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<br />While in individual cases there may be some variances, the <br />basic principles are: <br /> <br />I. Costs allocated to irrigation (Ed. The costs of a <br />multi-purpose water project that are attributable to <br />irrigation, as opposed to other purposes such as flood <br />control, hydroelectric power generation, or navigation, <br />for example) are repaid (Ed. To the U.S. Treasury) <br />over a period of 50 years plus whatever development <br />period is prescribed. .... Over the irrigation <br />repayment period, the irrigation water users, through <br />their organizations which contract with the Bureau <br />(Ed. Bureau of Reclamation) for that purpose, repay <br />the portion of the irrigation costs determined by the <br />Bureau . . . to be within their repayment ability. The <br />balance is repaid from revenues from the sale of <br />power from the project involved, over and above the <br />power costs themselves. .... <br /> <br />2. Costs allocated to power (Ed. The costs of a multi- <br />purpose water project a ttr ibutable to hydroelectric <br />power generation) are repaid over a period of 50 years <br />or, in the case of facilities that have a life <br />expectancy of less than 50 years, over the period of <br />useful life. <br /> <br />3. In the case of costs allocated to power, interest is <br />charged on unamortized balances. Irrigation costs are <br />interest free (Ed. Only the capital costs of irrigation <br />projects are repaid over the repayment period; no <br />interest is charged on the unpaid balance). <br /> <br />In order to keep this explanation simple, I have <br />deliberately chosen not to describe either the cost <br />allocation process or the repayment requirements for <br />municipal water supply, which is also a reimbursable <br />function. Suffice it to say, that the principles <br />applicable to power are in general also applicable to <br />municipal water supply. Most projects also include <br />non-reimbursable functions (Ed. Functions assumed to <br />have such general benefit to the nation as a whole <br />that they are paid by all taxpayers) -- flood control, <br />navigation, fish and wildlife enhancement, or some <br />combination of them. To the extent that costs of <br />reservoirs or other multi-purpose facilities include such <br />purposes, as well as reimbursable purposes, the costs <br />are divided among all of the purposes. As a result, in <br />the case of a storage reservoir which serves both <br />reimbursable and non-reimbursable purposes, the <br />reimbursable purposes do not, of course, repay all the <br />costs. <br /> <br />4. Power rates (Ed. Set by PMA's for power generated at <br />federal reservoirs) are established on the basis of what <br /> <br />-2- <br />