Corona must protect tribal remains at city construction site, court rules
A Riverside Superior Court judge has ordered the city of Corona to stop work on construction of part of a project to replace a wastewater reclamation facility in order to protect Native American remains and cultural artifacts uncovered at the site.
In a 15-page ruling issued June 9, Judge Harold W. Hopp ruled in favor of three local tribal bands that wanted construction halted, saying the city had failed to meet is obligations to consult with them regarding the remains, as required under state law.
Representatives of the city and Mayor Jacque Casillas did not immediately respond to requests for comment for this story. Judge Hopp’s ruling was not discussed at the Corona City Council’s June 17 meeting, the only council meeting since the ruling.
“The project is an expansion of the city’s wastewater infrastructure, including a 2.25 million gallons per day sewer lift station to replace an existing, near-capacity water reclamation facility treatment plant,” Hopp wrote in his ruling. “The project involves excavation of up to 30 feet deep and is part of a broader effort to redirect sewage loads away from the existing facility, which will be decommissioned.”
In 2014, Assembly Bill 52 amended the California Environmental Quality Act to include considerations of impacts to “tribal cultural resources.”
In March 2022, human remains were unearthed during construction on Corona’s wastewater project. The Riverside County Coroner confirmed the skull and other bones were prehistoric Native American. Under state law, in these circumstances, government agencies are required to consult with the tribe affected, and mutually agree on ways to mitigate the damage done.
The California Native American Heritage Commission determined the Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians were the most likely descendants of the remains found at the construction project, along with the Kizh Nation Gabrieleño Band of Mission Indians and the Pechanga Band of Indians.
The NAHC notified the City of Corona in that all three tribes should be consulted about treatment and handling of the remains. The three tribes all agreed the site was likely to have multiple human remains and the area be treated as a ceremonial or funerial site and that the remains should be reinterred and further construction at the site be avoided.
Instead, the city argued the CEQA protections for Native American remains were “not applicable” to the remains found on site and challenged NAHC’s right to conduct a site visit to the construction site.
Despite that, in 2023, the NAHC concluded that the site had religious and sacred significance to three Luiseño tribes. (The Pechanga tribe dropped Luiseño from its name in 2022.)
“Expert testimony and other evidence demonstrated that the ancestral remains constitute a cemetery associated with the ancestral living complex at the Luiseño village of Tuu’ uv rather than ‘simply an isolated find,’” Hopp wrote. “Extensive testimony further indicated that the Luiseño Tribes traditionally buried deceased family members in multiple areas near living spaces, rather than as isolated, single burial.”
The city responded, arguing that the NAHC lacked authority to declare the site a cemetery and burial ground and would instead follow the earlier recommendations from the Kizh Nation and rebury the remains.
A 1988 assessment by the California State Parks — released in response to a 2024 California Public Records Act request — had found the project area was within the territory of the Luiseño bands, which also included San Diego County’s Rincon Band of Luiseño Indians. The study found five prehistory sites and that development should avoid the areas in the future.
The tribes took legal action against the city in November 2023, winning a preliminary injunction. The tribes, meanwhile, argued that the city chose to follow the customs of a non-Luiseño tribe in handling the remains, ignoring the two Luiseño bands that were also identified as likely descendants.
The city argued no tribal cultural resources exist at the project site and therefore no efforts to avoid damaging the area were required. The city also argued that the legal protections for tribal remains were meant to be used during the pre-project review period, not once construction work has begun.
But Hopp was not persuaded, noting the city didn’t enter into mediation with the tribes designated as most likely descendants, as required by law, and that mediation would have failed.
“Mediation never occurred and petitioners argue that they were still in discussions with the city regarding project alternatives and were waiting for additional information from the city,” he wrote.
“Finally, as petitioners argue, even if the city had met the requirements for reinterring the remains, that would not mean that the city could move forward with construction that would impact the reburial site and destroy the Native American cemetery on the project site without first evaluating the significance of potential impacts to the unanticipated cultural resources discovered during construction,” he concluded.
The city is now required to get input from the tribes and experts before deciding whether the construction site is a tribal cultural resource.
The three Luiseño tribes welcomed the ruling.
“Today's ruling affirms what we have known for generations - these grounds are sacred, and the remains of our ancestors deserve the full protection of the law,” Mark Macarro, Tribal Chairman of the Pechanga Band of Indians is quoted as saying in a press release issued on behalf of the three tribes. “The City of Corona chose to proceed recklessly over the objections of three different tribes. This court has now made clear that no government entity may disregard its legal obligations to tribal nations and to our ancestors.”
“AB 52 was enacted for exactly this situation - to ensure tribes have a meaningful voice before irreparable harm occurs,” Isaiah Vivanco, Chairman of the Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians, is quoted as saying in the tribes’ press release.
"This ruling sends a clear message: local governments cannot ignore CEQA, cannot ignore AB 52, and cannot ignore the sovereign tribes whose ancestors rest in these lands,” Steve Stallings, Chairman of the Rincon Band of Luiseño Indians, is quoted as saying in the tribes’ press release. “We look forward to meaningful, government-to-government consultation as the Court has now required."
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This story was originally published June 22, 2026 at 2:40 PM.