[Senate Report 113-220]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                       Calendar No. 476
113th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session                                                     113-220

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   TO RATIFY A WATER SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT AFFECTING THE PYRAMID LAKE 
                  PAIUTE TRIBE, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

                                _______
                                

                 July 28, 2014.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

           Mr. Tester, from the Committee on Indian Affairs, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 1818]

    The Committee on Indian Affairs, to which was referred the 
bill (S. 1818) to ratify a water settlement agreement affecting 
the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe, and for other purposes, having 
considered the same, reports favorably thereon, without 
amendment, and recommends that the bill do pass.

                                PURPOSE

    The purpose of S. 1818 is to ratify a water settlement 
agreement affecting the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe.

                               BACKGROUND

    The United States has distinct legal obligations to provide 
for the general welfare of and protect the trust assets of 
American Indian tribes, including water resources.
    The Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe (Tribe) resides on the 
Pyramid Lake Indian Reservation, which is located 35 miles 
northeast of Reno, Nevada, in a remote desert area in Washoe, 
Lyon, and Storey Counties. The reservation contains 475,000 
acres, or 742.2 square miles. The Pyramid Lake, a terminal 
desert lake, covers approximately 112,000 acres of this 
reservation. Pyramid Lake is one of the most valuable assets of 
the Tribe and is entirely enclosed within the boundaries of the 
reservation. This lake is approximately 15 miles long and 11 
miles wide and measures 350 feet at its deepest point. Much of 
the history, tradition and economy of the Tribe is centered 
around fishing and recreational activities on the Pyramid Lake.
    Near the Nevada and California border, a dispute arose 
between the Tribe and Fish Springs Ranch (Fish Springs) over 
water rights and alleged injuries to tribal water rights in 
connection with the pumping and transport by Fish Springs of 
groundwater from the Honey Lake Valley Basin to the suburban 
Stead/Lemmon Valley area north of Reno, Nevada.
    In 2005, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) issued a Final 
Environmental Impact Statement analyzing the impacts of water 
pipeline projects crossing public lands to provide groundwater 
from the Honey Lake Valley of Nevada to the Reno-Stead area. A 
Record of Decision and a water pipeline right-of-way across 
public lands for Fish Springs was issued in 2006. The Tribe 
opposed the BLM action by appealing the decision of the BLM to 
the Interior Board of Land Appeals and by suing in federal 
court. Fish Springs and the Tribe reached a settlement in 2007 
that, among other things, resulted in dismissal of the appeal 
and resolution of the suit pending approval of Congressional 
legislation to approve the settlement.
    S. 1818 authorizes, ratifies and confirms this 2007 
settlement agreement and the supplement to the agreement 
between the Tribe and Fish Springs. The part of the settlement 
still pending and requiring federal legislation provides that 
the Tribe would subordinate its water rights and any 
groundwater rights it could establish in the future to Fish 
Springs' pumping of up to 14,108 acre-feet of groundwater. The 
Tribe would waive potential claims against Fish Springs for 
damages related to impacts or injuries to existing as well as 
claimed tribal water rights. In return, the Tribe would receive 
$3.6 million, plus interest, from January 8, 2007, from Fish 
Springs.
    Through enactment of the proposed legislation, the United 
States would extinguish any claims it may have against Fish 
Springs on behalf of the Tribe to the same extent that the 
Tribe waives its claims against Fish Springs. In addition to 
the Tribe's waiver of claims against Fish Springs, the Tribe is 
also waiving claims against the United States relating to trust 
responsibilities for the claims waived by the Tribe and the 
BLM's 2006 decision. The Tribe would also dismiss pending 
litigation against the BLM for violations of NEPA and trust 
responsibilities related to the Fish Springs groundwater 
project. No authorization of appropriations of federal funds is 
sought under the Agreement or S. 1818.
    The Committee on Indian Affairs held a hearing on the bill 
on May 7, 2014, where the Tribe testified in support of the 
bill. The Department of the Interior did not participate in the 
negotiation of the settlement, but testified that it did not 
object to the bill.

                          NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    The settlement agreement between the Tribe and Fish Springs 
contains waivers and release of claims by the Tribe against 
Fish Springs and the United States that must be ratified by 
Congress, as they involve trust assets held by the United 
States for the benefit of the Tribe. The legislation also 
contains waivers and releases of claims by the United States on 
behalf of the Tribe.

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1. Short Title; Table of Contents

    The Act may be cited as the ``Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe--
Fish Springs Ranch Settlement Act.''

Section 2. Definitions

    Section 2 defines the key terms used throughout this act.

