The term 'appraised value' as used in section 2 (b) (iv) and 3 shall mean appraised values determined by the Secretary as provided in this section. Reappraisals may be made at any time upon the request of the landowner concerned accompanied by an advance to the United States of $15 for each quarter section or fraction thereof involved, on account of expense thereof. "(b) A contract or contracts shall have been made with an irrigation or reclamation district or districts or a conservancy district or districts organized under State law providing for payment by the district or districts of that part of the cost of construction of said project determined by the Secretary as the part thereof to be repaid by said district or districts, the said part of the cost of construction to be repaid within such term or terms of years as the Secretary shall find to be necessary, not to exceed the maximum term permitted under the Act of June 17, 1902 (32 Stat. 388) and Acts amendatory thereof or supplementary therto (hereafter called 'the Federal reclamation laws'), and the payments to be enforceable by all of the means and remedies provided in the Federal reclamation laws; and said contract or contracts shall be in accordance with the following special provisions for the Columbia Basin project:

"(i) Each repayment contract with a district shall require that, prior to the initial delivery of water to each irrigation block, as said term is defined in section 2 (k) of the Reclamation Project Act of 1939, the Secretary shall have established and shall have caused to be filed in the office of the county auditor of the county or counties in which such block is located a farm unit plat setting forth the farm units within such block in sizes and with boundaries which are in accordance with his findings of the respective areas sufficient in size for the support of an average-sized family at a suitable level of living, in view of the various classes of land and combinations of classes of land within such block, of the topography of the land and of its relation to an economical lateral distribution system and of other factors which, in the judgment of the Secretary, should be considered in the fixing of farm unit boundaries.

"The Secretary shall refuse to deliver water from, through, or by means of the project works to or for lands not conforming in area and boundaries with the area and boundaries of the pertinent unit or units established in the farm unit plat or plats applicable to the lands involved. Water shall not be delivered from, through, or by means of the project works to or for more than one farm unit held by any one landowner: Provided, That each owner of lands within the Columbia Basin project who held equitable or legal title to the same lands as of May 27, 1937 (or his heirs or devisees with respect to such lands) will be allowed to select and receive water for one or more farm units comprised of said same lands: Provided further, That the total irrigable acreage of the unit or units so selected shall not exceed one hundred and sixty acres, except as provided in subsection (ii), or, the total irrigable acreage comprised within said same lands, whichever is less. Lands within the Columbia Basin project in excess of one farm unit held by any one landowner shall, except otherwise provided in this Act. be deemed excess land: And provided further, That if excess land is acquired for foreclosure or other process of law, by inheritance, or by devise under will, water therefor may be furnished temporarily for a period not exceeding five years from the effective date of such acquisition, pending the transfer thereof to a landowner duly qualified to secure water therefor. The terms 'owner,' 'landowner,' and 'any one landowner,' as used in this Act, denote any person, corporation, joint-stock association, or family. The term 'family,' as used in this Act, denotes a group consisting of husband and wife, or either of them, together with their children under eighteen years of age, or all of such children if both parents are dead. The term 'their children,' as used in this Act, shall be construed to include the issue and the lawfully adopted children of husband and wife or of either of them. Lands shall be deemed to be held by a family, if such lands are the separate property of husband or wife, or constitute a part or all of their community property, or, if they are the property of any or all of their children under eighteen years of age. The term 'lands within the Columbia Basin project,' as used in this Act, denotes those lands within the boundaries of the existing Columbia Basin irrigation districts, or extensions thereof approved by the Secretary, which, in the determination of the Secretary, may be supplied with water from, through, or by means of the project works.

"(ii) No farm unit shall contain more than one hundred and sixty or less than ten acres of irrigable land, except that, whenever the actual irrigable area of any nominal quarter-section exceeds one hundred and sixty acres, the full quarter

section may be included in one farm unit: Provided, That the Secretary, in proceeding under (i), may establish, on lands owned by the United States in each irrigation block, for part-time farming purposes, units of such size and with such boundaries as he deems appropriate.

