The Secretary of the Interior is authorized and directed to make examinations and surveys for, and to locate and construct, as herein provided, irrigation works for the storage, diversion, and development of waters, including artesian wells.

The sum of $125,000 annually is authorized to be appropriated for cooperative and miscellaneous investigations of the feasibility of reclamation projects.

The Secretary of the Interior is authorized, in his judgment and discretion, to employ for consultation purposes on important reclamation work ten consulting engineers, geologists, appraisers, and economists, at rates of compensation to be fixed by him, but not to exceed $50 per day for any engineer, geologist, appraiser, or economist so employed: Provided, That the total compensation paid to any engineer, geologist, appraiser, or economist during any fiscal year shall not exceed $5,000: Provided further, That notwithstanding the provisions of any other Act, retired officers of the Army or Navy may be employed by the Secretary of the Interior as consulting engineers in accordance with the provisions of this section.

After December 5, 1924, no new project or new division of a project shall be approved for construction or estimates submitted therefor by the Secretary until information in detail shall be secured by him concerning the water supply, the engineering features, the cost of construction, land prices, and the probable cost of development, and he shall have made a finding in writing that it is feasible, that it is adaptable for actual settlement and farm homes, and that it will probably return the cost thereof to the United States.

After June 25, 1910, no irrigation project contemplated by the Act of June 17, 1902, shall be begun unless and until the same shall have been recommended by the Secretary of the Interior and approved by the direct order of the President of the United States.

Expenditures shall not be made for carrying out the purposes of the reclamation law except out of appropriations made annually by Congress therefor, and there shall annually, in the Budget, be submitted to Congress estimates of the amount of money necessary to be expended for carrying out any or all of the purposes authorized by the reclamation law, including the extension and completion of existing projects and units thereof and the construction of new projects. The annual appropriations made hereunder by Congress for such purposes shall be paid out of the reclamation fund provided for by the reclamation law.

All moneys heretofore or hereafter refunded or received in connection with operations under the reclamation law, except repayments of construction and operation and maintenance charges, shall be a credit to the appropriation for the project or operation from or on account of which the collection is made and shall be available for expenditure in like manner as if said sum had been specifically appropriated for said project or operation.

All lands entered and entries made under the homestead laws within areas so withdrawn during such withdrawal shall be subject to all the provisions, limitations, charges, terms, and conditions of this Act; that said surveys shall be prosecuted diligently to completion, and upon the completion thereof, and of the necessary maps, plans, and estimates of cost, the Secretary of the Interior shall determine whether or not said project is practicable and advisable, and if determined to be impracticable or unadvisable he shall thereupon restore said lands to entry.

Where, in the opinion of the Secretary, a right of way or easement of any kind over public land is required in connection with a project the Secretary may reserve the same to the United States by filing in the Bureau of Land Management and in the appropriate local land office copies of an instrument giving a description of the right of way or easement and notice that the same is reserved to the United States for Federal irrigation purposes under sections 371, 376, 377, 412, 417, 433, 438,1

Before any contract is let or work begun for the construction of any reclamation project adopted after August 13, 1914, the Secretary of the Interior shall require the owners of private lands thereunder to agree to dispose of all lands in excess of the area which he shall deem sufficient for the support of a family upon the land in question, upon such terms and at not to exceed such price as the Secretary of the Interior may designate; and if any landowner shall refuse to agree to the requirements fixed by the Secretary of the Interior, his land shall not be included within the project if adopted for construction.

Upon the determination that any irrigation project is practicable, the Secretary of the Interior may cause to be let contracts for the construction of the same, in such portions or sections as it may be practicable to construct and complete as parts of the whole project, providing the necessary funds for such portions or sections are available, and thereupon he shall give public notice of the lands irrigable under such project, and limit of area per entry, which limit shall represent the acreage which, in the opinion of the Secretary, may be reasonably required for the support of a family upon the lands in question; also of the charges which shall be made per acre upon the said entries, and upon lands in private ownership which may be irrigated by the waters of the said irrigation project, and the number of annual installments in which such charges shall be paid and the time when such payments shall commence: Provided, That in all construction work eight hours shall constitute a day’s work.

In carrying out the provisions of the national irrigation law approved June 17, 1902, and in constructing works thereunder, the Secretary of the Interior is authorized to use and to permit the use by those engaged in the construction of works under said law, under rules and regulations to be prescribed by him, such earth, stone, and timber from the public lands of the United States as may be required in the construction of such works, and the Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to permit the use of earth, stone, and timber from the national forests of the United States for the same purpose, under rules and regulations to be prescribed by him.

Where, in carrying out the provisions of this Act, it becomes necessary to acquire any rights or property, the Secretary of the Interior is authorized to acquire the same for the United States by purchase or by condemnation under judicial process, and to pay from the reclamation fund the sums which may be needed for that purpose, and it shall be the duty of the Attorney General of the United States upon every application of the Secretary of the Interior, under this Act, to cause proceedings to be commenced for condemnation within thirty days from the receipt of the application at the Department of Justice.

