The State of Oregon hereby accepts the conditions of section
4 of the Act of Congress approved August 18, 1894 (28 Stat. 422), and
amendments thereto, known as the “Carey Act,” together with all grants of
land to the state under the provisions of that Act.The selection, management, and
disposal of the land referred to in ORS 555.010 shall be vested in the
Water Resources Commission. The commission may employ necessary
assistance, purchase material and supplies, and shall have charge and
control of all reclamation work undertaken, contracted for, or initiated
by the State Land Board prior to the passage of chapter 226, Oregon Laws
1909, or by the Desert Land Board prior to the passage of chapter 434,
Oregon Laws 1927, and of the reclamation companies which were operating
under either of those boards. The Water Resources
Commission, or some authorized assistant, shall:
(1) Have custody of all the records and files under the provisions
of ORS 555.010 to 555.160, which shall be public records and open to
inspection by the public during office hours.
(2) Receive and file all proposals for construction of irrigation
works to reclaim lands selected under the provisions of ORS 555.010 to
555.160.
(3) Keep for public inspection maps or plats of all land selected.
(4) Receive entries of settlers on these lands.
(5) Do any and all work necessary in carrying out the provisions of
ORS 555.010 to 555.160. [Amended by 1955 c.707 §68]Upon
application, made as provided in ORS 555.050, by any person desiring to
reclaim any of the desert government lands in this state, the Water
Resources Commission shall make proper application for the lands which
the applicant undertakes to reclaim, and make and enter into contract or
agreement with the Secretary of the Interior for the donation and patent
to the state, free of cost for survey or price, of such desert lands. The
commission may make and enter into such contracts and agreements, and
create and assume such obligations in relation to and concerning the
lands, as may be necessary to induce and cause such reclamation thereof
as is required by the contract with the Secretary of the Interior and the
Acts of Congress. The commission may create a lien which shall be valid
on and against the separate legal subdivisions of land reclaimed, for the
necessary expenses of reclamation, and reasonable interest thereon from
the date of reclamation until the lien is satisfied; provided that in no
event, in no contingency, and under no circumstances, shall the state be
in any manner directly or indirectly liable for any amount of any such
lien or liability, in whole or in part.(1) Any person desiring to
construct ditches, canals or other irrigation works to reclaim land under
the provisions of ORS 555.010 to 555.160 shall, at the expense of the
person, file with the Water Resources Commission an application for
selection on behalf of the state, by the commission, of the land to be
reclaimed. The application shall conform to all requirements of the
federal laws and rulings thereunder, and be accompanied by the necessary
land office fees and such additional data as may be prescribed by the
commission, including a preliminary estimate of costs and the amount of
lien asked for. If the application is made in proper form, and it appears
that the proposed plan is feasible, that the applicant is financially
able to complete the work, and that its completion will be to the best
interests of the state, then the commission, at the expense and cost of
the applicant, shall make proper application for the selection and
withdrawal of the lands included in the application.
(2) The commission may do all things necessary to secure the
withdrawal of lands on behalf of the commission by the Secretary of the
Interior, and let a contract to the lowest responsible bidder for the
reclamation and colonization of the same when withdrawn. A deposit shall
accompany each application in a sum not less than 10 cents per acre up to
1,000 acres, and two cents per acre for each acre over that amount, which
sum shall be deposited with the Water Resources Commission and held in
trust as a guarantee of good faith on the part of the applicant, to whom
it shall be returned at the time of execution of a contract between the
state and the applicant. In case the person making the application shall,
upon segregation by the Secretary of the Interior of any or all of the
lands mentioned therein, refuse to enter into a contract with the state,
the deposit shall be forfeited to the state and credited to the Oregon
Irrigation Fund.Upon
withdrawal of the land by the Department of the Interior, the Water
Resources Commission shall enter into a contract for the reclamation of
such land with the person submitting the application, which contract
shall contain plans and specifications of the proposed irrigation works;
provided, that no contract shall be executed by the commission until
after an examination by the commission concerning the feasibility of the
proposed plan of reclamation, sufficiency and availability of the water
supply, and reasonableness of the estimate of cost and the lien
requested. The contract shall provide for the sale of the water right to
settlers on the land in satisfaction of the reclamation lien allowed.
