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U.S. Code as of:
01/19/04
Section 504. Rehabilitation and betterment of Federal reclamation projects, including small reclamation projects; return of costs; interest; definitions; performance of work
Expenditures of funds hereafter specifically appropriated for
rehabilitation and betterment of any project constructed under
authority of the Small Reclamation Projects Act (Act of August 6,
1956, 70 Stat. 1044, and Acts amendatory thereof and supplementary
thereto) [43 U.S.C. 422a et seq.] and of irrigation systems on
projects governed by the Federal reclamation laws (Act of June 17,
1902, 32 Stat. 388, and Acts amendatory thereof or supplementary
thereto), shall be made only after the organizations concerned
shall have obligated themselves for the return thereof, in
installments fixed in accordance with their ability to pay, as
determined by the Secretary of the Interior in the light of their
outstanding repayment obligations, and which shall, to the fullest
practicable extent, be scheduled for return with their construction
charge installments or otherwise scheduled as he shall determine:
Provided, That repayment of such loans made for small reclamation
projects shall include interest in accordance with the provisions
of said Small Reclamation Projects Act. No such determination of
the Secretary of the Interior shall become effective until the
expiration of sixty days after it has been submitted to the
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and the
Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives;
except that, any such determination may become effective prior to
the expiration of such sixty days in any case in which each such
committee approves an earlier date and notifies the Secretary in
writing, of such approval: Provided, That when Congress is not in
session the Secretary's determination, if accompanied by a finding
by the Secretary that substantial hardship to the water users
concerned or substantial further injury to the project works will
result, shall become effective when the chairman and ranking
minority member of each such committee shall file with the
Secretary their written approval of said findings. The term
"rehabilitation and betterment", as used in this section, shall
mean maintenance, including replacements, which cannot be financed
currently, as otherwise contemplated by the Federal reclamation
laws in the case of operation and maintenance costs, but shall not
include construction, the costs of which are returnable, in whole
or in part, through "construction charges" as that term is defined
in section 485a(d) of this title. Such rehabilitation and
betterment work may be performed by contract, by force-account, or,
notwithstanding any other law and subject to such reasonable terms
and conditions as the Secretary of the Interior shall deem
appropriate for the protection of the United States, by contract
entered into with the organization concerned whereby such
organization shall perform such work.
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