II 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4841 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 22, 2008 

Received 

AN ACT 

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. 


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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 

5 Luisen ̃o 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 

10 of approximately 6,000 acres, extending east and 

11 north from the banks of the San Jacinto River in 

12 Riverside County, California, was created by an Ex13 ecutive Order dated June 19, 1883, and enlarged 

14 and modified by subsequent Executive Orders, pur15 chases, and an Act of Congress. 

16 (2) The Tribe’s water rights have not been 

17 quantified, and the Tribe has asserted claims for 

18 interferences with the water resources of its Res19 ervation, which the Tribe maintains have rendered 

20 much of the Tribe’s Reservation useless for habi21 tation, livestock, or Agriculture. On April 20, 2000, 

22 the Tribe filed a lawsuit against The Metropolitan 

23 Water District of Southern California for inter24 ference with the Tribe’s water resources and dam25 ages to its Reservation allegedly caused by 


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1 Metropolitan’s construction and operation of the San 

2 Jacinto Tunnel, which is part of the Colorado River 

3 Aqueduct. The lawsuit, styled Soboba Band of 

4 Luisen ̃o Indians v. Metropolitan Water District of 

5 Southern California, No. 00–04208 GAF (MANx), 

6 is pending in the United States District Court for 

7 the Central District of California. 

8 (3) The Tribe also has made claims against 

9 Eastern Municipal Water District and Lake Hemet 

10 Municipal Water District, located adjacent to the 

11 Reservation, seeking to secure its water rights and 

12 damages arising from alleged past interference with 

13 the Tribe’s water resources. 

14 (4) After negotiations, which included participa15 tion by representatives of the Tribe, the United 

16 States on behalf of the Tribe, The Metropolitan 

17 Water District of Southern California, Eastern Mu18 nicipal Water District, and Lake Hemet Municipal 

19 Water District, a Settlement Agreement has been 

20 developed to determine the Tribe’s water rights, re21 solve all of its claims for interference with the water 

22 resources of, and damages to, its Reservation, pro23 vide for the construction of water projects to facili24 tate the exercise of the Tribe’s rights, and resolve 


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1 the lawsuit referenced in paragraph (2) of this sec2 tion. 

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 para7 mount right, superior to all others, to pump 

8 9,000 acre-feet of water annually from the San 

9 Jacinto River basin in accordance with the limi10 tations and other conditions set forth in the 

11 Settlement 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 

6 Indians, its members, and the United States on be7 half of the Tribe and its members, to the water of 

8 the San 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 Restora19 tion Fund established by section 6. 

20 (2) DEVELOPMENT FUND.—The term ‘‘Devel21 opment Fund’’ means the Soboba Band of Luisen ̃o 

22 Indians Water Development Fund established by 

23 section 7. 

24 (3) RESERVATION.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘Reserva2 tion’’ means the Soboba Indian Reservation cre3 ated by Executive Order dated June 19, 1883, 

4 and enlarged and modified as of the date of en5 actment of this Act by Executive Orders and an 

6 Act of Congress. 

7 (B) EXCLUSIONS.—For the purposes of 

8 this Act, the term ‘‘Reservation’’ does not in9 clude— 

10 (i) the 950 acres northwest of and 

11 contiguous to the Reservation known as 

12 the ‘‘Jones Ranch’’, purchased by the 

13 Soboba Tribe in fee on July 21, 2001, and 

14 placed into trust on January 13, 2003; 

15 (ii) the 535 acres southeast of and 

16 contiguous to the Reservation known as 

17 the ‘‘Horseshoe Grande’’, purchased by the 

18 Soboba Tribe in fee in seven separate 

19 transactions in June and December 2001, 

20 December 2004, June 2006, and January 

21 2007; and 

22 (iii) the 478 acres north of and con23 tiguous to the Reservation known as ‘‘The 

