USC Chapter 12b

in effect

43 U.S.C. § 620 Upper Colorado River Basin; purpose of development of water resources; initial units; construction of Wayne N. Aspinall unit contingent upon certification; participating projects; Rainbow Bridge National Monument

In order to initiate the comprehensive development of the water resources of the Upper Colorado River Basin, for the purposes, among others, of regulating the flow of the Colorado River, storing water for beneficial consumptive use, making it possible for the States of the Upper Basin to utilize, consistently with the provisions of the Colorado River Compact, the apportionments made to and among them in the Colorado River Compact and the Upper Colorado River Basin Compact, respectively, providing for the reclamation of arid and semiarid land, for the control of floods, and for the generation of hydroelectric power, as an incident of the foregoing purposes, the Secretary of the Interior is authorized (1) to construct, operate, and maintain the following initial units of the Colorado River storage project, consisting of dams, reservoirs, powerplants, transmission facilities and appurtenant works: Wayne N. Aspinall, Flaming Gorge, Navajo (dam and reservoir only), and Glen Canyon: Provided, That the Wayne N. Aspinall Dam shall be constructed to a height which will impound not less than nine hundred and forty thousand acre-feet of water or will create a reservoir of such greater capacity as can be obtained by a high waterline located at seven thousand five hundred and twenty feet above mean sea level, and that construction thereof shall not be undertaken until the Secretary has, on the basis of further engineering and economic investigations, reexamined the economic justification of such unit and, accompanied by appropriate documentation in the form of a supplemental report, has certified to the Congress and to the President that, in his judgment, the benefits of such unit will exceed its costs; and (2) to construct, operate, and maintain the following additional reclamation projects (including power-generating and transmission facilities related thereto), hereinafter referred to as participating projects: Central Utah (initial phase and the Uintah unit), San Juan-Chama (initial stage), Emery County, Florida, Hammond, La Barge, Lyman, Navajo Indian, Paonia (including the Minnesota unit, a dam and reservoir on Muddy Creek just above its confluence with the North Fork of the Gunnison River, and other necessary works), Animas-La Plata, Dolores, Dallas Creek, West Divide, San Miguel, Seedskadee, Savery-Pot Hook, Bostwick Park, Fruitland Mesa, the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project, Silt and Smith Fork: Provided further, That as part of the Glen Canyon Unit the Secretary of the Interior shall take adequate protective measures to preclude impairment of the Rainbow Bridge National Monument.

43 U.S.C. § 620a Priority to planning reports of certain additional participating projects; reports to States; San Juan-Chama project; Juniper project

In carrying out further investigations of projects under the Federal reclamation laws in the Upper Colorado River Basin, the Secretary shall give priority to completion of planning reports on the Gooseberry, Eagle Divide, Bluestone, Battlement Mesa, Grand Mesa, Yellow Jacket, Basalt, Middle Park (including the Troublesome, Rabbit Ear, and Azure units), Upper Gunnison (including the East River, Ohio Creek, and Tomichi Creek units), Lower Yampa (including the Juniper and Great Northern units), Upper Yampa (including the Hayden Mesa, Wessels, and Toponas units) and Sublette (including a diversion of water from the Green River to the North Platte River Basin Wyoming), Ute Indian unit of the Central Utah Project, San Juan County (Utah), Price River, Grand County (Utah), Gray Canyon, and Juniper (Utah) participating projects: Provided, That the planning report for the Ute Indian unit of the Central Utah participating project shall be completed on or before December 31, 1974, to enable the United States of America to meet the commitments heretofore made to the Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation under the agreement dated September 20, 1965 (Contract Numbered 14–06–W–194). Said reports shall be completed as expeditiously as funds are made available therefor and shall be submitted promptly to the affected States, which in the case of the San Juan-Chama project shall include the State of Texas, and thereafter to the President and the Congress: Provided, That with reference to the plans and specifications for the San Juan-Chama project, the storage for control and regulation of water imported from the San Juan River shall (1) be limited to a single offstream dam and reservoir on a tributary of the Chama River, (2) be used solely for control and regulation and no power facilities shall be established, installed or operated thereat, and (3) be operated at all times by the Bureau of Reclamation of the Department of the Interior in strict compliance with the Rio Grande Compact as administered by the Rio Grande Compact Commission. The preparation of detailed designs and specifications for the works proposed to be constructed in connection with projects shall be carried as far forward as the investigations thereof indicate is reasonable in the circumstances. The Secretary, concurrently with the investigations directed by the preceding paragraph, shall also give priority to completion of a planning report on the Juniper project.

