[Boulder City-Leases of reserved lands-Disposition of revenues.]--Boulder Canyon project: . . . Provided, That the Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized and empowered, under such rules and regulations as he may prescribe, to establish rental rates for the lease of reserved lands of the United States situate within the exterior boundaries of Boulder City, Nevada, and, without prior advertising, to enter into leases therefor at not less than rates so established and for periods not exceeding fifty-three years from the date of such leases: Provided further, That all revenues which may accrue to the United States under the provisions of such leases shall be deposited in the Treasury and credited to the Colorado River Dam fund established by section 2 of the Boulder Canyon Project Act. (54 Stat. 437; 43 U.S.C. § 617u) [San Luis Valley project-Conditions for construction of Closed Basin Drain-No interference with Rio Grande Interstate Compact.]-San Luis Valley project, Colorado: For further investigations, exploratory and preparatory work, and commencement of construction in accordance with House Document Numbered 693, Seventy-sixth Congress, third session: Provided, That commencement of construction of the Closed Basin Drain feature shall be contingent on (a) a conclusive finding of justification for the drain on the basis of cost and the quantity and quality of water to be secured, and (b) adequate arrangements for maintenance of the drain, $150,000: Provided further, That any works to be constructed by virtue of investigations or surveys resulting from this appropriation, shall be so constructed and operated as not to interfere with the operation of or abrogate any of the terms of the Rio Grande Interstate Compact, and any contracts, permits, or licenses relating to such works entered into by the United States shall provide specifically that all rights thereunder shall be subject to and controlled by the provisions of said Rio Grande Interstate Compact; (54 Stat. 438) [Preference to needy families.]-It is hereby declared to be the policy of the Congress that, in the opening to entry of newly irrigated public lands, preference shall be given to families who have no other means of earning a livelihood, or 686 INTERIOR DEPARTMENT APPROPRIATION ACT, 1941 who have been compelled to abandon, through no fault of their own, other fam in the United States, and with respect to whom it appears after careful study, the case of each such family, that there is a probability that such family will be able to earn a livelihood on such irrigated lands. (54 Stat. 439; 43 U.S.C. § 433a, Sec. 6. [Short title.]-This Act may be cited as the "Interior Department Appropriation Act, 1941". (54 Stat. 462) EXPLANATORY NOTES Not Codified. Extracts of this Act shown here are not codified in the U.S. Code with the exception of those sections dealing with Boulder City and preference to needy families. Editor's Note, Provisions Repeated in Appropriation Acts. Provisions which are repeated in two or more appropriation acts appear herein only in the act in which first used. Legislative History. H.R. 8745, Public Law 640 in the 76th Congress. H.R. Rept No. 1709. S. Rept. No. 1567. H.R. Rept. No. 2173 (conference report). 687 AUTHORIZE DETAIL OF EMPLOYEE TO AUSTRALIA AND INDIA Not Codified. This Act is not codified in 1941 Amendment. The Act of July 14, Reference in the Text. The Act of May publics, the Philippines and Liberia. The Legislative History. H.R. 7254, Public 688 ACQUISITION OF INDIAN LANDS FOR COLUMBIA BASIN PROJECT An act for the acquisition of Indian lands for the Grand Coulee Dam and Reservoir, and for other purposes. (Act of June 29, 1940, ch. 460, 54 Stat. 703) [Sec. 1. Acquisition of Indian lands and property within Spokane and Colville Reservations for Columbia Basin project-Indian hunting, fishing and boating rights in reservoir.]-In aid of the construction, operation and maintenance of the Columbia Basin project (formerly the Grand Coulee Dam project), authorized by the Act of August 30, 1935 (49 Stat. 1028), the Act of August 4, 1939 (53 Stat. 1187), and the Columbia Basin Project Act (Public, Numbered 8, Seventy-eighth Congress, first session, 57 Stat. 14), there is hereby granted to the United States, subject to the provisions of this Act, (a) all the right, title, and interest of the Indians in and to the tribal and allotted lands within the Spokane and Colville Reservations, including sites of agency and school buildings and related structures and unsold lands in the Klaxta town site, as may be designated therefor by the Secretary of the Interior from time to time: Provided, That no lands shall be taken for reservoir purposes above the elevation of one thousand three hundred and ten feet above sea level as shown by General Land Office surveys, except in Klaxta town site and except where in the judgment of the Secretary of the Interior, special circumstances concerning the reservoir or its operation and maintenance require the taking of land above that elevation; and (b) such other interests in or to any such lands and property within these reservations as may be required and as may be designated by the Secretary of the Interior from time to time for the construction of pipe lines, highways, railroads, telegraph, telephone, and electric-transmission lines in connection with the project, or for the relocation or reconstruction of such facilities made necessary by the construction of the project. The Secretary of the Interior, in lieu of reserving rights of hunting, fishing, and boating to the Indians in the areas granted under this Act, shall set aside approximately one-quarter of the entire reservoir area for the paramount use of the Indians of the Spokane and Colville Reservations for hunting, fishing, and boating purposes, which rights shall be subject only to such reasonable regulations as the Secretary may prescribe for the protection and conservation