25 U.S.C. § 385
Section 385 · Maintenance charges; reimbursement of construction costs; apportionment of cost
Amended 4 times on record
Applied in 2 court decisions — leading case Hackford v. Babbitt (1994)
Most recently applied in Hackford v. Babbitt (January 1994)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
For lands irrigable under any irrigation system or reclamation project the Secretary of the Interior may fix maintenance charges which shall be paid as he may direct, such payments to be available for use in maintaining the project or system for which collected: Provided further, That all moneys expended under this provision shall be reimbursable where the Indians have adequate funds to repay the Government, such reimbursements to be made under such rules and regulations as the Secretary of the Interior may prescribe: Provided further, That the Secretary of the Interior is authorized and directed to apportion the cost of any irrigation project constructed for Indians and made reimbursable out of tribal funds of said Indians in accordance with the benefits received by each individual Indian so far as practicable from said irrigation project, said cost to be apportioned against such individual Indian under such rules, regulations, and conditions as the Secretary of the Interior may prescribe.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Codification
Section is based on sections 1 and 3 of act Apr. 4, 1910, and section 1 of act Aug. 1, 1914.
A provision in act Aug. 1, 1914, appropriated a specific sum for the construction, repair, etc., of ditches, reservoirs, etc., and for the pay of designated officials and employees.
Amendments
1982—Pub. L. 98–293 struck out provisions requiring Secretary of the Interior to transmit annual cost accounts to Congress of all moneys expended on each irrigation project.
1946—Act Aug. 7, 1946, discontinued provisions requiring Secretary of the Interior to transmit annual cost accounts to Congress of all moneys expended on each irrigation project.