Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 130 / Friday, July 5, 1996 / Proposed Rules 35167

must immediately report allegations to

the internal affairs unit. Depending

upon the severity of the allegation, the

matter may be dealt with locally or it

will be investigated by the internal

affairs unit. Failure of any Bureau of

Indian Affairs employee to report

known allegations may be considered

misconduct in itself. Citizens may

report officer misconduct directly to the

internal affairs unit if that is more

practical.

§ 12.54 What can I do if I believe my civil

rights have been violated?

All allegations of civil rights

violations must be reported immediately

to the internal affairs unit. That office

will insure such allegations are

immediately reported to the Civil Rights

Division of the U. S. Department of

Justice through established procedures.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs internal

affairs unit may also conduct an

investigation into the matter and make

recommendations for additional action

as necessary.

§ 12.55 Are there any limits on how much

force an officer can use when performing

law enforcement duties?

The Director will develop and

maintain the use of force policy for all

Bureau of Indian Affairs law

enforcement personnel, and for

programs receiving Bureau of Indian

Affairs funding or authority. Training in

the use of force, to include non-lethal

measures, will be provided annually.

All officers will successfully complete a

course of instruction in firearms, to

include judgement pistol shooting,

approved by the Indian Police Academy

prior to carrying a firearm on or off

duty.

Subpart G—Support Functions

§ 12.61 Can informants be paid for

information that helps solve a crime?

The Director has the authority to

expend money for the purchase of

evidence or information, or to offer a

reward, in the investigation of a crime.

This is subject to the availability of

funds. This authority may be delegated

in writing to supervisory criminal

investigators within the Office of Law

Enforcement Services in the Bureau of

Indian Affairs. The Director must

develop policies and procedures for the

expenditure, control, and audit of these

funds prior to their use.

§ 12.62 Who decides what uniform an

Indian country law enforcement officer can

wear and who pays for it?

Each local law enforcement program

must establish their own uniform

requirements for patrol and detention

personnel. Uniformed Bureau of Indian

Affairs police officers may be paid an

annual uniform allowance not to exceed

$400. Local programs may provide

uniforms and related equipment to

officers in lieu of this payment. All law

enforcement officers must also have

their official identification on their

person at all times when performing law

enforcement duties. Uniforms, when

worn, will be plainly distinguishable

from the uniforms of any non-law

enforcement personnel working on the

reservation.

§ 12.63 Do Indian country law enforcement

officers perform other duties as well?

Law enforcement commissions will

only be issued by the Bureau of Indian

Affairs to persons occupying positions

as full-time officers. Bureau of Indian

Affairs funded or commissioned

criminal investigators will not be

responsible for supervising or managing

any patrol, detention, or other

uniformed police programs.

Dated: May 31, 1996.

Ada E. Deer,

Assistant Secretary—Indian Affairs.

[FR Doc. 96–16040 Filed 7–03–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–02–P

25 CFR Part 171

RIN 1076–AD44

Irrigation Projects and Systems

AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs,

Interior.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

SUMMARY: The Bureau of Indian Affairs

is revising its regulations governing

irrigation projects. The purpose of the

revisions is to make it easier to read and

understand for the customers of Indian

irrigation projects; provide for

consistent administration; establish the

process for updating practices, policies,

and procedures for the administration,

operation, maintenance, and

rehabilitation of irrigation projects; and

provide uniform accounting and record

keeping procedures.

DATES: You may send us written

comments. We must receive them by

September 3, 1996.

ADDRESSES: You must mail or hand

carry your comments to Terrance

Virden, Acting Director, Office of Trust

Responsibilities, Bureau of Indian

Affairs, Department of the Interior, 1849

C Street, N.W., MS 4513 MIB,

Washington, D.C. 20240.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ross

Mooney, Chief, Branch of Irrigation and

Power, Division of Water and Land

Resources, Bureau of Indian Affairs,

Department of the Interior, 1849 C

Street, N.W., Mail Stop 4513 MIB,

Washington, D.C. 20240, Phone Number

(202) 208–5480.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We are

publishing this revised rule by the

authority delegated by the Secretary of

the Interior to the Assistant SecretaryIndian Affairs by 209 DM 8.

