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Title 43, Public LandsRelease 119-102

§622 Cost of Construction and Maintenance of Irrigation Project as Charge on Land

Title 43 › CHAPTER 13 — FEDERAL LANDS INCLUDED IN STATE IRRIGATION DISTRICTS › § 622

Last updated Aug 21, 2026|Official source

Summary

Paying for building, buying, or keeping canals, ditches, reservoirs, water rights, rights-of-way, or other property for an irrigation project must be fairly divided among private land, land held under unpatented entries, and unentered public land inside the irrigation district. Once charges are set, certified lists showing the amount for each smallest legal parcel must be sent quickly to the land-district officer named by the Secretary of the Interior. The United States does not have to pay these charges. Any legally assessed charge becomes a lien on unentered public land and on land under unpatented entries in the district.

Full Legal Text

Title 43, §622

Public Lands, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

The cost of constructing, acquiring, purchasing, or maintaining the canals, ditches, reservoirs, reservoir sites, water, water right, rights-of-way, or other property incurred in connection with any irrigation project under said irrigation district laws shall be equitably apportioned among lands held under private ownership, lands legally covered by unpatented entries, and unentered public lands included in said irrigation district. Officially certified lists of the amounts of charges assessed against the smallest legal subdivision of said lands shall be furnished to the officer designated by the Secretary of the Interior of the land district within which the lands affected are located as soon as such charges are assessed; but nothing in this chapter shall be construed as creating any obligation against the United States to pay any of said charges, assessments, or debts incurred. All charges legally assessed shall be a lien upon unentered lands and upon lands covered by unpatented entries included in said irrigation district.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Abolition of Office of Surveyor General and

Transfer of Functions

Act Mar. 3, 1925, abolished office of surveyor general and transferred administration of all activities in charge of surveyors general to Field Surveying Service under jurisdiction of United States Supervisor of Surveys.

Executive Documents

Transfer of Functions

For

Transfer of Functions

of other officers, employees, and agencies of Department of the Interior, with certain exceptions, to Secretary of the Interior, with power to delegate, see Reorg. Plan No. 3 of 1950, §§ 1, 2, eff. May 24, 1950, 15 F.R. 3174, 64 Stat. 1262, set out under section 1451 of this title. “Officer designated by the Secretary of the Interior” substituted for “register” on authority of section 403 of Reorg. Plan No. 3 of 1946, which abolished all registers of district land offices and transferred functions of register of district land offices to Secretary of the Interior. See section 403 of Reorg. Plan No. 3 of 1946, set out as a note under section 1 of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

43 U.S.C. § 622

Title 43, Public Lands

Last Updated

Aug 21, 2026

Release point: 119-102