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. [S. 5736. SIXTY-FOURTH CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION.] 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. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the sum of $60,000,000, to be apportioned as hereinafter provided, is hereby reserved, set aside, appropriated, and made available until expended, out of any moneys not otherwise appropriated, as a special fund in the Treasury, to be known as the "riverregulation fund," to be used to promote interstate commerce by the development and improvement of the rivers and waterways of the United States and their connections with the Great Lakes and with each other, and by the coordination of and cooperation between rail and water routes and transportation, and the establishment and maintenance of adequate terminal and transfer facilities and systems, and their maintenance, improvement, and protection, and by the making of examinations and surveys and by the construction of engineering and other works and projects for the regulation and control of the flow of rivers and their tributaries and source streams, and the standardization of such flow, and by the maintenance of navigable stages of water at all seasons of the year in the waterways of the United States, and by preventing silt and sedimentary material from being carried into and deposited in waterways, channels, and harbors, and by the conservation, development, and utilization of the water resources of the United States, and by flood prevention and protection, through the establishment, construction, and maintenance of natural and artificial reservoirs and detention basins for water storage and control, and levees, revetments and other bank-protective works, spillways, wasteweirs, wasteways, by-passes, controlled outlets, and floodcontrol works of every nature and kind, and the protection of watersheds from denudation, erosion, and surface wash, and from forest fires, and the maintenance and extension of woodland and other protective cover thereon, and the reclamation of swamp and overflow lands and arid lands, and the building of drainage and irrigation works in order that the flow of rivers shall be regulated and controlled not only through the use of flood waters for irrigation on the upper tributaries, but also through controlling them in fixed and established channels in the lower valleys and plains and by doing all things necessary to provide for any and all beneficial uses of water that will contribute to its conservation or storage in the ground or in surface reservoirs as an aid to the regulation or control of the flow of rivers, and by acquiring, by purchase, condemnation, or otherwise, holding, using, leasing, hiring, and transferring by appropriate deed lands and any other property that may be needed for the aforesaid purposes, or which it may be deemed advisable to dispose of, and by doing such other things as may be specified in this act or necessary to the accomplishment of the purposes thereof, and by securing the cooperation therein of States, municipalities, and other local agencies, as hereinafter set forth, and for the payment of all expenditures provided for in this act. The aforesaid sum of $60,000,000, appropriated as hereinbefore provided, shall be apportioned for expenditure under this act as follows: (a) $25,000,000 to the Illinois River and its watershed and to the Mississippi River from the mouth of the Illinois to the Head of the Passes, including the Atchafalaya River as one of the mouths of the Mississippi River, to be expended for the improvement of the Illinois River and for continuing the improvement of the Mississippi River from the Head of the Passes to the mouth of the Illinois River, for the control of floods thereon, and the establishment of a waterway from the Lakes to the Gulf; (b) $5,000,000 to the watersheds of the Ohio River and its tributaries, for the control of floods thereon, and the NATIONAL WATERWAYS COUNCIL. SEC. 2. That a National Waterways Council, hereinafter called the council, is hereby created, consisting of the President of the United States as chairman, the Secretary of War, the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Commerce, and the chairman of the Water Control Board, to be appointed as hereinafter provided. The council shall have authority to direct and control all proceedings and operations and all things done or to be done under this act, and to establish all rules and regulations which may, in their judgment, be necessary to carry into effect such direction and control consistent with the provisions of this act and with existing law and with any provisions which Congress may from time to time enact. All plans and estimates prepared by the Water Control Board, as hereinafter provided, which contemplate or provide for expenditures from the river regulation fund shall be submitted to the council for final approval before any of the expenditures therein provided for or contemplated are authorized or made or any construction work undertaken or contract let under or in pursuance of such plans: Provided, That in case of an emergency the chairman of the Water Control Board shall have full power to act, and shall report in detail his action in every case.to the council at its next meeting after his atcion. WATER CONTROL BOARD. SEC. 3. That to assist in carrying out the purposes aforesaid the council may utilize the various agencies of the Government, and there is hereby created a water control board, hereinafter called the board, which shall consist of a chairman, to be appointed by the council, and four assistant secretaries, to be appointed as hereinafter provided, and such additional members as the council may from time to time appoint. The chairman of the board shall receive a salary of $12,000 per annum, each assistant secretary aforesaid shall receive a salary of $10,000 per annum, and said additional members of the board such salaries as the council may from time to time fix. Subject to the direction and control of the council as to general policy and procedure, it shall be the duty of the board to ascertain in detail the work in progress and obtain plans, recommendations, and estimates of the work contemplated in the general field of water conservation, control, and utilization by the various agencies