of fish and wildlife: Provided, That the exercise of the Indians' rights shall not interfere with project operations. The Secretary shall, also, where necessary, grant to the Indians reasonable rights of access to such area or areas across any project lands. (54 Stat. 703; Act of December 16, 1944, 58 Stat. 813; 16 U.S.C. § 835d) EXPLANATORY NOTES 1944 Amendment. The Act of December 16, 1944, 58 Stat. 813, which appears herein in chronological order, amended the first paragraph of section 1 to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to take Indian land for reservoir purposes above the elevation of 1,310 feet above sea level where special circumstances require the taking of land above that elevation. Prior to its amendment, the first paragraph of section 1 read as follows: "In aid of the construction of the Grand Coulee Dam project, authorized by the Act of August 30, 1935 (49 Stat. 1028), there is hereby granted to the United States, INDIAN LANDS, COLUMBIA BASIN PROJECT subject to the provisions of this Act, (a) all the right, title, and interest of the Indians in and to the tribal and allotted lands within the Spokane and Colville Reservations, including sites of agency and school buildings and related structures and unsold lands in Klaxta town site, as may be designated therefor by the Secretary of the Interior from time to time: Provided, That no lands shall be taken for reservoir purposes above the elevation of one thousand three hundred and ten feet above sea level as shown by General Land Office surveys, except in Klaxta town site; and (b) such other interests in or to any of such lands and property within these reservations as may be required and as may be designated by the Secretary of the Interior from time to time for the construction of pipe lines, highways, 689 railroads, telegraph, telephone, and electrictransmission lines in connection with the project, or for the relocation or reconstruction of such facilities made necessary by the construction of the project." References in the Text. The Act of August 30, 1935 (49 Stat. 1028), authorized construction of the Grand Coulee and Parker Dams. The Act of August 4, 1939 (53 Stat. 1187), is the Reclamation Project Act of 1939. The Columbia Basin Project Act (Public Numbered 8, Seventy-eighth Congress, first session, 57 Stat. 14), was enacted March 10, 1943. Among other things, it renamed the former Grand Coulee Dam Project. Each of these Acts, referred to in the text, appears herein in chronological order. NOTES OF OPINIONS 1. Indian rights in Columbia River reservoir The act imposes a mandatory duty upon the Secretary to set aside approximately one quarter of the entire reservoir area for the paramount use of the Indians of the Spokane and Colville Reservations. Solicitor Gardner Opinion, 59 I.D. 147 (1945). Although the act in terms permits the Secretary to set aside one or more areas for Indian use, it also makes separate provision for two different tribes of Indians. The Secretary is therefore required to allocate at least one area to each of the two tribes. While he may also set aside more than two areas, his power is limited by a rule of reason which would prevent him from setting aside so many areas that he would bring about the very evil which the statute was designed to prevent. The object of the statute was, so to speak, to secure a consolidation of the areas of Indian interest. Ibid. The interest of the Colville and Spokane Indians in one-quarter of the reservoir area is not joint but several. In view of the failure of the statute to prescribe a formula for dividing between the two tribes the 25 percent of the reservoir area to be set aside for both of them, the Secretary may make the apportionment in such a manner as will be equitable under all the circumstances. However, the ratio that was employed in determining the percentage of the entire reservoir area that was to be set aside for both tribes could reasonably be applied in determining the share of each tribe. This ratio was obtained by comparing the length of the original river shore line of Indian lands acquired or to be acquired for the reservoir with the total original shore line of the river in the reservoir area. The result would also be in harmony with the relative populations of the Colville and Spokane Indian Reservations. Ibid. While the Secretary has discretion in the location of the Indian areas, his discretion in this respect is limited by the requirement that the areas set aside for the Indians be readily accessible to them. The Indian areas must therefore be located in reasonable proximity to the Indian lands, namely, adjacent to such lands. The application of this rule would require the location of the Indian areas along the former shoreline of Indian lands. However, in view of the scope of the Secretary's discretion he is under no duty to locate the Indian areas within the exterior boundaries of the reservations as they existed prior to the construction of the reservoir. Ibid. The Secretary is not confined to setting aside one-quarter of the water surface of the reservoir for the use of the Indians. He may include free-board areas in the areas set aside for the Indians because (a) the Indians are given hunting rights which can also be enjoyed on the shorelands; (b) the "entire" reservoir area is made the basis for calculating the Indians' share; (c) the rights of access to the Indian reservoir areas are granted only "when necessary". Ibid. The special rights given to the Indians under the act are expressly limited to hunting, fishing and boating. These rights are not enlarged by the "access" provision of the act since a right of access is not a separate and independent right but a means of enjoying property rights or special rights otherwise possessed. However, the rights of access are not limited to mere rights of ingress and egress but are commensurate with the purposes to which the portions of |