Our policy is to give the public an

opportunity to participate in the rule

making process by submitting written

comments regarding proposed rules. We

will consider all comments received

during the public comment period. We

will determine necessary revisions and

issue the final rule. Please refer to this

preamble’s ‘‘ADDRESSES’’ section for

where you must submit your written

comments on this proposed rule.

We have determined that these

proposed regulations meet the

applicable standards provided in

Sections 3(a) and 3(b)(2) of Executive

Order 12988.

This rule is not a significant rule

under Executive Order 12866 and does

not require approval by the Office of

Management and Budget.

This rule imposes no unfunded

mandates on any governmental or

private entity and is in compliance with

the provisions of the Unfunded

Mandates Act of 1995.

We determined this proposed rule:

(a) Does not constitute a major Federal

action significantly affecting the human

environment, and no detailed statement

is needed under the Environmental

Policy Act of 1969;

(b) Does not have significant takings

implications in accordance with

Executive Order 12630; and

(c) Does not have significant

federalism effects.

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995

Sections 171.214 and 171.215 contain

information collection requirements. As

required by the Paperwork Reduction

Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3507(d)), the

Bureau of Indian Affairs has submitted

a copy of these sections to the Office of

Management and Budget for its review.

Water users must apply for water

delivery. The information to be

collected includes: name; watery deliver

location; time and date of requested

water delivery; duration of water

delivery; rate of water flow; number of

acres irrigated; crop statistics; and other

operational information identified in the

local administration manuals. The

Bureau needs and uses the information

to operate and maintain its irrigation

projects and fulfill our reporting

requirements.

All information is to be collected

annually from each water user. Annual
35168 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 130 / Friday, July 5, 1996 / Proposed Rules

reporting and record keeping burden for

this collection of information is

estimated to average 40 minutes for each

response for approximately 51,500

respondents, including the time for

reviewing instructions, searching

existing data sources, gathering and

maintaining the data needed, and

completing and reviewing the collection

of information. Thus, the total annual

reporting and recordkeeping burden for

this collection is estimated to be 4,292

hours.

Organizations and individuals

wishing to submit comments on the

information collection requirement

should direct them to the Office of

Information and Regulatory Affairs,

OMB, Room 10202, New Executive

Office Building, Washington, D.C.

20503; Attention Desk Officer for U.S.

Department of Interior.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs

considers comments by the public on

this proposed collection of information

in:

Evaluating whether the proposed

collection of information is necessary

for the proper performance of the

Bureau, including whether the

information will have practical utility;

Enhancing the quality, usefulness,

and clarity of the information to be

collected; and

Minimizing the burden of the

collection of information on those who

are to respond, including through the

use of appropriate collection techniques

or other form of information technology.

OMB is required to make a decision

concerning the collection of information

contained in these proposed regulations

between 30 and 60 days after

publication of this document in the

Federal Register. Therefore, a comment

to the OMB is best assured of having its

full effect if OMB receives it within 30

days of publication. This does not affect

the deadline for the public to comment

to the Bureau of Indian Affairs on the

proposed rule.

List of Subjects in 25 CFR Part 171

Indians-lands, Irrigation.

For the reasons set out in the

preamble we are proposing to revise

Part 171 of Title 25 of the Code of

Federal Regulations, as follows:

PART 171—IRRIGATION PROJECTS

AND SYSTEMS

Subpart A—General Provisions

Sec.

171.101 Definitions.

171.102 How we will administer irrigation

projects.

171.103 How we will establish local

administration manuals for each project.

171.104 What are the responsibilities and

authorities of irrigation districts?

171.105 How can you appeal our decisions?

Subpart B—How We Will Distribute Water

171.201 Water delivery points for farm

units.

171.202 What if my farm is too high?

171.203 What must I do if I subdivide a

farm unit?

171.204 What must I do if I combine farm

units?

171.205 How we will distribute water.

171.206 What restrictions are there on my

use of water?

171.207 Will you deliver water to my farm

unit if I have not paid my assessments?

171.208 May I ever receive water if I cannot

pay my assessments on time?

171.209 May I use water for leaching?

171.210 Is there a deadline by which I must

use water that you deliver for leaching?

171.211 May I use water for domestic and

stock purposes?

171.212 Will you deliver water over my

quota?

