S. 689 — Tule River Tribe Reserved Water Rights Settlement Act of 2025

This section designates the short title of the Act as the “Tule River Tribe Reserved Water Rights Settlement Act of 2025” and provides the table of contents.

This section states the purposes of the Act, which are (1) to achieve a fair, equitable, and final settlement of water rights claims in California for the Tule River Tribe and the United States (acting as trustee for the Tribe); (2) to authorize, ratify, and confirm the 2007 Agreement among the Tribe, the South Tule Independent Ditch Company, and the Tule River Association, to the extent consistent with the Act; (3) to authorize and direct the Secretary to execute the 2007 Agreement (with amendments), and to take necessary actions to implement it; (4) to authorize funds for implementation of the 2007 Agreement and the Act; and (5) to authorize the transfer of certain lands to the Tribe to be held in trust.

This section defines 17 terms used in the Act—including "2007 Agreement" (i.e., the November 21, 2007, agreement, as amended, between the Tule River Indian Tribe, South Tule Independent Ditch Company, and Tule River Association); "Tribal Water Right" (i.e., the Tribe's water rights ratified by the Act); "Phase I Reservoir"; "Tule River Reservation"; "Trust Fund" (i.e., the Tule River Indian Tribe Settlement Trust Fund); "Tule River Association" (i.e., association of certain Tule River water right holders below Richard L. Schafer Dam); and "Downstream Water Users" (i.e., Tule River Association, South Tule Independent Ditch Company, and other South Fork Tule River Basin water rights holders)—and provides that other undefined terms have the meaning given in the 2007 Agreement (or consistent with its use).

This section ratifies the 2007 Agreement—except as modified by this Act or where it conflicts with this Act—and authorizes amendments agreed by the parties, including (1) those for substitute sites for the Phase I Reservoir and related operation rules, (2) establishing the Tribe's water right priority date as no later than January 9, 1873, (3) accommodating senior water rights of specified downstream water users, and (4) other changes to facilitate implementation consistent with this Act and applicable law. (25 U.S.C. 177 generally invalidates conveyances of tribal lands absent federal treaty approval; thus, this ratification provides the necessary congressional authorization for the agreement.) This section directs the Secretary to execute the 2007 Agreement—including exhibits requiring the Secretary's signature—after the parties agree on the tribal water right priority date and either (1) the Tribe proceeds with the Phase I Reservoir or (2) for a substitute site, the parties agree on operation rules or the Secretary determines negotiation impasse; it further authorizes consistent post-execution modifications without additional congressional approval under 25 U.S.C. 177 or other applicable law. This section requires the Secretary and Tribe, in implementing the agreement and this Act, to comply with the Endangered Species Act of 1973, National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), and other federal environmental laws; deems the Secretary's execution not a major federal action under NEPA; and directs that Tribe-prepared environmental documents be federally reviewed and funded primarily from the Trust Fund (with federal functions funded by the Secretary).

This section ratifies, confirms, and declares valid the Tule River Tribe's water right (Tribal Water Right) to divert and use up to 5,828 acre-feet per year of surface water from the South Fork Tule River, as described in the 2007 Agreement and subject to a court decree; places the right in trust with the United States for the Tribe's benefit, with no risk of loss through non-use, forfeiture, abandonment, or other operation of law; and authorizes the Tribe to allocate and distribute the right for any use on the reservation consistent with the 2007 Agreement, this Act, and applicable federal law. The section further prohibits permanent alienation of the right and provides that any allocation, distribution, leasing, or other arrangement authorized by this Act satisfies the requirement under 25 U.S.C. 177 (i.e., the Trade and Intercourse Act) for conveyances of lands or claims thereto from an Indian tribe by treaty or convention. (Thus, non-use by any water user does not result in forfeiture or other loss of the right.)

This section establishes the Tule River Indian Tribe Settlement Trust Fund, managed, invested, and distributed by the Secretary of the Interior under the authority of 25 U.S.C. 162a (i.e., investment of tribal trust funds in banks), the American Indian Trust Fund Management Reform Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 4001 et seq.), and this section, with amounts remaining available until expended, withdrawn, or reverted to the Treasury general fund. The Secretary must create two accounts within the trust fund—(1) the Tule River Tribe Water Development Projects Account, receiving deposits under section 7(a)(1); and (2) the Tule River Tribe OM&R Account, receiving deposits under section 7(a)(2)—and credit investment earnings (including interest) to the accounts for use consistent with the Act. Amounts in the trust fund, including earnings, become available to the Tule River Tribe on the Enforceability Date for purposes specified in the Act, except that $20 million from the Water Development Projects Account must first fund technical studies and investigations for the Phase I Reservoir and related operation rules; the Tribe may withdraw funds via (1) an approved tribal management plan under the 1994 Act, requiring spending consistent with the Act, or (2) an approved expenditure plan detailing reasonable uses consistent with the Act. Funds from the Water Development Projects Account may only plan, design, construct, and support environmental compliance for water development projects on the Tule River Reservation, while funds from the OM&R Account may only cover operations, maintenance, and repair of such projects; post-withdrawal, the Secretaries of the Interior and Treasury bear no liability for expenditures or investments, and the Tribe receives no judicial review of plan approvals beyond the Administrative Procedure Act.

