Pub. L. 86-645, tit. II, sec. 204

Sec. 204. That, in recognition of the flood-control accomplishments of the multiple-purpose Merced River development including the Bagby, New Exchequer, and Snelling Dams and Reservoirs, proposed to be constructed on the Merced River by the Merced Irrigation District of California, there is hereby authorized to be appropriated a monetary contribution toward the construction cost of such development and the amount of such contribution shall be determined by the Secretary of the Army in cooperation with the Merced Irrigation District, subject to a finding by the Secretary of the Army, approved by the President, of economic justification for allocation of the amount of flood control, such funds to be administered by the Secretary of the Army: Provided, That prior to making the monetary contribution or any part thereof, the Department of the Army and the Merced Irrigation District shall have entered into an agreement providing for operation of the dams and reservoirs in such manner as will produce the flood-control benefits upon which the monetary contribution is predicated, and such operation of the dams and reservoirs for flood control shall be in accordance with rules prescribed by the Secretary of the Army pursuant to the provisions of section of the Flood Control Act of 1944 (58 Stat. 890): Provided further, That the funds appropriated under this authorization shall be administered by the Secretary of the Army in a manner which shall assure that the annual Federal contribution during the project construction period does not exceed the percentage of the annual expenditure for the dams and reservoirs which the total flood control contribution bears to the total cost of the dams and reservoirs: And provided further, That, unless construction of the development is undertaken within four years from the date of enactment of this Act, the authority for the monetary contribution contained herein shall expire.