[SENATE REPORT NO. 1339, SIXTY-SECOND CONGRESS, THIRD SESSION.] CREATION OF A BOARD OF RIVER REGULATION AND PROVISION OF MARCH 3, 1913.--Ordered to be printed. Mr. Newlands, from the Committee on Commerce, submitted the following report: By direction of the Senate Committee on Commerce, I hereby report Senate bill 122, with amendments, without recommendation. The purpose of the committee in reporting the bill to the Senate is to draw public attention to it as embracing a subject of needed legislation and with a view to obtaining such an expression of public opinion regarding it as to enable the committee at the next session of Congress to proceed with its serious consideration. The bill, with suggested amendments, is as follows: A BILL To create a Board of River Regulation and to provide a fund, for the regulation and control of the flow of navigable rivers in aid of interstate commerce, and as a means to that end to provide for flood prevention and protection and for the beneficial use of flood waters and for water storage and for the protection of watersheds from denudation and erosion and from forest fires and for the cooperation of Government services and bureaus with each other and with States, municipalities, and other local agencies. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the sum of fifty million dollars annually for each of the ten years following the first day of July, nineteen hundred and twelve, is hereby reserved, set aside, and 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 river regulation fund," to be used for the regulation of interstate commerce and in aid thereof for examinations and surveys and for the construction of engineering and other works and projects for the regulation and control of the flow of navigable rivers and their tributaries and source streams, and for the standardization of such flow, and for flood prevention and protection, by the establishment, construction, and maintenance of natural and artificial reservoirs for water storage and control, and by the protection of watersheds from denudation and erosion and from forest fires, and by the maintenance and extension of woodland and other protective cover thereon, and by the reclamation of swamp and overflow lands, and by the building of drainage and irrigation works, and by doing all things necessary to provide for any and all beneficial uses of water that will contribute to its consevation 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, holding, using, and transferring lands and any other property that may be needed for the aforesaid purposes, 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 purpose of this act being river regulation and the control of the volume of water forming the stage of the river from its sources, so as to standardize the 39 river flow, as contradistinguished from and supplemental to channel improvement as heretofore undertaken and provided for under the various acts commonly known as the river and harbor acts. CREATION AND MEMBERSHIP OF BOARD OF RIVER REGULATION, SEC. 2. That a board is hereby created, to be known as the "Board of River Regulation," consisting of the Chief of Engineers of the United States Army, the chairman of the Mississippi River Commission, the Director of the United States Geological Survey, the Forester of the Department of Agriculture, the Director of the Reclamation Service, the Chief of the Bureau of Plant Industry of the Department of Agriculture, the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, one civil engineer, one sanitary engineer, and one hydroelectric engineer. The last three shall be appointed by the President and hold office at his pleasure, and they shall each receive an annual compensation of seven thousand five hundred dollars, payable out of the appropriation hereinafter apportioned to the Smithsonian Institution. The members of said board, with the exception of the three members appointed by the President, shall serve as such only during their incumbency in their respective and official positions, and any vacancy on the board shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment. A chairman and a secretary of the board shall be elected annually by the board from its members. All formal action taken and all expenditures made or authorized by the board shall be reported to the President of the United States, and shall be by him transmitted to Congress annually, or at such more frequent times as may appear to him desirable, or at such times as Congress may require. COOPERATION WITH STATES, MUNICIPALITIES, AND OTHER AGENCIES. SEC. 3. 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 an extent at least equal in amount to the sum expended by the United States; 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 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 the 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. The board may receive and use any funds or property donated or subscribed to it or in any way provided for cooperative work, but no moneys shall be expended under any arrangement for cooperation until the funds to be provided by all parties to such arrangement shall have been made available for disbursement. ENCOURAGEMENT OF INDEPENDENT INITIATIVE AND CONSTRUCTION. SEC. 4. That all things done under this act shall be done with a view not only to constructive cooperation, as herein provided, but also with the definite and specific object of enlarging the field of accomplishment contemplated by the act through promoting and encouraging independent initiative and construction by States, municipalities, districts, and other local agencies and organizations, and creating object lessons and building models and making demonstrations that will have that effect and influence, and induce such supplemental and independent action and construction. CONFERENCE AND COOPERATION OF BUREAUS AND STATES. SEC. 5. That it shall be the duty of said board to coordinate and bring into conference and cooperation the various scientific and constructive bureaus of the United States with each other and with the representatives of States, municipalities, public and quasi-public corporations, towns, counties, districts, communities, and associations in the carrying out and accomplishment of all the provisions, purposes, and objects of this act. The board shall have authority to call upon and to bring