43 U.S.C. § 620a–1 Construction of participating projects to be concurrent with Central Arizona Project

The Secretary is directed to proceed as nearly as practicable with the construction of the Animas-La Plata, Dolores, Dallas Creek, West Divide, and San Miguel participating Federal reclamation projects concurrently with the construction of the Central Arizona Project, to the end that such projects shall be completed not later than the date of the first delivery of water from said Central Arizona Project: Provided, That an appropriate repayment contract for each of said participating projects shall have been executed as provided in section 620c of this title before construction shall start on that particular project.

43 U.S.C. § 620a–2 Establishment of nonexcess irrigable acreage for participating projects

The Secretary shall, for the Animas-La Plata, Dolores, Dallas Creek, San Miguel, West Divide, and Seedskadee participating projects of the Colorado River storage project, establish the nonexcess irrigable acreage for which any single ownership may receive project water at one hundred and sixty acres of class 1 land or the equivalent thereof, as determined by the Secretary, in other land classes.

43 U.S.C. § 620b Congressional intent; additional undesignated projects not precluded; construction not authorized within national park or monument

It is not the intention of Congress, in authorizing only those projects designated in section 620 of this title, and in authorizing priority in planning only those additional projects designated in section 620a of this title, to limit, restrict, or otherwise interfere with such comprehensive development as will provide for the consumptive use by States of the Upper Colorado River Basin of waters, the use of which is apportioned to the Upper Colorado River Basin by the Colorado River Compact and to each State thereof by the Upper Colorado River Basin Compact, nor to preclude consideration and authorization by the Congress of additional projects under the allocations in the compacts as additional needs are indicated. It is the intention of Congress that no dam or reservoir constructed under the authorization of this chapter shall be within any national park or monument.

43 U.S.C. § 620c Laws governing; irrigation repayment contracts; time for making contract; contracts for municipal water; payment by Indian lands; restricted delivery of water for excess commodity; apportionments of use

Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, in constructing, operating, and maintaining the units of the Colorado River storage project and the participating projects listed in section 620 of this title, the Secretary shall be governed by the Federal reclamation laws (Act of June 17, 1902, 32 Stat. 388, and Acts amendatory thereof or supplementary thereto): Provided, That (a) irrigation repayment contracts shall be entered into which, except as otherwise provided for the Paonia and Eden projects, provide for repayment of the obligation assumed thereunder with respect to any project contract unit over a period of not more than fifty years exclusive of any development period authorized by law; (b) prior to construction of irrigation distribution facilities, repayment contracts shall be made with an “organization” as defined in section 485a(g) of this title which has the capacity to levy assessments upon all taxable real property located within its boundaries to assist in making repayments, except where a substantial proportion of the lands to be served are owned by the United States; (c) contracts relating to municipal water supply may be made without regard to the limitations of the last sentence of section 485h(c) of this title; and (d), as to Indian lands within, under or served by any participating project, payment of construction costs within the capability of the land to repay shall be subject to section 386a of title 25: Provided further, That for a period of ten years from April 11, 1956, no water from any participating project authorized by this chapter shall be delivered to any water user for the production on newly irrigated lands of any basic agricultural commodity, as defined in the Agricultural Act of 1949 [7 U.S.C. 1421 et seq.], or any amendment thereof, if the total supply of such commodity for the marketing year in which the bulk of the crop would normally be marketed is in excess of the normal supply as defined in section 1301(b)(10) of title 7 unless the Secretary of Agriculture calls for an increase in production of such commodity in the interest of national security. All units and participating projects shall be subject to the apportionments of the use of water between the Upper and Lower Basins of the Colorado River and among the States of the Upper Basin fixed in the Colorado River Compact and the Upper Colorado River Basin Compact, respectively, and to the terms of the treaty with the United Mexican States (Treaty Series 994).

