Definitions

In this Act: (1) Adjacent lands The term Adjacent Lands means lands that CVWD owns, leases, uses, occupies, controls, or manages that are immediately adjacent to the Facility. (2) Afy The term AFY means acre-feet per calendar year. (3) Agreement The term Agreement means— (A) the document entitled Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians Water Rights Settlement Agreement and dated May 19, 2025, and exhibits attached thereto; and (B) any amendment to the document referred to in subparagraph (A) (including an amendment to an exhibit) that is executed to ensure that the Agreement is consistent with this Act. (4) Agua caliente or tribe The term Agua Caliente or Tribe means the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, a federally recognized sovereign Indian Tribe with an elected legislative body operating under a Constitution and by-laws approved by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs on April 18, 1957, as amended. (5) Agua caliente development projects The term Agua Caliente Development Projects means water related projects which improve the water supply, water reliability, water infrastructure, or water quality for the Agua Caliente Indian Reservation and/or the Indio Subbasin. (6) Agua caliente indian reservation or reservation The terms Agua Caliente Indian Reservation or Reservation means all land within the exterior boundaries of the Reservation, as established by Presidential Executive Order, Federal patent, or department order, and any other lands that are held in trust by the United States for the Tribe or Allottees. (7) Agua caliente indian reservation trust land The term Agua Caliente Indian Reservation Trust Land means land or lands held in trust by the United States for the Tribe or Allottees. (8) Agua caliente litigation The term Agua Caliente Litigation means Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians v. Coachella Valley Water District, et al., EDCV 13–883 JGB, Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians v. Coachella Valley Water District, et al., EDCV 20–174 JGB, or both. (9) Agua caliente water authority or acwa The term Agua Caliente Water Authority or ACWA means the branch of the Agua Caliente Tribal government established by the Agua Caliente Water Authority Ordinance (Chapter 7.12 of the Tribal Code). (10) Allocate, allocated or allocation The terms Allocate, Allocated, or Allocation means the Tribe’s administration of the Tribal Water Right under the Tribe’s Water Ordinance to Allottees. (11) Allotment The term Allotment means a parcel of land held in trust by the United States for the benefit of an individual or individuals that is— (A) located within the exterior boundaries of the Agua Caliente Indian Reservation; or (B) Bureau of Indian Affairs tract numbers 584–1006 and 584–1010 in Riverside County, California, consisting of approximately 37 acres located in Sections 3, 11, 13 and 29, Township 4 South, Range 5 East, SBBM, set aside by the United States for the benefit of a Tribal Member. (12) Allottee The term Allottee means a person with a beneficial real property interest in an Allotment. (13) Bureau of land management or blm The term Bureau of Land Management or BLM shall mean the Bureau of Land Management in the United States Department of the Interior. (14) Claims The term Claims means rights, claims, demands, actions, compensation or causes of action, whether known or unknown, and arising under any source of law. (15) Coachella valley water district or cvwd The terms Coachella Valley Water District or CVWD means a county water district formed in 1918 and organized and operating pursuant to the County Water District Law and the Coachella District Merger Law of the California Water Code. (16) Decree court The term Decree Court means the United States District Court for the Central District of California or any successor Federal court with jurisdiction over the Agreement. (17) Desert water agency or dwa The terms Desert Water Agency or DWA means an independent special district created by a special act of the California State Legislature in 1961. (18) Distribute or distribution The term Distribute or Distribution means, when referencing the Tribal Water Right, the provision of water by the Tribe under the Tribal Water Right to Third Parties through lease, gift, transfer, or any other means. (19) Diversion The term Diversion means to receive, withdraw, develop, produce, or capture water using a ditch, canal, flume, bypass, pipeline, pit, collection or infiltration gallery, conduit, well, pump, turnout, dam, or any other mechanism or device. (20) Domestic water The term Domestic Water means potable water suitable for human consumption that is