§ 617d. — Contracts for storage and use of waters for irrigation and domestic purposes; generation and sale of electrical energy.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 43USC617d]
TITLE 43--PUBLIC LANDS
CHAPTER 12A--BOULDER CANYON PROJECT
SUBCHAPTER I--BOULDER CANYON PROJECT ACT
Sec. 617d. Contracts for storage and use of waters for
irrigation and domestic purposes; generation and sale of
electrical energy
The Secretary of the Interior is authorized, under such general
regulations as he may prescribe, to contract for the storage of water in
said reservoir and for the delivery thereof at such points on the river
and on said canal as may be agreed upon, for irrigation and domestic
uses, and generation of electrical energy and delivery at the
switchboard to States, municipal corporations, political subdivisions,
and private corporations of electrical energy generated at said dam,
upon charges that will provide revenue which, in addition to other
revenue accruing under the reclamation law and under this subchapter,
will in his judgment cover all expenses of operation and maintenance
incurred by the United States on account of works constructed under this
subchapter and the payments to the United States under subsection (b) of
section 617c of this title. Contracts respecting water for irrigation
and domestic uses shall be for permanent service and shall conform to
subsection (a) of section 617c of this title. No person shall have or be
entitled to have the use for any purpose of the water stored as
aforesaid except by contract made as herein stated.
After the repayments to the United States of all money advanced with
interest, charges shall be on such basis and the revenues derived
therefrom shall be kept in a separate fund to be expended within the
Colorado River Basin as may hereafter be prescribed by the Congress.
General and uniform regulations shall be prescribed by the said
Secretary for the awarding of contracts for the sale and delivery of
electrical energy, and for renewals under subsection (b) of this
section, and in making such contracts the following shall govern:
(a) Duration of contracts for electrical energy; price of water and
electrical energy to yield reasonable returns; readjustments of
prices
No contract for electrical energy or for generation of electrical
energy shall be of longer duration than fifty years from the date at
which such energy is ready for delivery.
Contracts made pursuant to subsection (a) of this section shall be
made with a view to obtaining reasonable returns and shall contain
provisions whereby at the end of fifteen years from the date of their
execution and every ten years thereafter, there shall be readjustment of
the contract, upon the demand of either party thereto, either upward or
downward as to price, as the Secretary of the Interior may find to be
justified by competitive conditions at distributing points or
competitive centers, and with provisions under which disputes or
disagreements as to interpretation or performance of such contract shall
be determined either by arbitration or court proceedings, the Secretary
of the Interior being authorized to act for the United States in such
readjustments or proceedings.
(b) Renewal of contracts for electrical energy
The holder of any contract for electrical energy not in default
thereunder shall be entitled to a renewal thereof upon such terms and
conditions as may be authorized or required under the then existing laws
and regulations, unless the property of such holder dependent for its
usefulness on a continuation of the contract be purchased or acquired
and such holder be compensated for damages to its property, used and
useful in the transmission and distribution of such electrical energy
and not taken, resulting from the termination of the supply.
(c) Applicants for purchase of water and electrical energy; preferences
Contracts for the use of water and necessary privileges for the
generation and distribution of hydroelectric energy or for the sale and
delivery of electrical energy shall be made with responsible applicants
therefor who will pay the price fixed by the said Secretary with a view
to meeting the revenue requirements herein provided for. In case of
conflicting applications, if any, such conflicts shall be resolved by
the said Secretary, after hearing, with due regard to the public
interest, and in conformity with the policy expressed in the Federal
Power Act [16 U.S.C. 791a et seq.] as to conflicting applications for
permits and licenses, except that preference to applicants for the use
of water and appurtenant works and privileges necessary for the
generation and distribution of hydroelectric energy, or for delivery at
the switchboard of a hydroelectric plant, shall be given, first, to a
State for the generation or purchase of electric energy for use in the
State, and the States of Arizona, California, and Nevada shall be given
equal opportunity as such applicants.
The rights covered by such preference shall be contracted for by
such State within six months after notice by the Secretary of the
Interior and to be paid for on the same terms and conditions as may be
provided in other similar contracts made by said Secretary: Provided,
however, That no application of a State or a political subdivision for
an allocation of water for power purposes or of electrical energy shall
be denied or another application in conflict therewith be granted on the
ground that the bond issue of such State or political subdivision
necessary to enable the applicant to utilize such water and appurtenant
works and privileges necessary for the generation and distribution of
hydroelectric energy or the electrical energy applied for, has not been
authorized or marketed, until after a reasonable time, to be determined
by the said Secretary, has been given to such applicant to have such
bond issue authorized and marketed.
(d) Transmission lines for electrical energy; use; rights of way over
public and reserved lands
Any agency receiving a contract for electrical energy equivalent to
one hundred thousand firm horsepower, or more, may, when deemed feasible
by the said Secretary, from engineering and economic considerations and
under general regulations prescribed by him, be required to permit any
other agency having contracts hereunder for less than the equivalent of
twenty-five thousand firm horsepower, upon application to the Secretary
of the Interior made within sixty days from the execution of the
contract of the agency the use of whose transmission line is applied
for, to participate in the benefits and use of any main transmission
line constructed or to be constructed by the former for carrying such
energy (not exceeding, however, one-fourth the capacity of such line),
upon payment by such other agencies of a reasonable share of the cost of
construction, operation, and maintenance thereof.
The use is authorized of such public and reserved lands of the
United States as may be necessary or convenient for the construction,
operation, and maintenance of main transmission lines to transmit said
electrical energy.
(Dec. 21, 1928, ch. 42, Sec. 5, 45 Stat. 1060.)
References in Text
The reclamation law, referred to in text preceding subsec. (a), is
defined in section 617k of this title.
The Federal Power Act, referred to subsec. (c), which was in the
original the ``Federal Water Power Act'', is defined in section 617k of
this title. For further details, see note set out under section 617k of
this title.
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in sections 617e, 617g, 617o, 619a, 1572
of this title.
