IB 

Union Calendar No. 410 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4841 

[Report No. 110–649] 

To approve, ratify, and confirm the settlement agreement entered into to 

resolve claims by the Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians relating to alleged 

interferences 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 

DECEMBER 19, 2007 

Mrs. BONO (for herself and Mr. LEWIS of California) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

MAY 15, 2008 

Additional sponsors: Mr. BACA, Mr. COLE of Oklahoma, Mr. KILDEE, and Mr. 

CALVERT

MAY 15, 2008 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on December 19, 2007] 

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 interferences with 

the water resources of the Tribe, to authorize and direct 


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the Secretary of the Interior to execute and perform 

the Settlement Agreement and related waivers, and for 

other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Soboba Band of Luisen ̃o 

5 Indians Settlement Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) The Soboba Band of Luisen ̃o Indians is a 

9 federally recognized Indian tribe whose Reservation of 

10 approximately 6,000 acres, extending east and north 

11 from the banks of the San Jacinto River in Riverside 

12 County, California, was created by an Executive 

13 Order dated June 19, 1883, and enlarged and modi14 fied by subsequent Executive Orders, purchases, and 

15 an Act of Congress. 

16 (2) The Tribe’s water rights have not been quan17 tified, and the Tribe has asserted claims for inter18 ferences with the water resources of its Reservation, 

19 which the Tribe maintains have rendered much of the 

20 Tribe’s Reservation useless for habitation, livestock, or 

21 Agriculture. On April 20, 2000, the Tribe filed a law22 suit against The Metropolitan Water District of 

23 Southern California for interference with the Tribe’s 


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1 water resources and damages to its Reservation alleg2 edly caused by Metropolitan’s construction and oper3 ation of the San Jacinto Tunnel, which is part of the 

4 Colorado River Aqueduct. The lawsuit, styled Soboba 

5 Band of Luisen ̃o Indians v. Metropolitan Water Dis6 trict of Southern California, No. 00–04208 GAF 

7 (MANx), is pending in the United States District 

8 Court for the Central District of California. 

9 (3) The Tribe also has made claims against 

10 Eastern Municipal Water District and Lake Hemet 

11 Municipal Water District, located adjacent to the Res12 ervation, seeking to secure its water rights and dam13 ages arising from alleged past interference with the 

14 Tribe’s water resources. 

15 (4) After negotiations, which included participa16 tion by representatives of the Tribe, the United States 

17 on behalf of the Tribe, The Metropolitan Water Dis18 trict of Southern California, Eastern Municipal 

19 Water District, and Lake Hemet Municipal Water 

20 District, a Settlement Agreement has been developed 

21 to determine the Tribe’s water rights, resolve all of its 

22 claims for interference with the water resources of, 

23 and damages to, its Reservation, provide for the con24 struction of water projects to facilitate the exercise of 


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1 the Tribe’s rights, and resolve the lawsuit referenced 

2 in paragraph (2) of this section. 

3 (5) The Settlement Agreement provides that— 

4 (A) Eastern Municipal Water District and 

5 Lake Hemet Municipal Water District acknowl6 edge and assure the Tribe’s prior and paramount 

7 right, superior to all others, to pump 9,000 acre8 feet of water annually from the San Jacinto 

9 River basin in accordance with the limitations 

10 and other conditions set forth in the Settlement 

11 Agreement; 

12 (B) Eastern Municipal Water District and 

13 The Metropolitan Water District of Southern 

14 California will contract to supply water to East15 ern Municipal Water District and Eastern Mu16 nicipal Water District will use this water to re17 charge water supplies into the basin; and 

18 (C) the three water districts will make sub19 stantial additional contributions to the settle20 ment, including the conveyance of certain re21 placement lands and economic development 

22 funds to the Tribe, to carry out the Settlement 

23 Agreement’s provisions. 

24 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are— 


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1 (1) to approve, ratify, and confirm the Settle2 ment Agreement entered into by the Tribe and non3 Indians entities; 

4 (2) to achieve a fair, equitable, and final settle5 ment of all claims of the Soboba Band of Luisen ̃o In6 dians, its members, and the United States on behalf 

7 of the Tribe and its members, to the water of the San 

8 Jacinto River basin; 

9 (3) to authorize and direct the Secretary of the 

10 Interior to execute and perform all obligations of the 

11 Secretary under the Settlement Agreement; and 

12 (4) to authorize the actions and appropriations 

13 necessary to meet obligations of the United States 

14 under the Settlement Agreement and this Act. 