of the Government, States, counties, municipalities, districts. communities, corporations, associations, and individuals, and on the basis of such information and the results obtained by its own surveys and investigations to prepare for the consideration of the council a general and comprehensive program of water and waterways conservation, regulation, development, and utilization, extending through a number of years, with comprehensive general plans for each watershed, treating the entire watershed of each river as a unit, and with specific projects, plans, estimates, and recommendations, involv ing independent work by the United States and the combining of resources and energies of the various public and private agencies aforesaid; to coordinate and bring into conference the various agencies of the Government; and to examine, compare, adjust, allot, assign, and supervise their work, to the end that duplication may be avoided and the highest efficiency obtained; by agreement to assign to the various cooperating agencies the work to be done by them within their respective spheres; to accept, on behalf of the United States, from such agencies contributions of money and property of any kind to be used for carrying out the purposes authorized by this act; to make field inspection of all work done or contemplated under this act by the Government and its cooperating agencies; and to employ such engineers, transportation experts, experts in water development, constructors, and other employees, and to construct such buildings and works as may be necessary for those purposes. The board is hereby authorized to expend from the sums herein provided such amounts as may be necessary for services of employees in the city of Washington, District of Columbia, and elsewhere; to pay therefrom such sums as may be necessary for office accommodations in the city of Washington, District of Columbia, and elsewhere, and to purchase such law books, books of reference, periodicals, engineering, statistical, and professional publications as may be needed. Contributions received under this section shall be used by the board, under the direction of the council, for carrying out the purposes of this act, and money so received shall be paid into the river regulation fund herein created. Subject to the approval of the council, the board is authorized to enter into such contracts or carry on by hired labor or otherwise such work as may be necessary for carrying out the purposes of this act, within the limits of appropriations made or authorized by this act or appropriations or contributions which shall be hereafter made or authorized from time to time, or as may be necessary for executing projects under this act within the respective limits of cost thereof approved by the Congress, the funds for which shall have been provided by the Secretary of the Treasury in accordance with the authority conferred by this act. Subject to the approval of the council the board may also employ the various agencies of the Government in carrying out such purposes or executing such projects. COOPERATION WITH STATES AND OTHER AGENCIES, SEC. 4. That the board shall, in all cases where possible and practicable, encourage, promote, and endeavor to secure the cooperation of States, municipalities, public and quasi public corporations, towns, counties, districts, communities, persons, and associations in the carrying out of the purposes and objects of this act, and in making the investigations and doing all coordinative and constructive work provided for herein; and it shall in each case endeavor to secure the financial cooperation of States and of such local authorities, agencies, and organizations to such extent and in such amounts as the council shall determine to be a just and equitable apportionment of work, costs, and benefits under all the circumstances in each case; and it shall negotiate and perfect arrangements and plans for the apportionment of work, cost, and benefits, according to the jurisdiction, powers, rights, and benefits of each, respectively, and with a view to assigning to the United States such portion of such development, promotion, regulation, and control as can be properly undertaken by the United States by virtue of its power to regulate interstate and foreign commerce and promote the general welfare, and by reason of its proprietary interest in the public domain, and to the States, municipalities, communities, corporations, and individuals such portion as properly belongs to their jurisdiction, rights, and interests, and with a view to properly apportioning costs and benefits, and with a view to so uniting the plans and works of the United States within its jurisdiction, and of the States and municipalities, respectively, within their jurisdictions, and of corporations, communities, and individuals within their respective powers and rights, as to secure the highest development and utilization of the waterways and water resources of the United States. APPOINTMENT OF WATER-CONTROL BOARD. SEC. 5. That each head of a department named in this act is authorized to appoint, with the approval of the council, for service as a member of the board, a highly qualified representative, who shall be an assistant secretary in the department in which he is appointed; shall devote his time primarily to the work authorized by this act; shall have, subject to the direction of the head of the department, such general supervision and control as may be necessary for the purposes of this act of the agencies within the department engaged upon such work; shall serve during good service and behavior; and shall be removable by the head of the department only for good cause. RIVER-REGULATION FUND. SEC. 6. That no sums shall be paid out of the river-regulation fund except on Vouchers signed by the chairman of the board or by an official designated by him in writing, drawn on the Secretary of the Treasury. To provide for carrying out the projects formulated under this act, which involve expenditures in excess of the $60.000.000 herein appropriated to the river-regulation fund, the appropriation hereafter to the credit of said fund of such sums as may be necessary is hereby authorized. At any time that the Secretary of the Treasury shall determine it to be necessary or advisable, in order to provide all or any part of the