[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 20 (Tuesday, February 1, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5210-5218]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-1747]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Indian Affairs


Rate Adjustments for Indian Irrigation Projects

AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rate adjustments.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) owns, or has an interest 
in, irrigation facilities located on various Indian reservations 
throughout the United States. We are required to establish rates to 
recover the costs to administer, operate, maintain, and rehabilitate 
those facilities. We request your comments on the proposed rate 
adjustments.

DATES: Interested parties may submit comments on the proposed rate 
adjustments on or before April 4, 2005.

ADDRESSES: All comments on the proposed rate adjustments must be in 
writing and addressed to: Arch Wells, Director, Office of Trust 
Services, Attn: Irrigation and Power, MS-4655-MIB, Code 210, 1849 C 
Street, NW., Washington, DC 20240, Telephone (202) 208-5480.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For details about a particular 
irrigation project, please use the tables in SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION 
section to contact the regional or local office where the project is 
located.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The tables in this notice list the 
irrigation project contacts where the BIA recovers its costs for local 
administration, operation, maintenance, and rehabilitation, the current 
irrigation assessment rates, and the proposed rates for the 2005 
irrigation season and subsequent years where applicable.

What Are Some of the Terms I Should Know for This Notice?

    The following are terms we use that may help you understand how we 
are applying this notice.
    Administrative costs means all costs we incur to administer our 
irrigation projects at the local project level. Local project level 
does not normally include the Agency, Region, or Central Office costs 
unless we state otherwise in writing.
    Assessable acre means lands designated by us to be served by one of 
our irrigation projects and to which we provide irrigation service and 
recover our costs. (See Total assessable acres.)
    BIA means the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
    Bill means our statement to you of the assessment charges and/or 
fees you owe the United States for administration, operation, 
maintenance, and/or rehabilitation. The date we mail or hand deliver 
your bill will be stated on it.
    Costs mean the costs we incur for administration, operation, 
maintenance, and rehabilitation to provide direct support or benefit to 
an irrigation facility.
    Customer means any person or entity that we provide irrigation 
service to.
    Due date is the date on which your bill is due and payable. This 
date will be stated on your bill.
    I, me, my, you, and your means all interested parties, especially 
persons or entities that we provide irrigation service to and who 
receive beneficial use of our irrigation projects affected by this 
notice and our supporting policies, manuals, and handbooks.
    Irrigation project means, for the purposes of this notice, the 
facility or portions thereof, that we own, or have an interest in, 
including all appurtenant works, for the delivery, diversion, and 
storage of irrigation water to provide irrigation service to customers 
for whom we assess periodic charges to recover our costs to administer, 
operate, maintain, and rehabilitate. These projects may be referred to 
as facilities, systems, or irrigation areas.
    Irrigation service means the full range of services we provide 
customers of our irrigation projects, including, but not limited to, 
water delivery. This includes our activities to administer, operate, 
maintain, and rehabilitate our projects.
    Maintenance costs means all costs we incur to maintain and repair 
our irrigation projects and equipment of our irrigation projects and is 
a cost factor included in calculating your operation and maintenance 
(O&M) assessment.
    Must means an imperative or mandatory act or requirement.
    Operation and maintenance (O&M) assessment means the periodic 
charge you must pay us to reimburse our costs.
    Operation or operating costs means costs we incur to operate our 
irrigation projects and equipment and is a cost factor included in 
calculating your O&M assessment.
    Past due bill means a bill that has not been paid by the close of 
business on the 30th day after the due date, as stated on the bill. 
Beginning on the 31st day after the due date we begin assessing 
additional charges accruing from the due date.
    Rehabilitation costs means costs we incur to restore our irrigation 
projects or features to original operating condition or to the nearest 
state which can be achieved using current technology and

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is a cost factor included in calculating your O&M assessment.
    Total assessable acres means the total acres served by one of our 
irrigation projects.
    Total O&M cost means the total of all the allowable and allocatable 
costs we incur for administering, operating, maintaining, and 
rehabilitating our irrigation projects serving your farm unit.
    Water means water we deliver at our projects for the general 
purpose of irrigation and other purposes we agree to in writing.
    Water delivery is an activity that is part of the irrigation 
service we provide our customers when water is available.
    We, us, and our means the United States Government, the Secretary 
of the Interior, the BIA, and all who are authorized to represent us in 
matters covered under this notice.

