Selection of Full-Cost Land

FORM 7-21FC
2012 Instructions
(7-11)

INSTRUCTIONS FOR SELECTION OF FULL-COST LAND
(For Landholders Subject to Certification and Reporting
Requirements of the Reclamation Reform Act of 1982)

Bureau of Reclamation
Do not use this form after December 31, 2012

OMB Control No.: 1006-0005

Paperwork Reduction Act
This information is being collected to establish landholder compliance with Federal reclamation law. Response to this request is mandatory in
accordance with Public Law 97-293 and 43 CFR 426.18. Public reporting burden for this form is estimated to average 30 minutes per response,
including time for reviewing instructions, gathering and maintaining data, and completing and reviewing the form. An agency may not conduct
or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) control number. Direct comments regarding the burden estimated or any other aspect of these forms to Manager, Land
Resources, Code 84-53000, Bureau of Reclamation, PO Box 25007, Denver CO 80225.

GENERAL INFORMATION
“General Information About RRA Forms” (Form 7-21INFO)
provides basic information on using Reclamation Reform Act of
1982 (RRA) forms. Ask your district office for this form each
year to keep current. Refer to the definitions at the end of
Form 7-21INFO whenever the meaning of a term is not clear to
you. Please note, some terms such as “irrigable land,”
“irrigation land,” and “irrigation water” have special definitions
when used in these forms which differ from their common
meaning. Other terms and corresponding definitions that are
specific to the RRA forms are:
•

“Land” or “acres” means irrigable or irrigation land.

•

“You” or “your” means all types of landholders -individuals, entities, religious or charitable organizations,
trusts, estates, etc.

•

“We,” “us,” “our,” or “Reclamation” means the Bureau of
Reclamation.

As used in the RRA forms, the term “actual acres” refers to all
irrigable and irrigation acres with no adjustment applied for
Class 1 equivalency. The term “Class 1 equivalent acres” refers
to the resulting number of acres when an adjustment is made to
actual acres for Class 1 equivalency.
Visit www.usbr.gov/rra for more information.
WHO MUST SUBMIT THIS FORM
You must submit a “Selection of Full-Cost Land”
(Form 7-21FC) if you are:
•

A landholder (individual or entity) who exceeds your
nonfull-cost entitlement, whether you want to irrigate your
land or not.

•

An entity who agrees to select some land as full-cost when a
part owner is over the applicable nonfull-cost entitlement.

•

Any party attributed with the land held (directly or indirectly
owned or leased) by a trust or estate who exceeds the
applicable nonfull-cost entitlement. In this instance, the
trust or estate must select full-cost land even though trusts
and estates do not have a set nonfull-cost entitlement to
exceed.

WHERE TO SUBMIT FORMS
If you must complete a Form 7-21FC, then you must submit a
Form 7-21FC along with your standard form to each district in
which you hold land subject to the acreage limitation provisions.
You must submit the original form to one district and may
submit copies to the others if you hold land in more than one
district.
WHAT LAND TO INCLUDE
When you select land parcels that are to receive Reclamation
irrigation water at the full-cost rate, you must also select which
land parcels will receive such water at the nonfull-cost rate. The
amount of land you may select to receive Reclamation irrigation
water at the nonfull-cost rate depends on many factors, such as
your status under the law, the application of Class 1 equivalency
factors, etc. You may select only directly owned or directly
leased land as nonfull-cost, up to your nonfull-cost entitlements.
You cannot change the land you select as nonfull-cost and
full cost once you receive Reclamation irrigation water on your
land until the next year. Note: You must list your irrigable land
not receiving irrigation water even though it does not count
against your nonfull-cost entitlement, but does establish your
nonfull-cost selection for this water year. You may want to work
with your district office(s) or the appropriate Reclamation office
to complete this form properly.

You must provide an accurate legal description or an assessor's
parcel number for each land parcel you list. Be sure you break
down land parcels as far as necessary to ensure accurate
identification. Group the parcels by district if you are listing
parcels located in more than one district.

(1) If you hold land both directly and indirectly, then apply the
Class 1 equivalency to your directly held land.
(2) If you hold no land directly (or you do not want to select
such land as full-cost) and the direct landholder does not
exceed the applicable entitlement, then use the applicable
Class 1 factors to determine how much land to request the
direct landholder to select as full-cost land. Once the direct
landholder has completed Form 7-21FC, obtain a copy of
that form and indicate the same acreage as full-cost as the
direct landholder.