into cooperation any other Federal department or bureau whose investigations or assistance may be found necessary to the carrying out of the provisions of this act, and the board is hereby authorized to defray the expenses of such investigations or assistance through a transfer of so much of its appropriation as may be necessary to the Federal department or bureau thus brought into cooperation. CORRELATION, COORDINATION, AND ADMINISTRATIVE ECONOMY. SEC. 6. That the board shall harmonize and unify and bring into correlation and coordination the investigations made, and information data, and facts collected and obtained by the various bureaus or offices of the Government relating to or connected with the matters and subjects referred to and the questions involved in this act, and to print, publish, and disseminate the same, and it shall exercise such general supervision as may be necessary to provide against duplication or unnecessary, inadequate, unrelated, or incomplete work in connection therewith, and shall make such recommendations to the President as it may deem advisable at any time for the accomplishment of that end or in the interest of harmonious cooperation, efficiency, and economy in carrying out the purposes of this act. The special function of the board at all times shall be to promote the adoption of the best and most approved methods and systems of investigation, administration, construction, and operation, in carrying out such specific improvements, works, and projects as are authorized by this act, or which may be from time to time authorized by Congress, if within the scope of the work of the said board as herein set forth; and it shall further be the special function of the board to effect the largest possible saving as the result of the unification, correlation, and coordination of the work of the various bureaus in the investigations and administrative and constructive work provided for in this act in accordance with existing law or with such provisions as Congress shall from time to time impose. REPORTS, PLANS, AND ESTIMATES BY THE BOARD. SEC. 7. That the functions of the board shall be to obtain full information through its members concerning all proposed expenditures provided for within the scope of this act. Each bureau chief member shall report to the board the work proposed by the bureau or organization which he represents, and shall present full plans and estimates covering such proposed construction or action. The findings and conclusions of the board and plans adopted by it for construction and action shall be binding upon the members thereof in so far as may be consistent with existing laws, REFERENCES TO AND INSTRUCTIONS FROM THE PRESIDENT. SEC. 8. That all matters involving apparent conflict with departmental authority, jurisdiction, or procedure, or as to which the board may desire suggestions or advice, shall be laid before the President, who may thereupon call into conference the Secretaries of the departments represented on said board, and thereafter suitable instructions shall be issued by him to heads of departments with a view to securing unity of action along the lines approved by the President. EXECUTION OF PLANS AND WORK BY THE SEVERAL BUREAUS. SEC. 9. That in the execution of all plans and duties intrusted or delegated to the several bureaus the respective chiefs thereof, acting under departmental regulations and procedure, shall execute the work according to the methods prescribed by law, the functions of the board being those of a consulting and advisory body with power to make recommendations to the President, and through the President to the heads of departments, with a view to effective coordination and cooperation as to all things proposed by this act, and to carry out such work as Congress shall from time to time prescribe or has prescribed in this act. COMPREHENSIVE PLANS FOR RIVER REGULATION. SEC. 10. That the board shall develop, formulate, prepare, consider, and determine upon comprehensive plans for the conservation, use, and development of the water and forest resources of the United States in such manner as will best regulate the flow of source streams and navigable rivers, and embracing, with that object, flood protection, drainage, and the reclamation of swamp and overflow lands; water storage in natural and artificial reservoids; the beneficial use of waters for irrigation and for all domestic, municipal, and industrial purposes; the maintenance and development of underground water supplies and the storage of waters in the ground and in irrigated lands and underground reservoirs; the enlargement of the areas and raising of the levels of the ground waters; the construction of flood-water canals, by-passes, and restraining dams; the control and regulation of drainage and the replenishment of streams by return seepage; the perpetuation of forests and maintenance of woodland cover as sources of stream flow; the prevention of denudation and erosion; the protection of river channels from eroded soil materials; the clarification of streams; the utilization of water power; the prevention of the pollution of streams and rivers; the sanitary disposal of sewage and purification of water supplies; the best distribution of forests, woodlands, and other growth, and of cultivated and irrigated areas in their relation to river flow; the protection of forested and woodland areas from destruction by fire or insects; the reforestation of denuded areas; the planting of forests and establishment of forest plantations; the preservation and planting of woodlands and any other growth and protective cover on watersheds; the increase and development of the porosity and absorbent qualities and storage capacity of the soil upon which rain or snow may fall; the making and furnishing of plans for floodwater storage and other works for irrigation and power for farms, towns, and villages; the acquisition, subdivision, and settlement in small, intensively cultivated farms of lands for water storage by irrigation; the building of the irrigation systems for such lands, including reservoirs, dams, canals, ditches, and all necessary works; the protection of farms, villages, towns, and munici palities from damage by freshets and overflow; and the impounding of flood waters in artificial lakes and storage reservoirs to prevent floods and overflows, erosion of