[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 95 (Tuesday, May 18, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27003-27006]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-12387]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Indian Affairs


Operation and Maintenance Rate Adjustment: Crow Irrigation 
Project, Montana

AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Operation and Maintenance (O&M) Rate Adjustment.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) is adjusting the assessment 
rates for operating and maintaining the Crow Irrigation Project 
(Project), Montana for the years 1998, 1999, 2000, and 2001.

DATES: The adjusted irrigation rates are effective for each irrigation 
season as indicated in the table.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Keith Beartusk, Area Director, Bureau 
of Indian Affairs, Billings Area Office, 316 North 26th Street, 
Billings, Montana 59101-1362, telephone (406) 247-7998.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The authority to issue this document is 
vested in the Secretary of the Interior by 5 U.S.C. 301 and the Act of 
August 14, 1914 (38 Stat. 583, 25 U.S.C. 385). The Secretary has 
delegated this authority to the Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs 
pursuant to part 209 Departmental Manual, Chapter 8.1A and Memorandum 
dated January 25, 1994, from Chief of Staff, Department of the 
Interior, to Assistant Secretaries, and Heads of Bureaus and Offices.
    This notice is given in accordance with Sec. 171.1(e) of part 171, 
subchapter H, chapter I, of title 25 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations, which provides for the fixing and announcing the rates for 
annual operation and maintenance assessments and related information of 
the Crow Irrigation Project for Calendar Year 1998 and subsequent 
years.
    The assessment rates are based on a prepared estimate of the cost 
of normal operation and maintenance of the irrigation project. Normal 
operation and maintenance means the expenses we incur to provide direct 
support or benefit to the project's activities for administration, 
operation, maintenance, and rehabilitation. We must include at least:
    (a) Personnel salary and benefits for the project engineer/manager 
and our employees under his management/control;
    (b) Materials and supplies;
    (c) Major and minor vehicle and equipment repairs;
    (d) Equipment, including transportation, fuel, oil, grease, lease 
and replacement;
    (d) Capitalization expenses;
    (e) Acquisition expenses; and
    (f) Other expenses we determine necessary to properly perform the 
activities and functions characteristic of an irrigation project.

Payments

    The irrigation operation and maintenance assessments become due 
based on locally established payment requirements. No water shall be 
delivered to any of these lands until all irrigation charges have been 
paid.

Interest and Penalty Fees

    Interest, penalty, and administrative fees will be assessed, where 
required by law, on all delinquent operation and maintenance assessment 
charges as prescribed in the Code of Federal Regulations, title 4, part 
102, Federal Claims Collection Standards, and 42 BIAM Supplement 3, 
part 3.8 Debt Collection Procedures. Beginning 30 days after the due 
date, interest will be assessed at the rate of the current value of 
funds to the U.S. Treasury. An administrative fee of $12.50 will be 
assessed each time an effort is made to collect a delinquent debt; a 
penalty charge of 6 percent per year will be charged on delinquent 
debts over 90 days old and will accrue from the date the debt became 
delinquent. No water shall be delivered to any farm unit until all 
irrigation charges have been paid. After 180 days, a delinquent debt 
will be forwarded to the United States Treasury for further action in 
accordance with the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996 (Pub. L. 
104-134).

Comments

    On August 25, 1997, the BIA provided a notice in the Federal 
Register, 62 FR 44991, proposing to adjust the assessment rates for 
operating and maintaining the Project for 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, and 
subsequent years. The notice of proposed rate adjustment provided a 30-
day public comment period. Comments were received, the record was 
reviewed, and the following is in response to those comments.
    Response to Comments: On August 25, 1997, the Assistant Secretary--
Indian Affairs published in the Federal Register (62 FR 44991) a Notice 
of Proposed Irrigation Operation and

[[Page 27004]]

