I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4841 

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 

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 

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 

5 Luisen ̃o Indians Settlement Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

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

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

4 federally recognized Indian tribe whose Reservation 

5 of approximately 6,000 acres, extending east and 

6 north from the banks of the San Jacinto River in 

7 Riverside County, California, was created by an Ex8 ecutive Order dated June 19, 1883, and enlarged 

9 and modified by subsequent Executive Orders, pur10 chases, and an Act of Congress. 

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

12 quantified, and the Tribe has asserted claims for 

13 interferences with the water resources of its Res14 ervation, which the Tribe maintains have rendered 

15 much of the Tribe’s Reservation useless for habi16 tation, livestock, or Agriculture. On April 20, 2000, 

17 the Tribe filed a lawsuit against The Metropolitan 

18 Water District of Southern California for inter19 ference with the Tribe’s water resources and dam20 ages to its Reservation allegedly caused by 

21 Metropolitan’s construction and operation of the San 

22 Jacinto Tunnel, which is part of the Colorado River 

23 Aqueduct. The lawsuit, styled Soboba Band of 

24 Luisen ̃o Indians v. Metropolitan Water District of 

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


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1 is pending in the United States District Court for 

2 the Central District of California. 

3 (3) The Tribe also has made claims against 

4 Eastern Municipal Water District and Lake Hemet 

5 Municipal Water District, located adjacent to the 

6 Reservation, seeking to secure its water rights and 

7 damages arising from alleged past interference with 

8 the Tribe’s water resources. 

9 (4) After negotiations, which included participa10 tion by representatives of the Tribe, the United 

11 States on behalf of the Tribe, The Metropolitan 

12 Water District of Southern California, Eastern Mu13 nicipal Water District, and Lake Hemet Municipal 

14 Water District, a Settlement Agreement has been 

15 developed to determine the Tribe’s water rights, re16 solve all of its claims for interference with the water 

17 resources of, and damages to, its Reservation, pro18 vide for the construction of water projects to facili19 tate the exercise of the Tribe’s rights, and resolve 

20 the lawsuit referenced in paragraph (2) of this sec21 tion. 

22 (5) The Settlement Agreement provides that— 

23 (A) Eastern Municipal Water District and 

24 Lake Hemet Municipal Water District acknowl25 edge and assure the Tribe’s prior and paraVerDate Aug 31 2005 03:06 Jan 03, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4841.IH H4841

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1 mount right, superior to all others, to pump 

2 9,000 acre-feet of water annually from the San 

3 Jacinto River basin in accordance with the limi4 tations and other conditions set forth in the 

5 Settlement Agreement; 

6 (B) Eastern Municipal Water District and 

7 The Metropolitan Water District of Southern 

8 California will contract to supply water to East9 ern Municipal Water District and Eastern Mu10 nicipal Water District will use this water to re11 charge water supplies into the basin; and 

12 (C) the three water districts will make sub13 stantial additional contributions to the settle14 ment, including the conveyance of certain re15 placement lands and economic development 

16 funds to the Tribe, to carry out the Settlement 

17 Agreement’s provisions. 

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

19 (1) to approve, ratify, and confirm the Settle20 ment Agreement entered into by the Tribe and non21 Indians entities; 

22 (2) to achieve a fair, equitable, and final settle23 ment of all claims of the Soboba Band of Luisen ̃o 

24 Indians, its members, and the United States on beVerDate Aug 31 2005 03:06 Jan 03, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4841.IH H4841

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1 half of the Tribe and its members, to the water of 

2 the San Jacinto River basin; 

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

4 Interior to execute and perform all obligations of the 

5 Secretary under the Settlement Agreement; and 

6 (4) to authorize the actions and appropriations 

7 necessary to meet obligations of the United States 

8 under the Settlement Agreement and this Act. 

9 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

10 In this Act: 

11 (1) RESTORATION FUND.—The term ‘‘Restora12 tion Fund’’ means the San Jacinto Basin Restora13 tion Fund established by section 6. 

14 (2) DEVELOPMENT FUND.—The term ‘‘Devel15 opment Fund’’ means the Soboba Band of Luisen ̃o 

16 Indians Water Development Fund established by 

17 section 7. 

