The right to the use of water acquired under the provisions of this Act shall be appurtenant to the land irrigated, and beneficial use shall be the basis, the measure, and the limit of the right.

The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to perform any and all acts and to make such rules and regulations as may be necessary and proper for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this Act into full force and effect.

Under the supervision and direction of the Secretary of the Interior, the reclamation of arid lands, under the Act of June 17, 1902, and Acts amendatory thereof and supplementary thereto, shall be administered by a Commissioner of Reclamation who shall be appointed by the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.

In order to increase opportunities for Indian tribes to develop, manage, and protect their water resources, in fiscal year 2003 and thereafter, the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation, is authorized to enter into grants and cooperative agreements with any Indian tribe, institution of higher education, national Indian organization, or tribal organization pursuant to sections 6301 to 6308 of title 31. Nothing in this Act is intended to modify or limit the provisions of the Indian Self Determination Act [25 U.S.C. 5321 et seq.].

The Secretary may hereafter partner, provide a grant to, or enter into a cooperative agreement with local joint powers authorities formed pursuant to State law by irrigation districts and other local water districts and local governments, to advance planning and feasibility studies authorized by Congress for water storage project: Provided, That the Secretary shall ensure that all documents associated with the preparation of planning and feasibility studies and applicable environmental reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act [42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.] for a project covered by this section shall be made available to any joint powers authority with whom the Secretary enters into an agreement to advance such project: Provided further, That the Secretary, acting through the Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation, shall ensure that all applicable environmental reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act, to the degree such reviews are required, are completed on an expeditious basis and that the shortest existing applicable process under the National Environmental Policy Act shall be utilized, including in the completion of feasibility studies, Draft Environmental Impact Statements (DEIS) and Final Environmental Impact Statements (FEIS): Provided further, That the Bureau of Reclamation need not complete the applicable feasibility study, DEIS or FEIS if the Commissioner determines, and the Secretary concurs, that the project can be expedited by a joint powers authority as a non-Federal project or if the project fails to meet applicable Federal cost-benefit requirements or standards: Provided further, That the Secretary shall not provide financial assistance towards these studies or projects, unless there is a demonstrable Federal interest.

Whenever in the opinion of the Secretary of the Interior any lands which have been acquired under the provisions of the Act of June seventeenth, nineteen hundred and two (Thirty-second Statutes, page three hundred and eighty-eight), commonly called the “reclamation Act,” or under the provisions of any Act amendatory thereof or supplementary thereto, for any irrigation works contemplated by said reclamation Act are not needed for the purposes for which they were acquired, said 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 to 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.

Upon payment of the purchase price, the Secretary of the Interior is authorized by appropriate deed to convey all the right, title, and interest of the United States of, 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.

The moneys derived from the sale of such lands shall be covered into the reclamation fund and be placed to the credit of the project for which such lands had been acquired.

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 1

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 law 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.

The moneys derived from the sale of such lands shall be covered into the reclamation fund and be placed to the credit of the project for which such lands had been withdrawn.

The Secretary in his discretion, in any instances where property to be sold under section 374 or 375 of this title, is appraised at not to exceed $300, may sell said property at public or private sale without complying with the provisions of said sections as to notice, publication, and mode of sale.

In accordance with the provisions of sections 375b to 375f of this title and notwithstanding the provisions of any other law, the Secretary of the Interior, hereinafter styled the Secretary, is authorized, in connection with any Federal irrigation project for which water is available, and after finding that such action will be in furtherance of the irrigation project and the Act of June 17, 1902 (32 Stat. 388), and Acts amendatory thereof or supplemental thereto, hereinafter styled the Reclamation Act, to dispose of any tract of withdrawn public land which, in the opinion of the Secretary, has less than sufficient acreage reasonably required for the support of a family and is too small to be opened to homestead entry and classed as a farm unit under the Reclamation Act.

The Secretary is authorized to sell such land to resident farm owners or resident entrymen, on the project upon which such land is located, at prices not less than that fixed by independent appraisal approved by the Secretary, and upon such terms and at private sale or at public auction as he may prescribe: Provided, That such resident farm landowner or resident entryman shall be permitted to purchase under sections 375b to 375f of this title not more than one hundred and sixty acres of such land, or an area which, together with land already owned or entered on such project shall not exceed one hundred and sixty irrigable acres.

After the purchaser has paid to the United States all the amount on the purchase price of such land, a patent shall be issued. Such patents shall contain a reservation of a lien for water charges when deemed appropriate by the Secretary, and reservations of coal or other mineral rights to the same extent as patents issued under the homestead laws and also other reservations, limitations, or conditions as now provided by law.

The moneys derived from the sale of such lands shall be covered into the reclamation fund and be placed to the credit of the project on which such lands are located.