river banks, and breaks in levees, and to regulate the flow of streams and reenforce such flow during drought and low-water periods, the ultimate object of all such work being to regulate and, so far as possible, standardize the flow of navigable rivers and source streams, and in the accomplishment of that object to induce and secure the cooperation of States, municipalities, districts, counties, towns, and other local agencies and organizations. SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION. SEC. 11. That it shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution to give special attention to the acquisition from foreign countries and from all sources of all obtainable knowledge concerning the problems involved in the work of the board and to diffuse and disseminate the same, and to establish and maintain a museum of conservation in which such knowledge shall be placed before the people, with object lessons illustrating the disastrous consequences that have resulted from the failure of such conservation and particu larly the failure to conserve the forest and water resources in other countries of the world, and to utilize the resources of the institution under his charge, which may be available for that purpose, to aid in the education of the public in the elements of knowledge which lead to the successful regulation of water and of the flow of rivers and the use of water in connection with agriculture and the intensive cultivation of land, and in connection with all other industries. BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY. SEC. 12. That it shall be the duty of the Chief of the Bureau of Plant Industry to collate and bring together for the information of the board the results of all investigations with reference to soil and the production of crops through the use of water as a fertilizer and stimulant to plant growth, and of the rela rela tion of water in excess or deficiency to successful crop production. He shall recommend for the consideration of the board such further investigations as may properly be conducted in connection with the purposes for which the board is created and which shall lead to the largest and most valuable results being obtained through the use of water in connection with successful plant growth and increased crop production, and the establishment of a national sytsem for the information of the people in the intensive cultivation of small tracts of land, with a view to increasing food production and thereby reducing the cost of living and encouraging suburban and rural settlement and homemaking, and the beneficial use of water in connection therewith. FOREST SERVICE. SEC. 13. That it shall be the duty of the Forester of the Department of Agriculture to present to the board all essential facts bearing upon the relation of forests to the various problems under consideration and the value and importance of forests and woodland and other growth upon the headwaters of streams and their proper control and extension and protection from fire, as regulators of stream flow; also such facts as may be essential to the proper enlargement of forested areas for the protection of watersheds and the maintenance of the flow of rivers during the low-water season, and the prevention of denudation and erosion, with consequent silting up of channels; and to prepare and present to the board comprehensive plans for the protection of the forests from fire and other destructive agencies. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. SEC. 14. That it shall be the duty of the Director of the Geological Survey to recommend to the board appropriate surveys and examinations, and upon proper approval cause to be executed topographic surveys of each drainage basin, these being planned with reference to the work contemplated by the board and the immediate demands and needs of the board. Such surveys shall include and show, in addition to the topography, the character of all lands embraced therein, and it shall be his duty to classify the same and designate the best use to which said lands may be devoted in carrying out the provisions of this act. The topographic maps shall be of such scale as will bring out the existence of feasible storage or reservoir sites, and he shall make such additional surveys of specific localities as may be required by the constructing engineers, and in such surveys he shall establish monuments based on geodetic horizontal and vertical control. And the surveys shall be of such nature as to provide adequate bases for geologic investigation and engineering works. He shall also cause measurements to be made of the flow of streams at such places as may be designated by the board as yielding results of largest importance in the discussion of the problems in hand and the execution of proposed engineering works, and shall carry on such studies in river pollution and purification, in water-power possibilities, and other stream investigations as the board may designate. It shall be his further duty to examine all forested lands or lands intended to be afforested or reforested which it is proposed to purchase under this act, and to report upon whether the control and use of such lands will influence the preservation of water supplies or stream flow or tend to regulate the flow of navigable rivers on whose watersheds they are located. RECLAMATION SERVICE. SEC. 15. That it shall be the duty of the Director of the Reclamation Service to bring before the board the results attained in the construction of works of irrigation and reclamation throughout the arid and semiarid regions of the United States and the application of the experience thus obtained to the conditions existing in the more humid sections of the United States. He shall extend the surveys and investigations and construction of irrigation works such as are authorized in the act of June seventeenth, nineteen hundred and two, known as the national irrigation act, throughout the United States and including reclamation of land by drainage as well as by irrigation: Provided, however, That no part of the fund created by the act of June seventeenth, nineteen hundred and two, shall be expended for this purpose. Such further investigations and construction and operations in States other than those covered by the original act above referred to shall be subject to the terms, provisions, |