43 U.S.C. § 620c–1 Laws governing priority of appropriation

In the diversion and storage of water for any project or any parts thereof constructed under the authority of the Colorado River Basin Project Act [43 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.] or the Colorado River Storage Project Act [43 U.S.C. 620 et seq.] within and for the benefit of the State of Colorado only, the Secretary is directed to comply with the constitution and statutes of the State of Colorado relating to priority of appropriation; with State and Federal court decrees entered pursuant thereto; and with operating principles, if any, adopted by the Secretary and approved by the State of Colorado.

43 U.S.C. § 620d Upper Colorado River Basin Fund

(a) Authorization and availabilityThere is authorized a separate fund in the Treasury of the United States to be known as the Upper Colorado River Basin Fund (hereinafter referred to as the Basin Fund), which shall remain available until expended, as hereafter provided, for carrying out provisions of this chapter other than section 620g of this title. (b) Crediting of appropriationsAll appropriations made for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this chapter, other than section 620g of this title shall be credited to the Basin Fund as advances from the general fund of the Treasury. (c) Crediting and availability of revenuesAll revenues collected in connection with the operation of the Colorado River storage project and participating projects shall be credited to the Basin Fund, and shall be available, without further appropriation, for (1) defraying the costs of operation, maintenance, and replacements of, and emergency expenditures for, all facilities of the Colorado River storage project and participating projects, within such separate limitations as may be included in annual appropriation acts: Provided, That with respect to each participating project, such costs shall be paid from revenues received from each such project; (2) payment as required by subsection (d) of this section; and (3) payment as required by subsection (e) of this section. Revenues credited to the Basin Fund shall not be available for appropriation for construction of the units and participating projects authorized by or pursuant to this chapter. (d) Payments of revenues in excess of operating needs to TreasuryRevenues in the Basin Fund in excess of operating needs shall be paid annually to the general fund of the Treasury to return—(1) the costs of each unit, participating project, or any separable feature thereof which are allocated to power pursuant to section 620e of this title, within a period not exceeding fifty years from the date of completion of such unit, participating project, or separable feature thereof; (2) the costs of each unit, participating project, or any separable feature thereof which are allocated to municipal water supply pursuant to section 620e of this title, within a period not exceeding fifty years from the date of completion of such unit, participating project, or separable feature thereof; (3) interest on the unamortized balance of the investment (including interest during construction) in the power and municipal water supply features of each unit, participating project, or any separable feature thereof, at a rate determined by the Secretary of the Treasury as provided in subsection (f), and interest due shall be a first charge; (4) the costs of each storage unit which are allocated to irrigation pursuant to section 620e of this title within a period not exceeding fifty years; and (5) the costs of each salinity control unit or separable feature thereof, the costs of measures to replace incidental fish and wildlife values foregone, and the costs of the on-farm measures payable from the Upper Colorado River Basin Fund in accordance with sections 1595(a)(2), 1595(a)(3), and 1595(c) of this title. (e) Apportionment of excess revenues among StatesRevenues in the Basin Fund in excess of the amounts needed to meet the requirements of clause (1) of subsection (c) of this section, and to return to the general fund of the Treasury the costs set out in subsection (d) of this section, shall be apportioned among the States of the Upper Division in the following percentages: Colorado, 46 per centum; Utah, 21.5 per centum; Wyoming, 15.5 per centum; and New Mexico, 17 per centum: Provided, That prior to the application of such percentages, all revenues remaining in the Basin Fund from each participating project (or part thereof), herein or hereafter authorized, after payments, where applicable, with respect to such projects, to the general fund of the Treasury under subparagraphs (1), (2), and (3) of subsection (d) of this section shall be apportioned to the State in which such participating project, or part thereof, is located. Revenues so apportioned to each State shall be used only for the repayment of construction costs of participating projects or parts of such projects in the State to which such revenues are apportioned and shall not be used for such purpose in any other State without the consent, as expressed through its legally constituted authority, of the State to which such revenues are apportioned. Subject to such requirement, there shall be paid annually into the general fund of the Treasury from the revenues apportioned to each State (1) the costs of each participating project herein authorized (except Paonia) or any separable feature thereof, which are allocated to irrigation pursuant to section 620e of this title, within a period not exceeding fifty years, in addition to any development period authorized by law, from the date of completion of such participating project or separable feature thereof, or, in the case of Indian lands, payment in accordance with section 620c of this title; (2) costs of the Paonia project, which are beyond the ability of the water users to repay, within a period prescribed in the Act of June 25, 1947 (61 Stat. 181); and (3) costs in connection with the irrigation features of the Eden project as specified in the Act of June 28, 1949 (63 Stat. 277). (f) Determination of interest rateThe interest rate applicable to each unit of the storage project and each participating project for purposes of computing interest during construction and interest on the unpaid balance shall be determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, as of the beginning of the fiscal year in which construction is initiated, on the basis of the computed average interest rate payable by the Treasury upon its outstanding marketable public obligations, which are neither due nor callable for redemption for fifteen years from the date of issue. (g) Budget to be submitted to CongressBusiness-type budgets shall be submitted to the Congress annually for all operations financed by the Basin Fund.

