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119-hr-8546119th CongressWALLET

Pechanga Band of Indians Water Rights Settlement Technical Amendments Act

Sponsored By: Representative Issa, Darrell [R-CA-48]

In Committee

Summary

Expands the Pechanga Reservation and broadens water-quality funding rules. It adds specific historic and contiguous trust lands and allows the Pechanga Water Quality Account to support a wider set of activities for water-quality problems, while enabling technical updates to the settlement without changing existing water rights.

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  • Pechanga Band members and land records: Redefines the term "Reservation" in Section 3403(33) of P.L. 114-322 to include lands set aside by two historic Executive orders, eight later additions, contiguous trust land held on the enforceability date, and contiguous Santa Margarita River Watershed parcels placed into trust after that date. This expands which parcels count as Reservation land.
  • Water managers and local projects: Replaces narrow language about groundwater desalination in the Wolf Valley Basin with broader language that permits activities to address water quality issues there, expanding what the Pechanga Water Quality Account may fund.
  • Tribal and federal administrators: Defines the Pechanga Settlement Agreement as amended to reflect these changes, authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to promptly execute those amendments, and clarifies that the amendments do not change any condition precedent, the prior finding that those conditions were satisfied, or any existing water right.

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

1 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.

Change Pechanga reservation and water rules

If enacted, this bill would change which lands count as the Pechanga Reservation. It would add lands set aside by Executive Orders dated June 27, 1882 and January 9, 1907, and lands added on August 29, 1893; March 11, 1907; February 21, 1931; May 25, 1931; August 12, 1971; August 8, 1988; November 1, 1988; and October 10, 2008. It would also include contiguous land held in trust for the Band on the enforceability date and contiguous land in the Santa Margarita River Watershed placed into trust after that date. The bill would broaden the Pechanga Water Quality Account so funds may pay for "activities to address water quality issues" in the Wolf Valley Basin, not only groundwater desalination. It would direct the Secretary of the Interior to promptly sign any amendments to the Pechanga Settlement Agreement and its exhibits needed to match these statutory changes. The bill would also say it does not affect satisfaction of section 3407(e) conditions, does not change the Secretary's October 1, 2020 finding (85 Fed. Reg. 61966), and would not alter any water right existing on the date of enactment.

Sponsors & CoSponsors

Sponsor

Issa, Darrell [R-CA-48]

CA • R

Cosponsors

  • Rep. Calvert, Ken [R-CA-41]

    CA • R

    Sponsored 4/28/2026

Roll Call Votes

No roll call votes available for this bill.

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