Sponsors (2)
Introduced November 7, 2025 by Ken Calvert · Last progress November 7, 2025
The bill secures significant, long‑term water rights, land, and hundreds of millions in funding for the Agua Caliente Tribe and settles longstanding claims—providing legal and fiscal certainty for the Tribe—but does so by trading away many past and future claims, narrowing some environmental and planning reviews, creating substantial federal costs, and shifting fiscal and administrative impacts onto local governments, ratepayers, and private rights‑holders.
Agua Caliente Tribe and its members secure a federally recognized, trust‑held groundwater right (up to 20,000 AFY with an 1876–1877 priority date) that prevents forfeiture and protects long‑term tribal water access.
The Tribe receives substantial dedicated funding—a $50 million immediate deposit plus access to a long‑term invested settlement trust and up to $500 million (indexed) for development, groundwater augmentation, O&M, and water management—providing major resources for tribal water projects.
Tribal members and Allottees obtain a final settlement of California water rights claims, resolving long‑running disputes and providing legal certainty that supports planning and governance.
Tribe and Allottees (and the United States) waive and release many historical and potential future claims related to the subject matters up to the Enforceability Date, eliminating the ability to sue for additional relief if settlement benefits prove inadequate.
The federal cost is substantial (authorized $500M indexed plus a $50M immediate deposit and other potential obligations), exposing taxpayers to large outlays and giving adjustment authority that could increase final federal spending.
Environmental review and public planning are narrowed for key conveyances and actions (e.g., certain NEPA/FLPMA waivers and declarations), reducing public oversight and increasing risk that environmental harms go insufficiently examined or challenged.
Based on analysis of 28 sections of legislative text.
Recognizes a Tribal Water Right (up to 20,000 AFY), places specified federal lands into trust, creates a $500M settlement trust with four accounts, authorizes a land sale to CVWD, and settles related water and tax claims in exchange for mutual waivers.
Establishes a negotiated settlement that recognizes and protects a Tribal Water Right for the Agua Caliente Band and Allottees (up to 20,000 acre‑feet per year), transfers specified federal lands into trust for the Tribe, provides a $500 million set of Treasury transfers deposited into a new Agua Caliente Settlement Trust Fund with four earmarked accounts, authorizes sale of certain federal “Facility Land” to a local water district at fair market value, and resolves a range of water‑ and tax‑related claims in exchange for mutual waivers and releases. The Act conditions enforcement on completion of required steps (execution of the implementing Agreement, funding deposits, court approval, and signed waivers), requires environmental compliance by the Tribe and the Secretary, limits certain uses (no Class II/III gaming on transferred lands, restrictions on per‑capita use of some revenues), and includes limited waivers of sovereign immunity to allow enforcement of the Act and the tax‑in‑lieu provisions by specified parties.