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<br />002886 <br /> <br />FRAMEWORK <br />FOR THE <br />TRANSFER OF TITLE <br />BUREAU OF RECLAMATION PROJECTS <br />AUGUST 7,1995 <br /> <br />***************************** <br /> <br />The criteria and guidance outlined in this document applies to "uncomplicated" <br />projects. "Uncomplicated" projects are generally dermed in the Scope of <br />Application section following. This guidance is intended to initiate the Bureau of <br />Reclamation's title transfer process. <br /> <br />This guidance does not apply to the more complicated projects, e.g., large multi- <br />purpose projects where there is no consensus among the project beneficiaries <br />conce'rning the transfer, where more than one competent beneficiary has expressed <br />an interest in acquiring title, or where the institutional and legal concerns cannot be <br />readily resolved. <br /> <br />***************************** <br /> <br />BACKGROUND: The Reclamation program was founded in 1902. Its original mission was <br />one of civil works construction to develop the water resources of the arid Western United <br />States to promote the settlement and economic development of that region. The results of that <br />work are well known in the hundreds of projects that were developed to store and deliver <br />water. That substantial infrastructure made Reclamation the largest wholesale supplier of <br />water in the United States, the sixth largest electric power generator, and the manager of 45 <br />percent of the surface water in the Western United States. Many of these projects were <br />constructed at a time when there were no local communities and utilities. Today much of the <br />West is settled and is, in some respects, the most urbanized region of the country. <br />ReClamation owns and operates public utility facilities which, if located in other parts of the <br />country, would likely be owned, operated, and funded by publicly regulated private <br />corporations or local government agencies. While it has been Reclamation's policy for <br />decades to transfer operation and maintenance of projects to local entities where and when <br />appropriate, interest in the actual transfer of title (with its attendant responsibilities) is now <br />growing. <br />