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The Reclamation Act (also known as the Newlands Reclamation Act or National Reclamation Act) of 1902 is a United States federal law that funded irrigation projects for the arid lands of the American West. It was authored by Representative Francis G. Newlands of Nevada.
The act at first covered only 16 of the western states as Texas had no federal lands. Texas was added later by a special act passed in 1906. The act set aside money from sales of semi-arid public lands for the construction and maintenance of irrigation projects. The newly irrigated land would be sold and money would be put into a revolving fund that supported more such projects. This led to the eventual damming of nearly every major western river. Under the act, the Secretary of the Interior created the United States Reclamation Service within the United States Geological Survey to administer the program. In 1907 the Service became a separate organization within the Department of the Interior and was renamed the United States Bureau of Reclamation.
Background
John Wesley Powell, often considered the father of reclamation, began, in 1867, a series of expeditions to explore the West. He saw that after snow-melt and spring rains, the rivers of the West flooded, releasing huge amounts of water, and that for the rest of the year not enough rain fell to support any kind of real agriculture. He became convinced that irrigation was the only means by which much of the West could sustain population. He mapped locations for dams and irrigation projects. He found widespread support throughout the West, especially during the droughts of the 1890's.
Several private and local organizations proved the benefits of irrigation projects. However, when it became apparent that a greater effort would be required, Representative Francis G. Newlands of Nevada introduced legislation into the United States Congress to provide federal help for irrigation projects. The resulting act passed on July 17, 1902.
It was later amended by the Reclamation Reform Act of 1982 (Public Law 97-293, Title II) to limit corporate use of water and speculation on land that would benefit irrigation.
Summary of the Act
The full name of the act is "An Act Appropriating the receipts from the sale and disposal of public lands in certain States and Territories to the construction of irrigation works for the reclamation of arid lands".
Section One
This section identifies the 16 states and territories to be included in the project; Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. It requires surplus fees from sales of land be set aside for a "reclamation fund" for the development of water resources. Also requires the Treasury Department to fund education from unappropriated monies under certain conditions.
Section Two
Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior determine the reclamation projects.
Section Three
Requires the Secretary of the Interior to withdraw all such land from public entry.
Section Four
Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to contract for the project with certain conditions. Also requires that the work day will be 8 hours and that no so-called Mongolian labor (unskilled laborers from Asia) will be used.
Section Five
Sets certain requirements for those using the water, including; half of the land must be for agriculture, user must pay apportioned charges, user cannot use more than the apportioned water, user cannot sell entire water to one neighbor or any water to a non-resident, and user must pay apportioned charges annually.
Section Six
Authorizes to Secretary of the Interior to use the reclamation fund for all works constructed under the act and to pass management of projects over to the users once they have paid.
Section Seven
Gives the Secretary of the Interior the power of Eminent Domain for construction projects.
Section Eight
Requires the Secretary of the Interior to conform to state laws with certain exceptions.
Section Nine
Requires the Secretary of the Interior to expend monies generated by each state within that state as much as is practicable.
Section Ten
Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to make such rules and regulation as is necessary to carry out the provisions of the act.
Results of the act
Much of West could not have been settled without the water provided by the Act. The West became one of the premier agricultural areas in the world. Bureau of Reclamation statistics show that the more than 600 of their dams on waterways throughout the West provide irrigation for 10 million acres (40,000 km²) of farmland, providing 60% of the nation's vegetables and 25% of its fruits and nuts. Currently, the Bureau operates about a 180 projects in the West.
Not envisioned by the act, Bureau of Reclamation dams support 58 power plants producing 40 billion kilowatt hours of electricity annually. Most of the large population centers in the Far West owe their growth to these power sources.
See also
River systems
External links
"Newlands Reclamation Act"