plan.--The term ``Water Management 
        Plan'' means the plan, approved by the Soboba Tribe and the 
        Secretary, developed pursuant to Section 4.8, paragraph A of 
        the Settlement Agreement to resolve the overdraft of the San 
        Jacinto basin.

SEC. 4. RATIFICATION OF SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT; AUTHORIZATION.

    (a) In General.--The United States hereby approves, ratifies, and 
confirms the Settlement Agreement, except to the extent it conflicts 
with the provisions of this Act, and consents to be made a party to the 
pending action described in section 2(a)(2) for the purpose of entering 
the judgment and decree attached to the Settlement Agreement as Exhibit 
H.
    (b) Authorization.--The Secretary is authorized and directed to 
execute, and take such other actions as are necessary to implement, the 
Settlement Agreement and any amendments approved by the parties 
necessary to make the Settlement Agreement consistent with this Act.

SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) Restoration Fund.--There is authorized $10,000,000 to be 
appropriated to the San Jacinto Basin Restoration Fund established in 
this Act to pay or reimburse costs associated with constructing, 
operating, and maintaining the portion of the basin recharge project, 
described in Section 4.5 of the Settlement Agreement, necessary to 
accommodate deliveries of the supplemental imported water under Section 
4.4 of the Settlement Agreement.
    (b) Development Fund.--There is authorized $11,000,000 to be 
appropriated to the Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians Water Development 
Fund to pay or reimburse costs associated with constructing, operating, 
and maintaining water and sewage infrastructure, and other water-
related development projects.

SEC. 6. RESTORATION FUND.

    (a) Establishment.--Thereis established within the Treasury of the 
United States a non-interest bearing account to be known as the ``San 
Jacinto Basin Restoration Fund'', consisting of the amounts authorized 
to be appropriated in section 5(a).
    (b) Administration.--The Restoration Fund shall be administered by 
the Secretary for the purposes set forth in subsection (d).
    (c) Availability.--The funds authorized to be appropriated pursuant 
to section 5(a) shall be available for expenditure or withdrawal only 
after the requirements set forth in section 9(e) and subsection (d) of 
this section have been met.
    (d) Expenditures and Withdrawals.--
            (1) Expenditure plan.--
                    (A) In general.--Eastern Municipal Water District, 
                on behalf of the Water Management Plan, shall submit to 
                the Secretary for approval an expenditure plan for use 
                of the Restoration Fund.
                    (B) Requirements.--The expenditure plan shall 
                require that any funds be expended or reimbursed in 
                accordance with the purposes described in section 5(a).
                    (C) Approval.--The Secretary shall approve the 
                expenditure plan if it is reasonable and not 
                inconsistent with this Act.
            (2) Withdrawals.--On approval by the Secretary of the 
        expenditure plan described in this section, the Eastern 
        Municipal Water District, on behalf of the Water Management 
        Plan, may withdraw monies from the Restoration Fund as provided 
        in the plan.
            (3) Enforcement.--The Secretary may take judicial or 
        administrative action to enforce the provisions of any 
        expenditure plan to ensure that monies withdrawn from the 
        Restoration Fund under the plan are used in accordance with 
        this Act.
            (4) Liability.--If the Eastern Municipal Water District, on 
        behalf of the Water Management Plan, exercises the right to 
        withdraw monies from the Restoration Fund, neither the 
        Secretary nor the Secretary of the Treasury shall retain any 
        liability for the expenditure or investment of the monies 
        withdrawn.
            (5) Annual report.--Eastern Municipal Water District shall 
        submit to the Tribe and the Secretary an annual report that 
        describes all expenditures from the Restoration Fund during the 
        year covered by the report.

SEC. 7. DEVELOPMENT FUND.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established within the Treasury an 
interest bearing account to be known as the ``Soboba Band of Luiseno 
Indians Water Development Fund'', to be managed and invested by the 
Secretary, consisting of the amounts authorized to be appropriated in 
section 5(b).
    (b) Management.--The Secretary shall manage the Development Fund, 
make investments, and make monies available for distribution consistent 
with the American Indian Trust Fund Management Reform Act of 1994 (25 
U.S.C. 4001 et seq.) (referred to in this section as the ``Trust Fund 
Reform Act''), this Act, and the Settlement Agreement.
    (c) Investment.--The Secretary shall invest amounts in the 
Development Fund in accordance with--
            (1) the Act of April 1, 1880 (21 Stat. 70, ch. 41, 25 
        U.S.C. 161);
            (2) the first section of the Act of June 24, 1938 (52 Stat. 
        1037, ch. 648, 25 U.S.C. 162a); and
            (3) subsection (b).
    (d) Availability.--The funds authorized to be appropriated pursuant 
to section 5(b) shall be available for expenditure or withdrawal only 
after the requirements set forth in section 9(e) and subsection (e) 
have been met.
    (e) Expenditures and Withdrawals.--
            (1) Tribal management plan.--
                    (A) In general.--The Tribe may withdraw all or part 
                of the Development Fund on approval by the Secretary of 
                a tribal management plan as described in the Trust Fund 
                Reform Act.
                    (B) Requirements.--In addition to the requirements 
                under the Trust Fund Reform Act, the tribal management 
                plan shall require that any funds be expended or 
                reimbursed in accordance with the purposes described in 
                section 5(b).
            (2) Enforcement.--The Secretary may take judicial or 
        administrative action to enforce the provisions of any tribal 
        management plan to ensure that monies withdrawn from the 
        Development Fund under the plan are used in accordance with 
        this Act.
            (3) Liability.--If the Tribe exercises the right to 
        withdraw monies from the Development Fund, neither the 
        Secretary nor the Secretary of the Treasury shall retain any 
        liability for the expenditure or investment of the monies 
        withdrawn.
            (4) Annual report.--The Tribe shall submit to the Secretary 
        an annual report that describes all expenditures from the 
        Development Fund during the year covered by the report.
            (5) No per capita distributions.--No part of the 
        Development Fund shall be distributed on a per capita basis to 
        members of the Tribe.