171.213 How can I get water delivered to

my service or farm ditch?

171.214 How do I apply for water delivery?

171.215 How we record your water

delivery.

171.216 What are my responsibilities

concerning waste water and surface

drainage?

171.217 When will we establish carriage

agreements?

Subpart C—Project Facilities

171.301 Who is responsible for obtaining

rights of way?

171.302 Who is responsible for structures

on our property or rights of way?

171.303 May I ever take over a structure

that you have built?

171.304 Can you install a fence on our

property or rights of way?

171.305 Can you place an obstruction on

our property or rights of way?

Subpart D—Financial Matters and Records

171.401 Definitions for this subpart.

171.402 What costs must I pay?

171.403 How will I know what fees you

will charge me?

171.404 How do you compute the costs that

you charge me?

171.405 How will I be billed for the water

that I use?

171.406 Uniform accounting and billing

procedures are required.

171.407 What procedures apply if there are

assessment or construction repayment

charges?

171.408 How will you recover late

payments?

Subpart E—Miscellaneous

171.501 Information you must provide us.

171.502 Your responsibility concerning

refuse.

Authority: Secs. 1, 3, 36 Stat. 270, 272, as

amended; 25 U.S.C. 385. Sec. 171.4(b) also

issued under 34 Stat. 1024, 38 Stat. 583, and

68 Stat. 1026. Secs. 171.4(a), 171.4(c),

171.16(b), and 171.17(f) also issued under

sec. 11, 39 Stat. 142.

Subpart A—General Provisions

§ 171.101 Definitions.

Administration Manual means the

written compilation of policies,

procedures, and practices we must use

to govern the local day-to-day

administration, operation, maintenance,

and rehabilitation of our individual

projects.

Construction assessment means the

periodic charge you must pay us to

repay appropriated funds we used to

build project facilities that the United

States Congress has determined to be

reimbursable to us.

Farm ditch means a ditch or canal

located on your farm unit which 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 will be defined by us

for each project in the local

Administration Manual.

Irrigation district means an

organization representing water users,

established under proper legal authority

to represent all of, or a portion of, the

water users for the purposes of the fair

and beneficial use of irrigation water,

and conferring with us on the

administration, operation, maintenance,

and rehabilitation of our project serving

it.

Operation & Maintenance (O&M)

Assessment means the computed per

acre cost you must pay us for

administering, operating, maintaining,

and rehabilitating our facilities.

Project means a facility we own,

including all appurtenant works, for the

delivery, diversion, and storage of

irrigation water, authorized and

established by specific Congressional

legislation. For the purposes of this part,

we will reference both projects and

systems using the term ‘‘project.’’

Service ditch means a ditch or canal

you own, operate, maintain, and

rehabilitate into which we deliver

water.

Severance agreement means an

agreement between us and a landowner

to provide access, if we, through

construction or extension of a project,

cause severance of the owner’s property.

System means a facility we own,

including all appurtenant works, for the

delivery, diversion, and storage of

irrigation water, which we established

under the authority of the Snyder Act

(25 U.S.C. 13).

Waste water means the runoff of water

we deliver to you.

Water means water we deliver from,

or return to, our facilities for the general

purpose of irrigation.
Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 130 / Friday, July 5, 1996 / Proposed Rules 35169

Water user means any person,

business, government, or other entity we

provide water.

Water users’ ledger means our record

of water user accounts.

We means the United States

Government, the Secretary of the

Interior, the Bureau of Indian Affairs,

and all who are authorized to represent

us in matters covered under this part.

You means all interested parties

receiving beneficial use of our projects,

such as water users and landowners,

irrigation districts, or other entities

affected by this part.

§ 171.102 How we will administer irrigation

projects.

(a) We must enforce the regulations in

this part and the provisions of the local

administration manuals to ensure the

safe, reliable, and efficient

administration, operation, maintenance,

and rehabilitation of our facilities.

(b) Our enforcement includes refusing

water delivery to you.

(c) We must use the construction debt

repayment funds we collect from you to

repay the construction debt of the

particular project where we collect the

money.

(d) You must agree to a construction

debt repayment plan for the project

where you are located if repayment of

the appropriated construction funds is

required.