This section directs the Secretary of the Treasury to transfer from funds not otherwise appropriated (1) $518 million to the Tule River Tribe Water Development Projects Account and (2) $50 million to the Tule River Tribe Operations, Maintenance, and Replacement (OM&R) Account, with funds in both accounts available until expended, withdrawn, or reverted to the Treasury general fund. It further authorizes adjustments to these amounts—increases or decreases for ordinary cost fluctuations after November 1, 2020, as indicated by the Bureau of Reclamation Construction Cost Index–Composite Trend, and additional adjustments for unforeseen construction cost changes due to market volatility as determined by the Secretary—with the process repeating until the adjusted amounts are fully appropriated (indexing for each funding increment ending upon deposit into the applicable account).

This section requires the United States to hold in trust for the benefit of the Tule River Tribe, as part of the Tule River Indian Reservation upon the enforceability date and subject to valid existing rights, (1) approximately 826 acres of specified Bureau of Land Management land in Tulare County, California; (2) approximately 9,037 acres of Forest Service land comprising the headwaters area of the South Fork Tule River watershed east of and adjacent to the reservation; and (3) approximately 1,316 acres of specified tribally owned fee land (i.e., McCarthy Ranch, Pierson/Diaz property, and Hyder property), provided such fee land is free from liens, encumbrances, or environmental liabilities.

This section provides that the benefits under the Act constitute complete replacement of, complete substitution for, and full satisfaction of any claims of the Tribe against the United States that are waived and released under section 10(a).

This section requires the Tribe and the United States, acting as trustee for the Tribe, to execute waivers and releases of all claims to water rights in California and related damages, losses, or injuries (including to land) that accrued on or before the Enforceability Date—against the State or other parties, and by the Tribe against the United States for specified water-related failures, litigation, and reservation issues—except to the extent recognized in the 2007 Agreement or this Act. The Tribe separately waives claims against the United States for foregone benefits from nontribal water use, failure to provide water systems or dam safety, irrigation operation and maintenance, and negotiation of the Agreement. (Thus, these waivers resolve historical tribal water claims in exchange for settlement benefits while becoming effective on the Enforceability Date.) Notwithstanding these waivers, the Tribe and the United States retain claims for (1) enforcement of or accruals after the Enforceability Date under the Agreement, court decree, or Act; (2) post-enactment water rights; (3) water quality under specified federal laws (i.e., CERCLA, Safe Drinking Water Act, Clean Water Act); (4) non-water-related land or resource damages; and (5) other unwaived rights. The section specifies that neither the Agreement nor the Act affects tribal sovereignty or U.S. sovereign activities.

This section establishes the enforceability date of the 2007 Agreement as the date on which the Secretary publishes in the Federal Register a statement of findings confirming that (1) the 2007 Agreement has been amended to conform with this Act to the extent of any conflicts; (2) the revised 2007 Agreement, including waivers and releases of claims set forth in section 10, has been executed by the parties, including the United States; (3) a final judgment and decree approving the 2007 Agreement and Operation Rules has been entered by the court and all appeals exhausted; (4) all amounts authorized to be appropriated under section 7(a) have been appropriated and deposited in designated accounts; and (5) the waivers and releases under section 10(a) have been executed by the Tribe and the Secretary.

This section authorizes one or more parties to file suit in the Court for approval of the Tribal Water Right and the 2007 Agreement after satisfying conditions on siting the Phase I Reservoir (either at the location in section 3.4.B.(1) of the 2007 Agreement with Exhibit E governing operations, or at a substitute site under section 3.4.B.(2)(a) with agreed or proposed Operation Rules shared 90 days prior to filing); the United States may be joined as a party. It grants the Court exclusive jurisdiction to (1) approve the Tribal Water Right and 2007 Agreement; (2) resolve disputes over their interpretation or enforcement; and (3) establish Operation Rules if parties fail to agree, by referring parties to the Court's voluntary dispute resolution program and, if unsuccessful, selecting submitted proposals based on criteria to regulate South Tule River flows per specified diversion limits (1 cfs when natural flow <3 cfs; 1½ cfs when ≥3 cfs and <5 cfs; 2 cfs when ≥5 cfs and <10 cfs; any amount when ≥10 cfs, measured at the South Tule Independent Ditch Company's point of diversion), minimize adverse impacts on non-Tribal parties, and maintain the Tribe's reasonable use for domestic and stock purposes on the Reservation (considering Exhibit E as a guide). If no proposed Operation Rules meet the criteria, the Court shall not approve the 2007 Agreement and may establish an alternate process for compliant rules. (Thus, selected or court-directed Operation Rules bind all parties.)

This section includes miscellaneous savings clauses that (1) preserve the sovereign immunity of the United States except as provided in section 12(a)(2); (2) do not quantify or diminish land or water rights, claims, or entitlements of any Indian tribe, band, or community other than the Tribe; (3) do not quantify or diminish any water right held by the United States other than as a Downstream Water User; (4) leave unaffected current law (including regulations) on pre-enforcement review of Federal environmental enforcement actions; and (5) make this Act control over the 2007 Agreement in the event of conflict.

This section limits U.S. liability for any failure to carry out obligations or activities authorized by this Act—including under the 2007 Agreement—in the absence of express congressional appropriations adequate for such purposes.