Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians Water Rights Settlement Act

This bill would approve a water rights settlement among the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, the Coachella Valley Water District, the Desert Water Agency, and the United States. It would confirm the Tribe's right to pump and use up to 20,000 acre-feet of groundwater per year, held in trust by the United States, and would exempt that water from the districts' replenishment charge while letting the Tribe set its own water fees. It would create a federal trust fund with $500 million across four accounts for water projects, groundwater augmentation, water management, and upkeep. In exchange, the Tribe and the United States would waive certain water-related legal claims. The bill would also let the Tribe tax possessory interests on reservation trust land in place of the Riverside County property tax, while passing shares to other local public agencies.

Full text and official record on Congress.gov

Sponsors

• Ken Calvert Republican sponsor
• 1 cosponsors