15 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

16 In this Act: 

17 (1) RESTORATION FUND.—The term ‘‘Restora18 tion Fund’’ means the San Jacinto Basin Restoration 

19 Fund established by section 6. 

20 (2) DEVELOPMENT FUND.—The term ‘‘Develop21 ment Fund’’ means the Soboba Band of Luisen ̃o Indi22 ans Water Development Fund established by section 

23 7. 

24 (3) RESERVATION.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘Reservation’’ 

2 means the Soboba Indian Reservation created by 

3 Executive Order dated June 19, 1883, and en4 larged and modified as of the date of enactment 

5 of this Act by Executive Orders and an Act of 

6 Congress. 

7 (B) EXCLUSIONS.—For the purposes of this 

8 Act, the term ‘‘Reservation’’ does not include— 

9 (i) the 950 acres northwest of and con10 tiguous to the Reservation known as the 

11 ‘‘Jones Ranch’’, purchased by the Soboba 

12 Tribe in fee on July 21, 2001, and placed 

13 into trust on January 13, 2003; 

14 (ii) the 535 acres southeast of and con15 tiguous to the Reservation known as the 

16 ‘‘Horseshoe Grande’’, purchased by the 

17 Soboba Tribe in fee in seven separate trans18 actions in June and December 2001, De19 cember 2004, June 2006, and January 

20 2007; and 

21 (iii) the 478 acres north of and contig22 uous to the Reservation known as ‘‘The 

23 Oaks’’, purchased by the Soboba Tribe in fee 

24 on April 4, 2004. 


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1 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

2 the Secretary of the Interior or a designee of the Sec3 retary. 

4 (5) SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT.—The term ‘‘Set5 tlement Agreement’’ means that agreement dated June 

6 7, 2006, as amended to be consistent with this Act, to7 gether with all exhibits thereto. The parties to the Set8 tlement Agreement are the Soboba Band of Luisen ̃o 

9 Indians and its members, the United States on behalf 

10 of the Tribe and its members, The Metropolitan Water 

11 District of Southern California, Eastern Municipal 

12 Water District, and Lake Hemet Municipal Water 

13 District. 

14 (6) TRIBE, SOBOBA TRIBE, OR SOBOBA BAND OF

15 LUISEN ̃O INDIANS.—The terms ‘‘Tribe’’, ‘‘Soboba 

16 Tribe’’, or ‘‘Soboba Band of Luisen ̃o Indians’’ means 

17 the body politic and federally recognized Indian tribe, 

18 and its members. 

19 (7) WATER MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The term 

20 ‘‘Water Management Plan’’ means the plan, approved 

21 by the Soboba Tribe and the Secretary, developed pur22 suant to section 4.8, paragraph A of the Settlement 

23 Agreement to resolve the overdraft of the San Jacinto 

24 basin. 


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1 SEC. 4. RATIFICATION OF SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT; AU2 THORIZATION. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The United States hereby approves, 

4 ratifies, and confirms the Settlement Agreement, except to 

5 the extent it conflicts with the provisions of this Act. 

6 (b) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary is authorized 

7 and directed to execute, and take such other actions as are 

8 necessary to implement, the Settlement Agreement and any 

9 amendments approved by the parties necessary to make the 

10 Settlement Agreement consistent with this Act. 

11 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

12 (a) RESTORATION FUND.—There is authorized to be 

13 appropriated to the San Jacinto Basin Restoration Fund 

14 established in section 6 of this Act the amount of $5,000,000 

15 for each of fiscal years 2010 and 2011 to pay or reimburse 

16 the costs associated with constructing, operating, and main17 taining the portion of the basin recharge project that the 

18 United States is responsible for under the Settlement Agree19 ment. These costs are described in section 4.5 of the Settle20 ment Agreement and are necessary to accommodate deliv21 eries of the supplemental imported water under section 4.4 

22 of the Settlement Agreement. 

23 (b) DEVELOPMENT FUND.—There is authorized to be 

24 appropriated to the Soboba Band of Luisen ̃o Indians Water 

25 Development Fund established in section 7 of this Act the 

26 amount of $5,500,000 for each of fiscal years 2010 and 2011 


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1 to pay or reimburse costs associated with constructing, op2 erating, and maintaining water and sewage infrastructure, 

3 and other water-related development projects. 

