Home > 105th Congressional Bills > S. 538 (es) To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to convey certain facilities of the Minidoka project to the Burley Irrigation District, and for other purposes. ...S. 538 (es) To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to convey certain facilities of the Minidoka project to the Burley Irrigation District, and for other purposes. ...
S.538
One Hundred Fifth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE SECOND SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
the twenty-seventh day of January, one thousand nine hundred and ninety-
eight
An Act
To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to convey certain facilities
of the Minidoka project to the Burley Irrigation District, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. CONVEYANCE OF FACILITIES.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Burley.--The term ``Burley'' means the Burley Irrigation
District, an irrigation district organized under the law of the
State of Idaho.
(2) Division.--The term ``Division'' means the Southside
Pumping Division of the Minidoka project, Idaho.
(3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of
the Interior.
(b) Conveyance.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall, without consideration or
compensation except as provided in this section, convey to Burley,
by quitclaim deed or patent, all right, title, and interest of the
United States in and to acquired lands, easements, and rights-of-
way of or in connection with the Division, together with the
pumping plants, canals, drains, laterals, roads, pumps, checks,
headgates, transformers, pumping plant substations, buildings,
transmission lines, and other improvements or appurtenances to the
land or used for the delivery of water from the headworks (but not
the headworks themselves) of the Southside Canal at the Minidoka
Dam and reservoir to land in Burley, including all facilities used
in conjunction with the Division (including the electric
transmission lines used to transmit electric power for the
operation of the pumping facilities of the Division and related
purposes for which the allocable construction costs have been fully
repaid by Burley).
(2) Costs.--The first $80,000 in administrative costs of
transfer of title and related activities shall be paid in equal
shares by the United States and Burley, and any additional amount
of administrative costs shall be paid by the United States.
(c) Water Rights.--
(1) Transfer.--(A) Subject to subparagraphs (B) and (C), the
Secretary shall transfer to Burley, through an agreement among
Burley, the Minidoka Irrigation district, and the Secretary, in
accordance with and subject to the law of the State of Idaho, all
natural flow, waste, seepage, return flow, and groundwater rights
held in the name of the United States--
(i) for the benefit of the Minidoka Project or specifically
for the Burley Irrigation District;
(ii) that are for use on lands within the Burley Irrigation
District; and
(iii) which are set forth in contracts between the United
States and Burley or in the decree of June 20, 1913 of the
District Court of the Fourth Judicial District of the State of
Idaho, in and for the County of Twin Falls, in the case of Twin
Falls Canal Company v. Charles N. Foster, et al., and commonly
referred to as the ``Foster decree''.
(B) Any rights that are presently held for the benefit of lands
within both the Minidoka Irrigation District and the Burley
Irrigation District shall be allotted in such manner so as to
neither enlarge nor diminish the respective rights of either
district in such water rights as described in contracts between
Burley and the United States.
(C) The transfer of water rights in accordance with this
paragraph shall not impair the integrated operation of the Minidoka
Project, affect any other adjudicated rights, or result in any
adverse impact on any other project water user.
(2) Allocation of storage space.--The Secretary shall provide
an allocation to Burley of storage space in Minidoka Reservoir,
American Falls Reservoir, and Palisades Reservoir, as described in
Burley Contract Nos. 14-06-100-2455 and 14-06-W-48, subject to the
obligation of Burley to continue to assume and satisfy its
allocable costs of operation and maintenance associated with the
storage facilities operated by the Bureau of Reclamation.
(d) Project Reserved Power.--The Secretary shall continue to
provide Burley with project reserved power from the Minidoka
Reclamation Power Plant, Palisades Reclamation Power Plant, Black
Canyon Reclamation Power Plant, and Anderson Ranch Reclamation Power
Plant in accordance with the terms of the existing contracts, including
any renewals thereof as provided in such contracts.
(e) Savings.--
(1) Nothing in this Act or any transfer pursuant thereto shall
affect the right of Minidoka Irrigation District to the joint use
of the gravity portion of the Southside Canal, subject to
compliance by the Minidoka Irrigation District with the terms and
conditions of a contract between Burley and Minidoka Irrigation
District, and any amendments or changes made by agreement of the
irrigation districts.
(2) Nothing in this Act shall affect the rights of any person
or entity except as may be specifically provided herein.
(f) Liability.--Effective on the date of conveyance of the project
facilities, described in section (1)(b)(1), the United States shall not
be held liable by any court for damages of any kind arising out of any
act, omission, or occurrence relating to the conveyed facilities,
except for damages caused by acts of negligence committed by the United
States or by its employees, agents, or contractors prior to the date of
conveyance. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to increase the
liability of the United States beyond that currently provided in the
Federal Tort Claims Act (28 U.S.C. 2671 et seq.).
(g) Completion of Conveyance.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall complete the conveyance
under subsection (b) (including such action as may be required
under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321
et seq.)) not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of
this Act.
(2) Report.--The Secretary shall provide a report to the
Committee on Resources of the United States House of
Representatives and to the Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources of the United States Senate within eighteen months from
the date of enactment of this Act on the status of the transfer,
any obstacles to completion of the transfer as provided in this
section, and the anticipated date for such transfer.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.
Pages: 1 Other Popular 105th Congressional Bills Documents:
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