18 (3) RESERVATION.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘Reserva20 tion’’ means the Soboba Indian Reservation cre21 ated by Executive Order dated June 19, 1883, 

22 and enlarged and modified as of the date of en23 actment of this Act by Executive Orders and an 

24 Act of Congress. 


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1 (B) EXCLUSIONS.—For the purposes of 

2 this Act, the term ‘‘Reservation’’ does not in3 clude— 

4 (i) the 950 acres northwest of and 

5 contiguous to the Reservation known as 

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

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

8 placed into trust on January 13, 2003; 

9 (ii) the 535 acres southeast of and 

10 contiguous to the Reservation known as 

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

12 Soboba Tribe in fee in seven separate 

13 transactions in June and December 2001, 

14 December 2004, June 2006, and January 

15 2007; and 

16 (iii) the 478 acres north of and con17 tiguous to the Reservation known as ‘‘The 

18 Oaks’’, purchased by the Soboba Tribe in 

19 fee on April 4, 2004. 

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

21 the Secretary of the Interior or a designee of the 

22 Secretary. 

23 (5) SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT.—The term 

24 ‘‘Settlement Agreement’’ means that agreement 

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


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

2 parties to the Settlement Agreement are the Soboba 

3 Band of Luisen ̃o Indians and its members, the 

4 United States on behalf of the Tribe and its mem5 bers, The Metropolitan Water District of Southern 

6 California, Eastern Municipal Water District, and 

7 Lake Hemet Municipal Water District. 

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

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

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

11 means the body politic and federally recognized In12 dian tribe, and its members. 

13 (7) WATER MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The term 

14 ‘‘Water Management Plan’’ means the plan, ap15 proved by the Soboba Tribe and the Secretary, de16 veloped pursuant to section 4.8, paragraph A of the 

17 Settlement Agreement to resolve the overdraft of the 

18 San Jacinto basin. 

19 SEC. 4. RATIFICATION OF SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT; AU20 THORIZATION. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—The United States hereby ap22 proves, ratifies, and confirms the Settlement Agreement, 

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

24 Act. 


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1 (b) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary is authorized 

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

3 are necessary to implement, the Settlement Agreement 

4 and any amendments approved by the parties necessary 

5 to make the Settlement Agreement consistent with this 

6 Act. 

7 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

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

9 appropriated to the San Jacinto Basin Restoration Fund 

10 established in section 6 of this Act the amount of 

11 $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2009 and 2010 to pay 

12 or reimburse the costs associated with constructing, oper13 ating, and maintaining the portion of the basin recharge 

14 project that the United States is responsible for under the 

15 Settlement Agreement. These costs are described in sec16 tion 4.5 of the Settlement Agreement and are necessary 

17 to accommodate deliveries of the supplemental imported 

18 water under section 4.4 of the Settlement Agreement. 

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

20 be appropriated to the Soboba Band of Luisen ̃o Indians 

21 Water Development Fund established in section 7 of this 

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

23 2009 and 2010 to pay or reimburse costs associated with 

24 constructing, operating, and maintaining water and sewVerDate Aug 31 2005 03:06 Jan 03, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4841.IH H4841

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1 age infrastructure, and other water-related development 

2 projects. 

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

4 operation, maintenance, or replacement other than those 

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

6 the responsibility of the Federal Government under the 

7 Settlement Agreement or this Act. 

8 SEC. 6. RESTORATION FUND. 

9 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There shall be established 

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

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

12 Restoration Fund’’, consisting of the amounts authorized 

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

14 (b) ADMINISTRATION.—The Restoration Fund shall 

15 be administered by the Secretary for the purposes set 

16 forth in subsection (d) of this section. 

17 (c) AVAILABILITY.—The funds authorized to be ap18 propriated pursuant to section 5(a) of this Act shall be 

19 available for expenditure or withdrawal only after the ef20 fective date set forth in section 10(a). 

21 (d) EXPENDITURES AND WITHDRAWALS.— 

22 (1) EXPENDITURE PLAN.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—Eastern Municipal 

24 Water District, on behalf of the Water Manage25 ment Plan, shall submit to the Secretary for apVerDate Aug 31 2005 03:06 Jan 03, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4841.IH H4841

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1 proval an expenditure plan for use of the Res2 toration Fund. 

3 (B) REQUIREMENTS.—The expenditure 

4 plan shall require that any funds be expended 

5 or reimbursed in accordance with the purposes 

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

7 (2) WITHDRAWALS.—On approval by the Sec8 retary of the expenditure plan described in this sec9 tion, Eastern Municipal Water District, on behalf of 

10 the Water Management Plan, may expend or be re11 imbursed monies from the Restoration Fund as pro12 vided in the plan. 

