§2904 — Title 43 Public Lands | U.S. Code

Summary

The Secretary must make clear rules for when a federal facility can be transferred. Any buyer must take the title, keep using the facility for basically the same purpose, and pay into the reclamation fund (section 391) an amount equal to the net present value of any repayment or other income the United States gets from the facility as of the transfer date. The Secretary must be able to set legal, institutional, and financial terms with the buyer and must decide the transfer will not cause unmitigated serious environmental harm. The transfer must fit the Secretary’s trustee duties to federally recognized Tribes and follow any treaties and interstate compacts, be in the financial interest of the United States, protect public features like water rights used for flood control or fish and wildlife, follow Federal and State law, and not hurt existing water delivery obligations under historic operations and contracts. If the facility is a dam or diversion that affects waters with species or habitat listed under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), the Secretary must find it will give no less protection to those species than before and that it is not part of the Central Valley Project in California. Land can only be conveyed if the Secretary acquired it, or if withdrawn land is so tied to facilities that it cannot return to public ownership and the buyer pays fair market value based on historical or current uses. No transfer may harm Federal power rates, repayment obligations, or other project power uses.

Title 43, §2904

Public Lands — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The Secretary shall establish criteria for determining whether a facility is eligible for conveyance under this chapter.

(b)(1)The criteria established under subsection (a) shall include a requirement that a qualifying entity shall agree—

(A)to accept title to the eligible facility;

(B)to use the eligible facility for substantially the same purposes for which the eligible facility is being used at the time the Secretary evaluates the potential transfer; and

(C)to provide, as consideration for the assets to be conveyed, compensation to the reclamation fund established by section 391 of this title, in an amount that is the equivalent of the net present value of any repayment obligation to the United States or other income stream that the United States derives from the eligible facility to be transferred, as of the date of the transfer.

(2)The criteria established under subsection (a) shall include a requirement that the Secretary shall—

(A)be able to enter into an agreement with the qualifying entity with respect to the legal, institutional, and financial arrangements relating to the conveyance;

(B)determine that the proposed transfer—

(i)would not have an unmitigated significant effect on the environment;

(ii)is consistent with the responsibilities of the Secretary—

(I)in the role as trustee for federally recognized Indian Tribes; and

(II)to ensure compliance with any applicable international and Tribal treaties and agreements and interstate compacts and agreements;

(iii)is in the financial interest of the United States;

(iv)protects the public aspects of the eligible facility, including water rights managed for public purposes, such as flood control or fish and wildlife;

(v)complies with all applicable Federal and State law; and

(vi)will not result in an adverse impact on fulfillment of existing water delivery obligations consistent with historical operations and applicable contracts; and

(C)if the eligible facility proposed to be transferred is a dam or diversion works (not including canals or other project features that receive or convey water from the diverting works) diverting water from a water body containing a species listed as a threatened species or an endangered species or critical habitat under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), determine that—

(i)the eligible facility continues to comply with the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) in a manner that provides no less protection to the listed species as existed under Federal ownership; and

(ii)the eligible facility is not part of the Central Valley Project in the State of California.

(3)The criteria established under subsection (a) shall require that any land to be conveyed out of Federal ownership under this chapter is—

(A)land acquired by the Secretary; or

(B)land withdrawn by the Secretary, only if—

(i)the Secretary determines in writing that the withdrawn land is encumbered by facilities to the extent that the withdrawn land is unsuitable for return to the public domain; and

(ii)the qualifying entity agrees to pay fair market value based on historical or existing uses for the withdrawn land to be conveyed.

(c)No conveyance under this chapter shall adversely impact applicable Federal power rates, repayment obligations, or other project power uses.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The Endangered Species Act of 1973, referred to in subsec. (b)(2)(C), is Pub. L. 93–205, Dec. 28, 1973, 87 Stat. 884, which is classified principally to chapter 35 (§ 1531 et seq.) of Title 16, Conservation. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see

Short Title

note set out under section 1531 of Title 16 and Tables.

§2904 Eligibility Criteria