appropriation made or authorized by this act or which may be hereafter made or authorized or to provide revenues to execute a project under this act, which shall have been approved by the Congress, he may issue and sell, or use as a means of borrowing money, bonds in the necessary amount, in accordance with the provisions of the act of August fifth, nineteen hundred and nine (Thirty-sixth Statutes at Large, pages eleven and one hundred and seventeen), the act of February fourth, nineteen hundred and ten (Thirty-sixth Statutes at Large, page one hundred and ninety-two), and the act of March second, nineteen hundred and eleven (Thirty-sixth Statutes at Large, page one thousand and thirteen). The sums appropriated or provided by the Secretary of the Treasury pursuant to this section shall be paid into the river-regulation fund and shall be available until expended and paid out as provided for in this act. All moneys received in connection with any operations under this act as well as from the sales of materials utilized and any condemned property, shall be covered into the "river-regulation fund" and be available for expenditure therefrom. It is the intent and purpose of this act to authorize and empower the council and the board and their officers, agents, and employees to do all necessary acts and things in addition to those specially authorized in this act to accomplish the purposes and objects hereof. (MR. NEWLANDS'S SUBSTITUTE FOR H. R. 14777, KNOWN AS THE HUMPHREYS-RANSDELL BILL, AND SENATE BILL 5736, KNOWN AS THE NEWLANDS-BROUSSARD BILL.) 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; 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 a commission to be known as the River Regulation Commission, consisting of the Secretary of War, the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Commerce, and three additional members to be appointed by the President of the United States from the active or retired list of the Engineer Corps of the Army, or other Government services, or from civil life, whose compensation shall be fixed by him, one of whom shall be designated by the President as chairman, is hereby created and authorized, under such rules and regulations as it may adopt, to bring into coordination and cooperation the various engineering, scientific, and constructive services, bureaus, boards, and commissions of the several governmental departments of the United States that relate to the study, development, or control of waterways and water resources and subjects related thereto, or to the development and regulation of interstate and foreign commerce, with a view to uniting such services in investigating, with respect to all watersheds in the United States, questions relating to the development, improvement, regulation, and control of navigation as a part of interstate and foreign commerce, including therein the related questions of irrigation, drainage, forestry, arid and swamp land reclamation, clarification of streams, regulation of flow, control of floods, utilization of water power, prevention of soil erosion and waste, storage and conservation of water for agricultural, industrial municipal, and domestic uses, cooperation of railways and waterways, and promotion of terminal and transfer facilities and sites, and for the purpose of securing the necessary data and formulating, for consideration and report to Congress, comprehensive plans for the development of the waterways and water resources of the United States for every useful purpose. 75439-17-2 In forming these plans consideration shall be given to projects which are to be undertaken either independently by the United States or by cooperation between the United States and the several States, municipalities, communities, corporations, and individuals within the jurisdiction, powers, and rights of each, respectively, and with a view to assigning to the United States such portion of such development, promotion, regulation, and control as can be properly undertaken by it, and to the States, municipalities, communities, corporations, and individuals such portion as properly belongs to their respective jurisdictions, rights, and interests, and with a view to properly apportioning costs and benefits, and with a view to so uniting and executing the plans and works of the United States within its jurisdiction and of the States and municipalities, respectively, within their jurisdictions, and of corporations, communities, and individuals within their respective powers and rights, and to secure the highest development and utilization of the waterways and resources of the United States. The River Regulation Commission is authorized to employ such engineers, transportation experts, experts in water development and utilization, and constructors of eminence as it may deem necessary to carry out the purposes of this section, and in order to defray the expenses made necessary by the provisions of this section there is hereby authorized to be appropriated such sums as Congress may hereafter determine, and the sum of $1,000,000 is hereby appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, available until expended, to be paid out upon warrants drawn on the Secretary of the Treasury by the chairman of said cominission. The commission shall have the power to rent offices and purchase books, maps, and office equipment and to employ such clerical, legal, engineering, artistic, and expert service as it may deem advisable. The Commission of Fine Arts shall be consulted regarding the artistic features of all structures, water fronts, and improvements contemplated by such commission. MISSISSIPPI RIVER. SEC. 2. That for controlling the floods of the Mississippi River and continu ing 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 River 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 the construction of levees, bank revetments, spillways, and such other improvements and enlargements as may be approved by the Mississippi River Commission, under the direction of the Secretary of War: Provided, That hereafter the Mississippi River Commission shall exercise the same jurisdiction over the Atchafalaya River that said commission now exercises over the Mississippi River under the law, 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 protected 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. |