“(iii) to the end that the farm unit plats provided for under subsection (i) may be laid out within each irrigation block in such manner as will in the judgment of the Secretary best promote the successful settlement and economical development of the project, the Secretary, not less than sixty days prior to the filing of each farm unit plat, shall, by publication in the manner determined by him in the county or counties where the lands in the irrigation block are located, give notice of intention to establish a farm unit plat under subsection (i). Each owner of land within the irrigation block to which the notice relates may, at the time or the times and place specified in such notice, examine the farm unit plat proposed for the irrigation block and, in cooperation with the Secretary or other landowners, may conform the lands so owned by him, to the fullest extent practicable in the judgment of the Secretary, by purchase, sale, or exchange at the appraised prices fixed by the Secretary, to the area and boundaries of the farm unit or units shown on said proposed plat or revisions thereof. The Secretary, with the consent of the owners of all farm units affected, may revise from time to time the farm unit plats established and filed by him to the extent that such revision is deemed necessary or advisable to meet conditions that may arise during the development of the project. To the fullest extent consistent, in the judgment of the Secretary, with the successful settlement and economical development of the project and, subject to the provisions of subsections (i) and (ii), each farm unit plat, as established or revised from time to time, shall be laid out in such manner as to afford to each owner of lands within the Columbia Basin project who held equitable or legal title to the same lands as of May 27, 1937, or who is the heir or devise of such owner with respect to such lands, a farm unit or units, the irrigable acreage of which shall not exceed one hundred and sixty acres comprised of said same lands.

"(iv) The Secretary shall require each owner of land within the Columbia Basin project, as a condition precedent to receiving water from the said project and in consideration thereof, to execute, within one year from the date of judicial confirmation of the regularity and validity of the contract between the United States and the district within which the land is located and the proceedings authorizing it, a valid, recordable contract wherein he shall agree for and on behalf of himself, his heirs, successors, and assigns to dispose of excess land then or thereafter owned by him, at the appraised value of said excess land, and wherein said owner shall confer upon the Secretary an irrevocable power of attorney to sell on his behalf any such excess land at said appraised price, and shall give to the United States an option, without further consideration, to buy any such excess land at said appraised price: Provided, That no sale under said power of attorney or said option shall, except with the written approval of said owner, be for less than the amount of the appraised value of the land, or upon terms other than cash, and that relinquishments of possession under any such sale shall be required only when, by reason of similar or other sales of other excess land owned by the same landowner, he will be enabled to transfer substantially contemporaneously the possession of all excess land which is both owned by him and operated as a single operating unit for dry farming or grazing purposes. Said contract shall also provide that, in the event the lands within the project area owned by said owner do not conform to the pertinent farm unit or units as shown on the plat or plats filed by the Secretary under (i), he will conform them by purchase, sale, or exchange at the appraised price fixed by the Secretary to the area and boundaries of said farm unit or units.

"Each recordable contract shall also provide that, from and after the date of execution thereof and within ten years from the time water becomes available for the lands covered thereby, no conveyance of or contract to convey a freehold estate in such lands, whether excess or non-excess lands, shall be made for a consideration exceeding the appraised value thereof, and that, in connection with any conveyance of, or contract to convey, such an estate after the date of execution of said recordable contract and prior to the expiration of said ten-year period the grantor or vendor or the grantee or vendee thereof, shall, within thirty days from and after the date of such conveyance or contract, file in the county or counties in which the land is located, with the officer or officers of the United States designated by the Secretary, an affidavit describing the conveyance or contract and the consideration therefor.

"Each recordable contract shall also provide that, in the event that within said period such a conveyance of, or contract to convey, such an estate is made without the filing within said thirty days of the statement required in this subsection, or is made for a consideration in excess of the appraised value, the Secretary, at any time within two years of the day on which there is filed for recording in said official records the contract or deed involved, whichever is filed earliest in the event both the contract and deed are filed in a given transaction, may cancel the right of such estate to receive water from, through, or by means of the project works by a written notice of cancelation: Provided, That said power to cancel as to any given parcel of land may be waived by the Secretary at any time within said two-year period by a written notice of waiver: Provided further, That after any such cancelation a project water right for the estate involved may be acquired only on terms and conditions satisfactory to the Secretary. Such cancelation of a project water right shall be effective, as to subsequent purchasers for value without notice, only from the date of its filing in the official records of the county or counties in which lies the land involved.

"Said recordable contract shall also provide that, should any freehold estate in land covered thereby be conveyed, or contracted to be conveyed, after the date of execution of said recordable contract and within ten years from the time water becomes available for such land, at a consideration in excess of said appraised value, the transaction, and any mortgage or other lien covering any deferred consideration thereunder, shall be invalid and unenforceable by the vendor or grantor, his successors or assigns, as to that part of the purchase consideration in excess of seventy-five per centum of the said appraised value of the estate involved; that in the case of any such transaction involving deferred payments of any part of the consideration said invalid portion of the consideration shall be deducted first from the deferred payments in the inverse order of their due dates; and that, in the case of any such conveyances or contracts to convey, there shall be available to the grantee, or vendee, as the case may be, at any time within two years from the date of any such conveyance, or contract to convey, the remedies provided in section 3 (c) of this Act.

