the Secretary of the Interior, the necessity for offset wells shall be determined by the supervisor and payment in lieu of drilling and producing shall be with the consent of, and in an amount determined by the Secretary of the Interior; (b) at the election of the lessee to drill and produce other wells: Provided, That the right to drill and produce such other wells shall be subject to any system of well spacing or production allotments authorized and approved under the applicable law or regulations, approved by the Secretary of the Interior and affecting the field or area in which the leased lands are situated; and (c) if the lessee elects not to drill and produce such other wells for any period the Secretary of the Interior may, within 10 days after due notice in writing, either require the drilling and production of such wells to the number necessary, in his opinion, to insure reasonable diligence in the development and operation of the property, or may in lieu of such additional diligent drilling and production require the payment on and after the first anniversary date of the lease of not to exceed $1 per acre per annum, which sum shall be in addition to any rental or royalty herein specified.

§ 184.24 Penalties.

Failure of the lessee to comply with any provisions of the lease, of the operating regulations, of the regulations in this part, orders of the superintendent or his representative, or of the orders of the supervisor or his representative, shall subject the lessee to a penalty of not more than $500 per day for each day the terms of the lease, the regulations, or such orders are violated: Provided, That the lessee shall be entitled to notice, and hearing within 30 days after such notice, with respect to the terms of the lease, regulations, or orders violated, which hearing shall be held by the supervisor, whose findings shall be conclusive unless an appeal be taken to the Secretary of the Interior within 30 days after notice of the supervisor's decision, and the decision of the Secretary of the Interior upon appeal shall be conclusive.

§ 184.25 Inspection of premises, books and

accounts.

Lessee shall agree to allow the lessor and his agents or any authorized representative of the Interior Department to enter, from time to time, upon and into all parts of the leased premises for the purposes of inspection and shall further agree to keep a full and correct account of all operations and make reports thereof, as required by the applicable regulations of the Department; and their books and records, showing manner of operations and persons interested, shall be open at all times for examination of such officers of the Department as shall be instructed in writing by the Secretary of the Interior or authorized by regulations, to make such examination.

§ 184.26 Assignments and overriding royalties.

(a) Leases, or any interest therein, may be assigned or transferred only with the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, and to procure such approval the assignee must be qualified to hold such lease under existing rules and regulations, and shall furnish a satisfactory bond for the faithful performance of the covenants and conditions thereof. No lease or any interest therein, or the use of such lease, shall be assigned, sublet, or transferred directly or indirectly, by working or drilling contract, or otherwise without the consent of the Secretary of the Interior. Assignments of leases shall be filed with the superintendent within 20 days after the date of execution.

(b) An agreement creating overriding royalties or payments out of production under this part shall be subject to the provisions of § 171.26(d) of this chapter, or as hereafter amended. [22 FR 10622, Dec. 24, 1957, as amended at 23 FR 9759, Dec. 18, 1958]

§ 184.27 Stipulations.

The lessee under any lease heretofore executed may be stipulation (Form 5-1541), with the consent of the lessor, make such lease subject to all the terms, conditions, and provisions contained in the lease form currently in use. Stipulations shall be filed with

the superintendent within 20 days after the date of execution.

§ 184.28 Cancellations.

Leases shall be irrevocable except for breach of the terms and conditions of the same and may be forfeited and cancelled by an appropriate proceeding in the United States District Court for the District of Wyoming whenever the lessee fails to comply with their terms and conditions; the lessee may, on approval of the Secretary of the Interior, surrender a lease or any part of it:

(a) That he make application for cancellation to the superintendent having jurisdiction over the land.

(b) That he pay a surrender fee of $1 at the time the application is made.

(c) That he pay all royalties and rentals due to the date of such application.

(d) That he make a satisfactory showing that full provision has been made for conservation and protection of the property and that all wells, drilled on the portion of the lease surrendered, have been properly abandoned.

(e) If the lease has been recorded, that he file, with his application, a recorded release of the acreage covered by the application.

(f) If the application is for the canceliation of the entire lease or the entire undivided portion, that he surrender the lease: Provided, That where the application is made by an assignee to whom no copy of the lease was delivered, he will be required to

surrender only his copy of the assignment.

(g) If the lease (or portion being surrendered or canceled) is owned in undivided interests by more than one party, then all parties shall join in the application for cancellation.

(h) That all required fees and papers must be in the mail or received on or before the date upon which rents and royalties become due, in order for the lessee and his surety to be relieved from liability for the payment of such royalties and rentals.

