Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 86.djvu/846

 804

PUBLIC LAW 92-487-OCT. 13, 1972 Public Law 92-487

October 13, 1972 [H. R. 9198]

Irrigati an d i s tribution and drainage s y s t e m s. Construction. 43 USC 421a. 32 Stat 388. 43 USC 371 and note.

Loans.

53 Stat. 1187; 72 Stat. 542; 76 Stat. 407. 43 USC 48Sa, 48 5h.

Repayment contract.

"Irrigation district or other public agency. "

Requirements.

[86

STAT.

^

AN ACT -•' ' ^^'" ' • ' ' • - '•' " To aiueud the Act of July 4, 1955. a s ameiidedl, r e l a t i n g to the constrnction of irrigation distribution systems.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Re/presentaticeH of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Act of July 4, 1955 (69 Stat. 245), as amended by the Act of May 14, 1956 (70 Stat. 155), is hereby amended to read as follows: "That 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 this Act as the 'Secretary'), be constructed by irrigation districts or other public agencies according to plans and specifications approved by the Secretary as provided in this Act. The drainage systems referred to in this Act are those required for collection and removal of excess irrigation water, either on or below the surface of the ground and do not mclude enlargement or alteration of existing waterways for disposition of natural runoff. "SEC. 2. 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 2(d) and 9(d) of the Reclamation Project Act of August 4, 1939, 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 )roject. The Secretary shall, upon approval of a loan, including any oan 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 this Act 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. "SEC. 3. 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

f

