§ 373b. — Law enforcement authority at Bureau of Reclamation facilities.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 43USC373b]
TITLE 43--PUBLIC LANDS
CHAPTER 12--RECLAMATION AND IRRIGATION OF LANDS BY FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
SUBCHAPTER I--GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 373b. Law enforcement authority at Bureau of Reclamation
facilities
(a) Public safety regulations
The Secretary of the Interior shall issue regulations necessary to
maintain law and order and protect persons and property within
Reclamation projects and on Reclamation lands.
(b) Violations; criminal penalties
Any person who knowingly and willfully violates any regulation
issued under subsection (a) of this section shall be fined under chapter
227, subchapter C of title 18, imprisoned for not more than 6 months, or
both. Any person charged with a violation of a regulation issued under
subsection (a) of this section may be tried and sentenced by any United
States magistrate judge designated for that purpose by the court by
which he was appointed, in the same manner and subject to the same
conditions and limitations as provided for in section 3401 of title 18.
(c) Authorization of law enforcement officers
The Secretary of the Interior may--
(1) authorize law enforcement personnel from the Department of
the Interior to act as law enforcement officers to enforce Federal
laws and regulations within a Reclamation project or on Reclamation
lands;
(2) authorize law enforcement personnel of any other Federal
agency that has law enforcement authority (with the exception of the
Department of Defense) or law enforcement personnel of any State or
local government, including an Indian tribe, when deemed economical
and in the public interest, through cooperative agreement or
contract, to act as law enforcement officers to enforce Federal laws
and regulations within a Reclamation project or on Reclamation lands
with such enforcement powers as may be so assigned to them by the
Secretary;
(3) cooperate with any State or local government, including an
Indian tribe, in the enforcement of the laws or ordinances of that
State or local government; and
(4) provide reimbursement to a State or local government,
including an Indian tribe, for expenditures incurred in connection
with activities under paragraph (2).
(d) Powers of law enforcement officers
A law enforcement officer authorized by the Secretary of the
Interior under subsection (c) of this section may--
(1) carry firearms within a Reclamation project or on
Reclamation lands;
(2) make arrests without warrants for--
(A) any offense against the United States committed in his
presence; or
(B) any felony cognizable under the laws of the United
States if he has--
(i) reasonable grounds to believe that the person to be
arrested has committed or is committing such a felony; and
(ii) such arrest occurs within a Reclamation project or
on Reclamation lands or the person to be arrested is fleeing
therefrom to avoid arrest;
(3) execute within a Reclamation project or on Reclamation lands
any warrant or other process issued by a court or officer of
competent jurisdiction for the enforcement of the provisions of any
Federal law or regulation issued pursuant to law for any offense
committed within a Reclamation project or on Reclamation lands; and
(4) conduct investigations within a Reclamation project or on
Reclamation lands of offenses against the United States committed
within a Reclamation project or on Reclamation lands if the Federal
law enforcement agency having investigative jurisdiction over the
offense committed declines to investigate the offense.
(e) Legal status of State or local law enforcement officers
(1) State or local officers not Federal employees
Except as otherwise provided in this section, a law enforcement
officer of any State or local government, including an Indian tribe,
authorized to act as a law enforcement officer under subsection (c)
of this section shall not be deemed to be a Federal employee and
shall not be subject to the provisions of law relating to Federal
employment, including those relating to hours of work, rates of
compensation, employment discrimination, leave, unemployment
compensation, and Federal benefits.
(2) Application of Federal Tort Claims Act
For purposes of chapter 171 of title 28 (commonly known as the
Federal Tort Claims Act), a law enforcement officer of any State or
local government, including an Indian tribe, shall, when acting as a
law enforcement officer under subsection (c) of this section and
while under Federal supervision and control, and only when carrying
out Federal law enforcement responsibilities, be considered a
Federal employee.
(3) Availability of workers compensation
For purposes of subchapter I of chapter 81 of title 5, relating
to compensation to Federal employees for work injuries, a law
enforcement officer of any State or local government, including an
Indian tribe, shall, when acting as a law enforcement officer under
subsection (c) of this section and while under Federal supervision
and control, and only when carrying out Federal law enforcement
responsibilities, be deemed a civil service employee of the United
States within the meaning of the term employee as defined in section
8101 of title 5, and the provisions of that subchapter shall apply.
Benefits under such subchapter shall be reduced by the amount of any
entitlement to State or local workers compensation benefits arising
out of the same injury or death.
(f) Concurrent jurisdiction
Nothing in this section shall be construed or applied to limit or
restrict the investigative jurisdiction of any Federal law enforcement
agency, or to affect any existing right of a State or local government,
including an Indian tribe, to exercise civil and criminal jurisdiction
within a Reclamation project or on Reclamation lands.
(g) Regulations
Except for the authority provided in section 2(c)(1),\1\ the law
enforcement authorities provided for in this section may be exercised
only pursuant to regulations issued by the Secretary of the Interior and
approved by the Attorney General.
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\1\ So in original. Probably should be ``subsection (c)(1)''.
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(Pub. L. 107-69, Sec. 1, Nov. 12, 2001, 115 Stat. 593.)
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in section 373c of this title.