delivered for any purpose to a residential customer, nonresidential customer, commercial or industrial customer, governmental customer, or institutional customer. (21) Domestic water service The term Domestic Water Service means the delivery of Domestic Water from CVWD’s or DWA’s water infrastructure (including water pipelines, booster stations, wells, treatment facilities, reservoirs, and hydrants) and delivery of water for public and private fire protection service. (22) Enforceability date The term Enforceability Date means the date described in section 8. (23) Facility land The term Facility Land means the approximately 842.4 acres of land depicted on the map attached to Exhibit 5 of the Agreement and described as follows, subject to a final survey by the United States and any technical corrections to conform to that survey: San Bernardino Meridian Area A: T. 3S., R. 3E, section 14: S1/2NE1/4SE1/4 Area B: T. 3S., R. 3E, section 14: SE1/4SE1/4 Area C: T. 3S., R. 3E, section 23: NE1/4NE1/4 (BLM lot 4 North of Highway 111) Area D: T. 3S., R.3E, section 23; NW1/4NE1/4 (North of Highway 111) Areas E, F and G: T. 3S, R. 3E, section 24: N1/2NE1/4, N1/2NW1/4 (BLM lot 1 and 2 north of Highway 111) Areas H, I and J: T. 3S., R. 4E. section 20: S1/2NE1/4, S1/2NW1/4, S1/2 Areas K and L: T. 3S., R. 4E. section 28: W1/2NW1/4NW1/4, NW1/4SW1/4NW1/4 Area M: T. 3S., R. 4E. section 30: N1/2NE1/4 (north of Highway 111) (24) Final decree The term Final Decree means the Final Judgment and Decree to be entered by the Decree Court with respect to the Tribal Water Right— (A) that is substantially in the form set forth in Exhibit 2 of the Agreement, as amended if needed to ensure consistency with this Act; and (B) from which no further appeal may be taken. (25) Groundwater The term Groundwater means the water beneath the surface of the ground and within the zone of saturation that is below the water table of the Indio Subbasin excluding water flowing in defined beds and banks of creeks and rivers. (26) Imported water The term Imported Water means water that any person or entity imports into the Indio Subbasin. (27) Indian tribe The term Indian Tribe has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). (28) Indio subbasin The term Indio Subbasin means the Indio Subbasin (Subbasin 7–21.01) as defined by California Department of Water Resources Bulletin 118. (29) Irrigation The term Irrigation means water used for agricultural purposes. (30) Memorandum of cooperation The term Memorandum of Cooperation means the Memorandum of Cooperation Regarding Water Management among and between Agua Caliente, CVWD, and DWA (attached as Exhibit 1 to the Agreement). (31) Most likely descendant The term Most Likely Descendant has the same meaning as used in California Code, Public Resources Code 5097.98. (32) Native groundwater The term Native Groundwater means the water which naturally replenishes and accumulates in the aquifer and does not include Imported Water. (33) Non-consumptive use The term Non-Consumptive Use means any use that does not remove water from a natural water body. (34) Operations, maintenance, and replacement The term operations, maintenance, and replacement means— (A) any recurring or ongoing activity associated with the day-to-day operation of a project; (B) any activity related to scheduled or unscheduled maintenance of a project; and (C) any activity relating to repairing, replacing, or rehabilitating a feature of a project. (35) Other public agency The term Other Public Agency shall mean any and all political subdivisions or public agencies of the State of California, other than Riverside County, that but for the preemption in this Act otherwise would have received revenue from the Riverside County Ad Valorem Property Tax imposed on Possessory Interests. (36) Parties The term Parties means Agua Caliente, CVWD, DWA, and the United States. (37) Possessory interest The term Possessory Interest means possession of, claim to, or right of possession of land or improvements that is independent, durable, and exclusive of rights held by others in the property, except when coupled with ownership of the land or improvements in the same person when such lands or improvements are within the exterior boundaries of Agua Caliente Indian Reservation Trust Land. (38) Produce, producing, or production of water The terms Produce, Producing, or Production of water means the extraction of Groundwater or the diversion of surface water, by pumping or any other method. (39) Rac The term RAC means the replenishment assessment charge that a Water District levies on the production of Groundwater or the diversion of surface water as described in Cal. Water Code § 31630, et seq. or Cal. Water