SEC. 8. WAIVERS AND RELEASES.

    (a) Tribe and United States Authorization.--The Tribe, on behalf of 
itself and its members, and the Secretary, on behalf of the United 
States in its capacity as trustee for the Tribe and its members, are 
authorized, as part of the performance of their obligations under the 
Settlement Agreement, to execute a waiver and release for claims under 
Federal, State, or other law against the Metropolitan Water District of 
Southern California, the Eastern Municipal Water District, and the Lake 
Hemet Municipal Water District, for any and all of the following:
            (1) Past, present, and future claims to surface and 
        groundwater rights for the Reservation from time immemorial 
        through the effective date described in section 10 and anytime 
        thereafter.
            (2) Past, present, and future claims for injury of any 
        kind, whether to person, property, or other right or interest, 
        arising from, or in any way related to, interference with 
        surface and groundwater rights and resources of the 
        Reservation, including, but not limited to, all claims for 
        injury to the Tribe's use and enjoyment of the Reservation, 
        economic development, religion, language, social structure and 
        culture, and injury to the natural resources of the 
        Reservation, from time immemorial through the effective date 
        described in section 10.
            (3) Past, present, and future claims for injury of any 
        kind, whether to person, property, or other right or interest, 
        arising from, or in any way related to, continuing interference 
        with surface and groundwater rights and resources of the 
        Reservation, including the full scope of claims defined in 
        Section 5.1, paragraph A(2) of the Settlement Agreement, to the 
        extent that such continuing interference began prior to the 
        effective date described in section 10 of this Act, from time 
        immemorial through the effective date described in section 10 
        of this Act and anytime thereafter.
            (4) Past, present, and future claims for injury of any 
        kind, whether to person, property, or other right or interest, 
        arising from, or in any way related to, seepage of water into 
        the San Jacinto Tunnel, including the full scope of claims 
        defined in Section 5.1, paragraph A(2) of the Settlement 
        Agreement, from time immemorial through the effective date 
        described in section 10 of this Act and anytime thereafter.
    (b) Tribal Waivers Against the United States.--The Tribe is 
authorized, as part of the performance of its obligations under the 
Settlement Agreement, to execute a waiver and release for claims 
against the United States (acting in its capacity as trustee for the 
Tribe or its members, or otherwise acting on behalf of the Tribe or its 
members), including any agencies, officials, or employees thereof, for 
any and all of the following:
            (1) Claims described in subsection (a).
            (2) Past, present, and future claims for failure to acquire 
        or develop water rights and resources of the Reservation from 
        time immemorial through the effective date described in section 
        10 of this Act and anytime thereafter.
            (3) Past, present, and future claims for failure to protect 
        water rights and resources of the Reservation from time 
        immemorial through the effective date described in section 10 
        of this Act, and any past, present, and future claims for any 
        continuing failure to protect water rights and resources of the 
        Reservation, from time immemorial through the effective date 
        described in section 10 of this Act and, to the extent that 
        such continuing failure to protect began before the effective 
        date described in section 10 of this Act, anytime thereafter.
            (4) Past, present, and future claims arising from the 
        failure of any non-federal Party to fulfill the terms of the 
        Settlement Agreement at anytime.
            (5) Past, present, and future claims arising out of the 
        negotiation of the Settlement Agreement or the negotiation and 
        enactment of this Act, or any specific terms or provisions 
        thereof, including, but not limited to, the Tribe's consent to 
        limit the number of participant parties to the Settlement 
        Agreement.

SEC. 9. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS.