4 (c) LIMITATION.—No funding of any construction, op5 eration, maintenance, or replacement other than those funds 

6 authorized under subsections (a) and (b) shall be the respon7 sibility of the Federal Government under the Settlement 

8 Agreement or this Act. 

9 SEC. 6. RESTORATION FUND. 

10 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There shall be established with11 in the Treasury of the United States a non-interest bearing 

12 account to be known as the ‘‘San Jacinto Basin Restoration 

13 Fund’’, consisting of the amounts authorized to be appro14 priated in section 5(a) of this Act. 

15 (b) ADMINISTRATION.—The Restoration Fund shall be 

16 administered by the Secretary for the purposes set forth in 

17 subsection (d) of this section. 

18 (c) AVAILABILITY.—The funds authorized to be appro19 priated pursuant to section 5(a) of this Act shall be avail20 able for expenditure or withdrawal only after the effective 

21 date set forth in section 10(a). 

22 (d) EXPENDITURES AND WITHDRAWALS.— 

23 (1) EXPENDITURE PLAN.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—Eastern Municipal 

25 Water District, on behalf of the Water ManageVerDate Aug 31 2005 02:11 May 16, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H4841.RH H4841

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1 ment Plan, shall submit to the Secretary for ap2 proval an expenditure plan for use of the Res3 toration Fund. 

4 (B) REQUIREMENTS.—The expenditure plan 

5 shall require that any funds be expended or re6 imbursed in accordance with the purposes de7 scribed in section 5(a) of this Act. 

8 (2) WITHDRAWALS.—On approval by the Sec9 retary of the expenditure plan described in this sec10 tion, Eastern Municipal Water District, on behalf of 

11 the Water Management Plan, may expend or be reim12 bursed monies from the Restoration Fund as provided 

13 in the plan. 

14 (3) ENFORCEMENT.—The Secretary may take ju15 dicial or administrative action to enforce the provi16 sions of any expenditure plan to ensure that monies 

17 expended or reimbursed from the Restoration Fund 

18 under the plan are used in accordance with this Act. 

19 (4) LIABILITY.—If Eastern Municipal Water 

20 District, on behalf of the Water Management Plan, ex21 ercises the right to expend or be reimbursed monies 

22 from the Restoration Fund, neither the Secretary nor 

23 the Secretary of the Treasury shall have any liability 

24 for the expenditure or reimbursement. 


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1 (5) ANNUAL REPORT.—Eastern Municipal Water 

2 District shall submit to the Tribe and the Secretary 

3 an annual report that describes all expenditures or 

4 reimbursements from the Restoration Fund during the 

5 year covered by the report. 

6 SEC. 7. DEVELOPMENT FUND. 

7 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There shall be established with8 in the Treasury of the United States a fund to be known 

9 as the ‘‘Soboba Band of Luisen ̃o Indians Water Develop10 ment Fund’’, to be managed and invested by the Secretary 

11 consisting of the amounts authorized to be appropriated in 

12 section 5(b). 

13 (b) MANAGEMENT.—The Secretary shall manage the 

14 Development Fund, make investments, and make monies 

15 available for distribution consistent with the American In16 dian Trust Fund Management Reform Act of 1994 (25 

17 U.S.C. 4001 et seq.) (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Trust 

18 Fund Reform Act’’), this Act, and the Settlement Agree19 ment. 

20 (c) INVESTMENT.—The Secretary shall invest amounts 

21 in the Development Fund in accordance with— 

22 (1) the Act of April 1, 1880 (21 Stat. 70, ch. 41, 

23 25 U.S.C. 161); 

24 (2) the first section of the Act of June 24, 1938 

25 (52 Stat. 1037, ch. 648, 25 U.S.C. 162a); and 


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1 (3) subsection (b) of this section. 

2 (d) AVAILABILITY.—The funds authorized to be appro3 priated pursuant to section 5(b) of this Act shall be avail4 able for expenditure or withdrawal only after the effective 

5 date set forth in section 10(a). 

6 (e) EXPENDITURES AND WITHDRAWALS.— 

7 (1) TRIBAL MANAGEMENT PLAN.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Tribe may with9 draw all or part of the Development Fund on 

10 approval by the Secretary of a tribal manage11 ment plan as described in the Trust Fund Re12 form Act. 

13 (B) REQUIREMENTS.—In addition to the 

14 requirements under the Trust Fund Reform Act, 

15 the tribal management plan shall require that 

16 any funds be expended or reimbursed in accord17 ance with the purposes described in section 5(b) 

18 of this Act. 

19 (C) ENFORCEMENT.—The Secretary may 

20 take judicial or administrative action to enforce 

21 the provisions of any tribal management plan to 

22 ensure that monies withdrawn from the Develop23 ment Fund under the plan are used in accord24 ance with this Act. 


