ORS Chapter 555

OREGON STATUTES AND CODES

Chapter 555 — ReclamationProjects

2009 EDITION

RECLAMATIONPROJECTS

WATERLAWS

RECLAMATIONUNDER CAREY ACT

555.010 Acceptanceby state of conditions of Carey Act and grants thereunder

555.020 WaterResources Commission to manage lands; general powers; transfer of powers offormer state boards

555.030 Dutiesof Water Resources Commission

555.040 Powersof Water Resources Commission as to contracts with Secretary of Interior forlands to be reclaimed; lien for expenses

555.050 Applicationto Water Resources Commission for lands to be reclaimed; selection andwithdrawal of lands

555.060 Depositby applicant; disposition of money

555.080 Reclamationworks; control by contractor; transfer to purchasers of water rights

555.090 Timefor construction of works; date of commencement; securing of water rights;cessation of work as causing forfeiture; extension of time

555.100 Nonperformanceby contractor; forfeiture; notice of forfeiture; sale of incomplete works;disposal of proceeds

555.110 State’sliability

555.120 Conditionsprecedent to entry onto land and sale of water rights; form of applications forpurchase or for release of lien; “date of reclamation”

555.130 Applicationto enter; contract for purchase of water rights and release of lien; paymentfor land

555.140 Deedsto land; execution; form; title conveyed; record; preservation of copies;copies as evidence

555.150 Rules

555.160 Reportof work, expenditures and condition of funds; recommendations for legislation

555.170 OregonIrrigation Fund

555.171 Transfersfrom Oregon Irrigation Fund to General Fund

555.180 Paymentfor irrigation of acreage in excess of contract; notice by Water ResourcesCommission; price per acre

555.190 Noticeto be in writing; service; noncompliance; effect

TUMALOPROJECT

555.310 Reclamationof lands in Tumalo Project; contracts for

555.320 Projectmanager; duties and authority

555.330 Rules

555.350 Increaseof lien against unsold land; reduction of amount due to state

555.360 Arrangementsto settle, cultivate and reclaim Carey Act lands; contract provisions; sale ofwater rights to private lands; rules; fees

555.370 Cancellationof contract upon default

555.380 TumaloProject Fund; rules

555.390 Transferof state’s interest to irrigation districts or to federal government

555.400 Preferredpurchasers

555.410 Repaymentof appropriation from receipts of sale of lands; expenditures

RECLAMATIONUNDER CAREY ACT

555.010Acceptance by state of conditions of Carey Act and grants thereunder. The State ofOregon hereby accepts the conditions of section 4 of the Act of Congressapproved August 18, 1894 (28 Stat. 422), and amendments thereto, known as the “CareyAct,” together with all grants of land to the state under the provisions ofthat Act.

555.020Water Resources Commission to manage lands; general powers; transfer of powersof former state boards. The selection, management, and disposal of the landreferred 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 ofchapter 226, Oregon Laws 1909, or by the Desert Land Board prior to the passageof chapter 434, Oregon Laws 1927, and of the reclamation companies which were operatingunder either of those boards.

555.030Duties of Water Resources Commission. The Water Resources Commission, or someauthorized assistant, shall:

(1)Have custody of all the records and files under the provisions of ORS 555.010to 555.160, which shall be public records and open to inspection by the publicduring office hours.

(2)Receive and file all proposals for construction of irrigation works to reclaimlands 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 to555.160. [Amended by 1955 c.707 §68]

555.040Powers of Water Resources Commission as to contracts with Secretary of Interiorfor lands to be reclaimed; lien for expenses. Upon application, made asprovided in ORS 555.050, by any person desiring to reclaim any of the desertgovernment lands in this state, the Water Resources Commission shall makeproper application for the lands which the applicant undertakes to reclaim, andmake and enter into contract or agreement with the Secretary of the Interiorfor the donation and patent to the state, free of cost for survey or price, ofsuch desert lands. The commission may make and enter into such contracts andagreements, and create and assume such obligations in relation to andconcerning the lands, as may be necessary to induce and cause such reclamationthereof as is required by the contract with the Secretary of the Interior andthe Acts of Congress. The commission may create a lien which shall be valid onand against the separate legal subdivisions of land reclaimed, for thenecessary expenses of reclamation, and reasonable interest thereon from thedate of reclamation until the lien is satisfied; provided that in no event, inno contingency, and under no circumstances, shall the state be in any mannerdirectly or indirectly liable for any amount of any such lien or liability, inwhole or in part.

