This legislation, known as the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians Water Rights Settlement Act, aims to achieve a fair, equitable, and final settlement of all water rights claims for the Tribe and its Allottees in California. It formally ratifies and confirms a comprehensive settlement agreement among the Tribe, the Coachella Valley Water District (CVWD), and the Desert Water Agency (DWA). The Act also directs the Secretary of the Interior to execute this agreement and take all necessary actions for its implementation. A central provision of the Act is the confirmation of the Tribal Water Right , granting the Agua Caliente Band the right to produce or use up to 20,000 acre-feet per year of groundwater. This right holds a priority date no later than the 1876 and 1877 Executive Orders establishing the Reservation, making it paramount to other claims to Native Groundwater in the Indio Subbasin. The Tribal Water Right will be held in trust by the United States for the Tribe and Allottees, and importantly, it is not subject to loss through non-use, forfeiture, or abandonment. The Tribe is granted authority to use its water right both on and, with Secretarial approval, off the Reservation, for any lawful purpose, and may also reuse water. To manage water resources, the Tribe can impose a Tribal Production Fee on groundwater production, a Tribal Water Fee on domestic water deliveries, and a Tribal Water Delivery Charge . These tribal fees preempt existing state or local replenishment assessment charges (RAC) on the Tribal Water Right, ensuring tribal control over water-related revenues. The Act ensures that Allottees receive benefits equivalent to or exceeding their prior entitlements, with their water needs satisfied from the Tribal Water Right. The Tribe is required to amend its Water Ordinance , subject to Secretarial approval, to establish a process for Allottees to request irrigation water and to provide a due process system for resolving water allocation disputes. Allottees must exhaust tribal remedies before pursuing federal claims. To support the settlement, the Act establishes the Agua Caliente Settlement Trust Fund with four dedicated accounts for water-related projects, groundwater augmentation, water management, and operation/maintenance costs. Congress mandates appropriations totaling $500 million for this fund, subject to cost adjustments, which will be available to the Tribe for these purposes. Importantly, these funds explicitly prohibit per capita distributions to Tribal Members. The legislation authorizes the transfer of approximately 2,712 acres of federal land into trust for the Tribe, expanding the Agua Caliente Reservation. Concurrently, it directs the sale of approximately 842.4 acres of federal "Facility Land" to the Coachella Valley Water District at fair market value. A critical provision for this land ensures the protection of Tribal Cultural Resources , requiring immediate cessation of ground-disturbing activities upon discovery and tribal involvement in treatment and disposition. The Act grants the Tribe authority to impose a Tribal Possessory Interest Tax on reservation lands, which preempts the Riverside County Ad Valorem Property Tax. The Tribe must distribute a portion of these proceeds to other public agencies, and this requirement is federally enforceable. In exchange for the settlement benefits, the Tribe and the United States (as trustee) agree to waive and release numerous water-related claims against the Water Districts and the United States, while retaining specific rights, such as enforcement of the agreement and certain water quality claims. The settlement's effectiveness hinges on an Enforceability Date , triggered by the Secretary of the Interior's findings that all conditions, including full funding and judicial approval, have been met. If this date is not reached by December 31, 2035, the Act expires, rendering waivers void and requiring the return of federal funds. The Act clarifies that its provisions do not set precedents for other tribal water rights settlements or diminish the rights of other Indian Tribes.