43 U.S.C. § 620d–1 Reimbursement of Fund from Colorado River Development Fund; operation of Hoover Dam

The Upper Colorado River Basin Fund established under section 620d of this title shall be reimbursed from the Colorado River Development Fund established by section 618a of this title for the money expended heretofore or hereafter from the Upper Colorado River Basin Fund to meet deficiencies in generation at Hoover Dam during the filling period of storage units of the Colorado River storage project pursuant to the criteria for the filling of Glen Canyon Reservoir (27 Fed. Reg. 6851, July 19, 1962). For this purpose, $500,000 for each year of operation of Hoover Dam and powerplant, commencing with fiscal year 1970, shall be transferred from the Colorado River Development Fund to the Upper Colorado River Basin Fund, in lieu of application of said amounts to the purposes stated in section 618a(d) of this title, until such reimbursement is accomplished. To the extent that any deficiency in such reimbursement remains as of June 1, 1987, the amount of the remaining deficiency shall then be transferred to the Upper Colorado River Basin Fund from the Lower Colorado River Basin Development Fund, as provided in section 1543(g) of this title.

43 U.S.C. § 620e Cost allocations; Indian lands; report to Congress

Upon completion of each unit, participating project or separable feature thereof, the Secretary shall allocate the total costs (excluding any expenditures authorized by section 620g of this title) of constructing said unit, project or feature to power, irrigation, municipal water supply, flood control, navigation, or any other purposes authorized under reclamation law. Allocations of construction, operation and maintenance costs to authorized nonreimbursable purposes shall be nonreturnable under the provisions of this chapter. In the event that the Navajo participating project is authorized, the costs allocated to irrigation of Indian-owned tribal or restricted lands within, under, or served by such project, and beyond the capability of such lands to repay, shall be determined, and, in recognition of the fact that assistance to the Navajo Indians is the responsibility of the entire nation, such costs shall be nonreimbursable. On January 1 of each year the Secretary shall report to the Congress for the previous fiscal year, beginning with the fiscal year 1957, upon the status of the revenues from, and the cost of, constructing, operating, and maintaining the Colorado River storage project and the participating projects. The Secretary’s report shall be prepared to reflect accurately the Federal investment allocated at that time to power, to irrigation, and to other purposes, the progress of return and repayment thereon, and the estimated rate of progress, year by year, in accomplishing full repayment.