13 (3) ENFORCEMENT.—The Secretary may take 

14 judicial or administrative action to enforce the provi15 sions of any expenditure plan to ensure that monies 

16 expended or reimbursed from the Restoration Fund 

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

18 (4) LIABILITY.—If Eastern Municipal Water 

19 District, on behalf of the Water Management Plan, 

20 exercises the right to expend or be reimbursed mon21 ies from the Restoration Fund, neither the Secretary 

22 nor the Secretary of the Treasury shall have any li23 ability for the expenditure or reimbursement. 

24 (5) ANNUAL REPORT.—Eastern Municipal 

25 Water District shall submit to the Tribe and the 


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1 Secretary an annual report that describes all ex2 penditures or reimbursements from the Restoration 

3 Fund during the year covered by the report. 

4 SEC. 7. DEVELOPMENT FUND. 

5 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There shall be established 

6 within the Treasury of the United States an interest bear7 ing account to be known as the ‘‘Soboba Band of Luisen ̃o 

8 Indians Water Development Fund’’, to be managed and 

9 invested by the Secretary, consisting of the amounts au10 thorized to be appropriated in section 5(b). 

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

12 Development Fund, make investments, and make monies 

13 available for distribution consistent with the American In14 dian Trust Fund Management Reform Act of 1994 (25 

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

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

17 Agreement. 

18 (c) INVESTMENT.—The Secretary shall invest 

19 amounts in the Development Fund in accordance with— 

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

21 41, 25 U.S.C. 161); 

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

23 1938 (52 Stat. 1037, ch. 648, 25 U.S.C. 162a); and 

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


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1 (d) AVAILABILITY.—The funds authorized to be ap2 propriated pursuant to section 5(b) of this Act shall be 

3 available for expenditure or withdrawal only after the ef4 fective date set forth in section 10(a). 

5 (e) EXPENDITURES AND WITHDRAWALS.— 

6 (1) TRIBAL MANAGEMENT PLAN.— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Tribe may with8 draw all or part of the Development Fund on 

9 approval by the Secretary of a tribal manage10 ment plan as described in the Trust Fund Re11 form Act. 

12 (B) REQUIREMENTS.—In addition to the 

13 requirements under the Trust Fund Reform 

14 Act, the tribal management plan shall require 

15 that any funds be expended or reimbursed in 

16 accordance with the purposes described in sec17 tion 5(b) of this Act. 

18 (C) ENFORCEMENT.—The Secretary may 

19 take judicial or administrative action to enforce 

20 the provisions of any tribal management plan to 

21 ensure that monies withdrawn from the Devel22 opment Fund under the plan are used in ac23 cordance with this Act. 

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

25 right to withdraw monies from the Development 


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1 Fund, neither the Secretary nor the Secretary 

2 of the Treasury shall retain any liability for the 

3 expenditure or investment. 

4 (2) EXPENDITURE PLAN.— 

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

6 to the Secretary for approval an expenditure 

7 plan for any portion of the amounts made avail8 able under section 5(b) that the Tribe does not 

9 withdraw under this subsection. 

10 (B) DESCRIPTION.—The expenditure plan 

11 shall describe the manner in which, and the 

12 purposes for which, amounts of the Tribe re13 maining in the Funds will be used. 

14 (C) APPROVAL.—On receipt of an expendi15 ture plan under subparagraph (A), the Sec16 retary shall approve the plan if the Secretary 

17 determines that the plan is reasonable and con18 sistent with this Act and the Agreement. 

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

20 to the Secretary an annual report that describes all 

21 expenditures from the Development Fund during the 

22 year covered by the report. 

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

24 of the Development Fund shall be distributed on a 

25 per capita basis to members of the Tribe. 


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1 SEC. 8. WAIVERS AND RELEASES. 

2 (a) TRIBE AND UNITED STATES AUTHORIZATION.— 

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

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

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

6 as part of the performance of their obligations under the 

7 Settlement Agreement, to execute a waiver and release for 

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

9 Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, East10 ern Municipal Water District, and Lake Hemet Municipal 

11 Water District, for any and all— 

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

13 water and groundwater rights for the Reservation 

14 arising from time immemorial through the effective 

15 date described in section 10 of this Act and anytime 

16 thereafter, except claims to enforce the Settlement 

17 Agreement or claims based on water rights acquired 

18 after the effective date described in section 10 of 

19 this Act; 

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

21 of any kind arising from interference with surface 

22 water and groundwater resources and water rights 

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

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

25 of the Reservation, economic development, religion, 

26 language, social structure and culture, and injury to 


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1 the natural resources of the Reservation, from time 

