43 U.S.C. § 390hh — Operation and maintenance charges

Page 122 TITLE 43—PUBLIC LANDS § 390hh (Pub. L. 97–293, title II, § 207, Oct. 12, 1982, 96 Stat. 1266.) § 390hh. Operation and maintenance charges (a) Price adequate to recover charges The price of irrigation water delivered by the Secretary pursuant to a contract or an amend- ment to a contract with a district, as specified in section 390cc of this title, shall be at least sufficient to recover all operation and mainte- nance charges which the district is obligated to pay to the United States. (b) Modification of price Whenever a district enters into a contract or requests that its contract be amended as speci- fied in section 390cc of this title, and each year thereafter, the Secretary shall calculate such operation and maintenance charges and shall modify the price of irrigation water delivered under the contract as necessary to reflect any changes in such costs by amending the district’s contract accordingly. (c) Districts not operating from Federal funds This section shall not apply to districts which operate and maintain project facilities and fi- nance the operation and maintenance thereof from non-Federal funds. (Pub. L. 97–293, title II, § 208, Oct. 12, 1982, 96 Stat. 1267.) § 390ii. Disposition of excess lands (a) Disposal of lands in excess of ownership limi- tations within reasonable time Irrigation water made available in the oper- ation of reclamation project facilities may not be delivered for use in the irrigation of lands held in excess of the ownership limitations im- posed by Federal reclamation law, including this subchapter, unless and until the owners thereof shall have executed a recordable contract with the Secretary, in accordance with the terms and conditions required by Federal reclamation law, requiring the disposal of their interest in such excess lands within a reasonable time to be es- tablished by the Secretary. In the case of re- cordable contracts entered into prior to October 12, 1982, such reasonable time shall not exceed ten years after the recordable contract is exe- cuted by the Secretary. In the case of recordable contracts entered into after October 12, 1982, ex- cept as provided in section 390rr of this title, such reasonable time shall not exceed five years after the recordable contract is executed by the Secretary. (b) Continued delivery of irrigation water to lands held in excess of ownership limitations Lands held in excess of the ownership limita- tions imposed by Federal reclamation law, in- cluding this subchapter, which, on October 12, 1982, are, or are capable of, receiving delivery of irrigation water made available by the oper- ation of existing reclamation project facilities may receive such deliveries only— (1) if the disposal of the owner’s interest in such lands is required by an existing record- able contract with the Secretary, or (2) if the owners of such lands have requested that a recordable contract be executed by the Secretary. (c) Amendment of existing recordable contracts Recordable contracts existing on October 12, 1982, shall be amended at the request of the landowner to conform with the ownership limi- tations contained in this subchapter: Provided, That the time period for disposal of excess lands specified in the existing recordable contract shall not be extended except as provided in sub- section (e). (d) Power of attorney requirement in contracts; exercise of power by Secretary Any recordable contract covering excess lands sales shall provide that a power of attorney shall vest in the Secretary to sell any excess lands not disposed of by the owners thereof within the period of time specified in the record- able contract. In the exercise of that power, the Secretary shall sell such lands through an im- partial selection process only to qualified pur- chasers according to such reasonable rules and regulations as the Secretary may establish: Pro- vided, That the Secretary shall recover for the owner the fair market value of the land unre- lated to irrigation water deliveries plus the fair market value of improvements thereon. (e) Extension of time for disposal of excess lands In the event that the owner of any lands in ex- cess of the ownership limitations of Federal rec- lamation law has heretofore entered into a re- cordable contract with the Secretary for the dis- position of such excess lands and has been pre- vented from disposing of them because the Sec- retary may have withheld the processing or ap- proval of the disposition of the lands (whether he may have been compelled to do so by court order or for other reasons), the period of time for the disposal of such lands by the owner thereof pursuant to the contract shall be ex- tended from the date on which the Secretary again commences the processing or the approval of the disposition of such lands for a period which shall be equal to the remaining period of time under the recordable contract for the dis- posal thereof by the owner at the time the deci- sion of the Secretary to withhold the processing or approval of such disposition first became ef- fective. (f) Eligibility of excess lands for irrigation water after disposition Excess lands which have been or may be dis- posed of in compliance with Federal reclamation law, including this subchapter, shall not be con- sidered eligible to receive irrigation water un- less— (1) they are held by nonexcess owners; and (2) in the case of disposals made after Octo- ber 12, 1982, their title is burdened by a cov- enant prohibiting their sale, for a period of ten years after their original disposal to comply with Federal reclamation law, including this subchapter, for values exceeding the sum of the value of newly added improvements and the value of the land as increased by market appreciation unrelated to the delivery of irri- gation water. Upon expiration of the terms of such covenant, the title to such lands shall be freed of the burden of any limitations on sub- sequent sale values which might otherwise be imposed by the operation of section 423e of this title.