USC Chapter 12d

in effect

16 U.S.C. § 835 Project authorized; laws applicable

In addition to the primary purposes for which the Grand Coulee Dam project (hereafter to be known as the Columbia Basin project and herein called the “project”) was authorized under the provisions of the Act of August 30, 1935 (49 Stat. 1028), the project is authorized and reauthorized as a project subject to the Reclamation Project Act of 1939; and the provisions of each of those two Acts together with the provisions of this Act shall govern the repayment of expenditures and the construction, operation, and maintenance of the works constructed as a part of the project.

16 U.S.C. § 835c Duties of Secretary of the Interior

(a) Administer, sell, and exchange lands, dedicate portions for public purposes, etc.For the purposes of assisting in the permanent settlement of farm families, protecting project land, and facilitating project development, the Secretary is authorized to administer public lands of the United States in the project area and lands acquired under this section; to sell, exchange, or lease such lands; to dedicate portions of such lands for public purposes in keeping with sound project development; to acquire in the name of the United States, at prices satisfactory to him, such lands or interests in lands, within or adjacent to the project area, as he deems appropriate for the protection, development, or improvement of the project; and to accept donations of real and personal property for the purposes of this Act. Any moneys realized on account of donations for purposes of this Act shall be covered into the Treasury as trust funds. (b) Terms of contracts; qualifications of applicants; prohibited disposalsContracts, exchanges, and leases made under this section shall be on terms that, in the Secretary’s judgment, are in keeping with sound project development. In addition, land sale and exchange contracts shall be on a basis that, in the Secretary’s judgment, provides for the return, in a reasonable period of years, of not less than the appraised value of the land and improvements thereon. Qualification of applicants for the purchase of land for irrigation farming shall be prescribed as provided in section 433 of title 43, notwithstanding any other provisions of law. No farm unit shall be sold to, and no contract to sell a farm unit shall be entered into with, any person, corporation, or joint-stock association which has theretofore purchased or entered into a contract to purchase a farm unit from the United States on the Columbia Basin project. The foregoing provisions of this subsection shall apply only to the sale of farm units which are suitable for settlement purposes. Farm units which, in the opinion of the Secretary, are not suitable for settlement purposes may be sold with a preference to resident project landowners as supplemental units, subject to the applicable irrigable acreage limitations on the delivery of water, but the purchasers thereof shall not be entitled to benefits of the Act of August 13, 1953 (67 Stat. 566) [43 U.S.C. 451 et seq.] with respect thereto.

16 U.S.C. § 835c–1 Taxation and assessments; applicability of State laws

(a) Payments in lieu of taxesThe Secretary may enter into agreements to pay annual sums in lieu of taxes to any State or political subdivision thereof with respect to any real property situated therein after it is acquired pursuant to the authority of this Act and before execution by the United States of a contract of sale covering it, out of funds derived from the leasing of such lands. The amount so paid for any year upon any such property shall not exceed the taxes that would be paid to the State or subdivision as the case may be upon such property if it were not exempt from taxation thereby. (b) Lands acquired by United StatesAny public lands within the project and any lands or interests in lands acquired by the United States under this Act, beginning at such date or dates and subject to such provisions and limitations as may be fixed or provided by regulations made under section 8 [16 U.S.C. 835c–4], shall be (i) subject to the provisions of the laws of the State of Washington relating to the organization, government, and regulation of irrigation, reclamation, and conservancy districts, and (ii) subject to legal assessment or taxation by any such district, and to liens for such assessments and taxes and to all proceedings for the enforcement thereof, in the same manner and to the same extent as privately owned lands of like character. The United States does not assume any obligation for amounts so assessed or taxed; and any proceedings to enforce them shall be subject to any title then remaining in the United States, to any prior lien reserved to the United States for unpaid installments under land sale contracts made under this Act, and to any lien for any other charges, accrued or unaccrued, under and by virtue of such contracts or any contract between the United States and the district in which the land is located. (c) Sale of project landsIn addition to taxation or assessment under subsection (b) upon execution by the United States of a contract of sale of any lands within the project, the lands under contract may be taxed by the State or political subdivision thereof in the same manner and to the same extent as privately owned lands of a like character. All taxes legally so assessed may be enforced in the same manner and under the same proceeding whereby said taxes are enforced against privately owned lands, subject to the limitations in favor of the United States that govern the enforcement of district assessments or taxes as provided in subsection (b). If lands under any such contract shall at any time revert to the United States before transfer of title under the contract by reason of default thereunder, all liens or tax titles resulting from taxes levied pursuant to the authority of this subsection upon such lands shall be thereupon extinguished; and the levying of any such tax by such State or political subdivision shall be deemed to be an agreement on its part, in the event of such reversion, to execute and record a formal release of such lien or tax title.