The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to perform any and all acts and to make rules and regulations necessary and proper for carrying out the purposes of sections 375b to 375f of this title.

Where real property or any interest therein heretofore has been, or hereafter shall be, donated and conveyed to the United States for use in connection with a project, and the Secretary decides not to utilize the donation, he is authorized without charge to reconvey such property or any part thereof to the donating grantor, or to the heirs, successors, or assigns of such grantor.

The cost and expense after June 30, 1945, of the office of the Commissioner in the District of Columbia, and, except for such cost and expense as are incurred on behalf of specific proj­ects, of general investigations and of nonproj­ect offices outside the District of Columbia, shall be charged to the reclamation fund and shall not be charged as a part of the reimbursable construction or operation and maintenance costs.

No funds appropriated to the Bureau of Reclamation for operation and maintenance in this Act or in subsequent Energy and Water Development Appropriations Acts, except those derived from advances by water users, shall on and after October 2, 1992, be used for the particular benefits of lands (a) within the boundaries of an irrigation district, (b) of any member of a water users’ organization, or (c) of any individual when such district, organization, or individual is in arrears for more than twelve months in the payment of charges due under a contract entered into with the United States pursuant to laws administered by the Bureau of Reclamation.

Appropriations for the Bureau of Reclamation in this Act or in subsequent Energy and Water Development Appropriations Acts shall on and after October 2, 1992, be available for payment of claims for damages to or loss of property, personal injury, or death arising out of activities of the Bureau of Reclamation, not to exceed $5,000,000 for each causal event giving rise to a claim or claims; payment, except as otherwise provided for, of compensation and expenses of persons on the rolls of the Bureau of Reclamation appointed as authorized by law to represent the United States in the negotiations and administration of interstate compacts without reimbursement or return under the reclamation laws; services as authorized by section 3109 of title 5, in total not to exceed $500,000 per year; rewards for information or evidence concerning violations of law involving property under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Reclamation; performance of the functions specified under the head “Operation and Maintenance Administration”, Bureau of Reclamation, in the Interior Department Appropriations Act 1

Sums appropriated in this Act or in subsequent Energy and Water Development Appropriations Acts which are expended in the performance of reimbursable functions of the Bureau of Reclamation shall be returnable to the extent and in the manner provided by law.

No part of any appropriation for the Bureau of Reclamation, contained in this Act, in any prior Act, or in subsequent Energy and Water Development Appropriations Acts which represents amounts earned under the terms of a contract but remaining unpaid, shall be obligated for any other purpose, regardless of when such amounts are to be paid: Provided, That the incurring of any obligation prohibited by this paragraph shall be deemed a violation of section 1341 of title 31.

None of the funds made available by this or any other Act or by any subsequent Act shall on and after October 2, 1992, be used by the Bureau of Reclamation for contracts for surveying and mapping services unless such contracts for which a solicitation is issued after the date of this Act 2

The Secretary of the Interior may authorize the purchase of such law books, books of reference, periodicals, engineering and statistical publications as are needed in carrying out the surveys and examinations authorized by the Act of June seventeenth, nineteen hundred and two, entitled “An Act appropriating the receipts from the sale and disposal of public lands in certain States and Territories for the construction of irrigation works for the reclamation of arid lands.”

Nothing in this Act shall be construed as affecting or intended to affect or to in any way interfere with the laws of any State or Territory relating to the control, appropriation, use, or distribution of water used in irrigation, or any vested right acquired thereunder, and the Secretary of the Interior, in carrying out the provisions of this Act, shall proceed in conformity with such laws, and nothing herein shall in any way affect any right of any State or of the Federal Government or of any landowner, appropriator, or user of water in, to, or from any interstate stream or the waters thereof.

The Secretary of the Interior, giving due consideration to the temporary nature of the requirements therefor, is authorized to make such provision as he deems to be necessary and in the public interest for the education of dependents of persons employed on the actual construction of projects or features of projects, by the Bureau of Reclamation, in any cases in which he finds that by reason of such construction activity, an undue burden is, or will be cast upon the facilities of the public-school districts serving the areas in which construction is being undertaken, and to pay for the same from any funds available for the construction of said projects: Provided, That the Secretary of the Interior shall enter into cooperative arrangements with local school districts wherein such features are situated to contribute toward covering the cost of furnishing the educational services required for such dependents, or for the operation by those school districts of Government facilities, or for the expansion of local school facilities. Such cost incurred hereunder shall be charged to the project concerned and shall be repayable in the same manner and to the same extent as are its other costs of construction.

The excess-land provisions of the Federal reclamation laws shall not be applicable to lands which on June 16, 1938, had an irrigation water supply from sources other than a Federal reclamation project and which will receive a supplemental supply from the Colorado-Big Thompson project.