"Any or all of the foregoing provisions required to be included in said recordable contracts may be made covenants running with the land when, in the opinion of the Secretary, this is desirable and when said recordable contracts expressly so provide.

"(v) Each district contract may include a provision whereby all lands within the district, regardless of whether the same are or are not subscribed to the recordable contract provided for under (iv) and regardless of whether the owners thereof are eligible to receive water, shall be subject to assessment in the same manner and to the same extent as lands subscribed to the recordable contract; but, said provision may, in the judgment of the Secretary, provide that the date for beginning any such assessments, in excess of 2 cents per acre per annum, as to lands not immediately qualified to receive water, or as to lands held by owners not eligible to receive water, may be postponed until ten years after water is available for lands in the irrigation block of which such lands are a part or until after the expiration of the ten-year period during which the price limit provided for under (iv) applies: Provided, That said provision may require that, in addition to compliance with any conditions otherwise in required by this Act as a prerequisite to the receipt of water for such lands, said owner shall pay to the district an amount equal to the sum of such assessments as would otherwise have been levied against such lands during the period of postponement, for repayment of construction costs pursuant to section 2 (b) and 25 per centum of the sum of such other assessments, as would otherwise have been levied against such lands during the period of postponement. "Each district contract may also provide that, without compliance with other provisions of States law for the exclusion of lands, lands may be withdrawn from the district by the filing of a written notice of withdrawal with the board of directors of the district in which the lands are included on or before such date as may be fixed by the board of directors between a date ten days after the official notice of the election on the contract between the United States and the district and the date of such election. The date limiting the time of such filing shall be announced in the official notice of the proposed election, and lands for which such notice is filed shall be deemed excluded from the district for all purposes as of the time of such filing. Thereafter lands so withdrawn and excluded so long as they remain in private ownership shall not be entitled to receive water from, through, or by means of the project works.

"SEC. 3. (a) Fraudulent misrepresentation as to the true consideration involved in the conveyance of, or contract to convey, any freehold estate in land covered by a recordable contract entered into pursuant to subsection 2 (b) (iv) of this Act, in the affidavit required by said subsection, shall constitute a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not exceeding $500 or by imprisonment not exceeding six months, or by both such fine and imprisonment.

"(b) Fraudulent misrepresentation or withholding of any material fact with respect to any lands within the Columbia Basin project, from and after the date of this amendatory Act and within ten years from the time water becomes available for such lands, for the purpose of inducing any person or persons to purchase or to sell any such lands shall constitute a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine not exceeding $500 or by imprisonment not exceeding six months, or by both such fine and imprisonment.

"(c) Should any freehold estate in lands subject to the recordable contract entered into pursuant to subsection 2 (b) (iv) of this Act be conveyed or contracted to be conveyed, after the date of execution of such recordable contract and within ten years from the time water becomes available for such lands, at a consideration in excess of the appraised value of said estate, the transaction, and any mortgage or other lien covering any deferred consideration thereunder, shall be invalid and unenforceable by the vendor or grantor, his successors or assigns as to that part of the consideration in excess of 75 per centum of the appraised value of the estate involved.

"In the case of any such transaction involving deferred payments of any part of the consideration, said invalid portion of the consideration shall be deducted first from the deferred payments in the inverse order of their due dates. At any time within two years from the date of any such conveyance or contract to convey, the following remedies shall be available to the grantee or vendee, as the case may be, on filing a correct statement as required in section 2 (b) (iv) of this Act if one has not theretofore been filed:

"(i) If at the time the grantee or vendee makes an election of the remedies provided in this subsection 3 (c), less than 75 per centum of the appraised value of the estate involved has been paid on the agreed consideration, the grantee or vendee may rescind the transaction, as against the vendor, his succesors or assigns, on offering and being able to reconvey to the proper party the title involved, if there has been a conveyance, and may recover of the vendor, all payments made on the contract, or may have the contract, and any mortgage or other lien covering the deferred consideration, reformed as against the vendor or grantor, his successors or assigns, by the cancelation of all payments agreed to be made in excess of 75 per centum of the appraised value of the estate involved, the cancelations to be against the deferred payments in the inverse order in which they were to come due;

"(ii) If at the time the grantee or vendee makes an election of the remedies provided in this subsection, 75 per centum or more of said appraised value of the estate has been paid on the agreed consideration, the grantee or vendee as against any succesors or assigns of the vendor, may have the contract, and any mortgage or other lien covering any deferred consideration, reformed by the cancelation of all remaining payments; and, as against the vendor, the grantee or vendee may have the contract, and any mortgage or other lien covering any deferred consideration, reformed by the cancelation of all payments in excess of 75 per centum of said appraised value of the estate involved and shall also have the right to recover an amount equal to the amount paid to the vendor in excess of 75 per centum of the appraised value.