This contract shall not be entered into on the part of the state until
the withdrawal of the lands by the Department of the Interior and the
filing of a satisfactory bond on the part of the proposed contractor,
which bond shall be in a penal sum not less than two percent of the lien
to be allowed, and shall be conditioned upon the faithful performance of
the provisions of the contract with the state; provided, that in case the
contractor is the irrigation district such bond need not be filed. The
commission may, however, require the contractor to make a deposit at the
time of application for entry of land by settlers to insure the transfer
of the system in good condition and repair to the purchasers of water
rights as herein provided, which deposit shall be returned by the
commission at the time of such transfer. [Amended by 1955 c.707 §69]For such time as is specified in the
contract, and not to exceed 10 years from the date thereof, the control
and management of the reclamation works shall be vested in the person
having contract with the state. At the expiration of such time the clear
and unencumbered title to the reclamation works and all franchises
thereunto belonging, also the control and management thereof, shall pass
to the purchasers of water rights from the reclamation works in the
manner to be prescribed in the contract, the contractor retaining an
interest in the works proportional to the amount of water right unsold.No contract shall be made by the Water Resources
Commission which requires a greater time than five years for construction
of the works. All contracts shall state that the work shall begin within
six months from date of contract; that the contractor shall secure for
the use and benefit of the reclamation system all necessary water rights,
rights of way, reservoir sites, or other property necessary for its
construction and operation; that construction shall be prosecuted
diligently and continuously to completion; and that a cessation of work
under the contract with the state for a period of six months, without the
sanction of the commission, will forfeit to the state all rights under
the contract. The commission may extend the time in which to begin the
construction of works, or for the completion of work, on account of delay
caused by physical or engineering difficulties beyond the power of the
contractor to control.(1) Upon the
failure of any parties having contracts with the state for the
construction of irrigation works, to begin the same within the time
specified by the contract, or to complete the same within the time or in
accordance with the specifications of the contract with the state, to the
satisfaction of the Water Resources Commission, the commission shall give
the parties written notice of such failure. If after a period of 60 days
from the sending of such notice they have failed to proceed with the work
or to conform to the specifications of their contract with the state, or
secure an extension of time, their contract and all works constructed
thereunder shall be at once forfeited to the state.
(2) In case of any forfeiture, cancellation, or relinquishment of
any contract to the state, the commission shall so declare and give
notice once each week, for four weeks, in some newspaper of general
circulation in the county in which the work is situated, and in one
newspaper at the state capital in like manner and for a like period, of
the forfeiture, cancellation, or relinquishment of the contract, and that
upon a fixed day proposals will be received at the office of the
commission for purchase of the incompleted works and for completion of
the irrigation works in accordance with plans, specifications and other
conditions prescribed by the commission, the time for receiving bids to
be at least 60 days subsequent to the issuing of the last notice of
forfeiture. The money received by the commission from sale of the
partially completed works under the provisions of this section shall
first be applied to the expenses incurred by the state in their
forfeiture and disposal, and the surplus, if any exists, shall be paid to
the original contractors with the state.Nothing in ORS 555.010 to 555.160 shall
be construed as authorizing the Water Resources Commission to obligate
the state to pay for any work constructed under any contract, or to hold
the state in any way responsible to settlers for the failure of
contractors to complete the work according to the terms of their
contracts with the state. No land shall be open to entry and no water rights shall
be sold by the parties under contract with the Water Resources Commission
until the construction of the works is sufficiently advanced to insure a
water supply, and the entry of an order by the commission opening the
land or any portion thereof to entry and sale. All applications to
purchase lands, or for release of lien for construction of the
reclamation works, shall be upon the forms provided by the commission.
