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 Val-
ley 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
a judgment in the U.S. Suit requiring the Coachella
Valley Water District to pay $212,908.41 in past
and future damages and the Imperial Irrigation Dis-
trict to pay $2,795,694.33 in past and future dam-
ages in lieu of the United States’ request for a per-
manent injunction against continued flooding of the
submerged lands.
(8) The United States, the Coachella Valley
Water District, and the Imperial Irrigation District
have filed notices of appeal with the United States
Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit from the dis-
trict court’s judgment in the U.S. Suit (Numbers
93–55389, 93–55398, and 93–55402), and the
Tribe has filed a notice of appeal from the district
court’s denial of its motion to intervene as a matter
of right (No. 92–55129).
(9) The Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
has stayed further action on the appeals pending the
outcome of settlement negotiations.
(10) In 1991, the Tribe brought its own law-
suit, Torres-Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians, et
al., v. Imperial Irrigation District, et al., Case No.
91–1670 J (LSP) (hereafter in this section referred
to as the ‘‘Indian Suit’’) in the United States Dis-
trict Court, Southern District of California, against
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) The term ‘‘Tribe’’ means the Torres-Mar-
tinez Desert Cahuilla Indians, a federally recognized
Indian tribe with a reservation located in Riverside
and Imperial Counties, California.
(2) 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-Martinez Indian Res-
ervation.
(3) The term ‘‘Salton Sea’’ means the inland
body of water located in Riverside and Imperial
counties which serves as a drainage reservoir for
water from precipitation, natural runoff, irrigation
return flows, wastewater, floods, and other inflow
from within its watershed area.
(4) The term ‘‘Settlement Agreement’’ means
the Agreement of Compromise and Settlement Con-
cerning Claims to Lands of the United States With-
in and on the Perimeter of the Salton Sea Drainage
Reservoir Held in Trust for the Torres-Martinez In-
dians executed on llllll.
(5) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary
of the Interior.
(6) The term ‘‘permanent flowage easement’’
means the perpetual right by the water districts to
use the described lands in the Salton Sink within
and below the minus 220-foot contour as a drainage
reservoir to receive and store water from their re-
spective water and drainage systems, including flood
water, return flows from irrigation, tail water, leach
water, operational spills and any other water which
overflows and floods such lands, originating from
lands within such water districts.
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
determined by the tribal-allottee allocation provisions
of the Settlement Agreement.