RIVER REGULATION, FLOOD CONTROL, AND WATER CONSERVATION AND UTILIZATION.

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 19, 1916

UNITED STATES SENATE,
COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE,

Washington, D. C.

The committee met at 10 o'clock a. m. in the committee room, Capitol, pursuant to call, Senator Duncan U. Fletcher presiding. Present: Senators Fletcher (chairman), Vardaman, Kirby, Shields, Martin, Sherman, Watson, Kenyon, Jones, Nelson, and Harding.

The committee proceeded to consider the bill (H. R. 14777), "An act to provide for the control of the floods of the Mississippi River and of the Sacramento River, Cal., and for other purposes," which is as follows:

[H. R. 14777, Sixty-fourth Congress, first session.]

AN ACT To provide for the control of the floods of the Mississippi River and the Sacramento River, California, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That for controlling the floods of the Mississippi River and continuing its improvement from the Head of the Passes to the mouth of the Ohio River the Secretary of War is hereby empowered, authorized, and directed to carry on continuously, by hired labor or otherwise, the plans of the Mississippi River Commission heretofore or hereafter adopted, to be paid for as appropriations may from time to time be made by law, not to exceed in the aggregate $45,000,000: Provided, That not more than $10,000,000 shall be expended therefor during any one fiscal year.

(a) All money appropriated under authority of this section shall be expended under the direction of the Secretary of War in accordance with the plans, specifications, and recommendations of the Mississippi River Commission as approved by the Chief of Engineers, for controlling the floods and for the general improvement of the Mississippi River, and for surveys, including the survey from the Head of the Passes to the headwaters of the river, and a survey of the Atchafalaya Outlet so far as may be necessary to determine the cost of protecting its basin from the flood waters of the Mississippi River either by its divorcement from the Mississippi River or by other means, and for salaries, clerical, office, traveling, and miscellaneous expenses of the Mississippi River Commission.

(b) That no money appropriated under authority of this section shall be expended in the construction or repair of any levee unless and until assurances have been given satisfactory to the commission that local interests protested thereby will contribute for such construction and repair a sum which the commission shall determine to be just and equitable but which shall be not less than one-half of such sum as may have been allotted by the commission for such work: Provided, That such contributions shall be expended under the direction of the commission, or in such manner as it may require or approve, but no contribution made by any State or levee district shall be expended in any other State or levee district except with the approval of the authorities of the State or district so contributing.

3

(c) Any funds which may hereafter be appropriated under authority of this act for improving the Mississippi River between the Head of the Passes and the mouth of the Ohio River, and which may be allotted to levees, may be expended upon any part of said river between the Head of the Passes and Rock Island, Illinois.

(d) No money appropriated under authority of this act shall be expended in payment for any right of way for any levee which may be constructed in cooperation with any State or levee district under authority of this act, but all such rights of way shall be provided free of cost to the United States: Provided, That no money paid or expense incurred by any State or levee district in securing such rights of way, or in any temporary works of emergency during an impending flood, or for the maintenance of any levee line, shall be computed as a part of the contribution of such State or levee district toward the construction or repair of any levee within the meaning of paragraph (b) of this section.

That the watercourses connected with the Mississippi River to such extent as may be necessary to exclude the flood waters from the upper limits of any delta basin, together with the Ohio River from its mouth to the mouth of the Cache River, may, in the discretion of said commission, receive allotments for improvements now underway or hereafter to be undertaken.

Upon the completion of any levee constructed for flood control under authority of this act, said levee shall be turned over to the levee district protected thereby for maintenance thereafter; but for all other purposes the United States shall retain such control over the same as it may have the right to exercise upon such completion.

SACRAMENTO RIVER, CALIFORNIA.

SEC. 2. That for controlling the floods, removing the débris, and continuing the improvement of the Sacramento River, California, in accordance with the plans of the California Débris Commission, the Secretary of War is hereby authorized and directed to carry on continuously, by hired labor or otherwise, the plan of said commission contained in its report submitted August tenth, nineteen hundred and ten, and printed in House Document Numbered Eighty-one, Sixty-second Congress, first session, as modified by the report of said commission submitted February eighth, nineteen hundred and thirteen, approved by the Chief of Engineers of the United States Army and the Board of Engineers for Rivers and Harbors, and printed in Rivers and Harbors Committee Document Numbered Five, Sixty-third Congress, first session, in so far as said plan provides for the rectification and enlargement of river channels and the construction of weirs, to be paid for as appropriations may from time to time be made by law, not to exceed in the aggregate $5,600,000: Provided, That not more than $1,000,000 shall be expended therefor during any one fiscal year.