(i) In the event oil or gas is being drained from the leased premises by wells not covered by the lease; the lease, or any part of it may be surrendered, only on such terms and conditions as the Secretary of the Interior may determine to be reasonable and equitable.

§ 184.29 Fees.

Unless otherwise authorized by the Secretary of the Interior or his authorized representative, each lease, sublease, or assignment shall be accompanied at the time of filing by a fee of $10.

(Sec. 1, 41 Stat. 415, as amended; 25 U.S.C. 413)

[24 FR 7949, Oct. 2, 1959]

§ 184.30 Forms.

The provisions of § 171.30 of this chapter, or as hereafter amended are applicable to this part.

[24 FR 7949, Oct. 2, 1959]

Sec.

191.1

PART 191-OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE

Administration.

191.2 Irrigation season.

§ 191.1 Administration.

(a) The Agency Superintendent, Project Engineer or such official as authorized by the Area Director is the Officer-in-Charge of those Indian Irrigation Projects or units operated or subject to administration by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, whether or not each project or unit is specifically mentioned in this part. The Officer-inCharge is fully authorized to administer, carry out, and enforce these regulations either directly or through employees designated by him. Such enforcement includes the refusal to deliver water.

(b) The Officer-in-Charge is authorized to apply to irrigation subsistence

units or garden tracts only those regulations in this part which in his judgment would be applicable in view of the size of the units and the circumstances under which they are operated.

(c) The Officer-in-Charge is responsible for performing such work and taking any action which in his judgment is necessary for the proper operation, maintenance and administration of the irrigation project or unit. In making such judgments, the Officerin-Charge consults with water users and their representatives, and with tribal council representatives, and seeks advice on matters of program priorities and operational policies. The Officer-in-Charge will be guided by the basic requirement that the operation will be so administered as to provide the maximum possible benefits from the project's or unit's constructed facilities. The operations will insure safe, economical, beneficial, and equitable use of the water supply and optimum water conservation.

(d) The Secretary of the Interior reserves the right to exercise at any time all rights, powers, and privileges given him by law, and contracts with irrigation districts within Indian Irrigation Projects. Close cooperation between the Indian tribal councils, the project water users and the Officer-in-Charge is necessary and will be to the advantage of the entire project.

(e) The Area Director, or his delegated representative, is authorized to fix as well as to announce, by notice published in the FEDERAL REGISTER, the annual operation and maintenance assessment rates for the irrigation projects or units within his area of responsibility. In addition to the rates, the notices will include such information as is pertinent to the assessment, payment, and collections of the charges including penalties and duty of water.

(f) The rates will be based on a carefully prepared estimate of the cost of the normal operation and maintenance of the project. Normal operation and maintenance is defined for

this purpose as the average per acre cost of all activities involved in delivering irrigation water and maintaining the facilities.

(g) San Carlos Irrigation Project, Arizona. The administration, rights obligations and responsibilities for the operation and maintenance of this project are set forth in the Repayment Contract dated June 8, 1931 as supplemented or amended, between the San Carlos Irrigation and Drainage District and the United States as authorized by the Act of June 7, 1924 (43 Stat. 475-476) and the Secretarial Order of June 15, 1938, title "order Defining Joint, District and Indian Works of the San Carlos Federal Irrigation Project: Turning over Operation and Maintnenace of District Works to the San Carols Irrigation and Drainage District." The regulations appearing in this subchapter apply only to the Indian lands works and in the San Carlos Irrigation Project unless specified otherwise, and should not be interpreted or construed as amending or modifiying the District Contract or the Secretarial Order.

[42 FR 30362, June 14, 1977, as amended at 43 FR 8799, Mar. 3, 1978]

§ 191.2 Irrigation season.

The irrigation season, when water shall be available for irrigation, will be established by the Officer-in-Charge.

§ 191.3 Domestic and stock water.

Domestic or stock water will not be carried in the project's or unit's irrigation system when in the judgment of the Officer-in-Charge such practice will:

(a) Interfere with the operation and maintenance of the system.

(b) Be detrimental to or endanger the canal, lateral system and/or related structures.

(c) Adversely affect the stored water supply for irrigation.

§ 191.4 Farm units.

For the purpose of delivery of water and the administration of the project or unit, a farm unit is defined as follows:

(a) For the Blackfeet, Crow, Fort Belknap, and Fort Peck Irrigation Pro

jects, Montana, and the Colville Irrigation Project, Washington.

