USC Subchapter V

USC Subchapter V
in effect

43 U.S.C. § 423 Permanently unproductive lands; exclusion from project; disposition of water right

All lands found by the classification made under the supervision of the Board of Survey and Adjustments (House Document 201, 69th Congress, 1st Session, checked and modified as outlined in General Recommendations numbered 2 and 4, Page 60 of said document), to be permanently unproductive shall be excluded from the project and no water shall be delivered to them after the date of such exclusion unless and until they are restored to the project. Except as herein otherwise provided, the water right formerly appurtenant to such permanently unproductive lands shall be disposed of by the United States under the reclamation law: Provided, That the water users on the proj­ects shall have a preference right to the use of the water: And provided further, That any surplus water temporarily available may be furnished upon a rental basis for use on lands excluded from the project under this section, on terms and conditions to be approved by the Secretary of the Interior.

43 U.S.C. § 423a Construction charges on permanently unproductive lands already paid; disposition

The construction charges prior to May 25, 1926, paid on permanently unproductive lands excluded from the project shall be applied as a credit on charges due or to become due on any remaining irrigable land covered by the same water-right contract or land taken in exchange as provided in section 423c of this title. If the charges so paid exceed the amount of all water-right charges due and unpaid, plus the construction charges not yet due, the balance shall be paid in cash to the holder of the water-right contract covering the land so excluded or to the irrigation district affected; which in turn shall be charged with the responsibility of making suitable adjustment with the landowners involved. Should all the irrigable lands of a water-right applicant be excluded from the project as permanently unproductive, and no exchange be made as provided in said section, the total construction charges paid before May 25, 1926, less any accrued charges on account of operation and maintenance, shall be refunded in cash, the water-right contract shall be canceled, and all liens on account of water-right charges shall be released.

43 U.S.C. § 423b Suspension of payment of construction charges against areas temporarily unproductive

The payment of all construction charges against said areas temporarily unproductive shall remain suspended until the Secretary of the Interior shall declare them to be possessed of sufficient productive power properly to be placed in a paying class, whereupon payment of construction charges against such areas shall be resumed or shall begin, as the case may be. Any payments made on such areas shall be credited to the unpaid balance of the construction charge on the productive area of each unit. Such credit shall be applied on and after April 23, 1930, which shall not be construed to require revision of accounts adjusted before April 23, 1930, under the provisions of this section as originally enacted. While said lands so classified as temporarily unproductive and the construction charges against them are suspended, water for irrigation purposes may be furnished upon payment of the usual operation and maintenance charges, or such other charges as may be fixed by the Secretary of the Interior the advance payment of which may be required, in the discretion of the said Secretary. Should said lands temporarily classed as unproductive, or any of them, in the future be found by the Secretary of the Interior to be permanently unproductive, the charges against them shall be charged off as a permanent loss to the reclamation fund and they shall thereupon be treated in the same manner as other permanently unproductive lands as provided in sections 423 to 423g and 610 of this title except that no refund shall be made of the construction charges paid on such unproductive areas and applied as a credit on productive areas as herein authorized.

43 U.S.C. § 423c Exchange of unpatented entries; entries, farms or private lands, eliminated from project; rights not assignable; rights of lienholders; preference to ex-service men

