IIB
106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 4643
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
SEPTEMBER 19, 2000
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs
AN ACT
To provide for the settlement of issues and claims related
to the trust lands of the Torres-Martinez Desert Cahuilla
Indians, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Torres-Martinez
Desert Cahuilla Indians Claims Settlement Act’’.
SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following:
(1) In 1876, the Torres-Martinez Indian Res-
ervation was created, reserving a single, 640-acre
section of land in the Coachella Valley, California,
north of the Salton Sink. The Reservation was ex-
panded in 1891 by Executive Order, pursuant to the
Mission Indian Relief Act of 1891, adding about
12,000 acres to the original 640-acre reservation.
(2) Between 1905 and 1907, flood waters of the
Colorado River filled the Salton Sink, creating the
Salton Sea, inundating approximately 2,000 acres of
the 1891 reservation lands.
(3) In 1909, an additional 12,000 acres of land,
9,000 of which were then submerged under the
Salton Sea, were added to the reservation under a
Secretarial Order issued pursuant to a 1907 amend-
ment of the Mission Indian Relief Act. Due to reced-
ing water levels in the Salton Sea through the proc-
ess of evaporation, at the time of the 1909 enlarge-
ment of the reservation, there were some expecta-
tions that the Salton Sea would recede within a pe-
riod of 25 years.
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(4) Through the present day, the majority of
the lands added to the reservation in 1909 remain
inundated due in part to the flowage of natural run-
off and drainage water from the irrigation systems
of the Imperial, Coachella, and Mexicali Valleys into
the Salton Sea.
(5) In addition to those lands that are inun-
dated, there are also tribal and individual Indian
lands located on the perimeter of the Salton Sea
that are not currently irrigable due to lack of proper
drainage.
(6) In 1982, the United States brought an ac-
tion in trespass entitled ‘‘United States of America,
in its own right and on behalf of Torres-Martinez
Band of Mission Indians and the Allottees therein v.
the Imperial Irrigation District and Coachella Valley
Water District’’, Case No. 82–1790 K (M) (here-
after in this section referred to as the ‘‘U.S. Suit’’)
on behalf of the Torres-Martinez Indian Tribe and
affected Indian allottees against the two water dis-
tricts seeking damages related to the inundation of
tribal- and allottee-owned lands and injunctive relief
to prevent future discharge of water on such lands.
(7) On August 20, 1992, the Federal District
Court for the Southern District of California entered
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the two water districts, and amended the complaint
to include as a plaintiff, Mary Resvaloso, in her own
right, and as class representative of all other af-
fected Indian allotment owners.
(11) The Indian Suit has been stayed by the
district court to facilitate settlement negotiations.
(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to facili-
tate and implement the settlement agreement negotiated
and executed by the parties to the U.S. Suit and Indian
Suit for the purpose of resolving their conflicting claims
to their mutual satisfaction and in the public interest.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
For the purposes of this Act:
(1) TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Tribe’’ means the
Torres-Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians, a federally
recognized Indian tribe with a reservation located in
Riverside and Imperial Counties, California.
(2) ALLOTTEES.—The term ‘‘allottees’’ means
those individual Tribe members, their successors,
heirs, and assigns, who have individual ownership of
allotted Indian trust lands within the Torres-Mar-
tinez Indian Reservation.
(3) SALTON
SEA.—The term ‘‘Salton Sea’’
means the inland body of water located in Riverside
and Imperial Counties which serves as a drainage
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reservoir for water from precipitation, natural run-
off, irrigation return flows, wastewater, floods, and
other inflow from within its watershed area.
(4) 
SETTLEMENT
AGREEMENT.—The 
term
‘‘Settlement Agreement’’ means the Agreement of
Compromise and Settlement Concerning Claims to
the Lands of the United States Within and on the
Perimeter of the Salton Sea Drainage Reservoir
Held in Trust for the Torres-Martinez Indians exe-
cuted on June 18, 1996, as modified by the first,
second, third, and fourth modifications thereto.
(5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means
the Secretary of the Interior.