43 U.S.C. § 620f Powerplant operations

The hydroelectric powerplants and transmission lines authorized by this chapter to be constructed, operated, and maintained by the Secretary shall be operated in conjunction with other Federal powerplants, present and potential, so as to produce the greatest practicable amount of power and energy that can be sold at firm power and energy rates, but in the exercise of the authority hereby granted he shall not affect or interfere with the operation of the provisions of the Colorado River Compact, the Upper Colorado River Basin Compact, the Boulder Canyon Project Act [43 U.S.C. 617 et seq.], the Boulder Canyon Project Adjustment Act [43 U.S.C. 618 et seq.], and any contract lawfully entered into under said Compacts and Acts. Subject to the provisions of the Colorado River Compact, neither the impounding nor the use of water for the generation of power and energy at the plants of the Colorado River storage project shall preclude or impair the appropriation of water for domestic or agricultural purposes pursuant to applicable State law.

43 U.S.C. § 620g Recreational and fish and wildlife facilities

In connection with the development of the Colorado River storage project and of the participating projects, the Secretary is authorized and directed to investigate, plan, construct, operate, and maintain (1) public recreational facilities on lands withdrawn or acquired for the development of said project or of said participating projects, to conserve the scenery, the natural, historic, and archeologic objects, and the wildlife on said lands, and to provide for public use and enjoyment of the same and of the water areas created by these projects by such means as are consistent with the primary purposes of said projects; and (2) facilities to mitigate losses of, and improve conditions for, the propagation of fish and wildlife. The Secretary is authorized to acquire lands necessary for the construction, operation, and maintenance of the facilities herein provided, and to dispose of them to Federal, State, and local governmental agencies by lease, transfer, exchange, or conveyance upon such terms and conditions as will best promote their development and operation in the public interest. All costs incurred pursuant to this section shall be nonreimbursable and nonreturnable.

43 U.S.C. § 620h Saving provisions

Nothing contained in this chapter shall be construed to alter, amend, repeal, construe, interpret, modify, or be in conflict with the provisions of the Boulder Canyon Project Act (45 Stat. 1057) [43 U.S.C. 617 et seq.], the Boulder Canyon Project Adjustment Act (54 Stat. 774) [43 U.S.C. 618 et seq.], the Colorado River Compact, the Upper Colorado River Basin Compact, the Rio Grande Compact of 1938, or the treaty with the United Mexican States (Treaty Series 994).

43 U.S.C. § 620i Expenditures; units excepted from soil survey and land classification requirements

Expenditures for the Flaming Gorge, Glen Canyon, Wayne N. Aspinall, and Navajo initial units of the Colorado River storage project may be made without regard to the soil survey and land classification requirements of section 390a 11 See References in Text note below. of this title.

43 U.S.C. § 620j Court decree; effectivity and approval

The Final Judgment, Final Decree and stipulations incorporated therein in the consolidated cases of United States of America v. Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District, et al., Civil Nos. 2782, 5016 and 5017, in the United States District Court for the District of Colorado, are approved, shall become effective immediately, and the proper agencies of the United States shall act in accordance therewith.

43 U.S.C. § 620k Authorization of appropriations

There are authorized to be appropriated, out of any moneys in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, such sums as may be required to carry out the purposes of this chapter, but not to exceed $760,000,000.

43 U.S.C. § 620l Net power revenues

In planning the use of, and in using credits from, net power revenues available for the purpose of assisting in the pay-out of costs of participating projects herein and hereafter authorized in the States of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming, the Secretary shall have regard for the achievement within each of said States of the fullest practicable use of the waters of the Upper Colorado River system, consistent with the apportionment thereof among such States.