§ 171.103 How we will establish local

administration manuals for each project.

(a) We will establish policies,

procedures, and practices for the local

administration, operation, maintenance,

and rehabilitation of each project and

compile them in a local administration

manual.

(b) We must publish a notice in the

Federal Register before establishing, or

amending, a project’s administration

manual.

(c) We must consult with the water

users, or their authorized

representatives, and tribal

representatives to seek comment on

administration manuals and other

matters of irrigation priorities and

policies.

§ 171.104 What are the responsibilities and

authorities of irrigation districts?

(a) Water users may form an irrigation

district to represent their interests.

(b) An irrigation district must do the

following before we will deliver water:

(1) Properly execute a construction

repayment contract;

(2) Pay all charges in accordance with

the construction repayment contract;

(3) Pay us all past and current

construction assessment charges; and

(4) Pay us all past and current O&M

assessment charges.

(c) Irrigation districts may make rules,

policies, and procedures they may find

necessary to administer water delivery

within their district.

(d) Irrigation districts cannot make

rules, policies, or procedures that

conflict with the regulations in this part,

or the local administration manual.

§ 171.105 How can you appeal our

decisions?

(a) You may appeal our decisions in

accordance with subchapter A, part 2 of

Title 25 or in accordance with the

established local administrative manual,

whichever has specific application for

what you are appealing.

(b) Until your appeal is settled, you

must:

(1) Conform to our requirements for

us to deliver water; and

(2) Pay the charge(s) or rates, if you

are appealing assessments, rates, or fees.

Subpart B—How We Will Distribute

Water

§ 171.201 Water delivery points for farm

units.

(a) We will normally deliver water to

your farm unit at a single point we

designate.

(b) We may establish additional

delivery point(s) under the following

conditions:

(1) We determine it is impractical for

you to irrigate your farm unit from a

single delivery point;

(2) You must bear all costs for

establishing additional delivery point(s);

and

(3) We may establish your delivery

point(s) at a well head.

§ 171.202 What if my farm is too high?

(a) We will not change our water level

to deliver water to you.

(b) You may install, operate and

maintain equipment, at your expense, to

put our water on your land:

(1) From a point we designate; and

(2) In accordance with specifications

we approve.

§ 171.203 What must I do if I subdivide a

farm unit?

(a) Legally record a plat or map of the

subdivision and provide us a copy; and

(b) Show on the plat or map how

water is to be delivered within the

subdivision; and

(c) Assume full responsibility for the

facilities within your subdivision.

§ 171.204 What must I do if I combine farm

units?

(a) If you combine farm units, or

portions of farm units, under a lease, or

ownership, we must modify or remove

existing delivery points to comply with

§ 171.203 (a) and (b). You must pay us

the cost of modification or removal to

meet this requirement. Any

modifications must not disrupt water

delivery to other water users.

(b) Should you change your mind

about combining farm units after we

have modified or removed our facilities:

(1) We must approve reestablishment

of the water delivery points;

(2) Other water users must not have

their water delivery service disrupted to

reestablish the water delivery points,

and

(3) You must pay us all costs to

reestablish the delivery points.

§ 171.205 How we will distribute water.

We will follow the distribution

procedures in the local administration

manual. We will notify you in writing

when your quota of water for the season

has been delivered.

§ 171.206 What restrictions are there on

my use of water?

(a) You must not interfere with, or

alter, water flow, storage, or delivery

without our authorization.

(b) You must not possess or use water

in any way without our permission.

§ 171.207 Will you deliver water to my farm

unit if I have not paid my assessments?

No. You must pay all O&M and

construction assessments before we will

deliver water to your farm unit. The

only limited exceptions to this rule are

contained in § 171.208.

§ 171.208 May I ever receive water if I

cannot pay my assessments on time?

We may agree to deliver water to your

farm unit if you cannot pay your

assessments on time and if you meet

one of the conditions in the following

table.

We may deliver water to

you if: and . . .

your farm unit is held in

trust or is restricted

land.