555.050Application to Water Resources Commission for lands to be reclaimed; selectionand withdrawal of lands. (1) Any person desiring to construct ditches,canals or other irrigation works to reclaim land under the provisions of ORS555.010 to 555.160 shall, at the expense of the person, file with the WaterResources Commission an application for selection on behalf of the state, bythe commission, of the land to be reclaimed. The application shall conform toall requirements of the federal laws and rulings thereunder, and be accompaniedby the necessary land office fees and such additional data as may be prescribedby the commission, including a preliminary estimate of costs and the amount oflien asked for. If the application is made in proper form, and it appears thatthe proposed plan is feasible, that the applicant is financially able tocomplete the work, and that its completion will be to the best interests of thestate, then the commission, at the expense and cost of the applicant, shall makeproper application for the selection and withdrawal of the lands included inthe application.

(2)The commission may do all things necessary to secure the withdrawal of lands onbehalf of the commission by the Secretary of the Interior, and let a contractto the lowest responsible bidder for the reclamation and colonization of thesame when withdrawn.

555.060Deposit by applicant; disposition of money. A deposit shall accompany eachapplication in a sum not less than 10 cents per acre up to 1,000 acres, and twocents per acre for each acre over that amount, which sum shall be depositedwith the Water Resources Commission and held in trust as a guarantee of goodfaith on the part of the applicant, to whom it shall be returned at the time ofexecution of a contract between the state and the applicant. In case the personmaking the application shall, upon segregation by the Secretary of the Interiorof any or all of the lands mentioned therein, refuse to enter into a contractwith the state, the deposit shall be forfeited to the state and credited to theOregon Irrigation Fund.

555.070Contract for reclamation of land; contents; examination and report by WaterResources Commission; sale of water right to settlers; bond of contractor;deposit to secure purchasers of water rights. Upon withdrawal of the land bythe Department of the Interior, the Water Resources Commission shall enter intoa contract for the reclamation of such land with the person submitting theapplication, which contract shall contain plans and specifications of theproposed irrigation works; provided, that no contract shall be executed by thecommission until after an examination by the commission concerning thefeasibility of the proposed plan of reclamation, sufficiency and availabilityof the water supply, and reasonableness of the estimate of cost and the lienrequested. The contract shall provide for the sale of the water right tosettlers on the land in satisfaction of the reclamation lien allowed. Thiscontract shall not be entered into on the part of the state until thewithdrawal of the lands by the Department of the Interior and the filing of asatisfactory bond on the part of the proposed contractor, which bond shall bein a penal sum not less than two percent of the lien to be allowed, and shallbe conditioned upon the faithful performance of the provisions of the contractwith the state; provided, that in case the contractor is the irrigationdistrict such bond need not be filed. The commission may, however, require thecontractor to make a deposit at the time of application for entry of land bysettlers to insure the transfer of the system in good condition and repair tothe purchasers of water rights as herein provided, which deposit shall bereturned by the commission at the time of such transfer. [Amended by 1955 c.707§69]

555.080Reclamation works; control by contractor; transfer to purchasers of waterrights.For such time as is specified in the contract, and not to exceed 10 years fromthe date thereof, the control and management of the reclamation works shall bevested in the person having contract with the state. At the expiration of suchtime the clear and unencumbered title to the reclamation works and allfranchises thereunto belonging, also the control and management thereof, shallpass to the purchasers of water rights from the reclamation works in the mannerto be prescribed in the contract, the contractor retaining an interest in theworks proportional to the amount of water right unsold.