24 Oaks’’, purchased by the Soboba Tribe in 

25 fee 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 

3 Secretary. 

4 (5) SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT.—The term 

5 ‘‘Settlement Agreement’’ means that agreement 

6 dated June 7, 2006, as amended to be consistent 

7 with this Act, together with all exhibits thereto. The 

8 parties to the Settlement Agreement are the Soboba 

9 Band of Luisen ̃o Indians and its members, the 

10 United States on behalf of the Tribe and its mem11 bers, The Metropolitan Water District of Southern 

12 California, Eastern Municipal Water District, and 

13 Lake Hemet Municipal Water District. 

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

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

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

17 means the body politic and federally recognized In18 dian tribe, and its members. 

19 (7) WATER MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The term 

20 ‘‘Water Management Plan’’ means the plan, ap21 proved by the Soboba Tribe and the Secretary, de22 veloped pursuant to section 4.8, paragraph A of the 

23 Settlement Agreement to resolve the overdraft of the 

24 San Jacinto basin. 


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

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The United States hereby ap4 proves, ratifies, and confirms the Settlement Agreement, 

5 except to the extent it conflicts with the provisions of this 

6 Act. 

7 (b) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary is authorized 

8 and directed to execute, and take such other actions as 

9 are necessary to implement, the Settlement Agreement 

10 and any amendments approved by the parties necessary 

11 to make the Settlement Agreement consistent with this 

12 Act. 

13 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

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

15 appropriated to the San Jacinto Basin Restoration Fund 

16 established in section 6 of this Act the amount of 

17 $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2010 and 2011 to pay 

18 or reimburse the costs associated with constructing, oper19 ating, and maintaining the portion of the basin recharge 

20 project that the United States is responsible for under the 

21 Settlement Agreement. These costs are described in sec22 tion 4.5 of the Settlement Agreement and are necessary 

23 to accommodate deliveries of the supplemental imported 

24 water under section 4.4 of the Settlement Agreement. 

25 (b) DEVELOPMENT FUND.—There is authorized to 

26 be appropriated to the Soboba Band of Luisen ̃o Indians 


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1 Water Development Fund established in section 7 of this 

2 Act the amount of $5,500,000 for each of fiscal years 

3 2010 and 2011 to pay or reimburse costs associated with 

4 constructing, operating, and maintaining water and sew5 age infrastructure, and other water-related development 

6 projects. 

7 (c) LIMITATION.—No funding of any construction, 

8 operation, maintenance, or replacement other than those 

9 funds authorized under subsections (a) and (b) shall be 

10 the responsibility of the Federal Government under the 

11 Settlement Agreement or this Act. 

12 SEC. 6. RESTORATION FUND. 

13 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There shall be established 

14 within the Treasury of the United States a non-interest 

15 bearing account to be known as the ‘‘San Jacinto Basin 

16 Restoration Fund’’, consisting of the amounts authorized 

17 to be appropriated in section 5(a) of this Act. 

18 (b) ADMINISTRATION.—The Restoration Fund shall 

19 be administered by the Secretary for the purposes set 

20 forth in subsection (d) of this section. 

21 (c) AVAILABILITY.—The funds authorized to be ap22 propriated pursuant to section 5(a) of this Act shall be 

23 available for expenditure or withdrawal only after the ef24 fective date set forth in section 10(a). 

25 (d) EXPENDITURES AND WITHDRAWALS.— 


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1 (1) EXPENDITURE PLAN.— 

2 (A) IN GENERAL.—Eastern Municipal 

3 Water District, on behalf of the Water Manage4 ment Plan, shall submit to the Secretary for ap5 proval an expenditure plan for use of the Res6 toration Fund. 

7 (B) REQUIREMENTS.—The expenditure 

8 plan shall require that any funds be expended 

9 or reimbursed in accordance with the purposes 

10 described in section 5(a) of this Act. 

