Title 43 — Public LandsRelease 119-73not60

§510a Guidelines and Inspection of Project Facilities and Technical Assistance to Transferred Works Operating Entities

Title 43 › Chapter 12— RECLAMATION AND IRRIGATION OF LANDS BY FEDERAL GOVERNMENT › Subchapter XI–B— AGING INFRASTRUCTURE › § 510a

Last updated Apr 5, 2026|Official source

Summary

Write special inspection rules within 1 year after March 30, 2009 for project facilities near urban areas that could threaten people or property if they failed. Then, by 3 years after March 30, 2009, inspect those facilities using those rules and pick which ones to inspect based on how much harm they could cause. The federal government will pay for these inspections and will not be reimbursed. Use the inspection results to give operators advice on operation, maintenance, and any needed fixes; set how often inspections should happen (no more than 6 years apart); and, when asked, give hazard information to operators, local governments, or state agencies. If an operator near a city asks, the Secretary can also help make operating procedures, emergency plans, inspection criteria, training, public outreach, and other safety documents. The Secretary may pay up to 50 percent of that help; the operator or another non‑federal source must provide the rest, either money or in‑kind contributions.

Full Legal Text

Title 43, §510a

Public Lands — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)(1)Not later than 1 year after March 30, 2009, the Secretary in consultation with transferred works operating entities shall develop, consistent with existing transfer contracts, specific inspection guidelines for project facilities which are in proximity to urbanized areas and which could pose a risk to public safety or property damage if such project facilities were to fail.

(2)Not later than 3 years after March 30, 2009, the Secretary shall conduct inspections of those project facilities, which are in proximity to urbanized areas and which could pose a risk to public safety or property damage if such facilities were to fail, using such specific inspection guidelines and criteria developed pursuant to paragraph (1). In selecting project facilities to inspect, the Secretary shall take into account the potential magnitude of public safety and economic damage posed by each project facility.

(3)The costs incurred by the Secretary in conducting these inspections shall be nonreimbursable.

(b)The Secretary shall use the data collected through the conduct of the inspections under subsection (a)(2) to—

(1)provide recommendations to the transferred works operating entities for improvement of operation and maintenance processes, operating procedures including operation guidelines consistent with existing transfer contracts, and structural modifications to those transferred works;

(2)determine an appropriate inspection frequency for such nondam project facilities which shall not exceed 6 years; and

(3)provide, upon request of transferred work operating entities, local governments, or State agencies, information regarding potential hazards posed by existing or proposed residential, commercial, industrial or public-use development adjacent to project facilities.

(c)(1)The Secretary is authorized, at the request of a transferred works operating entity in proximity to an urbanized area, to provide technical assistance to accomplish the following, if consistent with existing transfer contracts:

(A)Development of documented operating procedures for a project facility.

(B)Development of documented emergency notification and response procedures for a project facility.

(C)Development of facility inspection criteria for a project facility.

(D)Development of a training program on operation and maintenance requirements and practices for a project facility for a transferred works operating entity’s workforce.

(E)Development of a public outreach plan on the operation and risks associated with a project facility.

(F)Development of any other plans or documentation which, in the judgment of the Secretary, will contribute to public safety and the sage operation of a project facility.

(2)The Secretary is authorized to provide, on a non-reimbursable basis, up to 50 percent of the cost of such technical assistance, with the balance of such costs being advanced by the transferred works operating entity or other non-Federal source. The non-Federal 50 percent minimum cost share for such technical assistance may be in the form of in-lieu contributions of resources by the transferred works operating entity or other non-Federal source.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

43 U.S.C. § 510a

Title 43 — Public Lands

Last Updated

Apr 5, 2026

Release point: 119-73not60