16 U.S.C. § 835c–2 Authorization of appropriations; establishment of Columbia Basin Land Development Account

There are authorized to be appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, such moneys as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act, to be reimbursable to the extent required by this Act. All revenues received in carrying out the provisions of section 4 hereof [16 U.S.C. 835c] shall be covered into the General Treasury as miscellaneous receipts. Amounts equal to appropriated funds requisitioned by the Secretary and made available for disbursement on the books of the Treasurer of the United States shall be debited in a special account in the Treasury, to be known as the Columbia Basin Land Development Account. Amounts equal to revenues covered into the General Treasury as miscellaneous receipts shall be credited in said special account. After such credits equal the amount of the debits with interest thereon at the rate of 3 per centum per annum from the respective dates of the debits, additional credits in said special account shall be made by the Secretary, in the manner determined by him, the basis of corresponding credits to the construction cost obligations of the district or districts entering into contracts for the repayment thereof.

16 U.S.C. § 835c–4 General powers of Secretary of the Interior; delegation to authorized representatives

The Secretary is authorized to perform such acts, to make such rules and regulations, and to include in contracts relating to the Columbia Basin project such provisions as he deems proper for carrying out the provisions of this Act; and in connection with sales or exchanges under the Act, he is authorized to effect conveyances without regard to the law governing the patenting of public lands. Wherever in this Act functions, powers, or duties are conferred upon the Secretary, said functions, powers, or duties may be performed, exercised, or discharged by his duly authorized representatives.

16 U.S.C. § 835d Acquisition of Indian lands, Spokane and Colville Reservations

In aid of the construction, operation and maintenance of the Columbia Basin project (formerly the Grand Coulee Dam project), authorized by the Act of August 30, 1935 (49 Stat. 1028), the Act of August 4, 1939 (53 Stat. 1187), and the Columbia Basin Project Act (Public, Numbered 8, Seventy-eighth Congress, first session, 57 Stat. 14), there is hereby granted to the United States, subject to the provisions of this section and sections 835e to 835h of this title, (a) all the right, title, and interest of the Indians in and to the tribal and allotted lands within the Spokane and Colville Reservations, including sites of agency and school buildings and related structures and unsold lands in the Klaxta town site, as may be designated therefor by the Secretary of the Interior from time to time: Provided, That no lands shall be taken for reservoir purposes above the elevation of one thousand three hundred and ten feet above sea level as shown by Bureau of Land Management surveys, except in Klaxta town site and except where in the judgment of the Secretary of the Interior, special circumstances concerning the reservoir or its operation and maintenance require the taking of land above that elevation; and (b) such other interests in or to any such lands and property within these reservations as may be required and as may be designated by the Secretary of the Interior from time to time for the construction of pipe lines, highways, railroads, telegraph, telephone, and electric-transmission lines in connection with the project, or for the relocation or reconstruction of such facilities made necessary by the construction of the project. The Secretary of the Interior, in lieu of reserving rights of hunting, fishing, and boating to the Indians in the areas granted under this section and sections 835e to 835h of this title, shall set aside approximately one-quarter of the entire reservoir area for the paramount use of the Indians of the Spokane and Colville Reservations for hunting, fishing, and boating purposes, which rights shall be subject only to such reasonable regulations as the Secretary may prescribe for the protection and conservation of fish and wildlife: Provided, That the exercise of the Indians’ rights shall not interfere with project operations. The Secretary shall also, where necessary, grant to the Indians reasonable rights of access to such area or areas across any project lands.

16 U.S.C. § 835e Payment for lands acquired from Spokane and Colville Reservations

As lands or interests in lands are designated from time to time under sections 835d to 835h of this title, the Secretary of the Interior shall determine the amount of money to be paid to the Indians as just and equitable compensation therefor. As to the tribal lands, the amounts so determined shall be transferred in the Treasury of the United States from the funds now or hereafter made available for the construction of the Columbia Basin project to the credit of the appropriate tribe pursuant to the provisions of section 155 of title 25. The amounts due individual landowners or their heirs or devisees shall be paid from funds now or hereafter made available for the construction of said project to the superintendent of the Colville Indian Agency or such other officer as shall be designated by the Secretary of the Interior for credit on the books of said agency to the accounts of the individuals concerned.

16 U.S.C. § 835f Use of funds deposited to allottees; land and improvements

Funds deposited to the credit of allottees, their heirs or devisees may be used in the discretion of the Secretary of the Interior, for the acquisition of other lands and improvements, or the relocation of existing improvements or construction of new improvements on the lands so acquired for the allottees or heirs whose lands and improvements are acquired under the provisions of sections 835d to 835h of this title. Lands so acquired shall be held in the same status as those from which the funds were derived, and shall be nontaxable until otherwise provided by Congress.