11 (2) WITHDRAWALS.—On approval by the Sec12 retary of the expenditure plan described in this sec13 tion, Eastern Municipal Water District, on behalf of 

14 the Water Management Plan, may expend or be re15 imbursed monies from the Restoration Fund as pro16 vided in the plan. 

17 (3) ENFORCEMENT.—The Secretary may take 

18 judicial or administrative action to enforce the provi19 sions of any expenditure plan to ensure that monies 

20 expended or reimbursed from the Restoration Fund 

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

22 (4) LIABILITY.—If Eastern Municipal Water 

23 District, on behalf of the Water Management Plan, 

24 exercises the right to expend or be reimbursed mon25 ies from the Restoration Fund, neither the Secretary 


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1 nor the Secretary of the Treasury shall have any li2 ability for the expenditure or reimbursement. 

3 (5) ANNUAL REPORT.—Eastern Municipal 

4 Water District shall submit to the Tribe and the 

5 Secretary an annual report that describes all ex6 penditures or reimbursements from the Restoration 

7 Fund during the year covered by the report. 

8 SEC. 7. DEVELOPMENT FUND. 

9 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There shall be established 

10 within the Treasury of the United States a fund to be 

11 known as the ‘‘Soboba Band of Luisen ̃o Indians Water 

12 Development Fund’’, to be managed and invested by the 

13 Secretary consisting of the amounts authorized to be ap14 propriated in section 5(b). 

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

16 Development Fund, make investments, and make monies 

17 available for distribution consistent with the American In18 dian Trust Fund Management Reform Act of 1994 (25 

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

20 ‘‘Trust Fund Reform Act’’), this Act, and the Settlement 

21 Agreement. 

22 (c) INVESTMENT.—The Secretary shall invest 

23 amounts in the Development Fund in accordance with— 

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

25 41, 25 U.S.C. 161); 


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

2 1938 (52 Stat. 1037, ch. 648, 25 U.S.C. 162a); and 

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

4 (d) AVAILABILITY.—The funds authorized to be ap5 propriated pursuant to section 5(b) of this Act shall be 

6 available for expenditure or withdrawal only after the ef7 fective date set forth in section 10(a). 

8 (e) EXPENDITURES AND WITHDRAWALS.— 

9 (1) TRIBAL MANAGEMENT PLAN.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Tribe may with11 draw all or part of the Development Fund on 

12 approval by the Secretary of a tribal manage13 ment plan as described in the Trust Fund Re14 form Act. 

15 (B) REQUIREMENTS.—In addition to the 

16 requirements under the Trust Fund Reform 

17 Act, the tribal management plan shall require 

18 that any funds be expended or reimbursed in 

19 accordance with the purposes described in sec20 tion 5(b) of this Act. 

21 (C) ENFORCEMENT.—The Secretary may 

22 take judicial or administrative action to enforce 

23 the provisions of any tribal management plan to 

24 ensure that monies withdrawn from the DevelVerDate Aug 31 2005 01:55 Jul 24, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4841.RDS H4841

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1 opment Fund under the plan are used in ac2 cordance with this Act. 

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

4 right to withdraw monies from the Development 

5 Fund, neither the Secretary nor the Secretary 

6 of the Treasury shall retain any liability for the 

7 expenditure or investment. 

8 (2) EXPENDITURE PLAN.— 

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

10 to the Secretary for approval an expenditure 

11 plan for any portion of the amounts made avail12 able under section 5(b) that the Tribe does not 

13 withdraw under this subsection. 

14 (B) DESCRIPTION.—The expenditure plan 

15 shall describe the manner in which, and the 

16 purposes for which, amounts of the Tribe re17 maining in the Funds will be used. 

18 (C) APPROVAL.—On receipt of an expendi19 ture plan under subparagraph (A), the Sec20 retary shall approve the plan if the Secretary 

21 determines that the plan is reasonable and con22 sistent with this Act and the Agreement. 