2 immemorial through the effective date described in 

3 section 10 of this Act; 

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

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

6 continuing interference with surface water and 

7 groundwater resources and water rights of the Res8 ervation, including the full scope of claims defined in 

9 section 5.1, paragraph A(2) of the Settlement Agree10 ment, to the extent that such continuing interference 

11 began prior to the effective date described in section 

12 10 of this Act, from time immemorial through the 

13 effective date described in section 10 of this Act and 

14 anytime thereafter; 

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

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

17 seepage of water into the San Jacinto Tunnel, in18 cluding the full scope of claims defined in section 

19 5.1, paragraph A(2) of the Settlement Agreement, 

20 from time immemorial through the effective date de21 scribed in section 10 of this Act and anytime there22 after; and 

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

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

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1 ance with the Settlement Agreement, from time im2 memorial through the effective date described in sec3 tion 10 of this Act and anytime thereafter. 

4 (b) TRIBAL WAIVERS AGAINST THE UNITED

5 STATES.— 

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

7 part of the performance of its obligations under the 

8 Settlement Agreement, to execute a waiver and re9 lease for claims against the United States (acting in 

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

11 or otherwise acting on behalf of the Tribe or its 

12 members), including any agencies, officials, or em13 ployees thereof, for any and all— 

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

15 this section; 

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

17 failure to acquire or develop water rights and 

18 water resources of the Reservation arising from 

19 time immemorial through the effective date de20 scribed in section 10 of this Act and anytime 

21 thereafter; 

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

23 failure to protect water rights and water re24 sources of the Reservation arising from time 

25 immemorial through the effective date described 


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

2 and future claims for any continuing failure to 

3 protect water rights and water resources of the 

4 Reservation, arising from time immemorial 

5 through the effective date described in section 

6 10 of this Act and, to the extent that such con7 tinuing failure to protect began before the effec8 tive date described in section 10 of this Act, 

9 anytime thereafter; 

10 (D) past, present, and future claims aris11 ing from the failure of any non-Federal Party 

12 to fulfill the terms of the Settlement Agreement 

13 at anytime; and 

14 (E) past, present, and future claims aris15 ing out of the negotiation of the Settlement 

16 Agreement or the negotiation and enactment of 

17 this Act, or any specific terms of provisions 

18 thereof, including, but not limited to, the 

19 Tribe’s consent to limit the number of partici20 pant parties to the Settlement Agreement. 

21 (2) EFFECTIVENESS OF WAIVERS AGAINST THE

22 UNITED STATES.— 

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

24 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 

7 applicable to the claims set forth in para8 graph (1) are tolled for the period between 

9 the date of enactment of this Act until the 

10 date on which the amounts authorized 

11 under sections 5(a) and 5(b) are appro12 priated. 

13 (ii) EFFECT OF SUBPARAGRAPH.— 

14 This subparagraph neither revives any 

15 claim nor tolls any period of limitation or 

16 time-based equitable defense that may have 

17 expired before the date of enactment of 

18 this Act. 

19 (C) DEFENSE.—The making of the 

20 amounts of appropriations authorized under 

21 sections 5(a) and 5(b) shall constitute a com22 plete defense to any claim which involves the 

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

24 any court of the United States on the date on 

25 which the appropriations are made. 


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1 SEC. 9. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS. 

2 (a) JURISDICTION.— 

3 (1) NO EFFECT ON SUBJECT MATTER JURIS4 DICTION.—Nothing in the Agreement or this Act re5 stricts, enlarges, or otherwise determines the subject 

6 matter jurisdiction of any Federal, State, or Tribal 

7 court. 

8 (2) JUDGMENT AND DECREE.—The United 

9 States consents to jurisdiction in the United States 

10 District Court for the Central District of California 

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

12 Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, 

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

14 for a judgment and decree substantially the same as 

15 the judgment and decree attached to the Settlement 

16 Agreement as exhibit H. 

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

18 subsection confers jurisdiction on any State court 

19 to— 

20 (A) enforce Federal environmental laws re21 garding the duties of the United States; or 

22 (B) conduct judicial review of Federal 

23 agency action. 

24 (b) USE OF WATER.— 

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

26 made available under the Settlement Agreement— 


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1 (A) the Tribe may use water made avail2 able to it under the Settlement Agreement for 

3 any use it deems advisable on the Reservation 

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

5 in fee or in trust, contiguous to the Reservation 

6 or within the area of the groundwater basin de7 scribed in section 2.4 of the Settlement Agree8 ment; 

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

10 by the United States in perpetuity, and shall 

11 not be subject to forfeiture or abandonment; 

12 and 

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

14 use of water made available to it under the Set15 tlement Agreement. 

