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Crop Acreage Report

Exemption from the Ownership and Full-Cost Pricing Provisions of Federal Reclamation Law

This notice to landowners is regarding the application of Section 213 of the Reclamation Reform Act to lands in Westlands Water District.

Pursuant to section 4011 of the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act (130 Stat. 1878), Westlands Water District, Westlands Water District Distribution District No. 1, and Westlands Water District Distribution District No. 2 (collectively “Districts”) entered into contracts with the United States to convert the Districts’ water service contracts executed under section (e) of the Act of August 4, 1939 (53 Stat. 1196), to repayment contracts under section 9(d) of that Act (53 Stat. 1195).  Pursuant to these repayment contracts, the Districts have paid to the United States the amounts specified in the repayment contracts required to discharge their obligations for repayment of the construction costs for the Central Valley Project.  Section 4011(c)(1) of the WIIN Act provides:

Upon a contractor’s compliance with and discharge of the obligation of repayment of the construction costs pursuant to a contract entered into pursuant to subsection (a)(2)(A), subsections (a) and (b) of section 213 of the Reclamation Reform Act of 1982 (96 Stat. 1269) shall apply to affected lands.

In turn, section 213 of the Reclamation Reform Act of 1982, provides the ownership and full cost pricing limitations of Federal reclamation law shall not apply to lands in a district after the discharge of that district’s obligation for the repayment of the construction costs of the project facilities used to make project water available for delivery to such lands has been discharged. 

As a result of the application of section 4011(c)(1) of the WIIN Act and section 213 of the Reclamation Reform Act to lands within the Districts’ service areas, the ownership and full cost pricing limitations of Federal reclamation law do not apply to those lands.  In addition, it will no longer be necessary to annually file with the Districts RRA reporting forms.

On December 9, 2020, Westlands received from the Bureau of Reclamation a letter confirming that lands within the District’s service area are no longer subject to the ownership and full cost pricing limitations of Federal reclamation law.  A copy of the letter can be viewed on the District’s website.  

If you have any questions regarding this matter, please contact the Westlands Water District’s general counsel, Jon Rubin, at jrubin@wwd.ca.gov.