Settlers who have unpatented entries under any of the public land laws embracing lands which have been eliminated from the project, or whose entries under water rights have been so reduced that the remaining area is insufficient to support a family, shall be entitled to exchange their entries for other public lands within the same project or any other existing Federal reclamation project, with credit under the homestead laws for residence, improvement, and cultivation made or performed by them upon their original entries and with credit upon the new entry for any construction charges paid upon or in connection with the original entry: Provided, That when satisfactory final proof has been made on the original entry it shall not be necessary to submit final proof upon the lieu entry. Any entryman whose entry or farm unit is reduced by the elimination of permanently unproductive land shall be entitled to enter an equal amount of available public land on the same project contiguous to or in the vicinity of the farm unit reduced by elimination, with all credits in this section hereinbefore specified in lieu of the lands eliminated. Owners of private lands so eliminated from the project may, subject to the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, and free from all encumbrances, relinquish and convey to the United States lands so owned and held by them, not exceeding an area of one hundred and sixty acres, and select an equal area of vacant public land within the irrigable area of the same or any other Federal reclamation project, with credit upon the construction costs of the lands selected to the extent and in the amount paid upon or in connection with their relinquished lands, and the Secretary of the Interior is authorized to revise and consolidate farm units, so far as this may be made necessary or advisable, with a view to carrying out the provisions of this section: Provided further, That the rights extended under this section shall not be assignable: And provided further, That in administering the provisions of this section and section 423a of this title, the Secretary of the Interior shall take into consideration the rights and interests of lien holders, as to him may seem just and equitable: Provided further, That where two entrymen apply for the same farm unit under the exchange provisions of this section, only one whom 11 So in original. Probably should be “one of whom”. is an ex-service man, as defined by section 438 22 See References in Text note below. of this title, the ex-service man shall have a preference in making such exchange.

43 U.S.C. § 423d Amendment of existing water right contracts by Secretary of the Interior

The Secretary of the Interior is authorized, in his discretion, to amend any existing water-right contract to the extent necessary to carry out the provisions of sections 423 to 423g and 610 of this title, upon request of the holder of such contract. The Secretary of the Interior, as a condition precedent to the amendment of any existing water-right contract, shall require the execution of a contract by a water-users’ association or irrigation district whereby such association or irrigation district shall be required to pay to the United States, without regard to default in the payment of charges against any individual farm unit or tract of irrigable land, the entire charges against all productive lands remaining in the project after the permanently unproductive lands shall have been eliminated and the charges against temporarily unproductive areas shall have been suspended in the manner and to the extent authorized and directed by sections 423 to 423g and 610 of this title. The Secretary is authorized, in his discretion, upon request of individual water users or districts, and upon performance of the condition precedent above set forth, to amend any existing water-right contract to provide for increase in the time for payment of construction charges, which have not been accrued, to the extent that may be necessary under the conditions in each case, subject to the limitation that there shall be allowed for repayment not more than forty years from the date the first payment matured under the original contract, and also to extend the time for payment of operation and maintenance or water-rental charges due and unpaid for such period as in his judgment may be necessary not exceeding five years, the charges so extended to bear interest payable annually at the rate of 6 per centum per annum until paid, and to contract for the payment of the construction charges then due and unpaid within such term of years as the Secretary may find to be necessary, with interest payable annually at the rate of 6 per centum per annum until paid. The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to complete and execute the supplemental contract, being negotiated on May 25, 1926, and which had, on that date, been approved as to form by the Secretary, between the United States and the Belle Fourche Irrigation District and at the expiration of said supplemental contract to enter into a permanent contract on behalf of the United States with said District in accordance with the terms of said supplemental contract.

43 U.S.C. § 423e Completion of new projects or new division; execution of contract with district as condition precedent to delivery of water; contents of contract; cooperation of States with United States; limitations on sale of land

No water shall be delivered upon the completion of any new project or new division of a project until a contract or contracts in form approved by the Secretary of the Interior shall have been made with an irrigation district or irrigation districts organized under State law providing for payment by the district or districts of the cost of constructing, operating, and maintaining the works during the time they are in control of the United States, such cost of constructing to be repaid within such terms of years as the Secretary may find to be necessary, in any event not more than forty years from the date of public notice hereinafter referred to, and the execution of said contract or contracts shall have been confirmed by a decree of a court of competent jurisdiction. Prior to or in connection with the settlement and development of each of these projects, the Secretary of the Interior is authorized in his discretion to enter into agreement with the proper authorities of the State or States wherein said projects or divisions are located whereby such State or States shall cooperate with the United States in promoting the settlement of the projects or divisions after completion and in the securing and selecting of settlers. Such contract or contracts with irrigation districts hereinbefore referred to shall further provide that all irrigable land held in private ownership by any one owner in excess of one hundred and sixty irrigable acres shall be appraised in a manner to be prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior and the sale prices thereof fixed by the Secretary on the basis of its actual bona fide value at the date of appraisal without reference to the proposed construction of the irrigation works; and that no such excess lands so held shall receive water from any project or division if the owners thereof shall refuse to execute valid recordable contracts for the sale of such lands under terms and conditions satisfactory to the Secretary of the Interior and at prices not to exceed those fixed by the Secretary of the Interior; and that until one-half the construction charges against said lands shall have been fully paid no sale of any such lands shall carry the right to receive water unless and until the purchase price involved in such sale is approved by the Secretary of the Interior and that upon proof of fraudulent representation as to the true consideration involved in such sales the Secretary of the Interior is authorized to cancel the water right attaching to the land involved in such fraudulent sales: Provided, however, That if excess land is acquired by foreclosure or other process of law, by conveyance in satisfaction of mortgages, by inheritance, or by devise, water therefor may be furnished temporarily for a period not exceeding five years from the effective date of such acquisition, delivery of water thereafter ceasing until the transfer thereof to a landowner duly qualified to secure water therefor: Provided further, That the operation and maintenance charges on account of lands in said projects and divisions shall be paid annually in advance not later than March 1. It shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Interior to give public notice when water is actually available, and the operation and maintenance charges payable to the United States for the first year after such public notice shall be transferred to and paid as a part of the construction payment.