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1 (D) LIABILITY.—If the Tribe exercises the 

2 right to withdraw monies from the Development 

3 Fund, neither the Secretary nor the Secretary of 

4 the Treasury shall retain any liability for the ex5 penditure or investment. 

6 (2) EXPENDITURE PLAN.— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Tribe shall submit 

8 to the Secretary for approval an expenditure 

9 plan for any portion of the amounts made avail10 able under section 5(b) that the Tribe does not 

11 withdraw under this subsection. 

12 (B) DESCRIPTION.—The expenditure plan 

13 shall describe the manner in which, and the pur14 poses for which, amounts of the Tribe remaining 

15 in the Funds will be used. 

16 (C) APPROVAL.—On receipt of an expendi17 ture plan under subparagraph (A), the Secretary 

18 shall approve the plan if the Secretary deter19 mines that the plan is reasonable and consistent 

20 with this Act and the Agreement. 

21 (3) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Tribe shall submit to 

22 the Secretary an annual report that describes all ex23 penditures from the Development Fund during the 

24 year covered by the report. 


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1 (4) NO PER CAPITA DISTRIBUTIONS.—No part of 

2 the Development Fund shall be distributed on a per 

3 capita basis to members of the Tribe. 

4 SEC. 8. WAIVERS AND RELEASES. 

5 (a) TRIBE AND UNITED STATES AUTHORIZATION.— 

6 The Tribe, on behalf of itself and its members, and the Sec7 retary, on behalf of the United States in its capacity as 

8 trustee for the Tribe and its members, are authorized, as 

9 part of the performance of their obligations under the Settle10 ment Agreement, to execute a waiver and release for claims 

11 under Federal, State, or other law against The Metropolitan 

12 Water District of Southern California, Eastern Municipal 

13 Water District, and Lake Hemet Municipal Water District, 

14 for any and all— 

15 (1) past, present, and future claims to surface 

16 water and groundwater rights for the Reservation 

17 arising from time immemorial through the effective 

18 date described in section 10 of this Act and anytime 

19 thereafter, except claims to enforce the Settlement 

20 Agreement or claims based on water rights acquired 

21 after the effective date described in section 10 of this 

22 Act; 

23 (2) past, present, and future claims for injury of 

24 any kind arising from interference with surface water 

25 and groundwater resources and water rights of the 


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1 Reservation, including, but not limited to, all claims 

2 for injury to the Tribe’s use and enjoyment of the 

3 Reservation, economic development, religion, lan4 guage, social structure and culture, and injury to the 

5 natural resources of the Reservation, from time imme6 morial through the effective date described in section 

7 10 of this Act; 

8 (3) past, present, and future claims for injury of 

9 any kind arising from, or in any way related to, con10 tinuing interference with surface water and ground11 water resources and water rights of the Reservation, 

12 including the full scope of claims defined in section 

13 5.1, paragraph A(2) of the Settlement Agreement, to 

14 the extent that such continuing interference began 

15 prior to the effective date described in section 10 of 

16 this Act, from time immemorial through the effective 

17 date described in section 10 of this Act and anytime 

18 thereafter; 

19 (4) past, present, and future claims for injury of 

20 any kind arising from, or in any way related to, 

21 seepage of water into the San Jacinto Tunnel, includ22 ing the full scope of claims defined in section 5.1, 

23 paragraph A(2) of the Settlement Agreement, from 

24 time immemorial through the effective date described 

25 in section 10 of this Act and anytime thereafter; and 


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1 (5) past, present, and future claims for injury of 

2 any kind arising from, or in any way related to, the 

3 Water Management Plan as approved in accordance 

4 with the Settlement Agreement, from time immemo5 rial through the effective date described in section 10 

6 of this Act and anytime thereafter. 

7 (b) TRIBAL WAIVERS AGAINST THE UNITED

8 STATES.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Tribe is authorized, as 

10 part of the performance of its obligations under the 

11 Settlement Agreement, to execute a waiver and release 

12 for claims against the United States (acting in its ca13 pacity as trustee for the Tribe or its members, or oth14 erwise acting on behalf of the Tribe or its members), 

15 including any agencies, officials, or employees thereof, 

16 for any and all— 

17 (A) claims described in subsection (a) of 

18 this section; 

19 (B) past, present, and future claims for fail20 ure to acquire or develop water rights and water 

21 resources of the Reservation arising from time 

22 immemorial through the effective date described 

23 in section 10 of this Act and anytime thereafter; 

