116 RIO GRANDE CONVENTION WITH MEXICO the head of the present Mexican Canal and Fort Quitman, Texas, and also declares fully settled and disposed of, and hereby waives, all claims heretofore asserted or existing, or that may hereafter arise, or be asserted, against the United States on account of any damages alleged to have been sustained by the owners of land in Mexico by reason of the diversion by citizens of the United States of waters of the Rio Grande. ARTICLE V The United States in entering into this treaty does thereby concede, expressly or by implication, any legal basis for any claims heretofore asserted or which may be hereafter asserted by reason of any losses incurred by the owners of land in Mexico due or alleged to be due to the diversion of the waters of the Rio Grande within the United States; nor does the United States in any way concede the establishment of any general principle or precedent by the concluding of this treaty. The understanding of both parties is that the arrangement contemplated by this treaty extends only to the portion of the Rio Grande which forms the international boundary from the head of the Mexican Canal down to Fort Quitman, Texas, and in no other case. ARTICLE VI The present convention shall be ratified by both contracting parties in accordance with their constitutional procedure, and the ratification shall be exchanged at Washington as soon as possible. In witness whereof the respective plenipotentiaries have signed the convention, both in the English and Spanish languages, and have thereunto affixed their seals. Done in duplicate at the City of Washington this 21st day of May, 1906. Cross Reference, Elephant Butte Dam and the Rio Grande Project. The Engle Dam referred to in Article I was completed in 1916 and renamed the Elephant Butte Dam. In addition to its function in providing storage to meet the water delivery obligation to Mexico under the 1906 Convention, the dam also provides irrigation water for the Rio Grande reclamation project, New Mexico and Texas, as authorized by the Act of February 25, 1905, 33 Stat. 814. The 1905 Act appears herein in chronological order, and annotations of opinions and further cross references regarding the Rio Grande project appear thereunder. Cross Reference, American Diversion Dam and Rio Grande Canalization Project. In order to provide better control, measurement and use of the water released from Elephant Butte storage, for purposes both of the Rio Grande reclamation project and the water delivery obligation to Mexico, the United States Section of the International Boundary Commission was authorized in 1935 to construct a new diversion dam just above the point where the river becomes the international boundary, and was authorized in 1936 to improve the river channel between there and Caballo Dam. The two authorizing acts of August 29, 1935, 49 Stat. 961, and June 4, 1936, 49 Stat. 1463, appear herein in chronological order. International Boundary Commission. The International Boundary Commission was created pursuant to the Convention with Mexico of March 1, 1889 (effective December 24, 1890), 26 Stat. 1512. It was reconstituted the International Boundary and Water Commission, United States and Mexico, by the Treaty with Mexico of Feb RIO GRANDE CONVENTION WITH MEXICO ruary 3, 1944 (effective November 8, 1945), 59 Stat. 1219. The 1944 Treaty appears herein in chronological order. Cross References, Statutory Authority of the Commission. The Act of August 19, 1935, which appears herein in chronological order, provides general authority for the work of the Commission, and the notes following the Act briefly summarize other statutory provisions relating to its program. Fort Quitman. For international purposes, Fort Quitman, Texas, is recognized as the point on the Rio Grande separating the Upper Rio Grande (river and basin) from the Lower Rio Grande (river and basin). The Treaty of February 3, 1944, deals with the utilization of the waters of the Rio Grande below Fort Quitman. The name "Lower Rio Grande Valley", however, applies to the valley beginning about 200 miles above the mouth of the River. Cross References, Miscellaneous. Other related subjects include the Rio Grande Compact, Middle Rio Grande project 117 (above Elephant Butte reservoir), Rio Grande rectification project (I.B.W.C.), and the 1944 Treaty with Mexico. Validity of Mexican Claim to Rio Grande Water. The disclaimers in Articles IV and V, that the Convention constitutes no recognition by the United States of the validity of Mexican claims to the waters of the Upper Rio Grande, stems in part from the 1895 opinion of Attorney General Harmon holding that the United States is completely free under international law to utilize all of the waters of the basin above the point where the river becomes the international boundary. 