(a) All money appropriated under authority of this section shall be expended under the direction of the Secretary of War, in accordance with the plans, specifications, and recommendations of the California Débris Commission, as approved by the Chief of Engineers, for the control of floods, removal of débris, and the general improvement of the Sacramento River: Provided, That no money shall be expended under authority of this section until assurances have been given satisfactory to the Secretary of War (a) that the State of California will contribute annually for such work a sum equal to such sum as may be expended annually therefor by the United States under authority of this section; (b) that such equal contributions by the State of California will continue annually until the full equal share of the cost of such work shall have been contributed by said State; and (c) that the river levees contemplated in the report of the California Débris Commission, dated August tenth, nineteen hundred and ten, will be constructed to such grade and section and within such time as may be required by said commission: Provided further, That said State shall not be required to expend for such work, for any one year, a sum larger than that expended thereon by the United States during the same year: And provided further, That the total contributions so required of the State of California shall not exceed in the aggregate $5,600,000.

(b) All money contributed by the State of California, as herein provided, shall be expended under the direction of the California Débris Commission and in such manner as it may require or approve, and no money appropriated under authority of this section shall be expended in the purchase of or payment for any right of way, easement, or land acquired for the purposes of this improvement, but all such rights of way, easements, and lands shall be provided free of

cost to the United States: Provided, That no money paid or expense incurred therefor shall be computed as a part of the contribution of the State of California toward the work of improvement herein provided for within the meaning of paragraph (a) of this section.

(c) Upon the completion of all works for flood control herein authorized the said works shall be turned over to the State of California for maintenance thereafter; but for all other purposes the Uited States shall retain such control over the same as it may have the right to exercise upon such completion.

GENERAL PROVISIONS.

SEC. 3. That all the provisions of existing law relating to examinations and surveys and to works of improvement of rivers and harbors shall apply, so far as applicable, to examinations and surveys and to works of improvement relating to flood control. And the expenditures of funds hereafter appropriated for works and projects relating to flood control shall be made in accordance with and subject to the law governing the disbursement and expenditure of funds appropriated for the improvement of rivers and harbors.

All examinations and surveys of projects relating to flood control shall inclue a comprehensive study of the watershed or watersheds, and the report thereon in addition to any other matter upon which a report is required shall give such data as it may be practicable to secure in regard to (a) the extent and character of the area to be affected by the proposed improvement; (b) the probable effect upon any navigable water or waterway; (c) the possible economical development and utilization of water power; and (d) such other uses as may be properly related to or coordinated with the project. And the heads of the several departments of the Government may, in their discretion, upon the request of the Secretary of War, detail representatives from their respective departments to assist the engineers of the Army in the study and examination of such watersheds, to the end that duplication of work may be avoided and the various services of the Government economically coordinated therein: Provided, That all reports on preliminary examinations hereafter authorized, together with the report of the Board of Engineers for Rivers and Harbors thereon, shall be submitted to the Secretary of War by the Chief of Engineers, with his recommendations, and shall be transmitted by the Secretary of War to the House of Representatives, and are hereby ordered to be printed when so made.

In the consideration of all works and projects relating to flood control which may be submitted to the Board of Engineers for Rivers and Harbors for consideration and recommendation, said board shall in addition to any other matters upon which it may be required to report, state its opinion as to (a) what Federal interest, if any, is involved in the proposed improvement; (b) what share of the expense, if any, should be borne by the United States; and (c) the advisability of adopting the project.

All examinations and reports which may now be made by the Board of Engineers for Rivers and Harbors upon request of the Committee on Rivers and Harbors relating to works or projects of navigation shall in like manner be made upon request of the Committee on Flood Control on all works and projects relating to flood control.

SEC. 4. That the salary of the civilian members of the Mississippi River Commission shall hereafter be $5,000 per annum.

Passed the House of Representatives May 17, 1916.

The CHAIRMAN. Senator Newlands is present and desires to be heard regarding the bill. You may proceed, Senator.

STATEMENT OF UNITED STATES SENATOR FRANCIS G. NEWLANDS, OF NEVADA.