23 (3) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Tribe shall submit 

24 to the Secretary an annual report that describes all 


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1 expenditures from the Development Fund during the 

2 year covered by the report. 

3 (4) NO PER CAPITA DISTRIBUTIONS.—No part 

4 of the Development Fund shall be distributed on a 

5 per capita basis to members of the Tribe. 

6 SEC. 8. WAIVERS AND RELEASES. 

7 (a) TRIBE AND UNITED STATES AUTHORIZATION.— 

8 The Tribe, on behalf of itself and its members, and the 

9 Secretary, on behalf of the United States in its capacity 

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

11 as part of the performance of their obligations under the 

12 Settlement Agreement, to execute a waiver and release for 

13 claims under Federal, State, or other law against The 

14 Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, East15 ern Municipal Water District, and Lake Hemet Municipal 

16 Water District, for any and all— 

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

18 water and groundwater rights for the Reservation 

19 arising from time immemorial through the effective 

20 date described in section 10 of this Act and anytime 

21 thereafter, except claims to enforce the Settlement 

22 Agreement or claims based on water rights acquired 

23 after the effective date described in section 10 of 

24 this Act; 


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1 (2) past, present, and future claims for injury 

2 of any kind arising from interference with surface 

3 water and groundwater resources and water rights 

4 of the Reservation, including, but not limited to, all 

5 claims for injury to the Tribe’s use and enjoyment 

6 of the Reservation, economic development, religion, 

7 language, social structure and culture, and injury to 

8 the natural resources of the Reservation, from time 

9 immemorial through the effective date described in 

10 section 10 of this Act; 

11 (3) past, present, and future claims for injury 

12 of any kind arising from, or in any way related to, 

13 continuing interference with surface water and 

14 groundwater resources and water rights of the Res15 ervation, including the full scope of claims defined in 

16 section 5.1, paragraph A(2) of the Settlement Agree17 ment, to the extent that such continuing interference 

18 began prior to the effective date described in section 

19 10 of this Act, from time immemorial through the 

20 effective date described in section 10 of this Act and 

21 anytime thereafter; 

22 (4) past, present, and future claims for injury 

23 of any kind arising from, or in any way related to, 

24 seepage of water into the San Jacinto Tunnel, in25 cluding the full scope of claims defined in section 


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1 5.1, paragraph A(2) of the Settlement Agreement, 

2 from time immemorial through the effective date de3 scribed in section 10 of this Act and anytime there4 after; and 

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

6 of any kind arising from, or in any way related to, 

7 the Water Management Plan as approved in accord8 ance with the Settlement Agreement, from time im9 memorial through the effective date described in sec10 tion 10 of this Act and anytime thereafter. 

11 (b) TRIBAL WAIVERS AGAINST THE UNITED

12 STATES.— 

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

14 part of the performance of its obligations under the 

15 Settlement Agreement, to execute a waiver and re16 lease for claims against the United States (acting in 

17 its capacity as trustee for the Tribe or its members, 

18 or otherwise acting on behalf of the Tribe or its 

19 members), including any agencies, officials, or em20 ployees thereof, for any and all— 

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

22 this section; 

23 (B) past, present, and future claims for 

24 failure to acquire or develop water rights and 

25 water resources of the Reservation arising from 


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1 time immemorial through the effective date de2 scribed in section 10 of this Act and anytime 

3 thereafter; 

4 (C) past, present, and future claims for 

5 failure to protect water rights and water re6 sources of the Reservation arising from time 

7 immemorial through the effective date described 

8 in section 10 of this Act, and any past, present, 

9 and future claims for any continuing failure to 

10 protect water rights and water resources of the 

11 Reservation, arising from time immemorial 

12 through the effective date described in section 

13 10 of this Act and, to the extent that such con14 tinuing failure to protect began before the effec15 tive date described in section 10 of this Act, 

16 anytime thereafter; 

17 (D) past, present, and future claims aris18 ing from the failure of any non-Federal Party 

19 to fulfill the terms of the Settlement Agreement 

20 at anytime; and 

21 (E) past, present, and future claims aris22 ing out of the negotiation of the Settlement 

23 Agreement or the negotiation and enactment of 

24 this Act, or any specific terms of provisions 

25 thereof, including, but not limited to, the 


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1 Tribe’s consent to limit the number of partici2 pant parties to the Settlement Agreement. 

