OCR Text |
Show would be required if the estimated cost did not exceed five million dollars. The latter figure is the limit of the loan or a combination of loan and nonreimbursable grant. Nonreimbursable grants may be made for flood control, fish and wildlife benefits, navigation and sediment retention, where these are of general public benefit. Only those organizations may apply for loans under the terms of Public Law 984 which qualify as "a State or a Department, Agency or Political Subdivision thereof, or a Conservancy District, Irrigation District, Water User's Association, an agency created by inter-state compact, or a similar organization which has capacity to contract with the United States under the Federal Reclamation Laws." The Law specifically prohibits more than one loan or grant, or combination of these, for one project. An organization cannot obtain several separate loans for a single project. Also, no more than one organization may obtain a loan for the same project. An organization submitting a project proposal to the Secretary of the Interior under the Small Reclamation Projects Act must accompany its proposal with a check for $1,000 to cover a part of the cost of the review and processing of the application. Loans are limited to irrigation projects or projects in which irrigation is the major purpose. Incidental purposes may include power, domestic, industrial or municipal water supply .as well as Federally recognized nonreimbursable functions incidental to the principal purpose of the project. In accordance with Reclamation law, irrigation costs are interest free, excepting that interest must be charged on any acreage in excess of 160 .acres in a single ownership, on the production of commercial power, and on water furnished for domestic, industrial or municipal uses. The rate of interest to be paid on such loans is based upon the long-term cost of money to the United States. The rate will be determined each year by the Secretary of the Treasury and will apply to all contracts executed during that fiscal year. The repayment period for loans cannot exceed fifty years. The actual payout schedule for a specific project will be dictated by the conditions anticipated and will be decided between the Bureau of Reclamation and the applicant organization. Applicants must enter into a contract with the United States which will provide for the repayment of the loan and which will cover various arrangements for the design and construction, operation and maintenance of the project, and the repayment of the Bureau of Reclamation costs. -67- |