On March 7, the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs advanced legislation introduced by California’s U.S. Senators, Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff, which would formally recognize the reserved water rights of the Tule River Tribe and quantify the Tribe’s water right of 5,828 acre-feet per year of surface water from the South Fork of the Tule River.
In 1971, the Tribe began its efforts to secure its federally reserved water rights to be able to restore water on their reservation. The Tribe extensively studied possible storage options and entered into an agreement with downstream water users to ensure that their proposed storage project would not adversely impact their water. This was known as the 2007 Settlement Agreement. This legislation (S. 689) would ratify that agreement and is supported by the downstream water users. It would also transfer nearly 10,000 acres of federal lands in the Sequoia National Forest into trust so that the Tribe can manage the headwaters of the watershed.
The measure passed out of committee by voice vote and now moves to the Senate floor for consideration by the full Senate. Full text of the bill is available here.
For additional information, contact RCRC Senior Vice President for Government Affairs, Mary-Ann Warmerdam.