AGENCY:

Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.

ACTION:

Notice of availability of draft repayment and long-term water service contracts.

SUMMARY:

Pursuant to the Act of July 2, 1956 (Administration of Contracts under Section 9, Reclamation Project Act of 1939), contractors of federally developed irrigation water hold a first right to renew long-term water service contracts and/or to convert water service contracts to repayment ( printed page 31192) contracts. Reclamation has entered into negotiations for contract renewal with irrigation districts in the Republican River basin in Nebraska and Kansas. A draft long-term water service contract has been developed for the Frenchman Valley Irrigation District. Draft repayment contracts have been developed for Bostwick Irrigation District in Nebraska, Kansas Bostwick Irrigation District No. 2, Frenchman-Cambridge Irrigation District, and Almena Irrigation District. The draft contracts are now available for public review and comment.

DATES:

A 60-day public review and comment period commences with the publication of this notice. Written comments on the draft contracts should be submitted by July 17, 2000.

ADDRESSES:

Written comments from interested parties should be submitted to Kent Heidt, GP-2100, Bureau of Reclamation, Great Plains Regional Office, Post Office Box 36900, Billings, MT 59107-6900 for consideration in the contract renewal process.

Our practice is to make comments, including names and home addresses of respondents, available for public review. Individual respondents may request that we withhold their home address from public disclosure, which we will honor to the extent allowable by law. There also may be circumstances in which we would withhold a respondent's identity from public disclosure, as allowable by law. If you wish us to withhold your name and/or address, you must state this prominently at the beginning of your comment. We will make all submissions from organizations or businesses, and from individuals identifying themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or businesses, available for public disclosure in their entirety.

You may request copies of the draft contracts from Jim Beadnell, GP-2100, Bureau of Reclamation, Great Plains Region, P.O. Box 36900, Billings, MT 59107-6900; telephone (406) 247-7731. See Supplementary Information section for additional addresses where the draft contracts are available for public inspection and review.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Kent Heidt, GP-2100, Bureau of Reclamation, Great Plains Region, P.O. Box 36900, Billings, MT 59107-6900; telephone (406) 247-7730.