43 U.S.C. § 423f Purpose of sections 423 to 423g and 610

The purpose of sections 423 to 423g and 610 of this title is the rehabilitation of the several reclamation projects and the insuring of their future success by placing them upon a sound operative and business basis, and the Secretary of the Interior is directed to administer said sections to those ends.

43 U.S.C. § 423g Adjustment of water right charges as final adjudication on projects and divisions named

The adjustments under sections 1 to 40, inclusive, of the Act of Congress of May 25, 1926, 44 Statutes 636, are declared to be an incident of the operation of the “reclamation law,” a final adjudication on the projects and divisions named in such sections under the authority contained in section 466 of this title, and shall not after May 25, 1926, be construed to be the basis of reimbursement to the “reclamation fund” from the general fund of the Treasury or by the diversion to the “reclamation fund” of revenue of the United States not on May 25, 1926, required by law to be credited to such “reclamation fund.”

43 U.S.C. § 423h Delivery of water to excess lands upon death of spouse

Where the death of a husband or wife causes lands in private ownership to become excess lands, as that term is used in section 423e of this title, and those lands had theretofore been eligible to receive water from a project under the Federal reclamation laws (Act of June 17, 1902 (32 Stat. 388), and Acts amendatory thereto) without execution of a recordable contract under section 423e of this title, the Secretary of the Interior is authorized to furnish water to them, without requiring execution of such a contract, so long as they remain in the ownership of the surviving spouse: Provided, That in the event of the remarriage of the surviving spouse, such lands shall be governed by applicable law without regard to the provisions of this section.

43 U.S.C. § 424 Disposal of lands classified as temporarily or permanently unproductive; persons who may take

The Secretary of the Interior, hereinafter styled the Secretary, is authorized in connection with Federal irrigation projects to dispose of vacant public lands designated under sections 423 to 423g and 610 of this title, as temporarily unproductive or permanently unproductive to resident farm owners, and resident entrymen on Federal irrigation projects, in accordance with the provisions of sections 424 to 424e of this title.

43 U.S.C. § 424a Sale of unproductive lands; terms; area purchasable; tracts included

The Secretary is authorized to sell such lands to resident farm owners or resident entrymen, on the project upon which such land is located, at prices not less than that fixed by independent appraisal approved by the Secretary, and upon such terms and at private sale or at public auction as he may prescribe: Provided, That no such resident farm owner or resident entryman shall be permitted to purchase under sections 424 to 424e of this title more than one hundred and sixty acres of such land, or an area which, together with land already owned on such Federal irrigation project, shall exceed three hundred and twenty acres: And provided further, That the authority given hereunder shall apply not only to tracts wholly classified as temporarily or permanently unproductive, but also to all tracts of public lands within Federal irrigation projects which by reason of the inclusion of lands classified as temporarily or permanently unproductive are found by the Secretary to be insufficient to support a family and to pay water charges.