"In connection with any judgment or decree hereunder in favor of a vendee or grantee, said vendee or grantee shall have the right to recover court costs and reasonable attorneys' fees.

"SEC. 4. (a) For the purpose of providing opportunities for permanent settlement of farm families, rehabilitating farmers on the land, protecting the project lands, facilitating the development of the project, preventing speculation in project lands, and providing for the general welfare, the Secretary is authorized to disseminate information by any or all appropriate means and methods; to administer public lands of the United States in the project area and lands acquired under this subsection; to sell or lease such lands in accordance with the provisions of this Act; to improve such lands or other lands in the project area by clearing, leveling, and preparing them for the handling of irrigation water; to acquire in the name of the United States, by condemnation or purchase at prices satisfactory to him, such lands or interests in lands, within or without the project area, as he deems appropriate for the protection, develop

ment, or improvement of the project; and to accept donations of real and personal property for the purposes of this Act. Any moneys realized on account of donations for puruposes of this Act shall be covered into the Treasury as trust funds and are hereby appropriated for expenditure for such purposes. For the purposes set forth above in this subsection, the Secretary is authorized, subject to the provisions of subsection (e) of this section, as an experiment for which his authority shall extend only to lands located in the first three irrigation blocks, to construct improvements on public lands and lands acquired under this subsection including, without limitation by reason of this enumeration, buildings, fences, and wells, and to loan to settlers funds which in the judgment of the Secretary are necessary in their operations during the development period of the irrigation block in which the land involved is located: Provided, That such loans for operations to settlers within any irrigation block, plus the cost of any improvements constructed by the United States on the lands of settlers in said block, plus all other extensions of credit (exclusive of construction charges, land sale prices, and costs of clearing, leveling, and preparing lands for the handling of irrigation water) made by, or guaranteed by, the United States or any agency thereof shall not average more than $4,000 per farm unit, in said block, in connection with which such loans, improvements, or other extensions of credit are made.

"(b) In connection with any lands acquired by the United States pursuant to this Act or any reserved lands of the United States in the project area, the Secretary may (i) establish and lay out town sites and recreational areas of such size and location as shall, in his judgment, best serve the needs of orderly and economical development of the project; (ii) with respect to any town sites so established and laid out, dedicate to public purposes, upon such conditions respecting operating and maintenance as he deems proper, streets, alleys, school sites, cemeteries, and town or municipal parks and recreational areas; (iii) establish and dedicate to public purposes, in rural areas within the Columbia Basin project, parks, recreational areas, school sites, and cemeteries; and (iv) with respect to any such lands as, in his judgment, are not suitable for irrigation farming, establish dry farming units, grazing units, or other units in accordance with his findings as to the uses to which such areas should be devoted consistent with the orderly development of said project.

"(c) Each contract for the sale by the United States of land for purposes of irrigation farming shall provide for the return, in annual or in semiannual installments, over a period of not to exceed forty years from the end of the development period for the irrigation block in which the land is located or from the date of the contract, whichever be the later, of the amount of the appraised value of the land and of the improvements thereon, as determined by the Secretary, together with interest on unpaid balances of said amount at not less than 3 per centum per annum, and loans to settlers made pursuant to section 4 (a) shall not be on more favorable terms. Leases of land for purposes of irrigation farming shall provide for comparable returns to the United States, except that, during the development period of any irrigation block or during the first five years of irrigation of any tract of land owned by the United States, leases for not to exceed five years may be made by the Secretary upon such terms and conditions as will, in his judgment, best assure development of the land for irrigation purposes and will be in the best interests of the United States. Costs incurred by the United States in clearing, leveling, and preparing lands for the handling of irrigation water, with regard to privately owned lands or lands owned by the United States but under contract of sale prior to incurring such costs, shall be returned to the United States under contracts with individual water users or organizations of water users or irrigation or other districts, whichever the Secretary determines to be in the best interests of the United States. Sales or leases, for purposes other than irrigation farming of land owned by the United States, shall be upon terms and conditions satisfactory to the Secretary: Provided, That in such sales or leases the purchase prices or rentals shall be in such amounts as in the judgment of the Secretary adequately compensate the United States for the value of the land, or interest therein, covered by the sale or lease. Qualifications of applicants for the purchase of land for purposes of irrigation farming shall be prescribed by the Secretary in the manner provided in subsection (c) of section 4 of the Act of December 5, 1924 (43 Stat. 702); and the procedure for selection of such applicants, the method and manner of disseminating information regarding availability of farm units for settlement, and other matters of administration of the settlement and development of the project shall be provided for by regulations promulgated by