43 U.S.C. § 451a: Persons eligible for benefits

Summary

The Secretary must give core reclamation benefits, and may give other related benefits, to two kinds of people connected to a federal irrigation project. One kind is a person who legally took over a non‑patented farm unit on the project in good faith and did not know, and had no reason to think, the unit could not support a family. The other is a person who lives on private land in the project found too small to support a family and who meets three rules: they would be eligible to take unappropriated public land apart from the land they will give up and apart from any used homestead right; they originally got the land as a whole farm unit under federal reclamation laws (or, if a widow, widower, heir, or devisee, inherited it from a spouse or ancestor who did); and they convey, free of all liens, all of their project‑served land or the portion the Secretary requires to the United States.

Title 43, §451a

Public Lands, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

The benefits of section 451 of this title shall, and those of sections 451b to 451k of this title may, be extended by the Secretary to (a) any lawful assignee of an unpatented farm unit on a Federal irrigation project who took the assignment in good faith not knowing and not having reason to believe the farm unit to be insufficient to support a family; and (b) any resident owner of private lands on any such project whose lands shall be found to be insufficient to support a family and (i) who, apart from his ownership of the lands to be conveyed pursuant to clause (iii) hereof and apart from his having previously exhausted his homestead right, if such be the case, is eligible to enter unappropriated public lands under section 161 of this title, (ii) who lawfully acquired his lands as an entire farm unit under the Federal reclamation laws from the United States or, in the case of a widow, widower, heir, or devisee, from a spouse or ancestor, as the case may be, who so acquired them, and (iii) who conveys, free from all encumbrances, to the United States all of his lands served by the project or such portion thereof as the Secretary may designate.

Editorial Notes

References in Text

section 161 of this title, referred to in text, was repealed by Pub. L. 94–579, title VII, § 702, Oct. 21, 1976, 90 Stat. 2787. The Federal reclamation laws, referred to in par. (b)(ii), are identified in section 451i of this title.

§451a Persons Eligible for Benefits

Summary

Title 43, §451a

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

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