(6) PERMANENT
FLOWAGE
EASEMENT.—The
term ‘‘permanent flowage easement’’ means the per-
petual right by the water districts to use the de-
scribed lands in the Salton Sink within and below
the minus 220-foot contour as a drainage reservoir
to receive and store water from their respective
water and drainage systems, including flood water,
return flows from irrigation, tail water, leach water,
operational spills, and any other water which over-
flows and floods such lands, originating from lands
within such water districts.
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SEC. 4. RATIFICATION OF SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT.
The United States hereby approves, ratifies, and con-
firms the Settlement Agreement.
SEC. 5. SETTLEMENT FUNDS.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF TRIBAL AND ALLOTTEES
SETTLEMENT TRUST FUNDS ACCOUNTS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—There are established in the
Treasury of the United States three settlement trust
fund accounts to be known as the ‘‘Torres-Martinez
Settlement Trust Funds Account’’, the ‘‘Torres-Mar-
tinez Allottees Settlement Account I’’, and the
‘‘Torres-Martinez Allottees Settlement Account II’’,
respectively.
(2) 
AVAILABILITY.—Amounts 
held 
in 
the
Torres-Martinez Settlement Trust Funds Account,
the Torres-Martinez Allottees Settlement Account I,
and the Torres-Martinez Allottees Settlement Ac-
count II shall be available to the Secretary for dis-
tribution to the Tribe and affected allottees in ac-
cordance with subsection (c).
(b) CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE SETTLEMENT TRUST
FUNDS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Amounts paid to the Sec-
retary for deposit into the trust fund accounts estab-
lished by subsection (a) shall be allocated among
and deposited in the trust accounts in the amounts
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determined by the tribal-allottee allocation provisions
of the Settlement Agreement.
(2) CASH PAYMENTS BY COACHELLA VALLEY
WATER DISTRICT.—Within the time, in the manner,
and upon the conditions specified in the Settlement
Agreement, the Coachella Valley Water District shall
pay the sum of $337,908.41 to the United States for
the benefit of the Tribe and any affected allottees.
(3) CASH PAYMENTS BY IMPERIAL IRRIGATION
DISTRICT.—Within the time, in the manner, and
upon the conditions specified in the Settlement
Agreement, the Imperial Irrigation District shall pay
the sum of $3,670,694.33 to the United States for
the benefit of the Tribe and any affected allottees.
(4) 
CASH
PAYMENTS
BY
THE
UNITED
STATES.—Within the time and upon the conditions
specified in the Settlement Agreement, the United
States shall pay into the three separate tribal and
allottee trust fund accounts the total sum of
$10,200,000, of which sum—
(A) $4,200,000 shall be provided from
moneys appropriated by Congress under section
1304 of title 31, United States Code, the condi-
tions of which are deemed to have been met, in-
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cluding those of section 2414 of title 28, United
States Code; and
(B) $6,000,000 shall be provided from
moneys appropriated by Congress for this spe-
cific purpose to the Secretary.
(5) ADDITIONAL PAYMENTS.—In the event that
any of the sums described in paragraph (2) or (3)
are not timely paid by the Coachella Valley Water
District or the Imperial Irrigation District, as the
case may be, the delinquent payor shall pay an addi-
tional sum equal to 10 percent interest annually on
the amount outstanding daily, compounded yearly on
December 31 of each respective year, until all out-
standing amounts due have been paid in full.
(6) SEVERALLY LIABLE FOR PAYMENTS.—The
Coachella Valley Water District, the Imperial Irriga-
tion District, and the United States shall each be
severally liable, but not jointly liable, for its respec-
tive obligation to make the payments specified by
this subsection.
(c) ADMINISTRATION
OF
SETTLEMENT
TRUST
FUNDS.—The Secretary shall administer and distribute
funds held in the Torres-Martinez Settlement Trust
Funds Account, the Torres-Martinez Allottees Settlement
Account I, and the Torres-Martinez Allottees Settlement
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Account II in accordance with the terms and conditions
of the Settlement Agreement.
SEC. 6. TRUST LAND ACQUISITION AND STATUS.
