[Federal Register: May 7, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 88)] [Notices] [Page 24674-24675] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr07my99-111] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Indian Affairs Irrigation Operation and Maintenance Rate Adjustment for San Carlos Irrigation Project, Arizona AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior. ACTION: Notice of Irrigation Operation and Maintenance (O&M) Rate Adjustment. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: The Bureau of Indian Affairs is adjusting the irrigation assessment rates for operating and maintaining the San Carlos Irrigation Project for the 1999 season. DATES: The new irrigation assessment rate for 1999 will become effective May 7, 1999. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Wayne Nordwall, Area Director, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Phoenix Area Office, P.O. Box 10, Phoenix, AZ 85001, telephone (602) 379-6956. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The authority to issue this document is vested in the Secretary of the Interior by 5 U.S.C. 301 and the Act of August 15, 1914 (38 Stat. 583, 25 U.S.C. 385). The Secretary has delegated this authority to the Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs under part 209 Departmental Manual, Chapter 8.1A and Memorandum dated January 25, 1994, from Chief of Staff, Department of the Interior, to Assistant Secretaries, and Heads of Bureaus and Offices. This notice is given in accordance with Section 171.1(e) of part 171, Subchapter H, Chapter 1, of Title 25 of the Code of Federal Regulations, which provides for fixing and announcing the rates for annual operation and maintenance assessments and related information for BIA operated and owned irrigation projects. The assessment rates are based on an estimate of the cost of normal operation and maintenance of the irrigation project. Normal operation and maintenance means the expenses we incur to provide direct support or benefit to the project's activities for administration, operation, maintenance, and rehabilitation. We must include at least: (a) Personnel salary and benefits for the project engineer/manager and our employees under his/her management control, (b) Materials and supplies, (c) Major and minor vehicle and equipment repairs, (d) Equipment, including transportation, fuel, oil, grease, lease and replacement, (e) Capitalization expenses, (f) Acquisition expenses, and (g) Other expenses we determine necessary to properly perform the activities and functions characteristic of an irrigation project Payments The irrigation operation and maintenance assessments become due based on locally established payment requirements. No water shall be delivered to any of these lands until all irrigation charges have been paid. Interest and Penalty Fees Interest, penalty, and administrative fees will be assessed, where required by law, on all delinquent operation and maintenance assessment charges as prescribed in the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 4, Part 102, Federal Claims Collection Standards; and 42 BIAM Supplement 3, part 3.8 Debt [[Page 24675]] Collection Procedures. Beginning 30 days after the due date interest will be assessed at the rate of the current value of funds to the U.S. Treasury. An administrative fee of $12.50 will be assessed each time an effort is made to collect a delinquent debt; a penalty charge of 6 percent per year will be charged on delinquent debts over 90 days old and will accrue from the date the debt became delinquent. After 180 days a delinquent debt will be forwarded to the United States Treasury for further action in accordance with the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996 (Pub. L. 104-134). Comments: On September 17, 1997, the Bureau of Indian Affairs published a notice in the Federal Register, 62 FR 44992, proposing to adjust the irrigation assessment rates for operating and maintaining SCIP for 1998, 1999, and subsequent years. The notice of proposed rate adjustment provided a 30-day public comment period. No comments were received for the 1998 irrigation season and a Federal Register notice was published on March 16, 1998, 62 FR 12818-12819, for the 1998 irrigation season only. Comments were received for the proposed adjustment to the assessment for 1999. The San Carlos Irrigation and Drainage District (SCIDD) commented on the proposed 1999 irrigation assessment increase of $6.00 per acre to a $26.00 per acre assessment. Their comment questioned the inclusion in the assessment of the cost for future repair of the spillway gates at Coolidge Dam. Coolidge Dam is part of the infrastructure of the San Carlos Irrigation Project (SCIP). Subsequent to correspondence and meetings between BIA and SCIDD to review the proposed rate increase of $6.00 per acre, the BIA has decided not to increase the assessment to $26.00 at this time. The irrigation assessment for SCIP will remain at $20.00 per acre until further notice. The BIA has initiated a study of the spillway gates at Coolidge Dam to analyze the benefits of their repairing. Upon completion of the study, SCIP will review its possible impact on any future irrigation rate assessment. Executive Order 12988 The Department has certified to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) that this rate adjustment meets the applicable standards provided in sections 3(a) and 3(b)(2) of Executive Order 12988. Executive Order 12866 This rate adjustment is not a significant regulatory action and has been reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget under Executive Order 12866. Regulatory Flexibility Act This rate making is not a rule for the purposes of the Regulatory Flexibility Act because it is ``a rule of particular applicability relating to rates.'' 5 U.S.C. 601(2). Executive Order 12630 The Department has determined that this rate adjustment does not have significant ``takings'' implications. Executive Order 12612 The Department has determined that this rate adjustment does not have significant Federalism effects because it pertains solely to Federal-tribal relations and will not interfere with the roles, rights, and responsibilities of states. NEPA Compliance The Department has determined that this rate adjustment does not constitute a major Federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment and that no detailed statement is required under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 This rate adjustment does not contain collections of information requiring approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. Unfunded Mandates Act of 1995 This rate adjustment imposes no unfunded mandates on any governmental or private entity and is in compliance with the provisions of the Unfunded Mandates Act of 1995. Rate Adjustment: The following table illustrates the rate adjustment: San Carlos Irrigation Project Irrigation Rate per Assessable Acre ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1998 1999 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Rate.............................................. $20.00 $20.00 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Dated: April 29, 1999. Kevin Gover, Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs. [FR Doc. 99-11456 Filed 5-6-99; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4310-02-P