TO CHANGE SELECTION MIDYEAR
You may reselect land as full-cost or nonfull-cost during a water
year only if the following conditions are met:
(1) You have not already received Reclamation irrigation water
this water year on westwide landholdings that equal or
exceed your applicable nonfull-cost entitlement.

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

(2) The land you want to reselect as nonfull-cost or full-cost has
not yet received Reclamation irrigation water this water
year. Your original selection will stand if the district office
is unable to verify that the land in question has not yet been
irrigated with such water.

Type or print in ink all answers. You must initial and date any
crossouts and corrections. You may attach continuation sheets
to list information. District name abbreviation(s) used on this
form must be spelled out on the form where the abbreviation is
used for the first time, or on a separate sheet attached to this
form. Please contact your district office or the appropriate
Reclamation office if you have any questions.

(3) You have completed and submitted a new Form 7-21FC.
ITEM BY ITEM INSTRUCTIONS
WHEN THIS FORM IS REQUIRED
Landholder Information
You must submit Form 7-21FC each and every year that you
submit new standard forms, as well as each and every year you
want to change the selections from those specified on the
previously submitted Form 7-21FC. However, if you are
eligible to submit a “Verification of Landholdings”
Form 7-21VERIFY), you do not need to submit a new
Form 7-21FC for that year unless your selection of full-cost land
changes. You may submit a Form 7-21VERIFY to verify the
standard form and a new Form 7-21FC if you want to change the
selection of your full-cost land.
Your entity must select enough land to attribute to the part
owner the number of acres equal to what the part owner needs to
select as full-cost land. For example, a part owner owns
50 percent of a legal entity and he needs to select 50 acres as
full-cost land. The part owner asks the legal entity to select
full cost land. The entity must select 100 acres as full-cost land
in order for the part owner to have 50 full-cost acres attributed
to him.
If you are an indirect landholder, you may apply Class 1
equivalency to your selection of nonfull-cost land if the direct
landholder has already utilized Class 1 equivalency on his/her/its
Form 7-21FC. You should obtain a copy of the direct
landholder’s form, and indicate the same acreage as full-cost as
the direct landholder. If after taking that action you still exceed
your nonfull-cost entitlement, then apply one of the following:

2

1.

Enter the landholder’s name.

2.

Enter the spouse’s name if the landholder is married.

3.

(a) Enter the landholder’s, trustee’s, executor’s, or
administrator’s street address or rural route number,
city, state, and ZIP code. An attorney’s address, “c/o”
address, etc., is not acceptable in place of a street
address. Post office box numbers may be used only if
no other address exists.
(b) Enter the landholder’s mailing address if it is different
from the street address.

4.

5.

(a) Enter the telephone number where questions can be
directed.
(b) Enter the name of a contact person at that telephone
number.
Check the box that best identifies the landholder’s
nonfull-cost entitlement. Fill in the number of acres on the
line provided if you check “Other.” Check the box marked
“Trust or Estate” instead of checking an entitlement if you
are completing this form for a trust or estate.

FORM 7-21FC (2012)

6.

(a) For entities only: Enter the name(s) of the part
owner(s) causing the entity to complete this form. Your
entity may not exceed its nonfull-cost entitlement, but it
may complete this form solely because one (or more) of
its part owners exceeds his/her/its nonfull-cost
entitlement and your entity has agreed to select all or
part of its land as full cost.
(b) For trusts or estates only: Identify the attributed
direct or indirect landholder(s) who exceeds his/her/its
nonfull-cost entitlement, causing the trust or estate to
complete this form.

If you have multiple classes of land and need assistance
completing this item on your form, please contact your
district office or the appropriate Reclamation office.
(d) If appropriate, enter the Class 1 equivalency factor for
the district in which the land parcel is located. You
may use this column only if you are subject to the
discretionary provisions and only for land you directly
own and/or lease in those districts listed in column 7(a)
that have Class 1 equivalency factors. Leave this
column blank if you are not subject to the discretionary
provisions or if none of the districts listed in column
7(a) have Class 1 equivalency factors. Again, Class 1
equivalency can only be applied to acres in those
districts that have Class 1 equivalency factors.

