1713

MODIFY CONTRACT WITH GRAND VALLEY WATER

USERS' ASSOCIATION

An act to authorize modification of the repayment contract with the Grand Valley Water Users' Association. (Act of June 21, 1963, Public Law 88–43, 77 Stat. 67)

[Contract modification.]—The Secretary of the Interior is authorized, pursuant to subsection 8(i) of the Act of August 4, 1939 (53 Stat. 1187), to modify the contractual obligation of the Grand Valley Water Users' Association (1) by deducting from such obligation the unaccrued construction charges in the amount of $109,158.19 against one thousand three hundred sixty-six and twotenths acres originally classified as productive and now reclassified as permanently unproductive; (2) by crediting to the next annual installment from the Grand Valley Water Users' Association due to the United States under its contract of January 27, 1945, after enactment of this Act, the sum of $4,531.93, which represents construction charges paid by the association on one hundred twenty-three and six-tenths acres of land in canceled farm units included in the above acreage. (77 Stat. 67)

EXPLANATORY NOTES

Not Codified. This Act is not codified in the U.S. Code.

Reference in the Text. Section 8 (i) of the Act of August 4, 1939 (53 Stat. 1187), referred to in the text, requires express authority granted by Congress upon recommendation of the Secretary of the Interior to modify any existing water users' obligation to pay construction charges on any reclamation project. The Act is the Recla

mation Project Act of 1939, which appears herein in chronological order.

Legislative History. H.R. 2821, Public Law 88-43 in the 88th Congress. Reported in House from Interior and Insular Affairs Mar. 7, 1963; H.R. Rept. No. 73. Passed House Mar. 18, 1963. Reported in Senate from Interior and Insular Affairs June 13, 1963; S. Rept. No. 237. Passed Senate June 17, 1963.

1714

RENEWAL OF WATER SUPPLY CONTRACTS

An act to provide for the renewal of certain municipal, domestic, and industrial water supply contracts entered into under the Reclamation Project Act of 1939, and for other purposes. (Act of June 21, 1963, Public Law 88-44, 77 Stat. 68)

[Sec. 1. Municipal, domestic and industrial water supply contracts-Renewal provision.]-The Secretary of the Interior shall, upon request of the other party to any long-term contract for municipal, domestic, or industrial water supply hereafter entered into under clause (2) in the proviso to the first sentence of section 9, subsection (c), of the Reclamation Project Act of 1939 (53 Stat. 1195, 43 U.S.C. 485h), include provision for renewal thereof subject to renegotiation of (1) the charges set forth in the contract in the light of circumstances prevailing at the time of renewal and (2) any other matters with respect to which the right to renegotiate is reserved in the contract. Any right of renewal shall be exercised within such reasonable time prior to the expiration of the contract as the parties shall have agreed upon and set forth therein. (77 Stat. 68; 43 U.S.C. § 485h, note)

Sec. 2. [Priority of rights to a project's water supply.]-The Secretary shall also, upon like request, provide in any such long-term contract or in any contract entered into under clause (1) of the proviso aforesaid that the other party to the contract shall, during the term of the contract and of any renewal thereof and subject to fulfillment of all obligations thereunder, have a first right for the purposes stated in the contract (to which right the holders of any other type of contract for municipal, domestic, or industrial water supply shall be subordinate) to a stated share or quantity of the project's water supply available for municipal, domestic, or industrial use. (77 Stat. 68; 43 U.S.C. § 485h, note)

Sec. 3. [Amendment of water supply contracts.]-The Secretary is hereby authorized, upon request by the other party, to negotiate amendments to existing contracts entered into pursuant to the first sentence of section 9, subsection (c), of the Reclamation Project Act of 1939 to conform said contracts to the provisions of this Act. (77 Stat. 68; 43 U.S.C. § 485h, note)

Sec. 4. [Definitions.]-As used in this Act, the term "long-term contract" means any contract the term of which is more than ten years. (77 Stat. 68; 43 U.S.C. § 485h, note)

EXPLANATORY NOTES

Editor's Note, Annotations. The reader will find extensive annotations of opinions under Section 9, subsection (c), of the Reclamation Project Act of 1939, referred to herein, which was enacted August 4, 1939.

Legislative History. H.R. 131, Public

Law 88-44 in the 88th Congress. Reported in House from Interior and Insular Affairs, Mar. 11, 1963; H.R. Rept. No. 84. Passed House Apr. 1, 1963. Reported in Senate from Interior and Insular Affairs June 13, 1963; S. Rept. No. 238. Passed Senate June 19, 1963.