Maintenance (O&M) Rate Adjustment for the Project. The BIA sought 
comments to the proposed adjustments to the 1997 assessment rate of 
$11.60 per acre. For 1998, the rate was proposed to increase by $2.90, 
or 25 percent, to $14.50 per assessable acre, and additional increases 
of 50 cents per assessable acre were proposed for the succeeding three 
years. In the notice, the BIA indicated that the proposed rates were 
based upon a prepared estimate of the costs of normal operation and 
maintenance of the Project. These costs included the expenses incurred 
by the BIA to provide direct support or benefit to the Project's 
activities, including salaries and benefits for Project personnel, 
materials and supplies, major and minor vehicle repairs, equipment, and 
other necessary expenses. The public was provided 30 days in which to 
comment on the proposed rate adjustment.
    The BIA posted notices of the proposed rate adjustment at federal 
government facilities at the following towns in Montana: Hardin, Wyola, 
Saint Xavier, Garryowen, Crow Agency, and at the Billings Area Office, 
Billings, Montana. In addition, the notice was published in the ``Big 
Horn County News, Hardin, Montana.'' The notice identified the proposed 
rate adjustment along with the date and location of a public meeting to 
be held to discuss the proposed rate adjustment. The public meeting 
took place on September 12, 1997, and was held at the BIA's Forestry 
Building, Crow Agency, Montana. At the public meeting, the Billings 
Area Office Irrigation Engineer and the Project Manager presented the 
budget for the 1998 rate. The proposed budget indicated that to meet 
projected operation and maintenance expenses, the Project would need to 
increase its annual rate for 1998, 1999, 2000, and 2001.
    Comments were received from three individuals: Rodney Jabs of 
Hardin, MT; Reiny Jabs, Chairman, Big Horn District Water Users; and 
Lee Roy Schanaman, Big Horn District Director. Comments and objections 
were also filed by Douglas Y. Freeman, Secretary of the Big Horn 
Irrigation Users, attaching a Petition signed by 92 entities (including 
one duplicate and three corporations also represented by individual 
signers). The comments that were received opposed the proposed rate 
adjustment. The BIA has reviewed the comments to the proposed rate 
adjustment and the record compiled by the Project. Review of the 
proposed budget indicates that, in comparison to 1997, the proposed 
adjustments are in the areas of salaries, supplies and materials, and 
equipment. Other expense categories propose only slight adjustments to 
reflect the annual increased costs of operating the Project.
    Based upon this review and following due consideration of the 
comments received, the BIA concludes that the proposed rate adjustment 
is reasonable and necessary to ensure the continued operation and 
maintenance of the Project.
    Comments regarding equipment, materials and personnel: Comments 
that were received stated concerns that the proposed rate adjustment 
will include an increase to support the acquisition of new equipment. 
The comments stated the belief that the Project presently has the 
appropriate equipment, materials and personnel to perform operation and 
maintenance of the system.
    Response: Upon review of the Project's record, the BIA finds that, 
while existing equipment and personnel are adequate to perform minimal 
operation and maintenance functions, the Project does propose to 
accelerate its maintenance program to meet the demands of the water 
users, and to prevent future canal and lateral blowouts, such as the 
blowout that occurred in 1997 at the Soap Creek flume.
    The unexpected cost of repairing the Soap Creek flume at the 
beginning of the irrigation season, reduced the Project's available 
funds. This required the Project to cut back its maintenance program 
and service to the water users. The proposed acceleration and expansion 
of the Project's preventive maintenance program to reduce the potential 
of future blowouts would increase the annual expenses of salaries, 
supplies, materials, and the maintenance and repair/replacement of 
existing heavy equipment.
    The Project does anticipate replacing existing older heavy 
equipment that is reaching the end of its economical life. Moreover, 
increased expenditures to fund such necessary supplies as culverts, 
headgates, and concrete will benefit project operations. The Project 
does not propose expanding its current personnel allotment, but does 
anticipate filling currently vacant positions. The Project's allotted 
personnel roster consists of 1 project manager, 2 accounting 
technicians, 1 secretary, 1 supervisory civil engineer technician, 4 
equipment operators, 2 lead irrigation system operators, and 6 
irrigation system operators, for a total of 17 positions. Currently, 
the Project is operating with 1 project manager, 2 accounting 
technicians, 1 supervisory civil engineer technician, 3 equipment 
operators, 2 lead irrigation system operators, and 4 irrigation system 
operators, for a total of 13 positions, a 24 percent vacancy rate. The 
Project personnel provide water to 36,965 irrigated acres, maintain and 
operate 346 miles of irrigation delivery system that contains 3,040 
structures. The BIA thus finds the increase based upon equipment and 
personnel expenditures to be justified.
    Comments regarding salary: The proposed salary budget constitutes 
two-thirds of the budget.
    Response: The Project is composed of nine individual irrigation 
units within three water sheds. Those are the Big Horn, Little Big 
Horn, and Prior Creek water sheds. Project personnel provide water to 
36,965 irrigated acres, and maintain and operate 346 miles of 
irrigation delivery system that contains 3,040 structures. The delivery 
of water requires that personnel traverse an area 70 miles one way.
    A large percentage of the Project budget is required to meet 
salaries, due to the labor intensive nature of this Project. The 
project personnel who deliver water within the Big Horn and Prior Creek 
drainage, provide water to 24,582 acres, and maintain and operate 197 
miles of irrigation delivery system and 1,514 structures. The personnel 
who deliver water to the Little Big Horn drainage, provide water to 
12,383 acres, and maintain and operate 149 miles of irrigation delivery 
system and 1,526 structures. Delivering water and meeting the demands 
of the water users requires travel and constant monitoring and 
regulating over a large service area which requires a full work force 
of 17 personnel. These personnel are all paid from the O&M budget. To 
implement the proposed higher level of maintenance to reduce a 
rehabilitation backlog will require additional workforce expenditures. 
The BIA finds that the proposed budget for salaries to accomplish this 
is reasonable.
    Comments regarding the percentage of the rate increase in one year: 
Comments complained of the 25 percent increase in one year with an 
overall increase of 38 percent.
    Response: A review of the budget indicates that the proposed 
increases were based upon the previous six years of project expenses 
coupled with a stable O&M rate, and the expected inflation over the 
next four years. The future costs were determined by using the Bureau 
of Reclamation's ``Construction Cost Trends'' report, specifically the 
``Composite Trend,'' ``machinery and equipment'' and ``Federal Salary'' 
data. Six years without an O&M rate adjustment, and the lack of 
adequate rate relief in earlier years have resulted in a serious 
shortage of