Directly Owned and Leased Nonfull-Cost Land
7.

Example: If you own 1,200 acres and if your
nonfull-cost entitlement is 960 acres and all your land
is Class 2 with a Class 1 equivalency factor of 0.8, you
will enter 1,200 nonfull-cost acres in column 7(c)
(960 ÷ 0.8 = 1,200).

Complete this section if you directly own and/or lease land
and either a portion or all of that land is to be selected as
nonfull-cost. Identify which parcels of the directly owned
and/or leased land will receive Reclamation irrigation water
at the nonfull-cost rate.
If you are unsure of the meaning of the terms “actual acres”
or “Class 1 equivalent acres,” please see the “GENERAL
INFORMATION” section of these instructions and the
definitions provided in Form 7-21INFO.

(e) If you completed column 7(d), enter the Class 1
equivalent acres by dividing item 7(c) by item 7(d) if
your Class 1 equivalency factor is more than 1.0, or by
multiplying item 7(c) by item 7(d) if your Class 1
equivalency factor is less than 1.0.

(a) Name of district in which the land parcel is located.
(b) Provide an accurate legal description or an assessor’s
parcel number. Be sure to break down land parcels as
far as necessary to ensure accurate identification.
Group the parcels by district if you are listing parcels
located in more than one district.

Example: If you have 1,400 actual Class 2 acres with
a Class 1 equivalency factor of 0.8, you will enter
960 acres in column 7(e) because application of Class
1 equivalency to 1,200 of your actual 1,400 Class 2
acres results in 960 acres (1,200 x 0.8 = 960).
However, you must still select the remainder of your
actual Class 2 acres (200 acres) as full-cost in item 14.
To do this, you must re-convert all class 1 equivalent
acres to actual acres. Please refer to the example
provided in item 14.

(c) Number of actual acres in the land parcel.
For direct landholders with a Class 1 equivalency
factor: The following instructions explain how to
calculate the maximum number of acres you may
select as nonfull-cost.

The total acres in column 7(e) cannot exceed your
nonfull-cost entitlement.

If all of your land is of one class other than Class 1 and
has a Class 1 equivalency factor of less than 1.0, you
can divide your nonfull-cost entitlement by that
equivalency factor to determine the number of acres
you may select as nonfull-cost. If your equivalency
factor is more than 1.0 you will need to multiply your
nonfull-cost entitlement by that equivalency factor.

This column can be used only by landholders subject to
the discretionary provisions and only for those districts
listed in column 7(a) that have Class 1 equivalency
factors. Leave this column blank if you are not subject
to the discretionary provisions or if none of the districts
listed in column 7(a) have Class 1 equivalency factors.
All land you directly own and/or lease must be selected
as either nonfull-cost or full-cost, or identified as not
receiving Reclamation irrigation water. You can verify
this by adding the total of column 7(c), item 13, and
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FORM 7-21FC (2012)

item 15. This total should equal the total number of
directly owned and directly leased acres on your
standard form.

(b) Name of the direct landholder (i.e., the entity that owns
or leases land in which you own an interest, or the
name of the trust or estate in which the land is held).

Indirectly Owned and Leased Nonfull-Cost Land
8.

(c) Number of actual or Class 1 equivalent acres selected
as nonfull-cost by the direct landholder (entity, trust, or
estate). You must obtain this number from item 7(c) if
no Class 1 equivalency factor is used, or item 7(e) if
Class 1 equivalency is used, on the direct landholder’s
Form 7-21FC. If the direct landholder has not
completed a Form 7-21FC, include all land directly
owned and/o r leased by that direct landholder.

Complete this section if you exceed your nonfull-cost
entitlement and you are a part owner, beneficiary, trustee, or
grantor who is attributed with land directly owned and/or
leased by an entity, trust, or estate and a portion of such
land is selected to receive Reclamation irrigation water at
the nonfull-cost rate by the direct holder of such land. Only
direct landholders can select nonfull-cost land.

(d) What type of acres were included in item 8(c): actual
acres or Class 1 equivalent acres. You must indicate
“actual acres” if the acreage you are using was obtained
from item 7(c) of the direct landholder’s Form 7-21FC.
You must indicate “Class 1 equivalent acres” if the
acreage you are using was obtained from item 7(e) of
the direct landholder’s Form 7-21FC.