(1) we certify in

writing that you

are an Indian

owner and are financially unable

to pay on time;

(2) you make arrangements to

pay us eventually; and (3) you

allow us to place

a first lien

against your land

until you pay the

assessments.
35170 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 130 / Friday, July 5, 1996 / Proposed Rules

We may deliver water to

you if: and . . .

your farm unit is leased

trust or restricted land

and the lease was negotiated by the Indian

owner.

you make delayed

payment arrangements with

us.

you have asked us for

an adjustment or cancellation for the assessment on your

land.

we have not yet

acted on your request.

you have an approved

deferred payment

contract on your land

that was executed

under the Act of June

22, 1936 (49 Stat.

1803).

§ 171.209 May I use water for leaching?

We may deliver water to your farm

unit for leaching land that is

impregnated by alkali. We may charge

for this water. We will deliver this water

if:

(a) The water is available;

(b) You have a plan of operation that

we have approved;

(c) You have made a written

agreement with us to correct the alkali

problem; and

(d) You do not owe us any money.

§ 171.210 Is there a deadline by which I

must use water that you deliver for

leaching?

Yes. You must make full beneficial

use of water delivered for leaching

purposes by the date in the

administration manual. If you have not:

(a) We must refuse to deliver water to

you for leaching; and

(b) We must charge you for any

delivered water.

§ 171.211 May I use water for domestic

and stock purposes?

We may deliver water for domestic

and stock purposes if it will not:

(a) Interfere with the operation,

maintenance, or rehabilitation of our

facilities;

(b) Be detrimental to, or endanger, our

facilities;

(c) Adversely affect the stored water

supply, and

(d) Incur additional costs to us.

§ 171.212 Will you deliver water over my

quota?

We may deliver additional water

above your quota:

(a) If we determine excess water is

available;

(b) You request the water in writing;

and

(c) You agree to pay for the water at

published rates.

§ 171.213 How do I get water delivered to

my service or farm ditch?

For us to deliver water to your service

or farm ditch you must:

(a) Put the water to beneficial use;

(b) Make sure your ditch has

sufficient carrying capacity;

(c) Properly maintain and rehabilitate

your ditch; and

(d) Make sure your ditch has minimal

losses.

§ 171.214 How do I apply for water

delivery?

(a) You must request water delivery in

accordance with the administration

manual we have established for your

project.

(b) Your request must contain at least

the following information:

(1) Your name;

(2) Where you want water delivered;

(3) The time and date you want water

delivered;

(4) How long you want water

delivered;

(5) The rate of water flow you want;

and

(6) How many acres you are irrigating.

§ 171.215 How we record your water

delivery.

(a) We maintain the water delivery

records in accordance with the

administration manual.

(b) We will keep at least the following

information as part of your water

delivery record:

(1) Your name;

(2) Beginning date and time of your

water delivery;

(3) Ending date and time of your

water delivery;

(4) Amount of water we delivered to

you; and

(5) The actual acreage you irrigated.

§ 171.216 What are my responsibilities

concerning waste water and surface

drainage?

(a) You are responsible for conveying

your irrigation waste water back to our

facilities for drainage.

(b) You are responsible for all costs

we might incur in helping you meet

your responsibility as described in

paragraph (a) of this section.

(c) You will return waste water to our

facilities only at points we designate,

and in a way we approve.

(d) When there are two or more

landowners or water users, it is their

responsibility to work out a satisfactory

arrangement for conveying their

irrigation waste water to our facilities.

(e) Your waste water must not flow

upon, or collect on, our rights of way or

roads, except at points we designate,

and in a way we approve.

§ 171.217 When will we establish carriage

agreements?

(a) We may enter into an agreement to

deliver non-project water to non-project

land if we have determined there is

excess capacity in our facilities to do so.

(b) We may enter into an agreement

with a private enterprise or individual

to convey water through other than our

own facilities to isolated project land

you are irrigating.

(c) You must pay us all

administrative, operating, maintenance,

and rehabilitation costs associated with

these agreements before we will convey

the water.

Subpart C—Project Facilities

§ 171.301 Who is responsible for obtaining

rights of way?

You must obtain rights of way

necessary for us to construct or extend

facilities to deliver water to your farm

unit, in accordance with the following:

(a) For rights of way across trust or

restricted lands, you must obtain these

rights-of-way in accordance with 25

CFR part 169.

(b) For rights of way across fee

patented lands, you must obtain the

right-of-way from the property owner(s).