    (a) Waiver of Sovereign Immunity.--If any party to the Settlement 
Agreement brings an action or other proceeding in any court of the 
United States relating only and directly to the interpretation or 
enforcement of this Act or the Settlement Agreement and names the 
United States or the Soboba Tribe as a party--
            (1) the United States, the Tribe, or both, may be joined in 
        any such action; and
            (2) any claim by the United States or the Tribe to 
        sovereign immunity from the action is waived, other than with 
        respect to claims for monetary awards, for the limited and sole 
        purpose of such interpretation or enforcement.
    (b) Tribal Use of Water.--
            (1) In general.--With respect to water rights made 
        available under the Settlement Agreement--
                    (A) the Tribe may use water made available to it 
                under the Settlement Agreement for any use it deems 
                advisable on the Reservation and on any other lands it 
                owns or may acquire, in fee or in trust, contiguous to 
                the Reservation or within the area of the groundwater 
                basin described in Section 2.4 of the Settlement 
                Agreement;
                    (B) such water rights shall be held in trust by the 
                United States in perpetuity, and shall not be subject 
                to forfeiture or abandonment; and
                    (C) State law shall not apply to the Tribe's use of 
                water made available to it under the Settlement 
                Agreement.
            (2) Limitation.--
                    (A) In general.--Except as provided in subparagraph 
                (B), the Tribe shall not sell or lease water made 
                available to it under the Settlement Agreement.
                    (B) Exception.--The Tribe may enter into contracts 
                and options to lease, contracts and options to 
                exchange, or contracts and options to forbear the use 
                of water made available to it under the Settlement 
                Agreement or postpone undertaking new or expanded water 
                uses, provided that any such contract or option for a 
                term greater than five years shall require the approval 
                of the Secretary. Any such water thereby made available 
                to others shall only be used by participants in, or 
                other users within the area of, the Water Management 
                Plan described in Section 2.32 of the Settlement 
                Agreement. No contract shall be for a term exceeding 
                100 years, nor shall any contract provide for permanent 
                alienation of any portion of the water rights made 
                available under the Settlement Agreement.
    (c) Acceptance of Land Into Trust.--The Secretary shall accept into 
trust for the benefit of the Tribe the lands conveyed to the Tribe 
pursuant to Section 4.6 of the Settlement Agreement.
    (d) Habitat Conservation.--The United States, in its capacity as 
trustee for the Tribe, and the Tribe in its own right shall make 
available, including, if necessary, by conveyance of a permanent 
easement to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service or other agency 
of the United States, up to 98 acres of Reservation land for habitat 
conservation related to the portion of the basin recharge project 
necessary to accommodate deliveries of the supplemental imported water 
described in Section 4.4 of the Settlement Agreement.
    (e) Availability of Appropriations.--The funds authorized to be 
appropriated under section 5 of this Act shall not be available for 
expenditure or withdrawal until the requirements of section 10(a) of 
this Act have been met and the waivers and releases set out in section 
8 of this Act become effective.
    (f) Retention of Rights.--In the event the waivers and releases set 
out in section 8 of this Act do not become effective pursuant to 
section 10(a) of this Act, the Soboba Tribe and the United States shall 
retain the right to assert all rights and claims enumerated in section 
8, and any claims or defenses of the parties to the Settlement 
Agreement shall also be retained. The parties expressly reserve all 
rights not specifically granted, recognized, waived, or released by the 
Settlement Agreement or this Act.
    (g) Precedent.--Nothing in this Act shall be construed or 
interpreted as a precedent for the quantification or litigation of 
Federal reserved water rights or the interpretation or administration 
of future water settlement Acts.
    (h) Other Indian Tribes.--Nothing in the Settlement Agreement or 
this Act shall be construed in any way to quantify or otherwise 
adversely affect the water rights, claims, or entitlements to water of 
any Indian tribe, band, or community, other than the Tribe.
    (i) Environmental Compliance.--Signing by the Secretary of the 
Settlement Agreement does not constitute major Federal action under the 
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). The 
Secretary shall comply with all aspects of the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), and other applicable 
environmental laws, in implementing the terms of the Settlement 
Agreement and this Act.

SEC. 10. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    (a) In General.--The waiver and release authorizations contained in 
subsections (b) and (c) of section 8 shall become effective on the date 
that the Secretary causes to be published in the Federal Register a 
statement of findings that--
            (1) to the extent that the Settlement Agreement conflicts 
        with this Act, the Settlement Agreement has been revised to 
        conform with the Act;
            (2) the Settlement Agreement, revised as necessary, and the 
        waivers and releases described in Article 5 of the Settlement 
        Agreement and section 8 of this Act have been executed by the 
        parties and the Secretary;
            (3) warranty deeds for the property to be conveyed to the 
        Tribe described in section 4.6 of the Settlement Agreement have 
        been placed in escrow;
            (4) the Tribe and the Secretary have approved the Water 
        Management Plan;
            (5) the judgment and decree attached to the Settlement 
        Agreement as Exhibit H has been approved by the United States 
        District Court, Eastern Division of the Central District of 
        California, and that judgment and decree have become final and 
        nonappealable; and
            (6) the payment of the funds authorized by section 5 of 
        this Act have been appropriated and deposited into the 
        Restoration Fund and the Development Fund.
    (b) Deadline for Effective Date.--If the conditions precedent 
required under paragraph (a) have not been fulfilled by December 31, 
2008, the Settlement Agreement and this Act shall not thereafter be 
effective and shall be null and void, any funds and the interest 
accrued thereon appropriated pursuant to section 5 shall revert to the 
general fund of the United States Treasury on October 1, 2009.
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