1715

CONVEYANCE OF LANDS TO CITY OF HENDERSON

An act to direct the Secretary of the Interior to convey to the city of Henderson, Nevada, at fair market value, certain public lands in the State of Nevada. (Act of July 22, 1963, Public Law 88-73, 77 Stat. 88)

[Sec. 1. Conveyance of public lands authorized.]-Within five years after he has advised, by certified mail, the mayor of the city of Henderson, Nevada, of the appraised fair market value of the lands involved, the Secretary of the Interior shall convey to said city the fifteen thousand acres of public lands described in section 2 hereof. (77 Stat. 88)

Sec. 2. [Legal description of lands.]-The lands to be conveyed under section 1 of this Act are hereby segregated from all forms of appropriation under the public land laws, including the mining and mineral leasing laws, until said Secretary shall provide otherwise by publication of an order in the Federal Register, and comprise those fifteen thousand acres situated in the State of Nevada more particularly described as follows (all range references are to the Mount Diablo base and meridian):

(1) The east one-half and southwest quarter of section 21; all of section 27; the southwest quarter of section 28; and all of sections 29, 33, and 34 in township 22 south, range 63 east;

(2) all of sections 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, and 33, township 22 south, range 62 east;

(3) the south half of section 24; and all of sections 25, 35, and 36, township 22 south, range 61 east;

(4) all of sections 1, 2, and 3, township 23 south, range 61 east;

(5) all of section 32, lots 8 and 9, the south half of the southwest quarter, southwest quarter of the southeast quarter of section 35, township 21 south, range 63 east; and

(6) the southwest quarter, the west half of the southeast quarter, and the southeast quarter of the southeast quarter, and the south half of the northwest quarter of section 34, township 21 south, range 62 east. (77 Stat. 88)

Sec. 3. [Payment of fair market value-Reservation for reclamation purposes.]-The conveyance authorized by this Act shall be made upon payment of the sum of the fair market value of the lands on the effective date of this Act, as determined by the Secretary of the Interior, plus reimbursement for the cost of appraisal, if accomplished by contract, minus any adjustment in the purchase price made by the Secretary of the Interior pursuant to section 5 of this Act, and subject to any existing valid claims against the lands described in section 2 of this Act, and to any reservations, restrictions, or conditions considered necessary by the Secretary of the Interior to protect continuing uses of those lands by the United States, its permittees, lessees, or licensees.

Any conveyance under this Act of section 32, the south half of the southwest quarter, the southwest quarter of the southeast quarter, lots 8 and 9, section. 35, township 21 south, range 63 east; the east half of section 21, and sections

1716 CONVEYANCE OF LANDS TO CITY OF HENDERSON

27 and 34, township 22 south, range 63 east, Mount Diablo base and meridian, Nevada, or of any portion of such lands, shall specifically reserve to the United States the right to use any of such lands so conveyed for reclamation purposes and for any purpose reasonably incident to the proposed Southern Nevada water supply project. (77 Stat. 89)

Sec. 4. [Purchase of a portion of land will not waive right to other portions.]-The city of Henderson, State of Nevada, may purchase, in accordance with this Act, such portion or portions, by legal subdivision of the public land surveys, of the above-described lands as such city elects, and the purchase by the city of only a portion or portions of such lands shall not constitute a waiver or relinquishment of its right to purchase, in accordance with the provisions of this Act, by legal subdivisions of the public land surveys, the remainder of such lands or any portion thereof. (77 Stat. 89)

Sec. 5. [Price adjusted to reflect expenditures by city.]-The Secretary of the Interior is authorized, notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, to negotiate and enter into an agreement with the city of Henderson providing for adjustment of the purchase price determined by appraisal to reflect any expenditures incurred by the city of Henderson in facilitating transfer of the lands during the period between enactment of this Act and notice to the city of Henderson of the appraised fair market value. (77 Stat. 89)

Sec. 6. [Acquiring title to lands for public and recreational use.]—This Act shall not preclude the city of Henderson from acquiring title or leases to any lands described in this Act for public or recreational purposes under the Act of June 14, 1926 (44 Stat. 741), as amended (43 U.S.C. 869, et seq.). (77 Stat. 89) Sec. 7. [Mineral reservations.]-Any patent issued under this Act shall contain a reservation to the United States of any of the following named minerals for which the land as of the date of issuance of patent is deemed by the Secretary of the Interior to be valuable or prospectively valuable: coal, native asphalt, solid and semisolid bitumen, and bituminous rock (including oil-impregnated rock or sands from which oil is recoverable only by special treatment after the deposit is mined or quarried), oil, gas, oil shale, phosphate, sodium, and potassium, together with the right of the United States, its lessees, permittees, or licensees to prospect for, mine, and remove them under applicable provisions of law. (77 Stat. 89)

Sec. 8. [Title to certain minerals to vest in patentee.]-With respect to the conveyance of any land under this Act, which land is, at the time of issuance of patent therefor, subject to a mineral lease, permit, or license, for which mineral the land is deemed at that time by the Secretary of the Interior to be not valuable or prospectively valuable, the patent shall not convey such mineral rights in such lands until the mineral lease, permit, or license, or any extensions or renewals thereof, shall terminate or be relinquished, but upon such termination or relinquishment all the right, title, and interest of the United States to such mineral deposits shall automatically vest in the patentee. (77 Stat. 90)

Sec. 9. [Grant of rights-of-way.]—Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act to the contrary, the Secretary of the Interior, with the concurrence of the city of Henderson, may, prior to the transfer of title to the city of Henderson,

CONVEYANCE OF LANDS TO CITY OF HENDERSON

grant rights-of-way in, over, upon, through, or under any of the lands described in section 2 of this Act. (77 Stat. 90)

EXPLANATORY NOTES