555.090Time for construction of works; date of commencement; securing of water rights;cessation of work as causing forfeiture; extension of time. No contractshall be made by the Water Resources Commission which requires a greater timethan five years for construction of the works. All contracts shall state thatthe work shall begin within six months from date of contract; that thecontractor shall secure for the use and benefit of the reclamation system allnecessary water rights, rights of way, reservoir sites, or other propertynecessary for its construction and operation; that construction shall beprosecuted diligently and continuously to completion; and that a cessation ofwork under the contract with the state for a period of six months, without thesanction of the commission, will forfeit to the state all rights under thecontract. The commission may extend the time in which to begin the constructionof works, or for the completion of work, on account of delay caused by physicalor engineering difficulties beyond the power of the contractor to control.

555.100Nonperformance by contractor; forfeiture; notice of forfeiture; sale ofincomplete works; disposal of proceeds. (1) Upon the failure of any partieshaving contracts with the state for the construction of irrigation works, tobegin the same within the time specified by the contract, or to complete thesame within the time or in accordance with the specifications of the contractwith the state, to the satisfaction of the Water Resources Commission, thecommission shall give the parties written notice of such failure. If after aperiod of 60 days from the sending of such notice they have failed to proceedwith the work or to conform to the specifications of their contract with thestate, or secure an extension of time, their contract and all works constructedthereunder shall be at once forfeited to the state.

(2)In case of any forfeiture, cancellation, or relinquishment of any contract tothe state, the commission shall so declare and give notice once each week, for fourweeks, in some newspaper of general circulation in the county in which the workis situated, and in one newspaper at the state capital in like manner and for alike period, of the forfeiture, cancellation, or relinquishment of thecontract, and that upon a fixed day proposals will be received at the office ofthe commission for purchase of the incompleted works and for completion of theirrigation works in accordance with plans, specifications and other conditionsprescribed by the commission, the time for receiving bids to be at least 60days subsequent to the issuing of the last notice of forfeiture. The moneyreceived by the commission from sale of the partially completed works under theprovisions of this section shall first be applied to the expenses incurred bythe state in their forfeiture and disposal, and the surplus, if any exists,shall be paid to the original contractors with the state.

555.110State’s liability.Nothing in ORS 555.010 to 555.160 shall be construed as authorizing the Water ResourcesCommission to obligate the state to pay for any work constructed under anycontract, or to hold the state in any way responsible to settlers for thefailure of contractors to complete the work according to the terms of theircontracts with the state.

555.120Conditions precedent to entry onto land and sale of water rights; form ofapplications for purchase or for release of lien; “date of reclamation.” No land shallbe open to entry and no water rights shall be sold by the parties undercontract with the Water Resources Commission until the construction of theworks is sufficiently advanced to insure a water supply, and the entry of anorder by the commission opening the land or any portion thereof to entry andsale. All applications to purchase lands, or for release of lien forconstruction of the reclamation works, shall be upon the forms provided by thecommission. The “date of reclamation,” for the purposes of ORS 555.010 to555.160, shall be the date shown by the proof furnished the Secretary of theInterior by the commission at which water was furnished available for thereclamation of each tract in the list of lands.

555.130Application to enter; contract for purchase of water rights and release oflien; payment for land. Any citizen of the United States, or any personhaving declared an intention to become such, over the age of 21 years, may makeapplication, under oath, to the Water Resources Commission, upon formsprescribed by the commission, to enter any of the lands reclaimed under theprovisions of ORS 555.010 to 555.160, in an amount not to exceed 160 acres forany one person. Each application shall be accompanied by a contract, made andentered into by the applicant with the person who has undertaken thereclamation of the tract in question, which contract shall show that theapplicant has made proper arrangement for purchase of the necessary waterrights and the release of the construction lien. Each application to thecommission shall in addition be accompanied by a payment of not less than $1per acre for each acre included in the application, which payment shall be madeby the contractor out of the first payment by the applicant, and shall bedeposited by the commission with the State Treasurer, who shall credit it tothe Oregon Irrigation Fund. If the application is not approved, the $1 paymentshall be returned to the contractor.