[[Page 27005]]

adequate funding for preventive and repair maintenance in accordance 
with industry standards. During the six years of stable rates, there 
was a 17 percent increase in Project operation costs to include cost of 
living increases for salaries. Two-thirds of the proposed O&M rate 
adjustment would be to meet inflation; the remaining one-third is to 
fund the preventive maintenance program of the irrigation system. The 
$2.90 increase for 1998 will help offset the lack of adequate rate 
relief for previous years, and thus enable the Project to meet 
demonstrated maintenance needs. The increase over subsequent years will 
only compensate for expected inflation each year. The percentage 
increases are 3.4 percent, 3.3 percent, 3.2 percent for 1999, 2000, and 
2001, respectively. Given these circumstances and the resulting project 
needs, the BIA finds the magnitude of the increase to be reasonable.
    Comments regarding access to budget: The water users request access 
to the Project's budget and to have input into what needs to be done 
and where the money is going.
    Response: The Project annually mails over 1,100 O&M bills to all of 
the Project's water users. The cost to mail a copy of the budget to 
each water user is not cost effective due to reproduction and postal 
costs. Therefore, the annual budget for O&M is available at the Project 
Office, Crow Agency, Montana for review by the water users and the 
general public. For this proposed rate adjustment, the Project held a 
public meeting on September 12, 1997, to discuss the proposed rate 
adjustment and to present the Project budget. The participants at the 
meeting were provided copies of the proposed rate adjustment and the 
Project budget.
    Prior to the above-mentioned public meeting, the Project met with 
the three irrigation districts associated with the Project on January 
3, 1997. At this annual district meeting, the Project presented its 
1998 budget. This meeting provided attendees to provide comment on the 
Project's budget and the need for a rate adjustment for the 1998 
irrigation season.
    Comments regarding the efficiency of the Project operation: The 
Project needs to develop plans for a systematic cleaning of canals and 
laterals, removal of unwanted pond weed, increase its efficiency, as 
present funds are underutilized.
    Response: Maximizing the Project's efficiency is certainly a goal 
of the Project, and the Project will continue its efforts toward 
improving efficiency in its operations. However, to keep water moving 
through an irrigation delivery system effectively and reliably requires 
that the canals and laterals be continually re-sloped, excess 
vegetation removed, structures repaired or replaced, and aquatic weed 
controlled. To accomplish this the Project requires that heavy 
equipment operators travel along the canal or lateral and re-slope and 
remove excessive vegetation with an excavator. The heavy equipment used 
to accomplish this also requires continual maintenance and repair. To 
accomplish aquatic weed control, the Project is restricted by 
environmental and public safety requirements. Chemicals used for these 
purposes must be approved. In recent years, these costs have increased 
both due to the increased cost of the chemicals and the manner in which 
they are applied.
    The Project has maintained an O&M rate of $11.60 per acre since 
1992. The Project over the years has had to cut back on maintenance 
programs to keep the O&M costs within the $11.60 per acre assessment. 
To continue operating the project at a $11.60 per acre assessment would 
require further cuts of maintenance, further jeopardizing the operation 
of the Project. The proposed rate adjustments will provide the Project 
with adequate revenue to increase the maintenance program from the 
present level of 30 to 40 of the 3040 structures per year up to 50 to 
60 structures per year, increase canal maintenance from its current 
level of 30 to 35 miles per year to 50 to 55 per year, and replace 
worn-out heavy equipment. The BIA finds that the proposed rate will 
help improve project efficiency.
    Comments regarding the supervision of Project personnel: Comments 
stated concerns that field project personnel are unsupervised, 
unproductive, lack the knowledge of structures, maintenance, etc.
    Response: The supervision of field irrigation personnel rests with 
the Project Manager. To assist the manager, there are one supervisory 
civil engineer technician, three equipment operators, two lead 
irrigation system operators, and four irrigation system operators. Any 
complaints a water user may have with any of the irrigation personnel 
should be reported in writing to the Project Manager, Crow Agency 
Superintendent or the Area Director, Billings Area Office. Any written 
complaints should contain information that identifies a situation in 
sufficient detail so that an inquiry may be conducted. In addition, the 
complaint must include the complainant's name, address, and telephone 
number.
    The responsibility for the repair and/or replacement of the water 
delivery system structures lies with the Project Manager and 
Supervisory Civil Engineer Technician. They have the required 
experience and expertise to effect repairs or replacement of Project 
structures. They also can rely on the BIA's Billings Area Office staff 
or the Bureau of Reclamation Regional Office staff for additional 
technical assistance that may be needed to accomplish the Project's 
maintenance program. The BIA finds that any complaints with Project 
personnel should be raised to the Project Manager or the Area Director; 
and do not form the basis here for contesting the rate adjustment.
    Comments regarding the publication of the proposed rate increase: 
Comments expressed concerns that the publication of the proposed rate 
adjustment should have been before or after a harvest season.
    Response: The Project operates on a fiscal year cycle from October 
1 through September 30 of each year and is required to submit a 
proposed budget for any given year to the Billings Area Office during 
the previous fiscal year. The Project submitted its request for a 
proposed rate adjustment for 1998 to the Billings Area Office in May 
1997. The Billings Area Office approved the proposed rate adjustment 
and submitted it to the BIA Central Office, Washington, D.C., for final 
approval and publication in the Federal Register. On August 25, 1997 
(62 FR 44991), the Federal Register published the proposed O&M rate. 
All interested parties were given 30 days to submit written comments.
    To ensure the water users were aware, the Project was proposing an 
O&M rate adjustment. The Project posted copies of the Federal Register 
Notice at all federal facilities within its area. In addition to this 
posting, the Project also announced a public meeting to solicit 
comments from the public regarding the proposed O&M rate adjustment. 
This meeting was held on September 12, 1997.
    The BIA will review its process for notifying the public for 
proposed rate adjustments, and will strive to avoid the harvest season 
in future rate adjustments.