The “date of reclamation,” for the purposes of ORS 555.010 to 555.160,
shall be the date shown by the proof furnished the Secretary of the
Interior by the commission at which water was furnished available for the
reclamation of each tract in the list of lands.Any citizen of the United States,
or any person having declared an intention to become such, over the age
of 21 years, may make application, under oath, to the Water Resources
Commission, upon forms prescribed by the commission, to enter any of the
lands reclaimed under the provisions of ORS 555.010 to 555.160, in an
amount not to exceed 160 acres for any one person. Each application shall
be accompanied by a contract, made and entered into by the applicant with
the person who has undertaken the reclamation of the tract in question,
which contract shall show that the applicant has made proper arrangement
for purchase of the necessary water rights and the release of the
construction lien. Each application to the commission shall in addition
be accompanied by a payment of not less than $1 per acre for each acre
included in the application, which payment shall be made by the
contractor out of the first payment by the applicant, and shall be
deposited by the commission with the State Treasurer, who shall credit it
to the Oregon Irrigation Fund. If the application is not approved, the $1
payment shall be returned to the contractor.Upon filing with the Water
Resources Commission a satisfactory release of the construction lien
apportioned by the commission against the land in any application,
accompanied by satisfactory proof of reclamation, cultivation and
settlement, as required by the rules of the commission, it shall be the
duty of the commission to deed to the applicant, or the assignee of the
applicant, the land described in the application. The deeds shall be in
form of a quitclaim and shall operate to convey only such title as the
state may have in the land conveyed. The deeds, without acknowledgment,
or copies thereof duly certified and attested under seal by the
commission, certified from the official copy in the keeping of the
commission, shall be admitted to record. The commission shall preserve,
in a suitable book, a true copy of the deeds, with an alphabetical index
of the names of the grantees, and such copies or certified copies thereof
certified and attested as aforesaid shall be primary evidence of such
conveyances. The Water
Resources Commission shall provide suitable rules for the filing of
applications for constructing irrigation works, prescribing the nature of
final surveys, and the gathering of engineering data upon which the
contract with the state is to be based, the manner in which the plans and
specifications shall be submitted, and for the entry of and payment for
the land and water rights by settlers and for the settlement or
forfeiting of entry by settlers, and such other rules and regulations as
are necessary to carry out the provisions of ORS 555.010 to 555.160.The Water Resources Commission shall
issue, on or before September 30 of the year preceding each regular
session of the legislature, a full report of the work of the commission
under the provisions of ORS 555.010 to 555.160, including a statement of
expenditures and condition of all funds, and such recommendations for
legislation as are deemed advisable. The Oregon Irrigation Fund is
hereby created. Payments to and disbursements from the fund shall be made
as provided by law.
Notwithstanding the provisions of ORS 555.170, all moneys in the Oregon
Irrigation Fund created by ORS 555.170 on February 18, 1955, and all
moneys paid into such fund after February 18, 1955, are to be transferred
to the General Fund to be available for general governmental expenses.
[1955 c.23 §1]Wherever an
irrigation system has been constructed under contract with the State of
Oregon pursuant to the Act of Congress known as the Carey Act, and under
and pursuant to ORS 555.010 to 555.160, and it develops that the acreage
of land actually irrigated in any smallest legal subdivision of the land
is greater than the acreage made subject to the lien in the reclamation
contract for said smallest legal subdivision and the waters for the
excess acres actually irrigated in such legal subdivision over and above
the amount fixed in the contract for lien have not as yet been paid for,
nor the amount to be paid therefor agreed upon, the Water Resources
Commission upon request of the company supplying water to the excess
acres shall notify the person using the water upon the excess acres to
pay for the same or enter into an arrangement with the company furnishing
the water providing for the price to be paid therefor and the manner of
payment; provided, the company furnishing the water shall not exact a
price per acre for such excess acres greater than the price per acre as
now fixed by the commission.
The notice given by the Water Resources Commission shall be in writing
and may be served by registered mail or by certified mail with return
receipt. If the user of the water does not comply with the notice and
either pay for the excess water or enter into a definite arrangement with
the company for payment thereof within 30 days from the mailing of the
notice, the commission shall, upon notice from the company furnishing the
water, cancel the right of the landowner to the excess acres and
thereafter, without further application for permission so to do, the
company furnishing the water may sell and deliver the water to other
lands. Upon effecting the sale of the water to other lands the company
shall notify the commission of the lands to which the water is
transferred. [Amended by 1991 c.249 §57]TUMALO PROJECT The
Water Resources Commission is authorized and empowered to contract for
the completion of the reclamation of lands in the Tumalo Project or any
part thereof, and to otherwise carry out the provisions of ORS 555.310 to
555.410, with any irrigation district, organized pursuant to the laws of
Oregon, including lands in the project or any part thereof, or with any
other irrigation district, or with the federal government, or with any
person. (1) The Water
Resources Commission shall appoint, at a salary to be fixed by the
commission, a project manager for the Tumalo Project, who shall hold
office and serve at the pleasure of the commission, but not longer than
two years without reappointment. In the selection of a project manager,
due consideration shall be given the recommendations of the Board of
Directors of the Water Users’ Association of the Tumalo Project, which
project was designated in chapter 119, Oregon Laws 1913, as the Columbia
Southern Irrigation Project. The project manager shall have complete
charge of the operation, maintenance and management of all matters
pertaining to the project, and shall have authority to collect
maintenance fees and issue receipts therefor, to employ necessary
assistants, purchase materials and supplies, make proper and necessary
repairs, renewals and alterations in the irrigation system when required,
necessary or authorized by the commission, and to furnish inventories of
machinery, equipment and materials at stated intervals.