Code Appendix § 100–15.4(b), or any comparable charge or fee. (40) Reservation customer The term Reservation Customer means water users located on Agua Caliente Indian Reservation Trust Land receiving delivery of Domestic Water from the Water Districts. (41) Riverside county The term Riverside County means the County of Riverside in the State of California. (42) Riverside county ad valorem property tax The term Riverside County Ad Valorem Property Tax means the ad valorem property tax imposed by Riverside County on a Possessory Interest, as authorized by the California Constitution, article XIII, section 1, on behalf of various taxing entities, that is subject to the limit described in section 93(b) of the California Revenue & Taxation Code or any similar tax levied by the Riverside County in the future. The term shall not include any tax levy on behalf of any taxing entity that is not subject to the limit described in section 93(b), such as any levy identified in sections 93(a), 93(c), or 96.31(a) of the California Revenue & Taxation Code. (43) Secretary The term Secretary means the Secretary of the Interior. (44) State The term State means the State of California and all officers, agents, departments, and political subdivisions of the State of California. (45) Tax apportionment schedule The term Tax Apportionment Schedule means the schedule established by Riverside County for distributing funds from the Riverside County Ad Valorem Property Tax to taxing entities. (46) Tribal cultural resource The terms Tribal Cultural Resource means— (A) human remains and associated grave goods; (B) a burial site (as defined in section 2 of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (25 U.S.C. 3001)); (C) cultural items (as defined in section 2 of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (25 U.S.C. 3001)); (D) archaeological resources (as defined in section 3 of the Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979 (16 U.S.C. 470bb)); or (E) Native American historic property (as defined in section 300308 of title 54, United States Code). (47) Tribal law The term Tribal Law means any law duly enacted by Agua Caliente. (48) Tribal member The term Tribal Member means any person who is a duly enrolled member of the Agua Caliente. (49) Tribal possessory interest tax The term Tribal Possessory Interest Tax or Tribal Tax means the Tribe’s tax on Possessory Interests that the Tribe has the sovereign governmental authority to impose, assess, collect, and disburse pursuant to this Act. (50) Tribal possessory interest tax ordinance The term Tribal Possessory Interest Tax Ordinance means an ordinance adopted by Agua Caliente and authorized by this Act governing the imposition, assessment, levy, charge, or collection of the Tribal Possessory Interest Tax on the Reservation. (51) Tribal production fee The term Tribal Production Fee means the fee authorized by this Act that Agua Caliente may levy or impose under Tribal Law on the Production of Groundwater that is part of the Tribal Water Right. (52) Tribal water delivery charge The term Tribal Water Delivery Charge means the charge authorized by this Act that Agua Caliente may levy or impose under Tribal Law on Reservation Customers using the Tribal Water Right and that is retained by a Water District pursuant to a water services contract. (53) Tribal water fee The term Tribal Water Fee means the fee authorized by this Act that Agua Caliente may levy or impose under Tribal Law on Reservation Customers receiving the delivery of Domestic Water (54) Tribal water right The term Tribal Water Right means the Agua Caliente’s water rights— (A) as identified in Section III of the Agreement and section 5 of this Act, and (B) as confirmed in the Final Decree. (55) Tribe’s water ordinance The term Tribe’s Water Ordinance means the Agua Caliente Water Authority Ordinance (Chapter 7.12 of the Tribal Code), as amended, or any other ordinance enacted by Agua Caliente governing water on the Reservation. (56) United states The term United States means the United States of America and all departments, agencies, bureaus, officers, and agents thereof. (57) Use or using or used The terms Use or Using or Used mean the consumption, application, or other use of water for any purpose, including but not limited to by allocation, distribution, exchange, or lease. (58) Water district The term Water District means CVWD or DWA. (59) Water districts The term Water Districts means CVWD and DWA. (60) Whitewater river recharge facility or facility The terms Whitewater River Recharge Facility or Facility mean the facility that CVWD operates northwest of Palm Springs that CVWD, in cooperation with DWA, uses to replenish the Indio Subbasin.