24 (C) past, present, and future claims for fail25 ure to protect water rights and water resources 


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1 of the Reservation arising from time immemorial 

2 through the effective date described in section 10 

3 of this Act, and any past, present, and future 

4 claims for any continuing failure to protect 

5 water rights and water resources of the Reserva6 tion, arising from time immemorial through the 

7 effective date described in section 10 of this Act 

8 and, to the extent that such continuing failure to 

9 protect began before the effective date described 

10 in section 10 of this Act, anytime thereafter; 

11 (D) past, present, and future claims arising 

12 from the failure of any non-Federal Party to ful13 fill the terms of the Settlement Agreement at 

14 anytime; and 

15 (E) past, present, and future claims arising 

16 out of the negotiation of the Settlement Agree17 ment or the negotiation and enactment of this 

18 Act, or any specific terms of provisions thereof, 

19 including, but not limited to, the Tribe’s consent 

20 to limit the number of participant parties to the 

21 Settlement Agreement. 

22 (2) EFFECTIVENESS OF WAIVERS AGAINST THE

23 UNITED STATES.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—The waiver and release 

25 contained in this subsection shall take effect on 


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1 the date on which all of the amounts authorized 

2 under sections 5(a) and 5(b) are appropriated. 

3 (B) PERIODS OF LIMITATION; EQUITABLE

4 CLAIMS.— 

5 (i) IN GENERAL.—All periods of limi6 tation and time-based equitable defenses ap7 plicable to the claims set forth in paragraph 

8 (1) are tolled for the period between the date 

9 of enactment of this Act until the date on 

10 which the amounts authorized under sec11 tions 5(a) and 5(b) are appropriated. 

12 (ii) EFFECT OF SUBPARAGRAPH.—This 

13 subparagraph neither revives any claim nor 

14 tolls any period of limitation or time-based 

15 equitable defense that may have expired be16 fore the date of enactment of this Act. 

17 (C) DEFENSE.—The making of the amounts 

18 of appropriations authorized under sections 5(a) 

19 and 5(b) shall constitute a complete defense to 

20 any claim which involves the claims set forth in 

21 paragraph (b)(1) pending in any court of the 

22 United States on the date on which the appro23 priations are made. 

24 SEC. 9. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS. 

25 (a) JURISDICTION.— 


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1 (1) NO EFFECT ON SUBJECT MATTER JURISDIC2 TION.—Nothing in the Agreement or this Act restricts, 

3 enlarges, or otherwise determines the subject matter 

4 jurisdiction of any Federal, State, or Tribal court. 

5 (2) JUDGMENT AND DECREE.—The United 

6 States consents to jurisdiction in the United States 

7 District Court for the Central District of California 

8 case known as Soboba Band of Luisen ̃o Indians v. 

9 Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, 

10 No. 00–04208 for the purpose of obtaining approval 

11 for a judgment and decree substantially the same as 

12 the judgment and decree attached to the Settlement 

13 Agreement as exhibit H. 

14 (3) EFFECT OF SUBSECTION.—Nothing in this 

15 subsection confers jurisdiction on any State court 

16 to— 

17 (A) enforce Federal environmental laws re18 garding the duties of the United States; or 

19 (B) conduct judicial review of Federal agen20 cy action. 

21 (b) USE OF WATER.— 

22 (1) TRIBAL USE.—With respect to water rights 

23 made available under the Settlement Agreement— 

24 (A) the Tribe may use water made available 

25 to it under the Settlement Agreement for any use 


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1 it deems advisable on the Reservation and on 

2 any other lands it owns or may acquire, in fee 

3 or in trust, contiguous to the Reservation or 

4 within the area of the groundwater basin de5 scribed in section 2.4 of the Settlement Agree6 ment; 

7 (B) such water rights shall be held in trust 

8 by the United States in perpetuity, and shall not 

9 be subject to forfeiture or abandonment; and 

10 (C) State law shall not apply to the Tribe’s 

11 use of water made available to it under the Set12 tlement Agreement. 

13 (2) NON-TRIBAL USE.— 

14 (A) CONTRACTS AND OPTIONS.—Subject to 

15 the limitations in subparagraph (B), the Tribe 

16 may enter into contracts and options to lease or 

17 contracts and options to exchange water made 

18 available to it under the Settlement Agreement, 

19 or enter into contracts and options to postpone 

20 existing water uses or postpone undertaking new 

21 or expanded water uses. 

