Public Law 86–357

That the Secretary of the Interior, acting pursuant to the Federal reclamation laws (Act of June 17, 1902, 32 Stat. 388 and Acts amendatory thereof or supplementary thereto, including the last sentence of Section 1 of the Act of October 7, 1949 (63 Stat. 724), but subject to exceptions herein contained) is authorized to undertake the rehabilitation and betterment of the works of the La Feria Water Control and Improvement District, Cameron County numbered 3, Texas, and to operate and maintain the same. Such undertaking which shall be known as the La Feria division of the lower Rio Grande rehabilitation project, shall not be commenced until a repayment contract has been entered into by said district under the Federal reclamation laws, subject to exceptions herein contained, which contract shall provide for payment of the capital cost of the La Feria division over a basic period of not more than thirty-five years and shall, in addition, in lieu of the excess-land provisions of the Federal reclamation laws, require the payment of interest on that pro rata share of the capital cost, which is attributable to furnishing benefits in each particular year to land held in private ownership by any one owner in excess of one hundred and sixty irrigable acres, said interest to be at a rate determined by the Secretary of the Treasury by estimating the average annual yield to maturity, on the basis of daily closing market bid quotations or prices during the month of May preceding the fiscal year in which the repayment contract is entered into, on all outstanding marketable obligations of the United States having a maturity date of fifteen or more years from the first day of such month of May, and by adjusting such estimated average annual yield to the nearest one-eighth of 1 per centum.

Sec. 2.

Title to all lands and works of the division, to the extent an interest has been vested in the United States, shall pass to the La Feria Water Control and Improvement District, Cameron County numbered 3 or its designee or designees upon payment to the United States of all obligations arising under this Act or incurred in connection with this division of the project.

Sec. 3.

There is hereby authorized to be appropriated for the work to be undertaken pursuant to the first section of this Act the sum of $6,000,000 (January 1959 costs), plus such amount, if any, as may be required by reason of changes in costs of work of the types involved as shown by engineering indices.