Does This Notice Affect Me?

    This notice affects you if you own or lease land within the 
assessable acreage of one of our irrigation projects, or you have a 
carriage agreement with one of our irrigation projects.

Where Can I Get Information on the Regulatory and Legal Citations in 
This Notice?

    You can contact the appropriate office(s) stated in the tables for 
the irrigation project that serves you, or you can use the Internet 
site for the Government Printing Office at http://www.gpo.gov.

Why Are You Publishing This Notice?

    We are publishing this notice to notify you that we propose to 
adjust one or more of our irrigation assessment rates. This notice is 
published in accordance with the BIA's regulations governing its 
operation and maintenance of irrigation projects, specifically, 25 CFR 
171.1. These sections provide for the fixing and announcing of the 
rates for annual assessments and related information for our irrigation 
projects.

What Authorizes You To Issue This Notice?

    Our authority to issue this notice 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 in turn delegated this authority 
to the Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs under part 209, chapter 
8.1A, of the Department of the Interior's Departmental Manual.

When Will You Put the Rate Adjustments Into Effect?

    We will put the rate adjustments into effect for the 2005 
irrigation season and subsequent years where applicable.

How Do You Calculate Irrigation Rates?

    We calculate irrigation assessment rates in accordance with 25 CFR 
171.1(f) by estimating the cost of normal operation and maintenance at 
each of our irrigation projects. The cost of normal operation and 
maintenance means the expenses we incur to provide direct support or 
benefit for an irrigation project's activities for administration, 
operation, maintenance, and rehabilitation. These costs are then 
applied as stated in the rate table in this notice.

What Kinds of Expenses Do You Include in Determining the Estimated Cost 
of Normal Operation and Maintenance?

    We include the following expenses:
    (a) Personnel salary and benefits for the project engineer/manager 
and project employees under their management control;
    (b) Materials and supplies;
    (c) Major and minor vehicle and equipment repairs;
    (d) Equipment, including transportation, fuel, oil, grease, lease 
and replacement;
    (e) Capitalization expenses;
    (f) Acquisition expenses;
    (g) Maintenance of a reserve fund available for contingencies or 
emergency expenses for, and insuring, reliable operation of the 
irrigation project; and
    (h) Other expenses we determine necessary to properly perform the 
activities and functions characteristic of an irrigation project.

When Should I Pay My Irrigation Assessment?

    We will mail or hand deliver your bill notifying you of the amount 
you owe to the United States and when such amount is due. If we mail 
your bill, we will consider it as being delivered no later than 5 
business days after the day we mail it. You should pay your bill no 
later than the close of business on the 30th day after the due date 
stated on the bill.

What Information Must I Provide for Billing Purposes?

    We must obtain certain information from you to ensure we can 
properly process, bill for, and collect money owed to the United 
States. We are required to collect the taxpayer identification number 
or social security number to properly bill the responsible party and 
service the account under the authority of, and as prescribed in, 
Public Law 104-143, the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996.
    (a) At a minimum, this information is:
    (1) Full legal name of person or entity responsible for paying the 
bill;
    (2) Adequate and correct address for mailing or hand delivering our 
bill; and
    (3) The taxpayer identification number or social security number of 
the person or entity responsible for paying the bill.
    (b) It is your responsibility to ensure we have correct and 
accurate information for paragraph (a) of this section.
    (c) If you are late paying your bill due to your failure to furnish 
such information or comply with paragraph (b) of this section, you 
cannot appeal your bill on this basis.

What Can Happen if I Do Not Provide the Information Required for 
Billing Purposes?

    We can refuse to provide you irrigation service.

If I Allow My Bill To Become Past Due, Could This Affect My Water 
Delivery?

    If we do not receive your payment before the close of business on 
the 30th day after the due date stated on your bill, we will send you a 
past due notice. Your bill will have additional information concerning 
your rights. We will consider your past due notice as delivered no 
later than 5 business days after the day we mail it. We have the right 
to refuse water delivery to any of your irrigated land on which the 
bill is past due. We can continue to refuse water delivery until you 
pay your bill or make payment arrangements that we agree to. Our 
authority to demand payment of your past due bill is 31 CFR 901.2, 
``Demand for Payment.''

Are There Any Additional Charges If I Am Late Paying My Bill?