(a) ACQUISITION AND PLACEMENT OF LANDS INTO
TRUST.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall convey
into trust status lands purchased or otherwise ac-
quired by the Tribe within the areas described in
paragraphs (2) and (3) in an amount not to exceed
11,800 acres in accordance with the terms, condi-
tions, criteria, and procedures set forth in the Settle-
ment Agreement and this Act. Subject to such
terms, conditions, criteria, and procedures, all lands
purchased or otherwise acquired by the Tribe and
conveyed into trust status for the benefit of the
Tribe pursuant to the Settlement Agreement and
this Act shall be considered as if such lands were so
acquired in trust status in 1909 except as (i) to
water rights as provided in subsection (c), and (ii)
to valid rights existing at the time of acquisition
pursuant to this Act.
(2) PRIMARY ACQUISITION AREA.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—The primary area with-
in which lands may be acquired pursuant to
paragraph (1) consists of the lands located in
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the Primary Acquisition Area, as defined in the
Settlement Agreement. The amount of acreage
that may be acquired from such area is 11,800
acres less the number of acres acquired and
conveyed into trust under paragraph (3).
(B) EFFECT
OF
OBJECTION.—Lands re-
ferred to in subparagraph (A) may not be ac-
quired pursuant to paragraph (1) if by majority
vote the governing body of the city within whose
incorporated boundaries (as such boundaries
exist on the date of the Settlement Agreement)
the subject lands are situated within formally
objects to the Tribe’s request to convey the sub-
ject lands into trust and notifies the Secretary
of such objection in writing within 60 days of
receiving a copy of the Tribe’s request in ac-
cordance with the Settlement Agreement. Upon
receipt of such a notification, the Secretary
shall deny the acquisition request.
(3) SECONDARY ACQUISITION AREA.—
(A) IN
GENERAL.—Not more than 640
acres of land may be acquired pursuant to
paragraph (1) from those certain lands located
in the Secondary Acquisition Area, as defined
in the Settlement Agreement.
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(B) EFFECT
OF
OBJECTION.—Lands re-
ferred to in subparagraph (A) may not be ac-
quired pursuant to paragraph (1) if by majority
vote—
(i) the governing body of the city
within whose incorporated boundaries (as
such boundaries exist on the date of the
Settlement Agreement) the subject lands
are situated within; or
(ii) the governing body of Riverside
County, California, in the event that such
lands are located within an unincorporated
area,
formally objects to the Tribe’s request to convey
the subject lands into trust and notifies the
Secretary of such objection in writing within 60
days of receiving a copy of the Tribe’s request
in accordance with the Settlement Agreement.
Upon receipt of such a notification, the Sec-
retary shall deny the acquisition request.
(4) CONTIGUOUS LANDS.—The Secretary shall
not take any lands into trust for the Tribe under
generally applicable Federal statutes or regulations
where such lands are both—
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(A) contiguous to any lands within the
Secondary Acquisition Area that are taken into
trust pursuant to the terms of the Settlement
Agreement and this Act; and
(B) situated outside the Secondary Acqui-
sition Area.
(b) RESTRICTIONS ON GAMING.—The Tribe may con-
duct gaming on only one site within the lands acquired
pursuant to subsection 6(a)(1) as more particularly pro-
vided in the Settlement Agreement.
(c) WATER RIGHTS.—All lands acquired by the Tribe
under subsection (a) shall—
(1) be subject to all valid water rights existing
at the time of tribal acquisition, including (but not
limited to) all rights under any permit or license
issued under the laws of the State of California to
commence an appropriation of water, to appropriate
water, or to increase the amount of water appro-
priated;
(2) be subject to the paramount rights of any
person who at any time recharges or stores water in
a ground water basin to recapture or recover the re-
charged or stored water or to authorize others to re-
capture or recover the recharged or stored water;
and
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(3) continue to enjoy all valid water rights ap-
purtenant to the land existing immediately prior to
the time of tribal acquisition.
SEC. 7. PERMANENT FLOWAGE EASEMENTS.
(a) CONVEYANCE
OF EASEMENT
TO COACHELLA
VALLEY WATER DISTRICT.—
(1) TRIBAL INTEREST.—The United States, in
its capacity as trustee for the Tribe, as well as for
any affected Indian allotment owners, and their suc-
cessors and assigns, and the Tribe in its own right
and that of its successors and assigns, shall convey
to the Coachella Valley Water District a permanent
flowage easement as to all Indian trust lands (ap-
proximately 11,800 acres) located within and below
the minus 220-foot contour of the Salton Sink, in
accordance with the terms and conditions of the Set-
tlement Agreement.
