Regulations last checked for updates: Nov 24, 2024

Title 25 - Indians last revised: Mar 22, 2024
§ 171.100 - What are some of the terms I should know for this part?

Annual Assessment Waiver means a mechanism for us to waive your annual operation and maintenance assessment under certain specified circumstances.

Annual operation and maintenance assessment means the charges you must pay us for our costs of administration, operation, maintenance, and rehabilitation of the irrigation facility servicing your farm unit.

Annual operation and maintenance assessment rate means the per acre charge we establish for the irrigation facility servicing your farm unit.

Assessable acres (see Total assessable acres).

Authorized use means your use of water delivered by us that supports irrigated agriculture, livestock, Carriage Agreements or other uses defined by laws, regulations, treaty, compact, judicial decree, river regulatory plan, or other authority.

BIA means the Bureau of Indian Affairs within the United States Department of the Interior.

Bill means our statement to you of the assessment charges and/or fees you owe the United States for administration, operation, maintenance, rehabilitation, and/or construction of the irrigation facility servicing your farm unit.

Carriage Agreement means a legally binding contract we enter into:

(1) To convey third-party water through our irrigation facilities; or

(2) To convey our water through third-party facilities.

Construction assessment means the periodic charge we assess you to repay us the funds we used to construct our irrigation facilities serving your farm unit that are determined to be reimbursable under applicable statutes.

Customer means any person or entity to whom we provide irrigation service.

Ditch (see Farm ditch or Service ditch).

Due date means the date printed on your bill, 30 days after which your bill becomes past due.

Facility (see Irrigation facility).

Farm ditch means a ditch or canal that you own, operate, maintain, and rehabilitate.

Farm unit means the smallest parcel of land for which we will establish a delivery point. Farm unit size is defined in the authorizing legislation for each irrigation facility, or in the absence of such legislation, we will define the farm unit size.

I, me, my, you, and your means all interested parties, especially persons or entities to which we provide irrigation service and receive use of our irrigation facilities, such as irrigators, landowners, leasees, irrigator organizations, irrigation districts, or other entities affected by this part and our supporting policies, manuals, and handbooks.

Idle lands means lands that are not currently farmed because they have characteristics that limit crop production.

Incentive Agreement means a written agreement between you and us that allows us to waive your annual operation and maintenance assessment, when you agree to improve idle lands and we determine that it is in the best interest of our irrigation facility.

Irrigation bill (see Bill).

Irrigation district (see Representative organization).

Irrigation facility means all structures and appurtenant works for the delivery, diversion, and storage of irrigation water. These facilities may be referred to as projects, systems, or irrigation areas.

Irrigation service means the full range of services we provide customers, including but not limited to administration, operation, maintenance, and rehabilitation of our irrigation facilities.

Irrigation water or water means water we deliver through our facilities for the general purpose of irrigation and other authorized purposes.

Irrigator (see Customer).

Landowner means a person or entity that owns fee, tribal trust, and/or individual allotted trust lands.

Leaching Service means our delivery of water to you at your request for the purpose of transporting salts below the root zone of a farm unit.

Lessee means any person or entity that holds a lease approved by us on lands to which we provide irrigation service.

Must means an imperative or mandatory act or requirement.

My land and your land mean all or part of your farm unit.

Obstruction means anything permanent or temporary that blocks, hinders, impedes, stops or cuts off our facilities or our ability to perform the services we determine necessary to provide service to our customers.

Organization (see Representative organization).

Past due bill means a bill that has not been paid within 30 days of the due date stated on your bill.

Permanently non-assessable acres (PNA) means lands that the Secretary of the Interior has determined to be permanently non-irrigable pursuant to the standards set out in 25 U.S.C. 389b.

Representative organization or organization means a legally established organization representing your interests that confers with us on how we provide irrigation service at a particular irrigation facility.

Service(s) (see Irrigation service).

Service area means lands designated by us to be served by one of our irrigation facilities.

Service ditch means a ditch or canal which we own, administer, operate, maintain, and rehabilitate that we use to provide irrigation service to your farm unit.

Soil salinity means soils containing high salt content that limit crop production.

Special assessment means a charge to cover the uncontrolled cost arising from an urgency on an irrigation facility.

Structures (see Irrigation facility).

Subdivision means a farm unit that has been subdivided into smaller parcels.

Supplemental water means water available for delivery by our irrigation facilities beyond the quantity necessary to provide all project customers requesting water with the per-acre water duty established for that project.