    Yes. We will assess you interest on the amount owed and use the 
rate of interest established annually by the Secretary of the United 
States Treasury (Treasury) to calculate what you will be assessed (31 
CFR 901.9(b)). You will not be assessed this charge until your bill is 
past due. However, if you allow your bill to become past due, interest 
will accrue from the due date, not the past due date. Also, you will be 
charged an administrative fee of $12.50 for each time we try to collect 
your past due bill. If your bill becomes more than 90 days past due, 
you will be assessed a penalty charge of 6 percent per year and it will 
accrue from the date your bill initially

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became past due. Our authority to assess interest, penalties, and 
administration fees on past due bills is prescribed in 31 CFR 901.9, 
``Interest, penalties, and costs.''

What Else Can Happen To My Past Due Bill?

    If you do not pay your bill or make payment arrangements that we 
agree to, we are required to send your past due bill to the Treasury 
for further action. We must send your bill to Treasury no later than 
180 days after the original due date of your irrigation assessment 
bill. The requirement for us to send your unpaid bill to Treasury is 
prescribed in 31 CFR 901.1, ``Aggressive agency collection activity.''

Who Can I Contact for Further Information?

    The following tables are the regional and project/agency contacts 
for our irrigation facilities.
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What Irrigation Assessments or Charges Are Proposed for Adjustment By 
This Notice?

    The rate table below contains the current rates for all of our 
irrigation projects where we recover our costs for operation and 
maintenance. The table also contains the proposed rates for the 2005 
season and subsequent years where applicable. An asterisk immediately 
following the name of the project notes the irrigation projects where 
rates are proposed for adjustment.

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Consultation and Coordination With Tribal Governments (Executive Order 
13175)

    The BIA irrigation projects are vital components of the local 
agriculture economy of the reservations on which they are located. To 
fulfill its responsibilities to the tribes, tribal organizations, water 
user organizations, and the individual water users, the BIA 
communicates, coordinates, and consults on a continuing basis with 
these entities on issues of water delivery, water availability, costs 
of administration, operation, maintenance, and rehabilitation. This is 
accomplished at the individual irrigation projects by Project, Agency, 
and Regional representatives, as appropriate, in accordance with local 
protocol and procedures. This notice is one component of the BIA's 
overall coordination and consultation process to provide notice and 
request comments from these entities on adjusting our irrigation rates.

Actions Concerning Regulations That Significantly Affect Energy Supply, 
Distribution, or Use (Executive Order 13211)

    The rate adjustments will have no adverse effects on energy supply, 
distribution, or use (including a shortfall in supply, price increases, 
and increase use of foreign supplies) should the proposed rate 
adjustments be implemented. This is a notice for rate adjustments at 
BIA owned and operated irrigation projects, except for the Fort Yuma 
Irrigation Project. The Fort Yuma Irrigation Project is owned and 
operated by the Bureau of Reclamation with a portion serving the Fort 
Yuma Reservation.

Regulatory Planning and Review (Executive Order 12866)

    These rate adjustments are not a significant regulatory action and 
do not need to be 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).

Unfunded Mandates Act of 1995

    These rate adjustments impose no unfunded mandates on any 
governmental or private entity and are in compliance with the 
provisions of the Unfunded Mandates Act of 1995.

Takings (Executive Order 12630)

    The Department has determined that these rate adjustments do not 
have significant ``takings'' implications. The rate adjustments do not 
deprive the public, state, or local governments of rights or property.

Federalism (Executive Order 13132)

    The Department has determined that these rate adjustments do not 
have significant Federalism effects because they pertain solely to 
Federal-tribal relations and will not interfere with the roles, rights, 
and responsibilities of states.

Civil Justice Reform (Executive Order 12988)

    In accordance with Executive Order 12988, the Office of the 
Solicitor has determined that this rule does not unduly burden the 
judicial system and meets the requirements of sections 3(a) and 3(b)(2) 
of the Order.

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995

    These rate adjustments do not affect the collections of information 
which have been approved by the Office of Information and Regulatory 
Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, under the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995. The OMB Control Number is 1076-0141 and expires April 30, 
2006.

National Environmental Policy Act

    The Department has determined that these rate adjustments do not 
constitute a major Federal action significantly affecting the quality 
of the human environment and that no detailed statement is required 
under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321-
4370(d)).

    Dated: January 12, 2005.
David W. Anderson,
Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs.
[FR Doc. 05-1747 Filed 1-31-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-W7-P