Determine which of the following situations applies to you:
•

•

If you have asked a direct landholder to complete a
Form 7-21FC and the landholder has done so, or the
direct landholder has completed a Form 7-21FC for
other reasons, you must use the direct landholder’s
Form 7-21FC to complete this section. Any applicable
Class 1 equivalency calculations will be performed on
the direct landholder’s Form 7-21FC.

(e) The percentage of interest in the entity, trust, or estate
that is attributed to you.

OR, if the direct landholder has not completed a Form
7-21FC, then information about all land you indirectly
own and/or lease through that landholder must be
included here.

(f) Multiply item 8(c) by item 8(e) in decimal form. This
is the number of indirectly owned and/or leased
nonfull-cost acres attributable to you by the entity, trust,
or estate.
9.

If you are unsure of the meaning of the terms “actual acres”
or “Class 1 equivalent acres,” please see the “GENERAL
INFORMATION” section of these instructions and the
definitions provided in Form 7-21INFO.

For calculation purposes only, please complete the
following steps and enter your total for each step in the
space provided to the right of the written instruction:

(a) Total column 7(c) for those land parcels
where Class 1 equivalency is not
applicable, or
9(a) _____

An indirect landholder who meets the following criteria
must also note in column 8(b) what action was taken (e.g.,
I am not over my nonfull-cost entitlement because when the
available Class 1 equivalency factor is used I only have
____ Class 1 equivalent acres) if the indirect landholder:

(b) Total column 7(e) for those land parcels
where Class 1 equivalency is applicable 9(b) _____

1. Exceeds his/her/its nonfull-cost entitlement;

(c) Total column 8(f) .................................... 9(c) _____

2. Only owns and/or leases land through entities
that are under their entitlements; and

(d) Add the totals you calculated above. This
is the number of acres westwide that you
select to receive Reclamation irrigation
water at the nonfull-cost rate. Enter this
total in item 9 on the form. ........................... 9(d) _____

3. Finds that when Class 1 equivalency is available
in the district(s) and applied by the direct
landholder, it results in the indirect landholder
also being under entitlement.

Total acres in item 9 cannot exceed your nonfull-cost
entitlement.

(a) Name of district in which the land parcel is located.

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FORM 7-21FC (2012)

10. Please provide an explanation if the total nonfull-cost
acreage you entered in item 9 on the form exceeds your
nonfull-cost entitlement (e.g., land held under recordable
contract, land involuntarily acquired, etc.).

(h) Number of actual acres in the land parcel. For
indirectly owned and/or leased land, multiply item d
and item e to obtain the correct number of actual acres
(i.e., the percentage of actual acres attributed to you).
Note: Any Class 1 equivalent acres must be
reconverted to actual acres. Please refer to the example
provided in item 14.

Land Not Receiving Reclamation Irrigation Water
11. Enter the landholder’s name again. (These forms are often
photocopied, so it is necessary to have the landholder
identified on each page.)

13. Total column 12(h). This is the number of actual acres held
westwide that are not receiving Reclamation irrigation
water.

12. Complete this section for directly or indirectly owned and/or
leased land that is not receiving Reclamation irrigation
water. You must list land subject to an extended recordable
contract in this section, or in item 14 or item 16.
If you are unsure of the meaning of the terms “actual acres”
or “Class 1 equivalent acres,” please see the “GENERAL
INFORMATION” section of these instructions and the
definitions provided in Form 7-21INFO.

Directly Owned and Leased Full-Cost Land
14. Complete this section if you directly own and/or lease land
and all or a portion of that land is to be selected as full cost.
You must list land subject to an extended recordable
contract in this section, or in item 12 or item 16. In this
section, identify which parcels of directly owned and/or
leased land will receive Reclamation irrigation water at the
full-cost rate.

(a) Name of district in which the land parcel is located.
(b) Provide an accurate legal description of the land parcel
or an assessor’s parcel number for directly owned
and/or leased land that is not receiving Reclamation
irrigation water. Leave this column blank if you are the
indirect landholder of the land that is not receiving
Reclamation irrigation water.
(c) Name of the direct landholder (i.e., the entity that owns
or leases irrigable and/or irrigation land in which you
own an interest, or the name of the trust or estate in
which the land is held). Leave this column blank if you
are the direct landholder of the listed land parcel.
(d) For indirectly owned and/or leased land, provide the
actual acres that the direct landholder selected as not
receiving Reclamation irrigation water. Leave this
column blank if you are the direct landholder of the
listed land parcel.