Taxpayer identifying number means either your Social Security Number or your Employer Identification Number.

Temporarily non-assessable acres (TNA) means lands that the Secretary of the Interior has determined to be temporarily non-irrigable pursuant to the standards set out in 25 U.S.C. 389a.

Total assessable acres means the total acres of land served by one of our irrigation facilities to which we assess operation and maintenance charges. The Total assessable acres within the service area of an irrigation facility do not include those acres of land that are designated PNA or TNA, nor those acres of land granted an Annual Assessment Waiver.

Trust or restricted land or land in trust or restricted status (see definitions in 25 CFR 151.2).

Urgency means a situation that we have determined may adversely impact our irrigation facilities, operation, or other irrigation activities; affect public safety; or damage property or equipment.

Wastewater means surface runoff and subsurface drainage from your farm unit from water delivered by us that exceeds irrigation requirements.

Water (see Irrigation water).

Water delivery is an activity that is part of the irrigation service we provide to our customers when water is available.

Water duty means the amount of water, in acre-feet per acre, necessary for full-service irrigation. This value is established by decree, compact, or other legal document, or by specialized engineering studies.

Water user (see Customer).

We, us, and our means the United States Government, the Secretary of the Interior, BIA, and all who are authorized to represent us in matters covered under this part.

§ 171.105 - Does this part apply to me?

This part applies to you if you own or lease land within an irrigation project where we assess fees and collect monies to administer, operate, maintain, and rehabilitate project facilities.

§ 171.110 - How does BIA administer its irrigation facilities?

(a) We administer our irrigation facilities by enforcing the applicable statutes, regulations, Executive Orders, directives, Indian Affairs Manual, the Irrigation Handbook, and other written policies, procedures, directives, and practices to ensure the safe, reliable, and efficient administration, operation, maintenance, and rehabilitation of our facilities. Such enforcement can include refusal or termination of irrigation services to you. Copies of the above listed items may be obtained from the irrigation project serving you.

(b) We will cooperate and consult with you, as appropriate, on irrigation activities and policies of the particular irrigation facility serving you.

§ 171.115 - Can I and other irrigators establish representative organizations?

Yes. You and other irrigators may establish a representative organization under applicable law to represent your interests for the particular irrigation facilities serving you.

§ 171.120 - What are the authorities and responsibilities of a representative organization?

(a) A legally established organization representing you may make rules, policies, and procedures it may find necessary to administer the activities it is authorized to perform.

(b) An organization must not make rules, policies, or procedures that conflict with our regulations or any of our other written policies, procedures, directives, and manuals.

(c) If this organization collects operation and maintenance assessments and construction assessments on your behalf to be paid to us, it must pay us all your past and current operation and maintenance and construction assessment charges before we will provide irrigation service to you.

§ 171.125 - Can I appeal BIA decisions?

(a) You may appeal our decisions in accordance with procedures set out in 25 CFR part 2, unless otherwise prohibited by law.

(b) If you appeal an irrigation bill, you must pay the bill in accordance with subpart E before we will provide irrigation service to you. If you prevail on appeal, any overpayment will be refunded to you.

§ 171.130 - Who can I contact if I have any questions about these regulations or my irrigation service?

Contact the local irrigation project where you receive service or want to apply for service. If your questions are not addressed to your satisfaction at the local project level, you may contact the appropriate BIA Regional Office.

§ 171.135 - Where do I submit written information or requests?

Submit written information to us or make request of us in writing at the irrigation project servicing your farm unit.

§ 171.140 - Information collection.

The information collection requirements contained in this part have been approved by the Office of Management and Budget under 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. and assigned clearance number 1076-0141. This information collection is specifically found in 25 CFR sections 171.200, 171.225, 171.305, 171.310, 171.405, 171.410, 171.530, 171.550, 171.600, 171.605, 171.610, 171.615, 171.710, 171.715. A Federal agency may not conduct or sponsor, and you are not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.

authority: 25 U.S.C. 2; 25 U.S.C. 9; 25 U.S.C. 13; 25 U.S.C. 381; Act of April 4, 1910, 36 Stat. 270, as amended (codified at 25 U.S.C. 385); 25 U.S.C. 386a; Act of June 22, 1936, 49 Stat. 1803 (codified at 25 U.S.C. 389
source: 73 FR 11036, Feb. 29, 2008, unless otherwise noted.
cite as: 25 CFR 171.135