43 U.S.C. § 424b Application of certain statutes to lands sold

All “permanently unproductive” and “temporarily unproductive” land now or hereafter designated under sections 423 to 423g and 610 of this title, shall, when sold, remain subject to sections 423 and 423b of this title. The exchange provisions of section 423c of this title, shall not be applicable to the land purchased under sections 424 to 424e of this title.

43 U.S.C. § 424c Issuance of patents; recitals in patents; reservations

After the purchaser has paid to the United States all amounts due on the purchase price of said land, a patent shall issue which shall recite that the lands so patented have been classified in whole or in part as temporarily or permanently unproductive, as the case may be, under sections 423 to 423g and 610 of this title. Such patents shall also contain a reservation of a lien for water charges when deemed appropriate by the Secretary and reservations of coal or other mineral rights to the same extent as patents issued under the homestead laws.

43 U.S.C. § 424d Use of moneys collected from sales, project construction charges and water rentals respecting unproductive lands

In the absence of a contrary requirement in the contracts between the United States and the water users organization or district assuming liability for the payment of project construction charges, all sums collected under sections 424 to 424e this title from the sale of lands, from the payment of project construction charges on “temporarily unproductive” or “permanently unproductive” lands so sold, and (except as stated in this section) from water rentals, shall inure to the Reclamation Fund as a credit to the construction charge payable on May 16, 1930, by the water users under their present contracts, to the extent of the additional expense, if any, incurred by such water users in furnishing water to the unproductive area, while still in that status, as approved by the Commissioner of Reclamation and the balance as a credit to the sums heretofore written off in accordance with sections 423 to 423g and 610 of this title. Where water rental collections under sections 424 to 424e of this title are in excess of the current operation and maintenance charges, the excess as determined by the Secretary, shall, in the absence of such contrary contract provision, inure to the Reclamation Fund as above provided, but in all other cases the water rentals collected under sections 424 to 424e of this title shall be turned over to or retained by the operating district or association, where the project or part of the project from which the water rentals were collected is being operated and maintained by an irrigation district or water users association under contract with the United States.

43 U.S.C. § 424e Authority of Secretary of the Interior; rules and regulations

The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to perform any and all acts and to make all rules and regulations necessary and proper for carrying out the purposes of sections 424 to 424e of this title.

43 U.S.C. § 425 Exemption of lands owned by States, etc., from acreage limitation on receipt of irrigation benefits; determination of exempt status

The provisions of Federal reclamation laws (Act of June 17, 1902, 32 Stat. 388, and Acts amendatory thereof and supplemental thereto) which limit the acreage of irrigable land which may receive irrigation benefits from, through, or by means of Federal reclamation works, shall not be applicable to lands owned by States, political subdivisions, and agencies thereof, so long as such lands are farmed, primarily in the direct furtherance of a non-revenue-producing public function, as determined by the Secretary of the Interior; and to the extent that such lands continue to qualify for the exempted status afforded by this section they shall not be deemed to be excess lands for any purposes whatsoever under said reclamation laws.

43 U.S.C. § 425a Eligibility of transferred lands owned by States, etc., for receipt of water from a Federal reclamation project, division, or unit; conditions of eligibility; purchase price

Irrigable lands owned by States, political subdivisions, and agencies thereof which do not fall within the provisions of section 425 of this title may receive water from a Federal reclamation project, division, or unit if a valid recordable contract for the sale of such lands within ten years of the date of said contract has been executed under terms and conditions satisfactory to the Secretary of the Interior but without limitation upon selling price. The purchasers of lands sold under the provisions of this section, or the heirs and devisees of such purchasers, if otherwise eligible under reclamation law to receive project water for the lands purchased, shall not be disqualified for delivery of water by reason of the amount of the purchase price paid for said lands.

43 U.S.C. § 425b Receipt of project water by lessees of irrigable lands owned by States, etc.; time limitation; applicability of acreage limitations

Lessees of irrigable lands owned by States, political subdivisions, and agencies thereof which are held to be subject to the acreage limitation provisions of Federal reclamation law and for which recordable contracts to sell have not been made may receive project water from July 7, 1970, subject to the same acreage limitation provisions of Federal reclamation law as private landowners.

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