43 U.S.C. § 502: Emergency fund to assure continuous operation of projects and project facilities governed by Federal reclamation law

In order to assure continuous operation of all projects and project facilities governed by the Federal reclamation law (Act of June 17, 1902 , 32 Stat. 388 , and Acts amendatory thereof or supplementary thereto), including any project and facilities constructed with funds provided by the Small Reclamation Projects Act (Act of August 6, 1956 , 70 Stat. 1044 , and Acts amendatory thereof or supplementary thereto) [ 43 U.S.C. 422a et seq.] or with funds provided by the Distribution System Loans Act (Act of May 14, 1956 , 69 Stat. 244 , and Acts amendatory thereof or supplementary thereto), there is hereby authorized to be appropriated from the reclamation fund an emergency fund which shall be available for defraying expenses which the Commissioner of Reclamation determines are required to be incurred because of unusual or emergency conditions. “This part may be cited as the ‘Reclamation States Drought Assistance Act of 1988’. perform studies to identify opportunities to augment, make use of, or conserve water supplies available to Federal reclamation projects and Indian water resource developments, which studies shall be completed no later than March 1, 1990 ; and consistent with existing contractual arrangements and State law, and without further authorization, undertake construction, management, and conservation activities that will mitigate or can be expected to have an effect in mitigating losses and damages resulting from drought conditions in 1987, 1988, or 1989, which construction shall be completed by December 31, 1989 ; and assist willing buyers in their purchase of available water supplies from willing sellers and redistribute such water based upon priorities to be determined by the Secretary consistent with State law, with the objective of minimizing losses and damages resulting from drought conditions in 1987, 1988, and 1989. The Secretary of the Interior may make available, by contract, consistent with existing contracts or agreements and State law, water or canal capacity at existing Federal reclamation projects to water users and others, on a temporary basis to mitigate losses and damages resulting from drought conditions in 1987, 1988, and 1989. the price for the use of such water shall be at least sufficient to recover all Federal operation and maintenance costs, and an appropriate share of capital costs, except that, for water delivered to a landholding in excess of 960 acres of class I lands or the equivalent thereof for a qualified recipient and 320 acres of class I lands or the equivalent thereof for a limited recipient, the cost of such water shall be full cost (as defined in section 202(3)(A) of Public Law 97–293 , 43 U.S.C. 390bb ) for those acres in excess of 960 acres or 320 acres, as appropriate; the lands not now subject to reclamation law that receive temporary irrigation water supplies under this section shall not become subject to the ownership limitations of Federal reclamation law because of the delivery of such temporary water supplies; the lands that are subject to the ownership limitations of Federal reclamation law shall not be exempted from those limitations because of the delivery of such temporary water supplies; and the contract shall terminate no later than December 31, 1989 . The Secretary may make available water for the purposes of protecting fish and wildlife resources, including mitigating losses that occur as a result of drought conditions. “The Secretary of the Interior may make loans to water users for the purposes of undertaking management, conservation activities, or the acquisition and transportation of water consistent with State law, that can be expected to have an effect in mitigating losses and damages resulting from drought conditions in 1987, 1988, and 1989. Such loans shall be made available under such terms and conditions as the Secretary deems appropriate. Section 203(a) of the Reclamation Reform Act of 1982 ( Public Law 97–293 ; 43 U.S.C. 390cc ) shall not apply to any contract to repay such loan. “The program established by this part, to the extent practicable, shall be coordinated with emergency and disaster relief operations conducted by other Federal and State agencies under other provisions of law. The Secretary of the Interior shall consult such other Federal and State agencies as he deems necessary. Other Federal agencies performing relief functions under other Federal authorities shall provide the Secretary with information and records that the Secretary deems necessary for the administration of this part. expenditures and accomplishments under this part; legislative and administrative recommendations for responding to droughts and drought related problems in the Reclamation States; and structural and non-structural measures to mitigate the effects of droughts. “The first undesignated paragraph under the heading ‘San Joaquin River Basin’ in section 203 of the Flood Control Act of 1962 ( Public Law 87–874 , 76 Stat. 1191 ) is amended by inserting before the last period the following: ‘: And provided further , That the Secretary of the Interior is authorized to make available to the Oakdale and South San Joaquin irrigation districts, at the current contract rate, unallocated storage of such districts carried over from the previous year’. the Governor of that State has declared a drought emergency; and the affected area is declared eligible for Federal disaster relief under applicable rules and regulations. The programs and authorities established under this part shall terminate on December 31, 1989 , unless otherwise specifically stated. “The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to install a temperature control curtain as a demonstration project at Shasta Dam, Central Valley project, California, at a cost not to exceed $5,500,000. The purpose of the demonstration project is to determine the effectiveness of the temperature control curtain in controlling the temperature of water releases from Shasta Dam, so as to protect and enhance anadromous fisheries in the Sacramento River and San Francisco Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and Estuary[.] There are authorized to be appropriated a total amount not to exceed $25,000,000 for section 412(1)(B) and section 414 of this subtitle. Unless otherwise specified, there are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out the remaining provisions of this subtitle. as affecting in any way any law governing appropriation or use of, or Federal right to, water on public lands; as expanding or diminishing Federal or State jurisdiction, responsibility, interests, or rights in water resources development or control; as displacing, superseding, limiting, or modifying any interstate compact or the jurisdiction or responsibility of any legally established joint or common agency of two or more States or of two States and the Federal Government; as superseding, modifying, or repealing, except as specifically set forth in this subtitle, existing law applicable to the various Federal agencies; or as modifying the terms of any interstate compact.”