(2) All machinery, materials, supplies and land acquired by the
state under the provisions of chapter 119, Oregon Laws 1913, not required
in the future operation of the project, shall be sold by the project
manager under the direction of the commission, and the funds arising
therefrom shall be placed in the Tumalo Project Fund. The project manager
shall render a monthly report to the commission covering the operation of
the project and such other matters as the commission may direct. The
project manager shall furnish a good and sufficient surety bond in the
sum of $5,000 running to the State of Oregon, subject to the approval of
the Attorney General, and conditioned upon the faithful performance of
duties. The Water
Resources Commission shall make all necessary rules and regulations for
properly carrying out the provisions of ORS 555.310 to 555.410.(1) Subject to ORS 555.350, the prices to be paid for the sale
of water rights on private lands as well as Carey Act lands, in the
Tumalo Project, shall be $40, with interest at five percent from the date
of contract of sale, in addition to which there shall be a charge of
$2.50 per acre for the nonirrigable Carey Act lands; provided, however,
that no new lien shall be placed upon any lands having a complete vested
water right on June 3, 1913. A certified copy of the lien list shall be
prepared by the Water Resources Commission, showing the price to be paid
for water rights for each small subdivision or farm unit of Carey Act
land in the project. A certified copy of the lien list shall be filed in
the records of Crook County. From and after the date of reclamation of
any tract designated in the list a valid lien in favor of the State of
Oregon shall exist against each tract in the list for the amount
designated therein until the same, together with accruing interest, has
been paid in full.
(2) The total amount to be realized from the sale of Carey Act
lands and water rights for private lands shall insure the return to the
state of all money expended by it in the reclamation of the lands in the
project with interest at five percent from the date of the contract of
sale, in addition to any further sums or amounts which are found
necessary to be paid on account of the project.
(3) Any person who holds a contract with the Columbia Southern
Irrigation Company or its successors in interest, for any tract in the
project, may execute a new contract with the state for reclamation, under
the provisions of ORS 555.310 to 555.410, of the land described in the
original contract with the company, or a new selection, receiving credit
thereon for the principal paid to the company under the original
contract; or, may surrender the contract and receive, in cash, the full
amount of principal paid to the company on the contract; provided,
however, that no contract holder shall be entitled to a refund of the
money as herein provided unless an assignment of all rights, title and
interest in and to the contract and the land described therein was filed
with the Desert Land Board on or before July 1, 1917; provided, further,
that refunds shall be made to contract holders pro rata as funds may
become available from time to time after July 1, 1915. The failure to
comply with the above option by any contract holder under the old
Columbia Southern Project shall render the contract void and the lands
embraced therein shall revert to the state and be subject to reentry.The Water Resources Commission may increase the reclamation
lien against the land not now sold in the Tumalo Project as fixed in ORS
555.340, if such increase is necessary or expedient in the completion of
the project. The commission may reduce the amount due the state on
account of the construction of the Tumalo Project by the amount expended
by any such district or the federal government in completing the
reclamation of the lands embraced within the project or any amount which
may be expended in discharging the obligations of the state incurred
under and pursuant to ORS 555.320, 555.340 and 555.380, or otherwise.The Water Resources Commission shall make all necessary
arrangements to secure the settlement, cultivation and reclamation of
Carey Act lands in the Tumalo Project; accept applications for the entry
of the lands; make contracts for the purchase of water rights and release
of lien for the lands; make rules for their cultivation and settlement;
and prescribe the forms to be used for such purposes. Each contract with
purchasers shall provide for payment of the full amount of lien assessed
against the tract covered by the contract within a period of not to
exceed 20 years, with interest on deferred payments at five percent per
annum, and shall also provide for payment of an annual maintenance fee,
to be fixed by the commission. Contracts executed before May 27, 1913,
may be brought under the terms of ORS 555.310 to 555.410, and the rate of
interest thereunder shall be five percent from and after December 1,
1916. Contracts for the sale of water rights to private lands within the
project shall be upon the same terms and conditions as for Carey Act
lands, and the commission shall in addition require the purchaser to give
a first mortgage on such private lands, to the state, as security for the
payments due under the contract. The contracts with purchasers, both on
Carey Act and private lands, shall provide for the sale of a
proportionate interest in the reclamation system to each purchaser, and
for transfer of the reclamation system to the purchasers when the water
rights for a majority of the lands in the project have been fully paid
for, the state retaining an interest proportionate to the unpaid balance
on the contracts. Upon failure of any
purchaser having a contract with the Water Resources Commission to make
payments of principal and interest according to the terms of the
contract, the commission shall notify the purchaser by registered mail or
by certified mail with return receipt of the default. If the default
continues for a period of six months after the sending of such notice,
the commission may cancel the contract, and all payments made thereunder
shall be forfeited to the state and placed in the irrigation fund. The
commission may reopen the lands covered by the canceled contract for
entry, and resell water rights to the land to some other purchaser.
