251

SALE OF WATER FOR MISCELLANEOUS PURPOSES

An act for furnishing water supply for miscellaneous purposes in connection with reclamation projects. (Act of February 25, 1920, 41 Stat. 451)

[Sale of water for miscellaneous purposes other than for irrigation-Contract-Delivery not to be detrimental to water service-Moneys received to be covered into the reclamation fund.]-The Secretary of the Interior, in connection with the operations under the reclamation law, is hereby authorized to enter into contract to supply water from any project irrigation system for other purposes than irrigation, upon such conditions of delivery, use, and payment as he may deem proper: Provided, That the approval of such contract by the water users' association or associations shall have been first obtained: Provided, That no such contract shall be entered into except upon a showing that there is no other practicable source of water supply for the purpose: Provided further, That no water shall be furnished for the uses aforesaid if the delivery of such water shall be detrimental to the water service for such irrigation project or to the rights of any prior appropriator: Provided further, That the moneys derived from such contracts shall be covered into the reclamation fund and be placed to the credit of the project from which such water is supplied. (41 Stat. 451; 43 U.S.C. § 521)

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Legislative History. S. 796, Public Law 147 in the 66th Congress. S. Rept. No. 21.

Approval of contract 4
Construction with other laws 1
Industrial use 3

H.R. Rept. No. 279.

NOTES OF OPINIONS

Penalties for delinquent payments 5
Replacement of irrigation use 2
1. Construction with other laws

Section 4 of the Act of April 16, 1906, authorizes the furnishing of project water to a town in the immediate vicinity of the project which has a pre-existing water right in the same source of water as the project source. The authority to furnish water in such a case under the 1906 Act is neither repealed by, nor subject to the conditions of, the Act of February 25, 1920, 41 Stat. 451, or section 9(c) of the Reclamation Project Act of 1939. Memorandum of Acting Commissioner Lineweaver to Regional Director, Boise, September 26, 1950, in re contracts with cities of Culver and Metolius, Deschutes Project, Oregon.

2. Replacement of irrigation use

The Secretary of the Interior has authority under the Act of February 25, 1920, 41 Stat. 451, to enter into a contract to

supply to the City of El Paso an amount of
water from the Rio Grande reclamation
project representing the water service for
certain project lands acquired by the city
and retired from irrigation farming, but
not to exceed a maximum of 32 acre-feet
of water a year for each acre of such land
acquired by the city. The city's ownership
of some 1400 acres of such land does not
violate the 160-acre limitation of reclama-
tion law. El Paso County Water Improve-
ment District No. 1 v. City of El Paso, 133
F. Supp. 894, 918-920 (W.D. Tex. 1955),
affirmed, 243 F. 2d 927 (5th Cir. 1957),
cert. denied, 355 U.S. 820 (1957).
3. Industrial use

A contract to permit the Public Service Company of Colorado to divert water from a canal of the Grand Valley project for cooling purposes may be entered into pursuant to the Act of February 25, 1920, or under section 9 (c) or section 10 of the Reclamation Project Act of 1939. Revenues arising from the furnishing of water for this purpose should be credited as a tail end

252 SALE OF WATER FOR MISCELLANEOUS PURPOSES

253

STUDY OF IRRIGATION IN IMPERIAL VALLEY

An act to provide for an examination and report on the condition and possible irrigation development of the Imperial Valley in California. (Act of May 18, 1920, ch. 188, 41 Stat. 600)

[Sec. 1. Study of irrigation in Imperial Valley authorized.]—The Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized and directed to have an examination made of the Imperial Valley in the State of California, with a view of determining the area, location, and general character of the public and privately owned unirrigated lands in said valley which can be irrigated at a reasonable cost, and the character, extent, and cost of an irrigation system, or of the modification, improvement, enlargement, and extension of the present system, adequate and dependable for the irrigation of the present irrigated area in the said valley, and of the public and privately owned lands in said valley and adjacent thereto not now under irrigation, which can be irrigated at a reasonable cost from known sources of water supply, by diversion of water from the Colorado River at Laguna Dam. (41 Stat. 600)

Sec. 2. [Report.]—The said Secretary shall report to Congress not later than the 6th day of December, 1920, the result of his examination, together with his recommendation as to the feasibility, necessity, and advisability of the undertaking, or the participation by the United States, in a plan of irrigation development with a view of placing under irrigation the remaining unirrigated public and privately owned lands in said valley and adjacent thereto, in connection with the modification, improvement, enlargement, and extension of the present irrigation systems of the said valley. (41 Stat. 600)