43 U.S.C. § 620m Compliance with law required in operation of facilities; enforcement of provisions

In the operation and maintenance of all facilities, authorized by Federal law and under the jurisdiction and supervision of the Secretary of the Interior, in the basin of the Colorado River, the Secretary of the Interior is directed to comply with the applicable provisions of the Colorado River Compact, the Upper Colorado River Basin Compact, the Boulder Canyon Project Act [43 U.S.C. 617 et seq.], the Boulder Canyon Project Adjustment Act [43 U.S.C. 618 et seq.], and the Treaty with the United Mexican States, in the storage and release of water from reservoirs in the Colorado River Basin. In the event of the failure of the Secretary of the Interior to so comply, any State of the Colorado River Basin may maintain an action in the Supreme Court of the United States to enforce the provisions of this section, and consent is given to the joinder of the United States as a party in such suit or suites, as a defendant or otherwise.

43 U.S.C. § 620n Water quality study and reports

The Secretary of the Interior is directed to continue studies and to make a report to the Congress and to the States of the Colorado River Basin on the quality of water of the Colorado River.

43 U.S.C. § 620n–1 Top water bank

(a) The Secretary of the Interior may create and operate within the available capacity of Navajo Reservoir a top water bank. (b) Water made available for the top water bank in accordance with subsections (c) and (d) shall not be subject to section 11 of Public Law 87–483 (76 Stat. 99). (c) The top water bank authorized under subsection (a) shall be operated in a manner that—(1) is consistent with applicable law, except that, notwithstanding any other provision of law, water for purposes other than irrigation may be stored in the Navajo Reservoir pursuant to the rules governing the top water bank established under this section; and (2) does not impair the ability of the Secretary of the Interior to deliver water under contracts entered into under—(A) Public Law 87–483 (76 Stat. 96); and (B) New Mexico State Engineer File Nos. 2847, 2848, 2849, and 2917. (d)(1) The Secretary of the Interior, in cooperation with the State of New Mexico (acting through the Interstate Stream Commission), shall develop any terms and procedures for the storage, accounting, and release of water in the top water bank that are necessary to comply with subsection (c). (2) The terms and procedures developed under paragraph (1) shall include provisions requiring that—(A) the storage of banked water shall be subject to approval under State law by the New Mexico State Engineer to ensure that impairment of any existing water right does not occur, including storage of water under New Mexico State Engineer File No. 2849; (B) water in the top water bank be subject to evaporation and other losses during storage; (C) water in the top water bank be released for delivery to the owner or assigns of the banked water on request of the owner, subject to reasonable scheduling requirements for making the release; (D) water in the top water bank be the first water spilled or released for flood control purposes in anticipation of a spill, on the condition that top water bank water shall not be released or included for purposes of calculating whether a release should occur for purposes of satisfying the flow recommendations of the San Juan River Basin Recovery Implementation Program; and (E) water eligible for banking in the top water bank shall be water that otherwise would have been diverted and beneficially used in New Mexico that year. (e) The Secretary of the Interior may charge fees to water users that use the top water bank in amounts sufficient to cover the costs incurred by the United States in administering the water bank.

43 U.S.C. § 620o Definitions

As used in this chapter— The terms “Colorado River Basin”, “Colorado River Compact”, “Colorado River System”, “Lee Ferry”, “States of the Upper Division”, “Upper Basin”, and “domestic use” shall have the meaning ascribed to them in article II of the Upper Colorado River Basin Compact; The term “States of the Upper Colorado River Basin” shall mean the States of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming; The term “Upper Colorado River Basin” shall have the same meaning as the term “Upper Basin”; The term “Upper Colorado River Basin Compact” shall mean that certain compact executed on October 11, 1948 by commissioners representing the States of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming, and consented to by the Congress of the United States of America by Act of April 6, 1949 (63 Stat. 31); The term “Rio Grande Compact” shall mean that certain compact executed on March 18, 1938, by commissioners representing the States of Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas and consented to by the Congress of the United States of America by Act of May 31, 1939 (53 Stat. 785); The term “Treaty with the United Mexican States” shall mean that certain treaty between the United States of America and the United Mexican States, signed at Washington, District of Columbia, February 3, 1944, relating to the utilization of the waters of the Colorado River and other rivers, as amended and supplemented by the protocol dated November 14, 1944, and the understandings recited in the Senate resolution of April 18, 1945, advising and consenting to ratification thereof.