Conclusion

    Following review of the Project record and the comments received, 
the BIA determined that the overall and compelling need for the Project 
to bring its budget to current financial levels; thus, properly 
maintaining the Project facilities and rendering the proposed rate 
adjustment both necessary and reasonable. While we have considered the 
objections of the water users, we affirm the Project's proposed budgets 
and issue this final rate notice. Specific concerns expressed by the 
water users

[[Page 27006]]

as to the time of the proposed rate adjustments and requesting access 
to and input in the budgetary process, will be accommodated more fully 
in future rate adjustment situations.

Executive Order 12988

    The Department has certified to the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) that this rate adjustment meets the applicable standards provided 
in sections 3(a) and 3(b)(2) of Executive Order 12988.

Executive Order 12866

    This rate adjustment is not a significant regulatory action and has 
been reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget under Executive 
Order 12866.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    This rate making is not a rule for the purposes of the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act because it is ``a rule of particular applicability 
relating to rates.'' 5 U.S.C. 601(2).

Executive Order 12630

    The Department has determined that this rate adjustment does not 
have significant ``takings'' implications.

Executive Order 12612

    The Department has determined that this rate adjustment does not 
have significant Federalism effects because it pertains solely to 
Federal-tribal relations and will not interfere with the roles, rights, 
and responsibilities of states.

Unfunded Mandates Act of 1995

    This rate adjustment imposes no unfunded mandates on any 
governmental or private entity and is in compliance with the provisions 
of the Unfunded Mandates Act of 1995.

Rate Adjustment

    The following table illustrates the impact of the rate adjustment:

                                              Crow Irrigation Project--Irrigation Rate Per Assessable Acre
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                                Year                                       1997             1998             1999             2000             2001
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Rate...............................................................          $11.60           $14.50           $15.00           $15.50           $16.00
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    Dated: May 11, 1999.
Kevin Gover,
Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs.
[FR Doc. 99-12387 Filed 5-17-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-02-P