16 U.S.C. § 835g Relocation of Indian cemeteries

As to any Indian cemetery lands required for the project, the Secretary of the Interior is authorized, in his discretion, in lieu of requiring payment therefor, to establish cemeteries on other lands that he may select and acquire for the purpose, and to remove bodies, markers, and other appurtenances to the new sites. All costs incurred in connection with any such relocation shall be paid from moneys appropriated for the project. All right, title, and interest of the Indians in the lands within any cemetery so relocated shall terminate and the grant of title under sections 835d to 835h of this title take effect as of the date the Secretary of the Interior authorizes the relocation. Sites of the relocated cemeteries shall be held in trust by the United States for the Spokane or Colville Tribe, as the case may be, and shall be nontaxable.

16 U.S.C. § 835h Acts and regulations by Secretary of the Interior

The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to perform any and all acts and to prescribe such regulations as he may deem appropriate to carry out the provisions of sections 835d to 835g of this title.

16 U.S.C. § 835i Contracts with State of Washington for maintenance and operation of fish hatcheries

In connection with fish hatcheries built or to be built as a part of the fish-protection program required on the Columbia Basin Dam project, the Secretary of the Interior is authorized to contract with the State of Washington for the maintenance and operation of any of them at the expense of said State.

16 U.S.C. § 835j Projects marketing commercial power and energy; consolidated financial statement to President and Congress; adjustment of rates to assure return of reimbursable construction costs within prescribed period

The Secretary of the Interior shall prepare, maintain, and present annually to the President and the Congress a consolidated financial statement for all projects heretofore or hereafter authorized, including the third powerplant at Grand Coulee Dam, from or by means of which commercial power and energy is marketed through the facilities of the Federal Columbia River power system and for all other projects associated therewith to the extent that the costs of these projects are required by law to be charged to and returned from net revenues derived from the power and energy, or any power and energy, so marketed, and he shall, if said consolidated statement indicates that the reimbursable construction costs of the projects, or any of the projects, covered thereby which are chargeable to and returnable from the commercial power and energy so marketed are likely not to be returned within the period prescribed by law, take prompt action to adjust the rates charged for such power and energy to the extent necessary to assure such return.

16 U.S.C. § 835k Return of construction costs from marketing revenues in event of inability of irrigation water users to repay within repayment period and lack of other sources of revenue

Subject to the provisions of section 835l of this title, that portion of the construction cost of any project hereafter authorized to be constructed, operated, and maintained by the Secretary of the Interior under the Federal reclamation laws (Act of June 17, 1902, 32 Stat. 388, and Acts amendatory thereof or supplementary thereto) within the Pacific Northwest which, though allocated to irrigation, is beyond the ability of the irrigation water users to repay within the repayment period prescribed by law for that project and cannot be returned within the same period from other project sources of revenue shall be charged to and returned within that period from net revenues derived from the marketing of commercial power and energy through the Federal Columbia River power system, unless otherwise provided by law. As used in this section, the term “Pacific Northwest” has the meaning ascribed to it in section 837 of this title.

16 U.S.C. § 835l Congressional declaration of financial policy; limitations on assistance; analyses and studies; “net revenues” defined

It is declared to be the policy of the Congress that reclamation projects hereafter authorized in the Pacific Northwest to receive financial assistance from the Federal Columbia River power system shall receive such assistance only from the net revenues of that system as provided in this section, and that their construction shall be so scheduled that such assistance, together with similar assistance for previously authorized reclamation projects (including projects not now receiving such assistance for which the Congress may hereafter authorize financial assistance) will not cause increases in the rates and charges of the Bonneville Power Administration. It is further declared to be the policy of the Congress that the total assistance to all irrigation projects, both existing and future, in the Pacific Northwest shall not average more than $30,000,000 annually in any period of twenty consecutive years. Any analyses and studies authorized by the Congress for reclamation projects in the Pacific Northwest shall be prepared in accordance with the provisions of sections 835j to 835m of this title. As used in sections 835j to 835m of this title, the term “net revenues” means revenues as determined from time to time which are not required for the repayment of (1) all costs allocated to power at projects in the Pacific Northwest then existing or authorized, including the cost of acquiring power by purchase or exchange, and (2) presently authorized assistance from power to irrigation at projects in the Pacific Northwest existing and authorized prior to September 7, 1966.

16 U.S.C. § 835m Recommendations for changes in limitations on financial assistance; time and frequency of submission

On December 20, 1974, and thereafter at intervals coinciding with anniversary dates of Federal Energy Regulatory Commission general review of the rates and charges of the Bonneville Power Administration, the Secretary of the Interior shall recommend to the Congress any changes in the dollar limitations herein placed upon financial assistance to Pacific Northwest reclamation projects that he believes justified by changes in the cost-price levels existing on July 1, 1966, or by other relevant changes of circumstances.

16 U.S.C. § 835–1 Laws governing

The Columbia Basin project shall be governed by the Federal reclamation laws, being the Act of June 17, 1902 (32 Stat. 388), and all Acts amendatory thereof or supplementary thereto.