555.140Deeds to land; execution; form; title conveyed; record; preservation of copies;copies as evidence.Upon filing with the Water Resources Commission a satisfactory release of theconstruction lien apportioned by the commission against the land in anyapplication, accompanied by satisfactory proof of reclamation, cultivation andsettlement, as required by the rules of the commission, it shall be the duty ofthe commission to deed to the applicant, or the assignee of the applicant, theland described in the application. The deeds shall be in form of a quitclaimand shall operate to convey only such title as the state may have in the landconveyed. The deeds, without acknowledgment, or copies thereof duly certifiedand attested under seal by the commission, certified from the official copy inthe keeping of the commission, shall be admitted to record. The commissionshall preserve, in a suitable book, a true copy of the deeds, with analphabetical index of the names of the grantees, and such copies or certifiedcopies thereof certified and attested as aforesaid shall be primary evidence ofsuch conveyances.

555.150Rules.The Water Resources Commission shall provide suitable rules for the filing ofapplications for constructing irrigation works, prescribing the nature of finalsurveys, and the gathering of engineering data upon which the contract with thestate is to be based, the manner in which the plans and specifications shall besubmitted, and for the entry of and payment for the land and water rights bysettlers and for the settlement or forfeiting of entry by settlers, and suchother rules and regulations as are necessary to carry out the provisions of ORS555.010 to 555.160.

555.160Report of work, expenditures and condition of funds; recommendations for legislation. The WaterResources Commission shall issue, on or before September 30 of the yearpreceding each regular session of the legislature, a full report of the work ofthe commission under the provisions of ORS 555.010 to 555.160, including astatement of expenditures and condition of all funds, and such recommendationsfor legislation as are deemed advisable.

555.170Oregon Irrigation Fund. The Oregon Irrigation Fund is hereby created.Payments to and disbursements from the fund shall be made as provided by law.

555.171Transfers from Oregon Irrigation Fund to General Fund. Notwithstandingthe provisions of ORS 555.170, all moneys in the Oregon Irrigation Fund createdby ORS 555.170 on February 18, 1955, and all moneys paid into such fund afterFebruary 18, 1955, are to be transferred to the General Fund to be availablefor general governmental expenses. [1955 c.23 §1]

555.180Payment for irrigation of acreage in excess of contract; notice by WaterResources Commission; price per acre. Wherever an irrigation system has beenconstructed under contract with the State of Oregon pursuant to the Act ofCongress known as the Carey Act, and under and pursuant to ORS 555.010 to555.160, and it develops that the acreage of land actually irrigated in anysmallest legal subdivision of the land is greater than the acreage made subjectto the lien in the reclamation contract for said smallest legal subdivision andthe waters for the excess acres actually irrigated in such legal subdivisionover and above the amount fixed in the contract for lien have not as yet beenpaid for, nor the amount to be paid therefor agreed upon, the Water ResourcesCommission upon request of the company supplying water to the excess acresshall notify the person using the water upon the excess acres to pay for thesame or enter into an arrangement with the company furnishing the waterproviding 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 forsuch excess acres greater than the price per acre as now fixed by thecommission.

555.190Notice to be in writing; service; noncompliance; effect. The noticegiven by the Water Resources Commission shall be in writing and may be servedby registered mail or by certified mail with return receipt. If the user of thewater does not comply with the notice and either pay for the excess water orenter into a definite arrangement with the company for payment thereof within30 days from the mailing of the notice, the commission shall, upon notice fromthe company furnishing the water, cancel the right of the landowner to theexcess acres and thereafter, without further application for permission so todo, the company furnishing the water may sell and deliver the water to otherlands. Upon effecting the sale of the water to other lands the company shallnotify the commission of the lands to which the water is transferred. [Amendedby 1991 c.249 §57]

TUMALOPROJECT

555.310Reclamation of lands in Tumalo Project; contracts for. The WaterResources Commission is authorized and empowered to contract for the completionof the reclamation of lands in the Tumalo Project or any part thereof, and tootherwise carry out the provisions of ORS 555.310 to 555.410, with anyirrigation district, organized pursuant to the laws of Oregon, including landsin the project or any part thereof, or with any other irrigation district, orwith the federal government, or with any person.