The Secretary, in his discretion, may (a) permit the removal, from lands or interests in lands withdrawn or acquired and being administered under the Federal reclamation laws in connection with the construction or operation and maintenance of any project, of sand, gravel, and other minerals and building materials with or without competitive bidding: Provided, That removals may be permitted without charge if for use by a public agency in the construction of public roads or streets within any project or in its immediate vicinity; and (b) grant leases and licenses for periods not to exceed fifty years, and easements or rights-of-way with or without limitation as to period of time affecting lands or interest in lands withdrawn or acquired and being administered under the Federal reclamation laws in connection with the construction or operation and maintenance of any project: Provided, That, if a water users’ organization is under contract obligation for repayment on account of the project or division involved, easements or rights-of-way for periods in excess of twenty-five years shall be granted only upon prior written approval of the governing board of such organization. Such permits or grants shall be made only when, in the judgment of the Secretary, their exercise will not be incompatible with the purposes for which the lands or interests in lands are being administered, and shall be on such terms and conditions as in his judgment will adequately protect the interests of the United States and the project for which said lands or interests in lands are being administered.

When appropriations have been made for the commencement or continuation of construction or operation and maintenance of any project, the Secretary may, in connection with such construction or operation and maintenance, enter into contracts for miscellaneous services, for materials and supplies, as well as for construction, which may cover such periods of time as the Secretary may consider necessary but in which the liability of the United States shall be contingent upon appropriations being made therefor.

The Secretary is authorized, in connection with the construction or operation and maintenance of any project, (a) to purchase or condemn suitable lands or interests in lands for relocation of highways, roadways, railroads, telegraph, telephone, or electric transmission lines, or any other properties whatsoever, the relocation of which in the judgment of the Secretary is necessitated by said construction or operation and maintenance, and to perform any or all work involved in said relocations on said lands or interests in lands, other lands or interests in lands owned and held by the United States in connection with the construction or operation and maintenance of said project, or properties not owned by the United States; (b) to enter into contracts with the owners of said properties whereby they undertake to acquire any or all property needed for said relocation, or to perform any or all work involved in said relocations; and (c) for the purpose of effecting completely said relocations, to convey or exchange Government properties acquired or improved under (a) above, with or without improvements, or other properties owned and held by the United States in connection with the construction or operation and maintenance of said project, or to grant perpetual easements therein or thereover. Grants or conveyances hereunder shall be by instruments executed by the Secretary without regard to provisions of law governing the patenting of public lands.

The Secretary is further authorized, for the purpose of orderly and economical construction or operation and maintenance of any project, to enter into such contracts for exchange or replacement of water, water rights, or electric energy or for the adjustment of water rights, as in his judgment are necessary and in the interests of the United States and the project.

On and after December 22, 1944, whenever the Secretary of the Army determines, upon recommendation by the Secretary of the Interior that any dam and reservoir project operated under the direction of the Secretary of the Army may be utilized for irrigation purposes, the Secretary of the Interior is authorized to construct, operate, and maintain, under the provisions of the Federal reclamation laws (Act of June 17, 1902, 32 Stat. 388, and Acts amendatory thereof or supplementary thereto), such additional works in connection therewith as he may deem necessary for irrigation purposes. Such irrigation works may be undertaken only after a report and findings thereon have been made by the Secretary of the Interior as provided in said Federal reclamation laws and after subsequent specific authorization of the Congress by an authorization Act; and, within the limits of the water users’ repayment ability such report may be predicated on the allocation to irrigation of an appropriate portion of the cost of structures and facilities used for irrigation and other purposes. Dams and reservoirs operated under the direction of the Secretary of the Army may be utilized after December 22, 1944, for irrigation purposes only in conformity with the provisions of this section, but the foregoing requirement shall not prejudice lawful uses now existing: Provided, That this section shall not apply to any dam or reservoir heretofore constructed in whole or in part by the Army engineers, which provides conservation storage of water for irrigation purposes. In the case of any reservoir project constructed and operated by the Corps of Engineers, the Secretary of the Army is authorized to allocate water which was allocated in the project purpose for municipal and industrial water supply and which is not under contract for delivery, for such periods as he may deem reasonable, for the interim use for irrigation purposes of such storage until such storage is required for municipal and industrial water supply. No contracts for the interim use of such storage shall be entered into which would significantly affect then-existing uses of such storage.

Cognizant that many States and local interests have in the past contributed to the Government, or have contracted to pay to the Government over a specified period of years, money equivalent to the cost of providing for them water storage space at Government-owned dams and reservoirs, constructed by the Corps of Engineers of the United States Army, and that such practices will continue, and, that no law defines the duration of their interest in such storage space, and realizing that such States and local interests assume the obligation of paying substantially their portion of the cost of providing such facilities, their right to use may be continued during the existence of the facility as hereinafter provided.