22 (B) LIMITATIONS ON NON-TRIBAL USE.— 

23 (i) CONSISTENCY WITH WATER MAN24 AGEMENT PLAN.—Any water made avail25 able under subparagraph (A) shall only be 


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1 used by participants in, or other users with2 in the area of, the Water Management Plan 

3 described in section 2.32 of the Settlement 

4 Agreement. 

5 (ii) PROHIBITION ON PERMANENT

6 ALIENATION.—No contract under subpara7 graph (A) shall be for a term exceeding one 

8 hundred years, nor shall any contract under 

9 subparagraph (A) provide for permanent 

10 alienation of any portion of the water 

11 rights made available under the Settlement 

12 Agreement. 

13 (C) LIABILITY.—The Secretary shall not be 

14 liable to any party, including the Tribe, for any 

15 term of, or any loss or other detriment resulting 

16 from, a lease or contract entered into pursuant 

17 to this subparagraph. 

18 (c) RETENTION OF RIGHTS.— 

19 (1) In the event the waivers and releases set out 

20 in section 8 of this Act do not become effective pursu21 ant to section 10(a) of this Act, the Soboba Tribe and 

22 the United States shall retain the right to assert all 

23 rights and claims enumerated in section 8, and any 

24 claims or defenses of the parties to the Settlement 

25 Agreement shall also be retained. 


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1 (2) The parties expressly reserve all rights not 

2 specifically granted, recognized, waived, or released by 

3 the Settlement Agreement or this Act. 

4 (3) Notwithstanding the waivers and releases set 

5 forth in section 8(a), the United States retains all 

6 claims relating to violations of the Clean Water Act, 

7 the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Comprehensive En8 vironmental Response, Compensation, and Liability 

9 Act, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, and the 

10 regulations implementing these Acts, including, but 

11 not limited to claims related to water quality. 

12 (d) PRECEDENT.—Nothing in this Act establishes any 

13 standard for the quantification or litigation of Federal re14 served water rights or any other Indian water claims of 

15 any other Indian tribes in any other judicial or adminis16 trative proceeding. 

17 (e) OTHER INDIAN TRIBES.—Nothing in the Settle18 ment Agreement or this Act shall be construed in any way 

19 to quantify or otherwise adversely affect the water rights, 

20 claims, or entitlements to water of any Indian tribe, band, 

21 or community, other than the Soboba Tribe. 

22 (f) ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE.— 

23 (1) Signing by the Secretary of the Settlement 

24 Agreement does not constitute major Federal action 


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1 under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

2 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). 

3 (2) The Secretary is directed to carry out all en4 vironmental compliance required by Federal law in 

5 implementing the Agreement. 

6 SEC. 10. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The waivers and releases author8 ized in subsection (a) of section 8 of this Act shall become 

9 effective as of the date the Secretary causes to be published 

10 in the Federal Register a statement of findings that— 

11 (1) this Act has been enacted; 

12 (2) to the extent that the Settlement Agreement 

13 conflicts with this Act, the Settlement Agreement has 

14 been revised to conform with the Act; 

15 (3) the Settlement Agreement, revised as nec16 essary, and the waivers and releases described in arti17 cle 5 of the Settlement Agreement and section 8(a) of 

18 this Act have been executed by the parties and the 

19 Secretary; 

20 (4) warranty deeds for the property to be con21 veyed to the Tribe described in section 4.6 of the Set22 tlement Agreement have been placed in escrow; 

23 (5) the Tribe and the Secretary have approved 

24 the Water Management Plan; and 


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1 (6) the judgment and decree attached to the Set2 tlement Agreement as exhibit H or a judgment and 

3 decree substantially the same as exhibit H has been 

4 approved by the United States District Court, East5 ern Division of the Central District of California, and 

6 that judgment and decree has become final and non7 appealable. 

8 (b) DEADLINE FOR EFFECTIVE DATE.—If the condi9 tions precedent required under subsection (a) of this section 

10 have not been fulfilled by March 1, 2012, the Settlement 

11 Agreement and this Act shall not thereafter be effective and 

12 shall be null and void, and any funds and the interest ac13 crued thereon appropriated pursuant to section 5 shall re14 vert to the general fund of the United States Treasury. 


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Union Calendar No. 410 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4841 

[Report No. 110

–649] 

A BILL 

To approve, ratify, and confirm the settlement 

other purposes. ment Agreement and related waivers, and for of the Interior to execute and perform the Settlethe Tribe, to authorize and direct the Secretary leged interferences with the water resources of Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians relating to alagreement entered into to resolve claims by the 

MAY 15, 2008 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 


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