(c) You must provide the rights of way

to us at no cost.

(d) The right of way must be wide

enough to permit passage and use of our

equipment for construction, operation,

maintenance, and rehabilitation of our

facilities.

§ 171.302 Who is responsible for

structures, on our property or rights-ofway?

(a) We must build, operate, maintain,

and rehabilitate our own structures,

including bridges and other crossings,

unless we authorize someone else to do

it, in writing.

(b) When we are building, or

extending our existing facilities, we may

build other structures or facilities for

private use when justified by severance

agreements, or other considerations.

(c) We own these structures unless we

decide to do otherwise.

(d) If we build and own a structure for

your benefit, we may require you to

maintain it. If you do not, and we

perform the necessary maintenance

ourselves, you must pay us all costs

incurred.

(e) You may build a structure

encroaching on our rights of way for

your private use after:

(1) We approve in writing;

(2) We approve the plans for

construction; and

(3) You sign a written agreement with

us stating you will bear all costs of

installation, maintenance,
Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 130 / Friday, July 5, 1996 / Proposed Rules 35171

rehabilitation, and possible future

removal.

(f) If any structure built under this

part is no longer needed, we may

remove it.

§ 171.303 May I ever take over a structure

that you have built?

(a) If you want to use a structure we

plan on removing, you may request in

writing to take ownership of the

structure.

(b) We may transfer ownership of a

structure to you under an agreement

which:

(1) Relieves us from any future

liability or responsibility for the

structure;

(2) Relieves us from any future costs

incurred for maintaining the structure;

and

(3) Stipulates all that is granted and

accepted by you.

(4) Provides that if you do not

regularly use a structure for a period of

one year, or do not properly maintain

and rehabilitate the structure, we will

notify you in writing that:

(i) You must either remove it or

correct any unsafe condition; and

(ii) If you do not comply with our

notice, we may remove the structure

and you must pay us all costs we incur.

§ 171.304 Can you install a fence on our

property or rights of way?

(a) You must not place a fence across

or within our property or rights of way

without our written approval.

(b) We will approve fences on our

property or rights of way only if it:

(1) Is properly installed;

(2) Does not interfere with the flow or

delivery of water; and

(3) Does not interfere with the passage

of our equipment and employees.

(c) We must notify you in writing to

remove fences we do not approve.

(d) If you do not remove the fence in

accordance with our notice, we will

remove the fence at your expense.

§ 171.305 Can you place an obstruction on

our property or rights of way?

No. You must not place obstructions

on our property or rights-of-way. If you

do, we will notify you in writing that

you must remove it. If you do not

remove the obstruction in accordance

with our notice, we will remove it at

your expense.

Subpart D—Financial Matters and

Records

§ 171.401 Definitions for this subpart.

Administrative costs means all

expenses we incur to administer our

project at the local level. This does not

include the agency, area, or central

office expenses.

Assessment rate means the published

charge you must pay for us to deliver

water to your farm unit.

Costs means the expenses we incur to

provide direct support or benefit to your

project’s activities for administration,

operation, maintenance, and

rehabilitation. Depending on the

activity, we must include at least:

(1) Salary and benefits for the project

engineer/manager and our employees

under his or her control;

(2) Materials and supplies;

(3) Major and minor vehicle and

equipment repairs;

(4) Equipment, including

transportation, fuel, oil, grease, lease

and replacement;

(5) Capitalization expenses;

(6) Acquisition expenses; and

(7) Other expenses we determine

necessary to properly perform the

activities and functions necessary for an

irrigation project.

Maintenance costs means all expenses

we incur to maintain and repair our

facilities and equipment of our project.

Operation costs means all expenses

we incur to operate the facilities and

equipment of our project.

Rehabilitation costs means all

expenses we incur to maintain our

project facilities to original design

specifications.

Total assessable acres means the total

authorized acres within a project to

which we can deliver water.

Total cost means the total of all

administrative, operating, maintenance,

and rehabilitation costs we incur to

deliver water at the particular project

you are located. These costs do not

generally include costs above the project

engineer/manager.

Total cost per acre means the

computed cost we incur on a per acre

basis by dividing the total cost by the

total assessable acres, as follows:

Total Costs per Acre equals Total Cost

divided by Total Assessable Acres.

