P.R. Laws tit. 22, § 269
The amount that shall be assessed and levied upon a given tract of land included in the additional irrigation district during its trial period and after it enters upon its operation permanently, shall be determined as follows:
To the amount resulting from the assessment made for fixing the tax to be levied in accordance with § 260 of this title, as it may be amended, upon each acre of land included in the present irrigation district and in the additional irrigation district there shall be added a sufficient amount to cover the proportional part of the annual cost of the electricity or fuel which may be consumed in the operation of the pumps which may be installed for lifting the waters to the lands of the additional district and to cover the proportional part of the fixed annual charges of interest and amortization of the debt that may be incurred to provide funds for the construction of the extensions and necessary installations to the present irrigation system which may be necessary for serving the additional district, and the sum resulting from said amounts shall be the tax to be levied and collected on each acre of land included in the additional irrigation district; Provided, That this additional amount or surcharge to be added to the tax levied on the lands included in the present irrigation district shall not exceed six dollars ($6) per acre per annum; Provided, further, That on those tracts of land included in the additional irrigation district which are located at such an elevation that to convey the water to the system of canals from which said tracts of lands are irrigated, it becomes necessary to pump the water to an elevation which exceeds a height of one hundred (100) feet above the level of the water at the point where it is taken from the gravity irrigation system already constructed, there shall be levied and collected in addition to the total tax as fixed in the preceding manner an amount which shall be equal to five cents (5) for each acre of land and for each foot of elevation that the water shall have to be pumped above the limit of one hundred (100) feet of lift.
The assessment of the amount to be paid by a tract of land included in the additional irrigation district shall begin to be levied and collected from the first day of July following the date on which said tract of land shall have begun to receive water or on which water shall have been made available for irrigation.
Assessments under the foregoing provisions shall be made upon each tract of land in accordance with the number of acres of area comprised in said tract. The amounts resulting from such computations shall be extended upon the tax roll for the different tracts at the time comprising the additional irrigation district. The said tax roll shall be completed by the Secretary of the Treasury of Puerto Rico on or before the first day of July of each year, and said taxes are hereby imposed as a lien upon the corresponding lands (but not as a personal liability upon the owners thereof) in favor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and shall constitute a tax the lien of which shall be superior and prior in law to any right, claim or lien of any other nature, save and except the general taxes of Puerto Rico as provided by law. Said taxes shall become due and the Secretary of the Treasury of Puerto Rico shall proceed to the collection thereof, and to the embargo and sale of the land to enforce the collection thereof, in the manner and at the time now or hereafter provided by law for the collection and enforcement of other real property taxes.
For the water that may be used by any tract of land included in the additional irrigation district prior to the date of beginning the assessment and collection of the tax fixed in accordance with the foregoing, the Irrigation Service shall charge and collect a price of three dollars ($3) per acre-foot.
History —May 12, 1934, No. 44, p. 344, first § 18, eff. 90 days after May 12, 1934.