Senator NEWLANDS. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, I wish to state in the first place I disclaim any unfriendliness to either one of these projects. On the contrary I believe in them. I know something about both of them. I have seen the country both with experts and without, and I believe that these projects are meritorious projects. But I

wish to call your attention to the fact that there are two bills pending before the Senate. One, a bill (H. R. 14777) which covers these two projects with some general provisions for laying down rules for the investigation of future projects, and the other a bill introduced by myself (S. 5736), which provide for a general system of investigation and work regarding flood control. Now, the character of the two bills is shown by their titles. House bill 14777, Calendar 31, is an act to provide for the control of the floods of the Mississippi River and of the Sacramento River, Cal., and for other purposes. The Senate bill (No. 5736) which I have introduced, and it is a condensation and modification of bills that I have introduced for 12 years past, is entitled "A bill to promote interstate commerce, agriculture, and the general welfare by providing for the development and control of waterways and water resources, for water conservation for flood control, prevention and protection; for the application of flood waters to beneficial uses; and for cooperation in such work with States and other agencies, and for other purposes." The difference between the two bills, both with the same object, is that the House bill is a local bill relating to the lower Sacramento and the lower Mississippi Rivers, while the bill which I have introduced applies to every watershed in the Union and to all navigable as well as source streams. The bills are not contradictory. Under the bill which I offer the work on the Mississippi River and the Sacramento River can be done, and you can have the necessary amendments inserted in that bill, as the only project appropriations now asked for are for these two projects, and then you will have a bill covering these two projects and also a bill covering the entire Union and providing thus a scheme of coordination of the scientific services, of cooperation with States, and of investigation, a scheme involving the expenditure for investigation and plans of whatever sum you fix-a million dollars or more-involving ultimately the reports by the organization thus created on projects resembling the Sacramento and the Mississippi project, which, after approval of Congress can be covered by the necessary appropriations. I want you to dismiss from your minds that part of the bill which I have been long urging, which calls for the sum of $60,000,000 annually for a period of 10 years. I still believe, however, that the wise thing to do is to candidly declare at the outset that we are entering upon a great governmental work involving ultimately the expenditure of hundreds of millions of dollars, so that plans can be formed commensurate with the undertaking and not minimized plans simply to meet temporary conditions and pressure.

Senator VARDAMAN. Does your bill embody substantially the provisions with reference to the Sacramento and the Mississippi Rivers of the flood-control bill that we are now considering?

Senator NEWLANDS. Absolutely; only it includes the storage of water for irrigation, the development of water power, intensive cultivation

Senator VARDAMAN (interrupting). You provide that in another place; but if your bill provides the relief that the bill we are now considering does with reference to these two projects, and the work is to be done substantially as provided for in these two bills-you have been fighting for this for 10 years, and there is a great deal

of merit in your ideas are you willing to imperil the interests of the people living along these two rivers in order to force Congress to take this great comprehensive plan of yours? Why not let this bill go through, and then fight for the larger, and allow immediate relief for these people?

Senator NEWLANDS. There are other sections of the country that are suffering, not perhaps in the same degree as the lower Mississippi, but in high degree, and if you go along with a system of considering an individual project here and there we will reach no comprehensive results, and the proper way is to proceed on the lines I have indicated, which will provide only a moderate appropriation for organization, investigation, and plans.

Senator KENYON. What does your bill commit this Congress to; or does it commit Congress to the expenditure of any considerable sum?

Senator NEWLANDS. No, sir.

Senator KENYON. Dependent on the report of this committee? Senator NEWLANDS. It does not commit Congress to any further expenditure.

Senator KENYON. It takes care of these two projects?

Senator NEWLANDS. Yes. I want to state to you that in the bill which I am urging I am willing that the appropriations for projects in that bill shall be entirely eliminated and that you shall substitute these two provisions regarding the Sacramento and Mississippi Rivers.

Senator HARDING. Suppose the committee recommends these two bills and starts them under way and at this same session adopts your bill creating this commission?

Senator NEWLANDS. You would have to pass it in the House. There is such a difference of views that, unless you unionize these two bills in one bill as a substitute for the House bill, you can not get anything.

Senator KENYON. I don't see why the Mississippi people object to his plan.

It

Senator VARDAMAN. As a matter of fact, I can understand if we are to put this on the House bill, it won't pass the House. will not pass the House. They have never been able to make any progress in the House. This bill has passed the House. It gives the relief that Senator Newlands's bill proposes. Then, in the name of God and truth and justice, why should these people be held up in order that it might be put upon another bill the passage of which is very doubtful in the House?

Senator NEWLANDS. You can test it very quickly in conference committee as to whether the bill is going to pass the House. I believe it will pass the House; Senator Vardaman believes it won't. I believe that unless you place every watershed in this country in the line of relief it won't pass the Senate. I am perfectly willing that the entire appropriation shall be stricken out and the appropriations for the Sacramento and Mississippi Rivers substituted, and provide for a reasonable sum anywhere from a million dollars upward for the general work of organization and investigation.

Senator VARDAMAN. This bill that we propose here provides for investigation along the lines that you have proposed.