§ 171.402 What costs must I pay?

You must pay us for the total costs we

incur for operating and maintaining the

project where you are located. You must

pay your assessment, in accordance

with the local administration manual,

before we will deliver water to your

farm unit.

§ 171.403 How will I know what fees you

will charge me?

(a) We will establish, and adjust as

necessary, rates, charges, and fees for

recovering our total cost.

(b) When we establish or adjust the

fees for your project, we will notify you

by publishing a notice in the Federal

Register. We will review our costs for

your project each year, and adjust the

rates, charges, and fees when necessary

to comply with § 171.402.

(c) We must use the assessed money

we collect from you to support the

administration, operation, maintenance,

and rehabilitation activities of the

project where you are located.

§ 171.404 How do you compute the costs

that you charge me?

We will base our assessments for your

farm unit on the computed total cost per

acre times the total number of assessable

acres in your farm unit. If you subdivide

your farm unit into smaller farming

acreages we may set a higher assessment

rate for your subdivided acreage. If we

do this, we will notify you by

publishing a notice in the Federal

Register.

§ 171.405 How will I be billed for the water

that I use?

(a) We will maintain water users’

ledgers in accordance with the

administration manual on all projects

where we levy and collect assessment

and construction repayment charges.

(1) We will make separate entries in

the ledger for each water user, and issue

bills to the water users of record.

(2) When we receive payment, we will

credit it to the proper ledger account.

(3) If water is used for leased trust or

restricted land, we will bill the lessee.

(b) Where irrigation districts have

been established and have executed a

construction repayment contract, the

district will bill you and will follow the

procedures in paragraph (a) of this

section.

§ 171.406 Uniform accounting and billing

procedures are required.

All projects under the jurisdiction of

the Bureau must follow the accounting

and billing procedures that we establish.

§ 171.407 What procedures apply if there

are assessment or construction repayment

charges?

Where payment of assessment or

construction repayment charges is

required, refer to 4 CFR Parts 102, 103,

104, 105, and 25 CFR Part 115, in

addition to this part.

§ 171.408 How will we recover late

payments?

(a) We will file liens in accordance

with the administration manual, against

fee patent or trust lands within a project

to recover delinquent payments.

(b) Federal, State, and tribal

government agencies are exempt from

interest, penalty, and administrative

charges for delinquent payments.

(c) We will file and execute liens

against Individual Indian Moneys (IIM)

in accordance with 25 CFR 115.10.
35172 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 130 / Friday, July 5, 1996 / Proposed Rules

1The General Counsel’s failure to include such

notice in the motion for summary judgment would

Subpart E—Miscellaneous

§ 171.501 Information you must provide

us.

(a) You must provide us with the

information we request to assist in the

proper administration, operation,

maintenance, and rehabilitation of our

facilities.

(b) We will request all information in

accordance with the local

administration manual.

§ 171.502 Your responsibility concerning

refuse.

You must not use our property or

rights of way to dispose of sewage,

trash, or other refuse.

Dated: May 24, 1996.

Ada E. Deer,

Assistant Secretary—Indian Affairs.

[FR Doc. 96–16184 Filed 7–3–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–02–P

NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS

BOARD

29 CFR Parts 101 and 102

Procedure Governing Advisory

Opinions and Rules Governing

Summary Judgment Motions and

Advisory Opinions

AGENCY: National Labor Relations

Board.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

SUMMARY: As part of its ongoing efforts

to streamline its operations by

eliminating unnecessary and inefficient

procedures, the National Labor

Relations Board (NLRB) is proposing to

revise its rules to eliminate the noticeto-show-cause procedure in summary

judgment cases and to remove

provisions which permit parties to

pending state proceedings to file

petitions for an advisory opinion on

whether the Board would assert

jurisdiction under its commerce

standards.

DATES: All comments must be received

on or before August 5, 1996.

ADDRESSES: All written comments

should be sent to the Office of the

Executive Secretary, National Labor

Relations Board, 1099 14th Street, NW.,

Room 11600, Washington, DC 20570.

