OCR Text |
Show 221 upon final construction charge payment, if the then owner of the property held land in excess of 160 acres subject to Recla- mation Law.415 It should be noted that, while Section 5 precludes the sale of water rights for land in private ownership in excess of 160 acres, it does not expressly preclude the accumulation of land in single ownership beyond 160 acres after water-right appli- cation has been made by a properly qualified person. Hence, so far as the provisions of the water-right application provided for continuing enforcement of excess-land restrictions until payment of construction charges, the requirement was based upon administrative interpretation.416 But in 1912, Congress expressly prohibited the issuance of a patent or water-right certificate:4" until all sums due the United States on account of such land or water right at the time of issuance of patent or certificate have been paid. Thereafter, a water-right application was not accepted unless it described all of the land for which an application could be made, with the result that the owners were required to dispose of holdings in excess of 160 acres as a condition precedent to the securing of water.418 The water-right application also served as a means to insure compliance with the requirement of Section 5 that the owner of private lands "be an actual bona fide resident of such land, or occupant thereof residing in the neighborhood." However, residence within 50 miles of the project was administratively deemed to be "in the neighborhood."419 Furthermore, it was similarly determined in 1916 that residence and occupancy were necessary only at the time of application for a water right.420 And this residence requirement was omitted entirely from the 1926 Act in which Congress required that repayment contracts mId. p. 35. miua. *" Act of August 9, 1912, § 1, 37 Stat. 265, as amended, 43 U. S. O. 541. 418 Departmental Regulation No. 54, 40 L. D. 664 (1912). ** Departmental Regulation No. 44, 38 L. D. 637 (1910). 430 Bureau of Reclamation Circular Letter No. 557, April 25,1916. |