555.320Project manager; duties and authority. (1) The Water Resources Commissionshall appoint, at a salary to be fixed by the commission, a project manager forthe Tumalo Project, who shall hold office and serve at the pleasure of thecommission, but not longer than two years without reappointment. In theselection of a project manager, due consideration shall be given therecommendations of the Board of Directors of the Water Users’ Association ofthe Tumalo Project, which project was designated in chapter 119, Oregon Laws1913, as the Columbia Southern Irrigation Project. The project manager shallhave complete charge of the operation, maintenance and management of allmatters pertaining to the project, and shall have authority to collectmaintenance fees and issue receipts therefor, to employ necessary assistants,purchase materials and supplies, make proper and necessary repairs, renewalsand alterations in the irrigation system when required, necessary or authorizedby the commission, and to furnish inventories of machinery, equipment andmaterials at stated intervals.

(2)All machinery, materials, supplies and land acquired by the state under theprovisions of chapter 119, Oregon Laws 1913, not required in the futureoperation of the project, shall be sold by the project manager under thedirection of the commission, and the funds arising therefrom shall be placed inthe Tumalo Project Fund. The project manager shall render a monthly report tothe commission covering the operation of the project and such other matters asthe commission may direct. The project manager shall furnish a good andsufficient 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 thefaithful performance of duties.

555.330Rules.The Water Resources Commission shall make all necessary rules and regulationsfor properly carrying out the provisions of ORS 555.310 to 555.410.

555.340Water rights; sale price; lien on lands; lien list; expenditures of state;repayment from sale of lands and rights; replacement or surrender of contractswith Columbia Southern Irrigation Company. (1) Subject to ORS 555.350, theprices to be paid for the sale of water rights on private lands as well asCarey Act lands, in the Tumalo Project, shall be $40, with interest at fivepercent from the date of contract of sale, in addition to which there shall bea 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 completevested water right on June 3, 1913. A certified copy of the lien list shall beprepared by the Water Resources Commission, showing the price to be paid forwater rights for each small subdivision or farm unit of Carey Act land in theproject. A certified copy of the lien list shall be filed in the records ofCrook County. From and after the date of reclamation of any tract designated inthe list a valid lien in favor of the State of Oregon shall exist against eachtract in the list for the amount designated therein until the same, togetherwith accruing interest, has been paid in full.

(2)The total amount to be realized from the sale of Carey Act lands and water rightsfor private lands shall insure the return to the state of all money expended byit in the reclamation of the lands in the project with interest at five percentfrom the date of the contract of sale, in addition to any further sums oramounts which are found necessary to be paid on account of the project.

(3)Any person who holds a contract with the Columbia Southern Irrigation Companyor its successors in interest, for any tract in the project, may execute a newcontract with the state for reclamation, under the provisions of ORS 555.310 to555.410, of the land described in the original contract with the company, or anew selection, receiving credit thereon for the principal paid to the companyunder the original contract; or, may surrender the contract and receive, incash, 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 themoney as herein provided unless an assignment of all rights, title and interestin and to the contract and the land described therein was filed with the DesertLand Board on or before July 1, 1917; provided, further, that refunds shall bemade to contract holders pro rata as funds may become available from time totime after July 1, 1915. The failure to comply with the above option by anycontract holder under the old Columbia Southern Project shall render thecontract void and the lands embraced therein shall revert to the state and besubject to reentry.

555.350Increase of lien against unsold land; reduction of amount due to state. The WaterResources Commission may increase the reclamation lien against the land not nowsold in the Tumalo Project as fixed in ORS 555.340, if such increase isnecessary or expedient in the completion of the project. The commission mayreduce the amount due the state on account of the construction of the TumaloProject by the amount expended by any such district or the federal governmentin completing the reclamation of the lands embraced within the project or anyamount which may be expended in discharging the obligations of the stateincurred under and pursuant to ORS 555.320, 555.340 and 555.380, or otherwise.

555.360Arrangements to settle, cultivate and reclaim Carey Act lands; contractprovisions; sale of water rights to private lands; rules; fees. The WaterResources Commission sha