Sections 390c to 390f of this title are applicable to all dams and reservoirs heretofore or hereafter constructed by the United States Government (acting through the Corps of Engineers of the United States Army) wherein either a part of the construction cost thereof shall have been contributed or may be contributed by States or local interests (hereinafter called “local interests”) or local interests have acquired or may acquire rights to utilize certain storage space thereof by making payments during the period of such use as specified in the agreement with the Government and wherein the amount of money paid, exclusive of interest, is equivalent to the cost of providing that part of such dam and reservoir which is allocated to such use, whether such share of cost shall have been determined by the “incremental cost” method or by the “separable costs-remaining benefits” method or by any other method. Included among the dams and reservoirs affected by sections 390c to 390f of this title are those constructed by the Corps of Engineers of the Department of the Army, but nothing in sections 390c to 390f of this title shall be construed to affect or modify section 390 of this title.

The right thus acquired by any such local interest is declared to be available to the local interest so long as the space designated for that purpose may be physically available, taking into account such equitable reallocation of reservoir storage capacities among the purposes served by the project as may be necessary due to sedimentation, and not limited to the term of years which may be prescribed in any lease agreement or other agreement with the Government, but the enjoyment of such right will remain subject to performance of its obligations prescribed in such lease agreement or agreement executed in reference thereto. Such obligations will include continued payment of annual operation and maintenance costs allocated to water supply. In addition, local interests shall bear the costs allocated to the water supply of any necessary reconstruction, rehabilitation, or replacement of project features which may be required to continue satisfactory operation of the project. Any affected local interest may utilize such facility so long as it is operated by the Government. In the event that the Government concludes that it can no longer usefully and economically maintain and operate such facility, the responsible department or agency of the Government is authorized to negotiate a contract with the affected local interest under which the local interest may continue to operate such part of the facility as is necessary for utilization of the storage space allocated to it, under terms which will protect the public interest and provided that the Government is effectively absolved from all liability in connection with such operation.

Upon application of any affected local interest its existing lease or agreement with the Government will be revised to evidence the conversion of its rights to the use of the storage as prescribed in sections 390c to 390f of this title.

The Secretary of the Interior (hereinafter referred to as the “Secretary”), acting through the Bureau of Reclamation (hereinafter referred to as the “Bureau”), shall, in two phases, conduct an investigation of and establish demonstration projects for groundwater recharge of aquifers in the States of Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming (such States to be hereinafter referred to as the “High Plains States”) and in the other States referred to in section 391 of this title (hereinafter referred to as “other Reclamation Act States”), as provided by sections 390g to 390g–8 of this title: Provided, That funds made available pursuant to sections 390g to 390g–8 of this title shall not be used for the study or construction of groundwater recharge demonstration projects in the High Plains States and other Reclamation Act States which would utilize water originating in the drainage basin of the Great Lakes. The Bureau shall consult with the United States Geological Survey and other appropriate agencies and departments of the United States and of the High Plains States and other Reclamation Act States in order to carry out sections 390g to 390g–8 of this title.

The Secretary, acting through the Bureau, and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (hereinafter referred to as the “Administrator”) shall enter into a memorandum-of-understanding to provide for an evaluation of the impacts to surface water and groundwater quality resulting from the groundwater recharge demonstration projects constructed pursuant to sections 390g to 390g–8 of this title. The Administrator shall consult with the United States Geological Survey and shall make maximum use of data, studies, and other technical resources and assistance available from State and local entities in conducting the evaluation. The evaluation of water quality impacts shall be completed

There is authorized to be appropriated $500,000 for fiscal years beginning after September 30, 1983, to carry out phase I. Amounts shall be made available pursuant to the authorization contained in this section in a single sum for all demonstration project sites, and it shall be within the discretion of the Secretary to apportion such sum among such sites.

There is authorized to be appropriated for fiscal years beginning after September 30, 1983, $31,000,000 (October 1990 price levels) plus or minus such amounts, if any, as may be required by reason of ordinary fluctuations in construction costs as indicated by engineering cost indexes applicable to the type of construction involved herein to carry out phase II. Amounts shall be made available pursuant to the authorization contained in this section in sums for individual projects based on findings of feasibility by the Secretary.

The funds authorized to be appropriated pursuant to section 390g–5 of this title shall match on a four-to-one basis funds made available by the States, their political subdivisions, or other non-Federal entities to meet the cost of phase II: Provided, That, inkind services or other contributions by the States, their political subdivisions, or other non-Federal entities shall be considered in the determination of the matching non-Federal share. The Secretary is authorized to enter into memoranda of agreement with any appropriate agencies or departments of the High Plains States and other Reclamation Act States to share the costs of phase II.

Any new spending authority described in subsection (c)(2)(A) or (B) of section 651 1

There is authorized to be appropriated for fiscal years beginning after September 30, 1992, $4,000,000 to carry out the study authorized by section 390h–14 of this title.