Major Water Rights Settlement: Agua Caliente Tribe, Funding Infrastructure, and Tax Changes
This law finalizes a major water rights dispute between the Agua Caliente Tribe and local water districts, ensuring long-term water stability in the Coachella Valley. It confirms the Tribe's right to 20,000 acre-feet of groundwater annually and allocates $500 million in federal funds for water infrastructure projects, including those that boost regional groundwater supplies. For residents on Reservation land, it replaces the county property tax on possessory interests with an equivalent Tribal tax, while guaranteeing funding for local public services.
Key points
Water Stability: Resolves decades of litigation over water rights, providing certainty for the Tribe and local water districts (CVWD/DWA) regarding groundwater use.
Infrastructure Funding: Allocates $500 million to a trust fund for water projects, including $100 million specifically for augmenting regional groundwater supplies, benefiting all users in the Indio Subbasin.
Tax Change on Reservation: Replaces the county property tax on possessory interests on Reservation land with a new Tribal tax, ensuring local public agencies still receive their share of revenue.
Land Transfer: Transfers approximately 2,742 acres of federal land into trust for the Tribe, expanding the Reservation boundaries.
Introduced
Citizen Poll