INVESTIGATION OF IRRIGATION POSSIBILITIES IN IMPERIAL VALLEY, CALIF.

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

[Sec. 1. Examination authorized of lands which can be irrigated by diversion of water from Colorado River.]-That 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 with recommendations.]-That 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.)

(41 Stat.

Sec. 3. [Detailed estimates of costs, effects, etc.]-That 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. 600.) Sec. 4. [Proportionate share of expense-Other agencies-Supervision of control.]-That 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 authorized-Local payment required.]-That, 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 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.)

SALE OF IMPROVED PUBLIC LANDS NO LONGER NEEDED FOR FEDERAL IRRIGATION PURPOSES

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 May 20, 1920, ch. 192, 41 Stat. 605)

[Sec. 1. Appraisal of land-Manner of sale-Payment of purchase price.]-That 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.)

NOTES

Publication of notice of sale of lands. In the acts of February 2, 1911 (36 Stat. 895), and May 20, 1920 (41 Stat. 605), 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 consecutive 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.]-That 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.)

NOTES

Form of patent.—Patent under this act should not be executed by the Secretary of the Interior but should be issued from the General Land Office under section 458 of Revised Statutes. (Departmental decision, January 10, 1921, re Vandalia Ditch & Development Co., Milk River project. Reclamation Record of March, 1921, p. 126.)

Sec. 3. [Disposition of proceeds of sales.]-That 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. (41 Stat. 606.)

RESTORATION OF PUBLIC LANDS AROUND LITTLE KLAMATH LAKE IN OREGON AND CALIFORNIA

An act to restore to the public domain certain lands heretofore reserved for a bird reservation in Siskiyou and Modoc Counties, California, and Klamath County, Oregon, and for other purposes. (Act May 27, 1920, 41 Stat. 627)

[Sec. 1. Lands in Oregon and California uncovered and opened to agricultural development by change of levels of lakes-Public announcement-Entry upon land under homestead laws-Overflow for irrigation purposes Reservations in patents.]-That the Secretary of the Interior be, and he hereby is, authorized and directed to determine and make public announcement of what lands in and around Little or Lower Klamath Lake, in Siskiyou County, California, and in Klamath County, Oregon, ceded to the United States by the State of California by the act entitled "An act authorizing the United States Government to lower the water levels of any or all of the following lakes: Lower or Little Klamath Lake, Tule or Rhett Lake, Goose Lake, and Clear Lake, situated in Siskiyou and Modoc Counties, and to use any part or all of the beds of said lakes for the storage of water in connection with the irrigation and reclamation operations conducted by the Reclamation Service of the United States; also ceding to the United States all right, title, interest, or claim of the State of California to any lands uncovered by the lowering of the water levels of any or all of said lakes not already disposed of by the State," and ceded to the United States by the State of Oregon by an act entitled "An act to authorize the utilization of Upper Klamath Lake, Lower or Little Klamath Lake, and Tule or Rhett Lake, situate in Klamath County, Oregon, and Goose Lake, situate in Lake County, Oregon, in connection with the irrigation and reclamation operations of the Reclamation Service of the United States, and to cede to the United States all the right, title, interest, and claim of the State of Oregon to any and all lands recovered by the lowering of the water levels or by the drainage of any or all of said lakes," will eventually be uncovered and opened to agricultural development by the lowering of the water level of said lake. Title to all said lands can be acquired by homestead entry under the general homestead laws and the provisions of this act and not otherwise: Provided, That all said lands shall forever be and remain subject to the right of the United States (a) to overflow the same or any part thereof for the purposes of irrigation by such systems of reservoirs and drainage and diking as now actually exist or may be hereafter constructed in Siskiyou County, California, and Klamath County, Oregon, and (b) to drain the water therefrom. All patents issued for the said lands shall expressly reserve to the United States such right of overflow and drainage, and the title and ownership of all minerals and mineral interests in such lands, including oil, are expressly reserved to the United States. (41 Stat. 627.)

Sec. 2. [Proportionate assessment of land for benefit of reclamation fund.]-That the Secretary of the Interior shall also determine and make public announcement of the proportionate part of the sum of