Distribution and drainage systems authorized to be constructed under the Federal reclamation laws may, in lieu of construction by the Secretary of the Interior (referred to in sections 421a to 421h of this title as the “Secretary”), be constructed by irrigation districts or other public agencies according to plans and specifications approved by the Secretary as provided in sections 421a to 421h of this title. The drainage systems referred to in sections 421a to 421h of this title are those required for collection and removal of excess irrigation water, either on or below the surface of the ground and do not include enlargement or alteration of existing waterways for disposition or natural runoff.

To assist financially in the construction of the aforesaid local distribution and drainage systems by irrigation districts and other public agencies the Secretary is authorized, on application therefor by such irrigation districts or other public agencies, to make funds available on a loan basis from moneys appropriated for the construction of such distribution and drainage systems to any irrigation district or other public agency in an amount equal to the estimated construction cost of such system, contingent upon a finding by the Secretary that the loan can be returned to the United States in accordance with the general repayment provisions of sections 485a(d) and 485h(d) of this title and upon a showing that such district or agency already holds or can acquire all lands and interests in land (except public and other lands or interests in land owned by the United States which are within the administrative jurisdiction of the Secretary and subject to disposition by him) necessary for the construction, operation, and maintenance of the project. The Secretary shall, upon approval of a loan, including any loan for a distribution and drainage system receiving water from the San Luis unit, Central Valley project, authorized by the Act of June 3, 1960 (74 Stat. 156), enter into a repayment contract which includes such provisions as the Secretary shall deem necessary and proper to provide assurance of prompt repayment of the loan within not to exceed forty years plus a development period not to exceed ten years. The term “irrigation district or other public agency” shall for the purposes of sections 421a to 421h of this title mean any conservancy district, irrigation district, water users’ organization, or other organization, which is organized under State law and which has capacity to enter into contracts with the United States pursuant to the Federal reclamation laws.

The Secretary shall require, as conditions to any such loan, that the borrower contribute in money or materials, labor, lands, or interests in land, computed at their reasonable value, a portion not in excess of 10 per centum, of the construction cost of the distribution and drainage system (including all costs of acquiring lands and interests in land), that the plans for the system be in accord with sound engineering practices and be such as will achieve the purposes for which the system was authorized, and that the borrower agree to account in full in regard to all disbursements of borrowed funds and to return at once for application toward amortization of the loan all funds which are not expended in the construction of the distribution and drainage system. Every organization contracting for repayment of a loan under sections 421a to 421h of this title shall operate and maintain its distribution and drainage works in conformity with reasonable contractual requirements determined to be appropriate for the protection of the United States. The Secretary is hereby authorized to reconvey to borrowers all lands or interests in lands and distribution works transferred to the United States under the provisions of sections 421a to 421h of this title: Provided, That any reconveyance shall be upon the condition that the repayment contract of the borrower be amended to include such provisions as the Secretary shall deem necessary or proper to provide assurance of and security for prompt repayment of the loan. The head of any department or agency of the Government within whose administrative jurisdiction are lands owned by the United States the use of which is reasonably necessary for the construction, operation, and maintenance of distribution and drainage works under sections 421a to 421h of this title may grant to a borrower or prospective borrower under sections 421a to 421h of this title revocable permission for the use thereof in like manner as under sections 79 1

Except as otherwise provided in sections 421a to 421h of this title, the provisions of the Federal reclamation laws, and Acts amendatory thereto, are continued in full force and effect.

Unless otherwise provided in the Act authorizing construction of the project, the delivery and distribution of municipal and industrial water supplies shall be deemed to be an authorized project purpose under sections 421a to 421h of this title, and where appropriate, an allocation of loan funds acceptable to the Secretary shall be made between irrigation and municipal and industrial purposes. Loan repayment contracts shall require that the borrower pay interest on that portion of the unamortized loan obligation (including interest during construction) allocated in each year to municipal and industrial purposes at the rate provided in the Act authorizing the project, or absent such an authorized rate, at a rate determined by the Secretary of the Treasury as of the beginning of the fiscal year in which the contract, or contract amendment entered into pursuant to section 421f of this title, is executed, 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 date of issue, and by adjusting such average rate to the nearest one-eighth of 1 per centum.

The Secretary is hereby authorized to negotiate amendments to existing water service and irrigation distribution system loan contracts to conform said contracts to the provisions of sections 421a to 421h of this title.

Nothing in sections 421a to 421h of this title shall be construed to repeal or limit the procedural and substantive requirements of sections 372 and 383 of this title.

Works financed by loans made under sections 421a to 421h of this title shall be subject to all procedural and substantive requirements of the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act [16 U.S.C. 661 et seq.], the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as amended [33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.], and the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 [42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.].

Where, in carrying out projects under the provisions of the national reclamation Act it shall be necessary to construct dams in or across the Yellowstone River in the State of Montana, the Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized to construct and use and operate the same in the manner and for the purposes contemplated by said reclamation Act.