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Read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S1313)
Introduced February 24, 2025 by Alejandro Padilla · Last progress February 24, 2025
Ratifies and implements a negotiated settlement that recognizes a quantified Tule River Tribal water right (5,828 acre-feet per year), transfers specific parcels into trust, and creates a Tribal settlement trust funded with federal money to build and operate water projects. The Act conditions enforceability on agreed milestones (agreement amendment and execution, court approval, deposit of authorized funds, and execution of tribal waivers) and requires the court to have exclusive authority to review and approve the tribal water right, resolve disputes, and set operation rules if parties cannot agree. The legislation directs the Treasury to place large, specified sums into two Tribe accounts for water development and operation, maintenance & replacement, sets terms for how those funds are managed and spent, preserves other tribes’ and United States’ water and land rights, and makes the settlement the Tribe’s complete compensation for the waived claims once the agreed releases are executed.
The Tribe and the United States, acting as trustee for the Tribe, must execute a waiver and release of specified claims as consideration for recognition of the Tribe’s Tribal Water Right and other benefits described in the 2007 Agreement and this Act. Enforceability of those waivers is subject to the reservations and retentions in subsection (c).
Waiver of all claims for water rights within the State of California based on any and all legal theories that the Tribe or the United States (as trustee) asserted or could have asserted on or before the Enforceability Date, except to the extent recognized in the 2007 Agreement and this Act.
Waiver of all claims for damages, losses, or injuries to water rights or claims of interference with, diversion, or taking of water rights within California against the State or any person, entity, corporation, or municipality that accrued up to and including the Enforceability Date.
The Tribe must execute a waiver and release of all claims against the United States (including agencies and employees) for water rights within California first arising before the Enforceability Date, subject to subsection (c) reservations.
Waiver covers water rights that the United States (as trustee) asserted or could have asserted before the Enforceability Date, except rights recognized as part of the Tribal Water Right under this Act.
Primary impacts:
Tule River Tribe: Direct and substantial beneficiary. Gains a quantified water right (5,828 acre-feet/year), transferred trust lands, capital and OM&R funding for water projects, and federal recognition and implementation structure for the settlement. The Tribe must execute statutory waivers and follow Agreement and Act conditions to obtain benefits; it is also responsible for project OM&R and cannot distribute funds per-capita.
Downstream and other local water users (municipal, agricultural, environmental): Affected by new Operation Rules, diversion limits, and project operations that may change water availability and timing. The court’s role in setting operation rules and the Act’s required criteria may change how diversions are managed.
Federal agencies (Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, Treasury, Forest Service, BLM): Responsible for implementing the Act, administering and investing Trust Fund monies, taking parcels into trust, completing environmental compliance and surveys, and certifying the Enforceability Date. The Act also limits implementation if Congress fails to appropriate sufficient funds.
Local communities and project-area residents: Affected by construction and operation of water infrastructure (e.g., Phase I Reservoir studies and subsequent projects), land transfers, and potential changes in local water supply, recreation, and land use. Environmental review requirements and land-cleanup conditions affect timelines and local impacts.
Courts and litigation parties: The Act grants exclusive judicial authority to approve the Tribal Water Right and the Agreement and to resolve implementation disputes, concentrating legal review in a single court and altering how challenges and enforcement will proceed.
Federal budget and taxpayers: Requires large federal transfers to fund the settlement, with adjustment authority for construction cost changes; taxpayers ultimately bear the cost of appropriations required for implementation.
Net effect: The Act resolves and exchanges monetary, land, and water-right benefits for statutory waivers of many past claims, creates a detailed federal-tribal implementation regime, and ties effectiveness to specific funding, legal, and administrative milestones. It provides concrete benefits and obligations but conditions implementation on Congressional funding and judicial approval, which may affect timing and local outcomes.
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Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 75.
Committee on Indian Affairs. Reported by Senator Murkowski without amendment. With written report No. 119-22.
Committee on Indian Affairs. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S1313)