3 (2) EFFECTIVENESS OF WAIVERS AGAINST THE

4 UNITED STATES.— 

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

6 contained in this subsection shall take effect on 

7 the date on which all of the amounts authorized 

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

9 (B) PERIODS OF LIMITATION; EQUITABLE

10 CLAIMS.— 

11 (i) IN GENERAL.—All periods of limi12 tation and time-based equitable defenses 

13 applicable to the claims set forth in para14 graph (1) are tolled for the period between 

15 the date of enactment of this Act until the 

16 date on which the amounts authorized 

17 under sections 5(a) and 5(b) are appro18 priated. 

19 (ii) EFFECT OF SUBPARAGRAPH.— 

20 This subparagraph neither revives any 

21 claim nor tolls any period of limitation or 

22 time-based equitable defense that may have 

23 expired before the date of enactment of 

24 this Act. 


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1 (C) DEFENSE.—The making of the 

2 amounts of appropriations authorized under 

3 sections 5(a) and 5(b) shall constitute a com4 plete defense to any claim which involves the 

5 claims set forth in paragraph (b)(1) pending in 

6 any court of the United States on the date on 

7 which the appropriations are made. 

8 SEC. 9. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS. 

9 (a) JURISDICTION.— 

10 (1) NO EFFECT ON SUBJECT MATTER JURIS11 DICTION.—Nothing in the Agreement or this Act re12 stricts, enlarges, or otherwise determines the subject 

13 matter jurisdiction of any Federal, State, or Tribal 

14 court. 

15 (2) JUDGMENT AND DECREE.—The United 

16 States consents to jurisdiction in the United States 

17 District Court for the Central District of California 

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

19 Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, 

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

21 for a judgment and decree substantially the same as 

22 the judgment and decree attached to the Settlement 

23 Agreement as exhibit H. 


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

2 subsection confers jurisdiction on any State court 

3 to— 

4 (A) enforce Federal environmental laws re5 garding the duties of the United States; or 

6 (B) conduct judicial review of Federal 

7 agency action. 

8 (b) USE OF WATER.— 

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

10 made available under the Settlement Agreement— 

11 (A) the Tribe may use water made avail12 able to it under the Settlement Agreement for 

13 any use it deems advisable on the Reservation 

14 and on any other lands it owns or may acquire, 

15 in fee or in trust, contiguous to the Reservation 

16 or within the area of the groundwater basin de17 scribed in section 2.4 of the Settlement Agree18 ment; 

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

20 by the United States in perpetuity, and shall 

21 not be subject to forfeiture or abandonment; 

22 and 

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

24 use of water made available to it under the Set25 tlement Agreement. 


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1 (2) NON-TRIBAL USE.— 

2 (A) CONTRACTS AND OPTIONS.—Subject to 

3 the limitations in subparagraph (B), the Tribe 

4 may enter into contracts and options to lease or 

5 contracts and options to exchange water made 

6 available to it under the Settlement Agreement, 

7 or enter into contracts and options to postpone 

8 existing water uses or postpone undertaking 

9 new or expanded water uses. 

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

11 (i) CONSISTENCY WITH WATER MAN12 AGEMENT PLAN.—Any water made avail13 able under subparagraph (A) shall only be 

14 used by participants in, or other users 

15 within the area of, the Water Management 

16 Plan described in section 2.32 of the Set17 tlement Agreement. 

18 (ii) PROHIBITION ON PERMANENT

19 ALIENATION.—No contract under subpara20 graph (A) shall be for a term exceeding 

21 one hundred years, nor shall any contract 

22 under subparagraph (A) provide for per23 manent alienation of any portion of the 

24 water rights made available under the Set25 tlement Agreement. 