16 (2) NON-TRIBAL USE.— 

17 (A) CONTRACTS AND OPTIONS.—Subject to 

18 the limitations in subparagraph (B), the Tribe 

19 may enter into contracts and options to lease or 

20 contracts and options to exchange water made 

21 available to it under the Settlement Agreement, 

22 or enter into contracts and options to postpone 

23 existing water uses or postpone undertaking 

24 new or expanded water uses. 

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


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1 (i) CONSISTENCY WITH WATER MAN2 AGEMENT PLAN.—Any water made avail3 able under subparagraph (A) shall only be 

4 used by participants in, or other users 

5 within the area of, the Water Management 

6 Plan described in section 2.32 of the Set7 tlement Agreement. 

8 (ii) PROHIBITION ON PERMANENT

9 ALIENATION.—No contract under subpara10 graph (A) shall be for a term exceeding 

11 one hundred years, nor shall any contract 

12 under subparagraph (A) provide for per13 manent alienation of any portion of the 

14 water rights made available under the Set15 tlement Agreement. 

16 (C) LIABILITY.—The Secretary shall not 

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

18 any term of, or any loss or other detriment re19 sulting from, a lease or contract entered into 

20 pursuant to this subparagraph. 

21 (c) RETENTION OF RIGHTS.— 

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

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

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

25 Tribe and the United States shall retain the right to 


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1 assert all rights and claims enumerated in section 8, 

2 and any claims or defenses of the parties to the Set3 tlement Agreement shall also be retained. 

4 (2) The parties expressly reserve all rights not 

5 specifically granted, recognized, waived, or released 

6 by the Settlement Agreement or this Act. 

7 (3) Notwithstanding the waivers and releases 

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

9 all claims relating to violations of the Clean Water 

10 Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Comprehen11 sive Environmental Response, Compensation, and 

12 Liability Act, Resource Conservation and Recovery 

13 Act, and the regulations implementing these Acts, 

14 including, but not limited to claims related to water 

15 quality. 

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

17 any standard for the quantification or litigation of Federal 

18 reserved water rights or any other Indian water claims of 

19 any other Indian tribes in any other judicial or administra20 tive proceeding. 

21 (e) OTHER INDIAN TRIBES.—Nothing in the Settle22 ment Agreement or this Act shall be construed in any way 

23 to quantify or otherwise adversely affect the water rights, 

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

25 or community, other than the Soboba Tribe. 


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1 (f) ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE.— 

2 (1) Signing by the Secretary of the Settlement 

3 Agreement does not constitute major Federal action 

4 under the National Environmental Policy Act of 

5 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). 

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

7 environmental compliance required by Federal law in 

8 implementing the Agreement. 

9 SEC. 10. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—The waivers and releases author11 ized in subsection (a) of section 8 of this Act shall become 

12 effective as of the date the Secretary causes to be pub13 lished in the Federal Register a statement of findings 

14 that— 

15 (1) this Act has been enacted; 

16 (2) to the extent that the Settlement Agreement 

17 conflicts with this Act, the Settlement Agreement 

18 has been revised to conform with the Act; 

19 (3) the Settlement Agreement, revised as nec20 essary, and the waivers and releases described in ar21 ticle 5 of the Settlement Agreement and section 8(a) 

22 of this Act have been executed by the parties and 

23 the Secretary; 


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1 (4) warranty deeds for the property to be con2 veyed to the Tribe described in section 4.6 of the 

3 Settlement Agreement have been placed in escrow; 

4 (5) the Tribe and the Secretary have approved 

5 the Water Management Plan; and 

6 (6) the judgment and decree attached to the 

7 Settlement Agreement as exhibit H or a judgment 

8 and decree substantially the same as exhibit H has 

9 been approved by the United States District Court, 

10 Eastern Division of the Central District of Cali11 fornia, and that judgment and decree has become 

12 final and nonappealable. 

13 (b) DEADLINE FOR EFFECTIVE DATE.—If the condi14 tions precedent required under subsection (a) of this sec15 tion have not been fulfilled by March 1, 2012, the Settle16 ment Agreement and this Act shall not thereafter be effec17 tive and shall be null and void, and any funds and the 

18 interest accrued thereon appropriated pursuant to section 

19 5 shall revert to the general fund of the United States 

20 Treasury. 

Æ 


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