The comments should be filed in eight

copies, double spaced, on 8 1/2 by 11

inch paper and shall be printed or

otherwise legibly duplicated.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John

J. Toner, Executive Secretary,

Telephone: (202) 273–1940.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Over

approximately the last two years, the

NLRB has been conducting an intensive

internal review of its procedures at all

levels of the Agency. The purpose of

this internal review has been to find

ways to maintain and improve the

Agency’s case-processing efficiency in

light of the Agency’s diminishing

resources. Many initiatives have already

been implemented by the Board as part

of this ongoing review, such as the

recent initiative authorizing the use of

settlement judges and providing judges

with the discretion to dispense with

briefs and to issue bench decisions,

which was published as a final rule on

February 23, 1996, following a one-year

experimental period (61 FR 6940). Other

initiatives are currently under

consideration. Two such initiatives,

involving the elimination of the noticeto-show-cause procedure in summary

judgment cases and the removal of

provisions permitting parties to pending

state proceedings to file petitions for an

advisory opinion on whether the Board

would assert jurisdiction under its

commerce standards, are set forth

below.

1. Notices to show cause in summary

judgment cases. Section 102.24(b) of the

Board’s rules currently requires the

Board to issue a notice to show cause to

the parties prior to granting a motion for

summary judgment or dismissal. Such

notices have historically served several

purposes or functions, including

providing notice of the motion to the

opposing party, postponing any

scheduled hearing date, and setting the

deadline for responding (normally 14

days from the date of the notice).

All of these functions are essentially

unnecessary, however. The motion itself

must be served on the opposing party

and the motion therefore provides its

own notice to the opposing party. No

further notice is necessary.

With respect to postponing the

hearing date, the Regional Director has

the unrestricted authority under Section

102.16 of the Board’s rules to do so at

any time prior to 21 days before the

hearing. Thus, the General Counsel need

not rely on the Board to postpone the

hearing upon filing a timely motion for

summary judgment, which under

Section 102.24(b) of the Board’s rules

must normally be filed at least 28 days

before the scheduled hearing. In the

event the General Counsel does not

determine that a motion for summary

judgment is warranted until after

expiration of the 28-day deadline for

filing such motions with the Board and

the 21-day deadline on the Regional

Director’s unrestricted authority to

postpone the hearing, the General

Counsel may in that event seek a

postponement from the Division of

Judges prior to filing the motion for

summary judgment. See, e.g., R. B.

Contracting Co., 321 NLRB No. 41 (May

20, 1996).

Of course, it may still be necessary in

certain circumstances for the Board to

issue an order postponing the hearing in

response to a respondent’s motion for

summary judgment or dismissal. The

Board’s experience with such motions,

however, indicates that in the vast

majority of such cases there are factual

issues which make summary judgment

or dismissal inappropriate. Thus, the

Board in the past has only rarely issued

notices to show cause postponing the

hearing in response to respondent

motions, and there is no reason why this

experience would change under the

revised rule. In any event, as under the

current rule, under the revised rule the

respondent may request the Regional

Director, administrative law judge, and/

or the Board to postpone the hearing

when it files the motion for summary

judgment or dismissal. The Board

normally completes its initial review of

the respondent’s motion prior to the

hearing, and in the event that its initial

review indicates that summary

judgment may be appropriate, and the

hearing has not already been postponed,

as under the current rule the Board may

issue an order postponing the hearing.

With respect to setting the time for

responding, there is no reason why the

deadline for responding cannot be

established by rule in all cases. Similar

deadlines are set forth in the Board’s

rules for the filing of other pleadings

(see, e.g., Sec. 102.20 of the Board’s

rules, setting 14-day deadline for filing

an answer to the complaint), and no

further or special notice of the deadline

is required with respect to those

pleadings. See, e.g., Superior Industries,

289 NLRB 834, 835 n. 13 (1988) (no

further reminder or warning of the

failure to file an answer required).

Moreover, we note that the General

Counsel’s practice with respect to

complaints and compliance

specifications has been to specifically

advise the respondent in the complaint

or specification itself of the time for

filing an answer. See NLRB

Casehandling Manual, Sec. 10267

(complaints) and 10622.1 and App. 14

(compliance specifications). We approve

of this practice and anticipate that the

General Counsel would also adopt this

practice with respect to default and

other summary judgment motions in the

event the proposed revisions are

adopted by the Board.1