Nothing in this section, however, shall be construed so as to prevent the
commission from extending the time to make any payment due under any
contract with a purchaser, when in the judgment of the commission the
purchaser is entitled to an extension. [Amended by 1991 c.249 §58] (1) All moneys received as
maintenance fees on the Tumalo Project shall be applied to the cost of
maintaining, repairing, operating and distributing water for the project.
The money shall be collected and disbursed by the project manager under
the direction of the commission, who shall prescribe rules and
regulations governing such collections or disbursements.
(2) All moneys derived from the Tumalo Project from whatsoever
source, except as maintenance fees, shall be placed in the Tumalo Project
Fund in the hands of the State Treasurer, which fund is hereby created.
Disbursements from the Tumalo Project Fund shall be made to repay
contract holders as provided in ORS 555.310 to 555.410, and to defray the
expenses of construction, extension and operation of the project; except
that no repayments to contract holders shall be made which shall reduce
the Tumalo Project Fund to less than $5,000, which amount shall be held
as an emergency fund to be disbursed for the project in case of an
emergency. After all payments to contract holders have been made, all
moneys in the fund, except $1,000 for an emergency, shall be placed to
the credit of the General Fund of the state and credited as payment to
the state on account of the original appropriation for the construction
of the Tumalo Project and interest on same. From and after that date all
money derived from the sale of land and water rights shall be deposited
in the General Fund until all expenses incurred by the state in
connection with the project, including five percent interest on all money
advanced from the date of sale of the lands, have been repaid, after
which time all money received from the sale of lands and water rights
shall be deposited in the Oregon Irrigation Fund.
(3) All expenditures for the Tumalo Project from the Tumalo Project
Fund shall be paid at the same time and in the same manner as state
officers are paid.
(4) All fees payable to the office of the commission in connection
with or incident to the completion of applications and the issuance of
permits for the appropriation, diversion, storage and use of waters in
the Tumalo Project are hereby remitted to the project, and payment
thereof shall not be required by the commission.The Water Resources Commission may, with due regard
to the interests of the state, transfer all the right, title and interest
of the state in and to the Tumalo Project, and all rights or franchises
thereunto appertaining, to any irrigation district or to the federal
government, whenever it appears to the commission that such transfer will
be in the best interests of the project. In the sale of water and water rights
and the entry upon lands now remaining unsold in the Tumalo Project,
honorably discharged soldiers and sailors, marines, and Red Cross nurses
of the Mexican, Spanish or Indian wars and of World War I shall have a
preferred right to the purchase and acquiring of the same for such period
of time as may be designated by the Water Resources Commission.The sum of $10,000, which was appropriated by section 2,
chapter 424, Oregon Laws 1917, shall be considered a loan to the Tumalo
Project and shall be returned to the General Fund, together with interest
at the legal rate from the date on which the money is made available,
from the receipts of the sale of project lands. All expenditures incurred
under the provisions of ORS 555.340, 555.360 and 555.380 shall be paid at
the same time and in the same manner as state officers, upon vouchers
approved by the Water Resources Commission.
_______________CHAPTERS 556 AND 557[Reserved for expansion]
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