Sec. 3. [Detailed costs-Storage.]-The said Secretary shall report in detail as to the character and estimated cost of the plan or plans on which he may report, and if the said plan or plans shall include storage, the location, character, and cost of said storage, and the effect on the irrigation development of other sections or localities of the storage recommended and the use of the stored water in the Imperial Valley and adjacent lands. (41 Stat. 600) Sec. 4. [Financing.]-The said Secretary shall also report as to the extent, if any, to which, in his opinion, the United States should contribute to the cost of carrying out the plan or plans which he may propose; the approximate proportion of the total cost that should be borne by the various irrigation districts or associations or other public or private agencies now organized or which may be organized; and the manner in which their contribution should be made; also to what extent and in what manner the United States should control, operate, or supervise the carrying out of the plan proposed, and what assurances he has been able to secure as to the approval of, participation in, and contribution to the plan or plans proposed by the various contributing agencies. (41 Stat. 600)

Sec. 5. [Appropriation.]-For the purpose of enabling the Secretary of the Interior to pay not to exceed one-half of the cost of the examination and report

254

STUDY OF IRRIGATION IN IMPERIAL VALLEY

herein provided for, there is hereby authorized to be appropriated the sum of $20,000: Provided, That no expenditure shall be made or obligation incurred hereunder by the Secretary of the Interior until provision shall have been made for the payment of at least one-half the cost of the examination and report herein provided for by associations and agencies interested in the irrigation of the lands of the Imperial Valley. (41 Stat. 601)

255

SALE OF SURPLUS IMPROVED PUBLIC LANDS

An act to provide for the disposition of public lands withdrawn and improved under the provisions of the reclamation laws, and which are no longer needed in connection with said laws. (Act of May 20, 1920, ch. 192, 41 Stat. 605)

[Sec. 1. Appraisal of land-Manner of sale-Payment of purchase price.]— Whenever in the opinion of the Secretary of the Interior any public lands which have been withdrawn for or in connection with construction or operation of reclamation projects under the provisions of the act of June 17, 1902, known as the reclamation act and acts amendatory thereof and supplemental thereto, which are not otherwise reserved and which have been improved by and at the expense of the reclamation fund for administration or other like purposes, are no longer needed for the purposes for which they were withdrawn and improved, the Secretary of the Interior may cause said lands, together with the improvements thereon, to be appraised by three disinterested persons to be appointed by him and thereafter sell the same, for not less than the appraised value, at public auction to the highest bidder, after giving public notice of the time and place of sale by posting upon the land and by publication for not less than thirty days in a newspaper of general circulation in the vicinity of the land; not less than one-fifth the purchase price shall be paid at the time of sale, and the remainder in not more than four annual payments with interest at 6 per centum per annum, payable annually, on deferred payments. (41 Stat. 605; 43 U.S.C. § 375)

1. Publication of notice of sale

NOTE OF OPINION

In the Acts of February 2, 1911, and May 20, 1920 relating to the sale of lands on Federal irrigation projects, the language "by publication for not less than 30 days" deals with the period during which notice is to be given, and is not a statutory requirement that publication be had for 30 consecu

tive days in a daily newspaper. Where a weekly newspaper of general circulation is the paper nearest the land, the purpose of the statutes will be fully subserved by publication in five consecutive issues of such newspaper. Departmental decision, June 21, 1920, printed at page 382, Reclamation Record, August 1920.

Sec. 2. [Patents to land sold-Amount sold to one person-Duties of purchasers-Citizenship.]—Upon payment of the purchase price the Secretary of the Interior is authorized, by appropriate patent, to convey all the right, title, and interest of the United States in and to said lands to the purchaser at said sale, subject, however, to such reservations, limitations, or conditions as said Secretary may deem proper: Provided, That not over one hundred and sixty acres shall be sold to any one person, and if said lands are irrigable under the project in which located they shall be sold subject to compliance by the purchaser with all the terms, conditions, and limitations of the reclamation act applicable to lands of that character: Provided, That the accepted bidder must, prior to issuance of patent, furnish satisfactory evidence that he or she is a citizen of the United States. (41 Stat. 606; 43 U.S.C. § 375)