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Show 204 provided, however, that after the net power revenues have repaid construction costs "allocated to power" and are no longer required to meet contractual obligations, the net power reve- nues shall be covered into the General Treasury.80* With respect to projects under the 1939 Reclamation Project Act, costs are classed as "probably" repayable or "probably" returnable to the United States in allocations under the Act's project-authorization procedure"805 Such costs are thus repay- able or returnable in the case of allocations to irrigation, power, municipal water supply and other miscellaneous purposes, and nonreimbursable in the case of navigation and flood control. Nonreimbursable allocations for the preservation and propa- gation of fish and wildlife were expressly authorized in 1946.806 It should also be noted that, in practice under the Act, costs allocable to irrigation but beyond the water-users' ability to repay are assigned for return from revenues from power or from furnishing water for municipal water supply or miscellaneous purposes.307 Moreover the Act has been construed as per- mitting the application of interest, collected as a component of power rates, to the return to the United States of irrigation costs to be borne by power.308 Under these provisions, there- fore, the irrigation water-users' obligation is then limited to whatever part of the construction costs be allocated to irriga- tion and assigned for repayment by them. The 1939 Act also provides an alternative method for return to the United States, except as to distribution system cost, of the construction cost connected with water supply and allo- cated to irrigation.309 Under this alternative, the Secretary may enter into either short-term or long-term contracts to furnish water for irrigation purposes, for periods not exceeding 40 years. Such water-service contracts must provide such rates as will produce revenues at least sufficient to cover "an appropriate 804 § 1, 52 Stat. 291, 322, 43 U. S. C. 392a. 805 Act of August 4,1939, § 9, 53 Stat. 1187,1193, 43 U. S. C. 485h. 806 Act of August 14,1946, § 2, 60 Stat. 1080,16 U. S. C. 662. 807 H. Doc. No. 172, 79th Cong., 1st sess., p. 6 (1945). See Act of August 4, 1939, § 9(c), 53 Stat. 1187,1194, 43 U. S. O. 485h(c). 808 See infra, pp. 295-296. 309 § 9(e), 53 Stat. 1196, 43 U. S. O. 485h(e). |