If you are unsure of the meaning of the terms “actual acres”
or “Class 1 equivalent acres,” please see the “GENERAL
INFORMATION” section of these instructions and the
definitions provided in Form 7-21INFO.
(a) Name of district in which the land parcel is located.
(b) Provide an accurate legal description of the land parcel
or an assessor’s parcel number.
(c) Number of actual full-cost acres in the land parcel.
Note: Any Class 1 equivalent acres must be
reconverted to actual acres.
Using the example provided for item 7(e):
Example: If you have 1,400 actual Class 2 acres with
a Class 1 equivalency factor of 0.8, you entered 960
acres in column 7(e) because 1,200 acres x 0.8 = 960.
However, you must select the remainder of your land
(200 acres) as full-cost because you applied Class 1
equivalency to only a 1,200-acre portion of your
1,400-acre landholding.

(e) Provide the percentage of interest you have in the
actual acres attributed to you as an indirect landholder.
Leave this column blank if you are the direct
landholder of the listed land parcel.

The actual acres included in items 7 and 14 must equal
the total directly owned and leased land reported on
your standard RRA form. Land reported on your
standard RRA form is based on actual acres, not Class
1 equivalent acres. Therefore, if you use the Class 1
equivalent acres from item 7(e) to calculate the number
of acres that must be selected as full-cost acres, you

(f) Check this column if the land is not currently being
irrigated.
(g) Check this column if the land is being irrigated, but is
receiving water from a source other than a
Reclamation irrigation project.
5

FORM 7-21FC (2012)

will arrive at a total number of acres that is less than
the total owned and leased land reported on your
standard RRA form.

18. Total item 15 and item 17. This is the total number of acres
held westwide that you select to receive Reclamation
irrigation water at the full-cost rate.
Signatures

15. Total column 14(c). This is the number of directly owned
and/or leased actual acres westwide that you select to
receive Reclamation irrigation water at the full-cost rate.
Indirectly Owned and Leased Full-Cost Land
16. Complete this section if you exceed your nonfull-cost
entitlement and you are a part owner, beneficiary, trustee, or
grantor who is attributed with land directly owned and/or
leased by an entity, trust, or estate and all or a portion of
such land is selected to receive Reclamation irrigation water
at the full-cost rate by the direct holder of such land. You
must list land subject to an extended recordable contract in
this section or in item 12 or item 14. Using information
obtained from the direct landholder’s Form 7-21FC, you
must identify which parcels of your indirectly owned and/or
leased land will receive Reclamation irrigation water at the
full-cost rate.

19. Sign the form in ink. Both you and your spouse, if married,
must sign the form. This requirement applies even if the
land is not jointly held. All partners, joint tenants, or cotenants must sign the form if the landholder is a partnership,
joint tenancy, or tenancy-in-common. However, you may
use a written signature authorization to permit one spouse to
sign for the couple, or to permit one natural person to sign
for the entity, and a copy must be submitted to each district
you submit RRA forms. All trustees, executors, or
administrators must sign this form unless the trust or a
power of attorney authorizes one individual to sign for the
trust or estate. The district office must keep any signature
authorizations on file.

If you are unsure of the meaning of the terms “actual acres”
or “Class 1 equivalent acres,” please see the “GENERAL
INFORMATION” section of these instructions and the
definitions provided in Form 7-21INFO.
(a) Name of district in which the land parcel is located.
(b) Name of the direct landholder (i.e., the entity that owns
or leases irrigable and/or irrigation land in which you
own an interest, or the name of the trust or estate in
which the land is held).
(c) Number of actual acres selected as full-cost by the
entity, trust or estate. Since only direct landholders can
select full-cost land, you must obtain this number from
the direct landholder’s Form 7-21FC, item 14(c).
(d) The percentage of interest in the entity, trust, or estate
that is attributed to you.
(e) Multiply item 16(c) by item 16(d) in decimal form.
This is the number of indirectly owned and/or leased
full-cost acres attributable to you by the entity, trust, or
estate.
17. Total column 16(e). This is the number of acres you
indirectly own and/or lease westwide for which the full-cost
rate will be paid.

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FORM 7-21FC (2012)