21 Op. Atty. Gen. 274 (1895). The validity of this holding has been questioned in later years. See Legal Aspects of the Use of Systems of International Waters, S. Doc. No. 118, 85th Cong., 2d Sess. 66-67 (1958). Editor's Note, Annotations. Annotations of opinions are not included because this Convention does not relate primarily to activities of the Bureau of Reclamation. 118 DISPOSITION OF LANDS IN ABANDONED FORT SHAW MILITARY RESERVATION An act to provide for the disposition under the public land laws of the lands in the abandoned Fort Shaw Military Reservation, Mont. (Act of June 9, 1906, ch. 3066, 34 Stat. 228) [Disposal of lands-Reservation-Withdrawal under reclamation act.]— The Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized to dispose of the lands in the abandoned Fort Shaw Military Reservation, in Montana, under the provisions. of the public land laws, and the public-land surveys shall be extended over the lands therein: Provided, That he may reserve for Indian school purposes the following-described lands in township twenty north, range two west, Montana principal meridian, as determined by the extension of the public surveys: That portion of section two lying south of Sun River, all of sections eleven, fourteen, and twenty-three, and that portion of section twenty-six lying within the present reservation boundary: Provided further, That before opening the reservation toentry, the Secretary of the Interior may withdraw any other lands therein needed in connection with an irrigation project under the provisions of the act of June seventeenth, nineteen hundred and two, known as the reclamation act, for use or disposition thereunder. (34 Stat. 228) EXPLANATORY NOTES Not Codified. This Act is not codified in the U.S. Code. Sun River Project. The lands of the Fort Shaw Military Reservation opened for entry pursuant to this Act became the first unit of the Sun River project. Legislative History. H.R. 17114, Public Law 215 in the 59th Congress. H.R. Rept. No. 3633. S. Rept. No. 3616. 119 EXTEND RECLAMATION ACT TO TEXAS An act to extend the irrigation act to the State of Texas. (Act of June 12, 1906, ch. 3288, 34 Stat. 259) The provisions of the Act entitled "An Act appropriating the receipts from the sale and disposal of public lands in certain States and Territories to the construction of irrigation works for the reclamation of arid lands,” approved June seventeenth, nineteen hundred and two, be, and the same are hereby, extended so as to include and apply to the State of Texas. (34 Stat. 259; 43 U.S.C. § 391) EXPLANATORY NOTES Cross Reference, Extension of Reclamation Act to Area of Texas Bordering the Rio Grande. The Act of February 25, 1905, 33 Stat. 814, extended the reclamation act to the portion of Texas bordering upon the Rio Grande which can be irrigated from a dam near Engle, New Mexico. The 1905 120 SALE OF INDIAN ALLOTTED LANDS IN RECLAMATION PROJECTS [Extract from] An act making appropriations for the current and contingent expenses of the Indian Department, for fulfilling treaty stipulations with various Indian tribes, and for other purposes, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1907. (Act of June 21, 1906, ch. 3504, 34 Stat. 325) [Sales of Indian allotted lands within reclamation projects-Proceeds.]— Any Indian allotted lands under any law or treaty without the power of alienation, and within a reclamation project approved by the Secretary of the Interior, may sell and convey any part thereof, under rules and regulations prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior, but such conveyance shall be subject to his approval, and when so approved shall convey full title to the purchaser the same as if final patent without restrictions had been issued to the allottee: Provided, That the consideration shall be placed in the Treasury of the United States and used by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs to pay the construction charges that may be assessed against the unsold part of the allotment, and to pay the maintenance charges thereon during the trust period, and any surplus shall be a benefit running with the water right to be paid to the holder thereof. (34 Stat. 327; 25 U.S.C. § 409) |