[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 43, Volume 1]
[Revised as of October 1, 2002]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 43CFR426.13]

[Page 619-621]
 
                    TITLE 43--PUBLIC LANDS: INTERIOR
 
      CHAPTER I--BUREAU OF RECLAMATION, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
 
PART 426--ACREAGE LIMITATION RULES AND REGULATIONS (Eff. 1-1-98)--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 426.13  Excess land appraisals.

    (a) When does Reclamation appraise the value of a landowner's land? 
Reclamation appraises excess land or land burdened by a deed covenant 
upon a landowner's request or when required by Reclamation. If a 
landowner does not request an appraisal within 6 months of

[[Page 620]]

the maturity date of a recordable contract, Reclamation, in its 
discretion, can initiate the appraisal.
    (b) Procedures Reclamation uses to determine the sale price of 
excess land or land burdened by a deed covenant. Reclamation complies 
with the following procedures to determine the sale price of excess land 
and land burdened by a deed covenant, except if a landholder owns land 
subject to a recordable contract that was in force on October 12, 1982, 
or other pertinent contract that was in force on that date, and these 
regulations would be inconsistent with provisions in such a contract:
    (1) Appraisals of land. Reclamation will base all appraisals of land 
on the fair market value of the land at the time of appraisal without 
reference to the construction of the irrigation works. Reclamation must 
use standard appraisal procedures including: the income, comparable 
sales, and cost methods, as applicable. Reclamation will consider 
nonproject water supply factors as provided in paragraph (c)(1) of this 
section as appropriate; and
    (2) Appraisal of improvements to land. Reclamation will assess the 
contributory fair market value of improvements to land, as of the date 
of appraisal, using standard appraisal procedures.
    (c) Appraisals of nonproject water supplies. (1) The appraiser will 
consider nonproject water supply factors, where appropriate, including:
    (i) Ground water pumping lift;
    (ii) Surface water supply;
    (iii) Water quality; and
    (iv) Trends associated with paragraphs (c)(1) (i) through (iii) of 
this section, where appropriate.
    (2) Reclamation will develop the nonproject water supply and trend 
information with the assistance of:
    (i) The district in which the land is located, if the district 
desires to participate;
    (ii) Landowners of excess land or land burdened by a deed covenant 
and prospective buyers who submit information either to the district or 
Reclamation; and
    (iii) Public meetings and forums, at the discretion of Reclamation.
    (3) Data submitted may include:
    (i) Historic geologic data;
    (ii) Changing crops and cropping patterns; and
    (iii) Other factors associated with the nonproject water supply.
    (4) If Reclamation and the district cannot reach agreement on the 
nonproject water supply information within 60-calendar days, Reclamation 
will review and update the trend information as it deems necessary and 
make all final determinations considering the data provided by 
Reclamation and the district. Reclamation will provide these data to the 
appraisers who must consider the data in the appraisal process, and 
clearly explain how they used the data in the valuation of the land.
    (d) The date of the appraisal. The date of the appraisal will be the 
date of last inspection by the appraiser(s) unless there is a prior 
signed instrument, such as an option, contract for sale, agreement for 
sale, etc., affecting the property. In those cases, the date of 
appraisal will be the date of such instrument.
    (e) Cost of appraisal. If the appraisal is:
    (1) The land's first appraisal, the United States will initially pay 
the costs of appraising the value of the land, but such costs will be 
added to the approved sale price for the land. The United States will 
reimburse itself for these costs from the sale of the land;
    (2) Not the land's first appraisal, the landowner requesting the 
appraisal must pay any costs associated with the reappraisal, unless the 
value set by the reappraisal differs by more than 10 percent, in which 
case the United States will pay for the reappraisal; or
    (3) Associated with a sales price reformation as specified in 
Sec. 426.12(f)(1), the landowner requesting the appraisal must pay any 
costs associated with the appraisal.
    (f) Appraiser selection. Reclamation will select a qualified 
appraiser to appraise the excess land or land burdened by a deed 
covenant, except as specified within paragraph (g) of this section.
    (g) Appraisal dispute resolution. The landowner who requested the 
appraisal may request that the United States conduct a second appraisal 
of the excess land or land burdened by a deed covenant if the landowner 
disagrees

[[Page 621]]

with the first appraisal. The second appraisal will be prepared by a 
panel of three qualified appraisers, one designated by the United 
States, one designated by the district, and the third designated jointly 
by the first two. The appraisal made by the panel will fix the maximum 
value of the excess land and will be binding on both parties after 
review and approval as provided in paragraph (h) of this section.
    (h) Review of appraisals of excess land or land burdened by a deed 
covenant. Reclamation will review all appraisals of excess land or land 
burdened by a deed covenant for:
    (1) Technical accuracy and compliance with these rules and 
regulations;
    (2) Applicable portions of the ``Uniform Appraisal Standards for 
Federal Land Acquisition-Interagency Land Acquisition Conference 1973,'' 
as revised in 1992;
    (3) Reclamation policy; and
    (4) Any detailed instructions provided by Reclamation setting 
conditions applicable to an individual appraisal.