Section 3. Ratification of Agreement

    Section 3 provides that except to the extent that a 
provision of the Agreement conflicts with this Act, the 
Agreement is authorized and ratified.

Section 4. Waiver and release of claims

    Section 4 provides a waiver and release of certain claims 
by the Tribe against Fish Springs; a reservation of rights and 
retention of certain claims by the Tribe against Fish Springs; 
a waiver and release of certain claims by the Tribe against the 
United States; and a reservation of rights and retention of 
certain claims by the Tribe against the United States.

Section 5. Satisfaction of claims

    Section 5 provides that the benefits provided to the Tribe 
under the Agreement, the Original Agreement, and this Act shall 
be considered to be full satisfaction of all claims of the 
Tribe waived and released pursuant to section 4 and pursuant to 
the Original Agreement and any claims the United States might 
make on behalf of the Tribe that are extinguished pursuant to 
section 4. It also provides that if the Tribe fails to execute 
the waivers and releases as authorized by this Act within 60 
days after the date of the enactment of this Act, this Act and 
the Agreement shall be null and void.

Section 6. Beneficiaries to agreement

    Section 6 states the parties to the Agreement shall be 
limited to: (1) the parties to the Agreement; (2) any municipal 
water purveyor that provides Project water for wholesale or 
retail water service to the area serviced by the Project; (3) 
any water purveyor that obtains the right to use Project water 
for purposes other than serving retail or wholesale customers; 
and (4) any assignee of Water Rights Credits for Project water 
pursuant to the terms of the February 28, 2006, Water Banking 
Trust Agreement between Washoe County and Fish Springs.

Section 7. Jurisdiction

    Section 7 provides that jurisdiction over any civil action 
relating to the enforcement of the Agreement, the Original 
Agreement, or this Act shall be vested in the United States 
District Court for the District of Nevada.

Section 8. Environmental compliance

    Section 8 provides that nothing in this Act precludes the 
United States or the Tribe, when delegated regulatory 
authority, from enforcing Federal environmental laws, 
including: (1) the Comprehensive Environmental Response, 
Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 including claims for 
damages for harm to natural resources; (2) the Safe Drinking 
Water Act; (3) the Federal Water Pollution Control Act; (4) the 
Solid Waste Disposal Act; and (5) any regulation implementing 
one or more of the Acts listed in paragraphs (1) through (4).

Section 9. Miscellaneous provisions

    Section 9 provides that nothing in this Act establishes a 
standard for the quantification of a Federal reserved water 
right or any other claim of an Indian tribe other than the 
Tribe in any other judicial or administrative proceeding. 
Nothing in the Agreement, the Original Agreement, or this Act 
quantifies or otherwise adversely affects any water right, 
claim, or entitlement to water, or any other right of any 
Indian tribe, band, or community other than the Tribe.

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    S. 1818 was introduced on December 12, 2013, by Senators 
Harry Reid (D-NV) and Dean Heller (R-NV). The bill was referred 
to the Committee on Indian Affairs. On May 7, 2014, the 
Committee held a hearing on the bill. On May 21, 2014, the 
Committee met to consider the bill. No amendments were offered, 
and the bill was ordered to be reported favorably to the full 
Senate.

                   COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

    The following cost estimate, as provided by the 
Congressional Budget Office, dated July 9, 2014, was prepared 
for S. 1818:

    Enclosure.

S. 1818--Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe--Fish Springs Ranch Settlement Act

    S. 1818 would ratify a settlement agreement between the 
Fish Springs Ranch LLC and the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe in the 
state of Nevada. The bill would authorize the tribe to grant 
waivers to Fish Springs pursuant to the settlement agreement. 
S. 1818 also would waive any claims against the federal 
government related to the settlement agreement.
    CBO estimates that implementing the legislation would have 
no effect on the federal budget. The federal government is not 
a party to the settlement agreement between Fish Springs and 
the tribe, and implementing the legislation would not increase 
operating costs for the Department of the Interior. Enacting S. 
1818 would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, 
pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
    S. 1818 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Martin von 
Gnechten. The estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy 
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

               REGULATORY AND PAPERWORK IMPACT STATEMENT

    Paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the 
Senate requires each report accompanying a bill to evaluate the 
regulatory and paperwork impact that would be incurred in 
carrying out the bill. The Committee believes that S. 1818 will 
have a minimal impact on regulatory or paperwork requirements.

                        EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

    The Committee has received no communications from the 
Executive Branch regarding S. 1818.

                        CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

    In accordance with subsection 12 of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee finds that the 
enactment of S. 1818 will not make any changes in existing law.

                                  
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