(2) UNITED
STATES
INTEREST.—The United
States, in its own right shall, notwithstanding any
prior or present reservation or withdrawal of land of
any kind, convey to the Coachella Valley Water Dis-
trict a permanent flowage easement as to all Federal
lands (approximately 110,000 acres) located within
and below the minus 220-foot contour of the Salton
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Sink, in accordance with the terms and conditions of
the Settlement Agreement.
(b) CONVEYANCE OF EASEMENT TO IMPERIAL IRRI-
GATION DISTRICT.—
(1) TRIBAL INTEREST.—The United States, in
its capacity as trustee for the Tribe, as well as for
any affected Indian allotment owners, and their suc-
cessors and assigns, and the Tribe in its own right
and that of its successors and assigns, shall grant
and convey to the Imperial Irrigation District a per-
manent flowage easement as to all Indian trust
lands (approximately 11,800 acres) located within
and below the minus 220-foot contour of the Salton
Sink, in accordance with the terms and conditions of
the Settlement Agreement.
(2) UNITED STATES.—The United States, in its
own right shall, notwithstanding any prior or
present reservation or withdrawal of land of any
kind, grant and convey to the Imperial Irrigation
District a permanent flowage easement as to all
Federal lands (approximately 110,000 acres) located
within and below the minus 220-foot contour of the
Salton Sink, in accordance with the terms and con-
ditions of the Settlement Agreement.
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SEC. 
8. 
SATISFACTION 
OF 
CLAIMS, 
WAIVERS, 
AND
RELEASES.
(a) SATISFACTION OF CLAIMS.—The benefits avail-
able to the Tribe and the allottees under the terms and
conditions of the Settlement Agreement and the provisions
of this Act shall constitute full and complete satisfaction
of the claims by the Tribe and the allottees arising from
or related to the inundation and lack of drainage of tribal
and allottee lands described in section 2 of this Act and
further defined in the Settlement Agreement.
(b) APPROVAL OF WAIVERS AND RELEASES.—The
United States hereby approves and confirms the releases
and waivers required by the Settlement Agreement and
this Act.
SEC. 9. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS.
(a) ELIGIBILITY FOR BENEFITS.—Nothing in this
Act or the Settlement Agreement shall affect the eligibility
of the Tribe or its members for any Federal program or
diminish the trust responsibility of the United States to
the Tribe and its members.
(b) ELIGIBILITY FOR OTHER SERVICES NOT AF-
FECTED.—No payment pursuant to this Act shall result
in the reduction or denial of any Federal services or pro-
grams to the Tribe or to members of the Tribe, to which
they are entitled or eligible because of their status as a
federally recognized Indian tribe or member of the Tribe.
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(c) PRESERVATION OF EXISTING RIGHTS.—Except
as provided in this Act or the Settlement Agreement, any
right to which the Tribe is entitled under existing law shall
not be affected or diminished.
(d) AMENDMENT OF SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT.—
The Settlement Agreement may be amended from time to
time in accordance with its terms and conditions to the
extent that such amendments are not inconsistent with the
trust land acquisition provisions of the Settlement Agree-
ment, as such provisions existed on—
(1) the date of the enactment of this Act, in the
case of Modifications One and Three; and
(2) September 14, 2000, in the case of Modi-
fication Four.
SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated such sums
as are necessary to carry out this Act.
SEC. 11. EFFECTIVE DATE.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided by subsection
(b), this Act shall take effect on the date of the enactment
of this Act.
(b) EXCEPTION.—Sections 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 shall take
effect on the date on which the Secretary determines the
following conditions have been met:
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(1) The Tribe agrees to the Settlement Agree-
ment and the provisions of this Act and executes the
releases and waivers required by the Settlement
Agreement and this Act.
(2) The Coachella Valley Water District agrees
to the Settlement Agreement and to the provisions
of this Act.
(3) The Imperial Irrigation District agrees to
the Settlement Agreement and to the provisions of
this Act.
Passed the House of Representatives September 18,
2000.
Attest:
JEFF TRANDAHL,
Clerk.