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1 (C) LIABILITY.—The Secretary shall not 

2 be liable to any party, including the Tribe, for 

3 any term of, or any loss or other detriment re4 sulting from, a lease or contract entered into 

5 pursuant to this subparagraph. 

6 (c) RETENTION OF RIGHTS.— 

7 (1) In the event the waivers and releases set 

8 out in section 8 of this Act do not become effective 

9 pursuant to section 10(a) of this Act, the Soboba 

10 Tribe and the United States shall retain the right to 

11 assert all rights and claims enumerated in section 8, 

12 and any claims or defenses of the parties to the Set13 tlement Agreement shall also be retained. 

14 (2) The parties expressly reserve all rights not 

15 specifically granted, recognized, waived, or released 

16 by the Settlement Agreement or this Act. 

17 (3) Notwithstanding the waivers and releases 

18 set forth in section 8(a), the United States retains 

19 all claims relating to violations of the Clean Water 

20 Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Comprehen21 sive Environmental Response, Compensation, and 

22 Liability Act, Resource Conservation and Recovery 

23 Act, and the regulations implementing these Acts, 

24 including, but not limited to claims related to water 

25 quality. 


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1 (d) PRECEDENT.—Nothing in this Act establishes 

2 any standard for the quantification or litigation of Federal 

3 reserved water rights or any other Indian water claims of 

4 any other Indian tribes in any other judicial or administra5 tive proceeding. 

6 (e) OTHER INDIAN TRIBES.—Nothing in the Settle7 ment Agreement or this Act shall be construed in any way 

8 to quantify or otherwise adversely affect the water rights, 

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

10 or community, other than the Soboba Tribe. 

11 (f) ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE.— 

12 (1) Signing by the Secretary of the Settlement 

13 Agreement does not constitute major Federal action 

14 under the National Environmental Policy Act of 

15 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). 

16 (2) The Secretary is directed to carry out all 

17 environmental compliance required by Federal law in 

18 implementing the Agreement. 

19 SEC. 10. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—The waivers and releases author21 ized in subsection (a) of section 8 of this Act shall become 

22 effective as of the date the Secretary causes to be pub23 lished in the Federal Register a statement of findings 

24 that— 

25 (1) this Act has been enacted; 


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1 (2) to the extent that the Settlement Agreement 

2 conflicts with this Act, the Settlement Agreement 

3 has been revised to conform with the Act; 

4 (3) the Settlement Agreement, revised as nec5 essary, and the waivers and releases described in ar6 ticle 5 of the Settlement Agreement and section 8(a) 

7 of this Act have been executed by the parties and 

8 the Secretary; 

9 (4) warranty deeds for the property to be con10 veyed to the Tribe described in section 4.6 of the 

11 Settlement Agreement have been placed in escrow; 

12 (5) the Tribe and the Secretary have approved 

13 the Water Management Plan; and 

14 (6) the judgment and decree attached to the 

15 Settlement Agreement as exhibit H or a judgment 

16 and decree substantially the same as exhibit H has 

17 been approved by the United States District Court, 

18 Eastern Division of the Central District of Cali19 fornia, and that judgment and decree has become 

20 final and nonappealable. 

21 (b) DEADLINE FOR EFFECTIVE DATE.—If the condi22 tions precedent required under subsection (a) of this sec23 tion have not been fulfilled by March 1, 2012, the Settle24 ment Agreement and this Act shall not thereafter be effec25 tive and shall be null and void, and any funds and the 


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1 interest accrued thereon appropriated pursuant to section 

2 5 shall revert to the general fund of the United States 

3 Treasury. 

Passed the House of Representatives May 21, 2008. 

Attest: LORRAINE C. MILLER, 

Clerk. 


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