(1) Forty (40) or more contiguous acres of land in single ownership with the exception that those original Indian allotments containing less than 40 irrigable acres of the same subdivision of the public land survey shall also be considered farm units.

(2) Forty (40) or more contiguous acres of Indian-owned land under lease to one party.

(3) Forty (40) contiguous acres in multiple ownership within the same forty (40) acre subdivision of the public land survey.

(b) For the Fort Hall Irrigation Project, Idaho:

(1) Twenty (20) or more contiguous acres of land in single ownership covered by one or more water rights contracts.

(2) Twenty (20) or more contiguous acres of Indian-owned land under lease to one party or being farmed by one Indian.

(3) Ten (10) or more contiguous acres of subdivided land in multiple ownership.

(c) For the Flathead Irrigation Project, Montana: A contiguous area of land in single ownership containing not less than one forty (40) acre subdivision of the public land survey, or the original allotment as established by the Secretary of the Interior and as recorded or amended in the records of the Bureau of Land Management. In the case of leased land, it is defined as a contiguous area under a single lease. For Bureau of Land Management reg. ulations pertaining to Flathead Project, see 43 CFR 2211.8, Flathead Irrigation District, Montana.

(d) For the Wapato Irrigation Proj. ect (all units), Washington:

(1) Eighty (80) or more contiguous acres in single ownership at the time of the establishment of the delivery system, or when subsequent changes of ownership result in larger tracts under single ownership and the owner requests that this land be treated as a farm unit, whether covered by one or more water right contracts.

(2) Eighty (80) or more contiguous acres of Indian-owned land under lease

to one person or being farmed by one Indian.

(3) Eighty (80) contiguous acres in multiple ownership: Provided, That such acreage shall be within the same eight (80) acre subdivision of the U.S. public land survey.

(4) In all cases where an original Indian allotment consisted of less than eighty (80) contiguous acres, such original Indian allotment, whether (i) under single or multiple ownership and/or covered by one or more water right contracts, (ii) under lease to the same or different lessees, or (iii) farmed by one or more Indians, shall be treated as a farm unit.

(e) For all other projects or units: An original allotment, homestead, an assignment of unallotted tribal lands, or a contiguous, development lease

area.

$191.5 Delivery points.

(a) Project operators will deliver irrigation water to one point on the boundary of each farm unit within the irrigation project. The Officer-inCharge may establish additional delivery points when in his judgment it is impractical for the landowner to irrigate his farm unit from the one delivery point for such reasons as topography, isolation, or cost. When irrigation water is supplied from wells, the delivery point may be established at the well head. Where portions of a farm unit lie at an elevation too high to be watered by gravity flow from the normal elevation of water in the project distribution system, no change will be made in the water level elevation of the project system so as to place water on such land. Where such land has been included in the project, the landowner may install and operate pumping equipment at his own expense to raise the water to such included land from a point designated by the Officer-in-Charge and in accordance with his specifications. If the landowner so installs pumping equipment and pays the construction and maintenance charges, the project will deliver the same amount of water per acre for this land as the project delivers at the delivery point for other lands on the project.

(b) If a farm unit for which a project delivery point has been established is subsequently subdivided into smaller units by the owner or owners of the farm unit, the following provisions apply:

(1) A plat or map of the subdivision must be recorded and a copy filed with the Officer-in-Charge. The plat or map must show how the irrigation water is to be delivered to the irrigable acres in the subdivision.

(2) No further extensions or alterations in the project's system will be provided officials to serve the subdivided units, except as agreed to by the Officer-in-Charge and at the landowner's expense.

(3) Any additional construction necessary to deliver irrigation water to these units must be mutually worked out between the original owner of the farm units and the new owners of the subdivided unit at their expense.

(4) The project will not bear any responsibility for the operation and maintenance of such internal systems, or the division of irrigation water after it is delivered to the established project delivery points.

(c) Where project points of delivery have been established for farm units which are to be combined under lease or ownership into a singular farm unit to be irrigated by means of a sprinkler of more efficient system, the Officerin-Charge may approve the removal or relocation of project delivery facilities. Such reorganization shall be at the expense of the landowners or lessees in conformance with established project standards and a time schedule which will not disrupt water delivery service to others on the system.

(d) Where a reorganization has been approved and established as in § 191.5(c), any reversion requiring reestablishment of removed or relocated project delivery facilities must be approved by the Officer-in-Charge and conform to established project standards and time schedules which will not disrupt water delivery service to other water users on the system. All expenses incurred shall be the responsibility of the landowners or lessees.