R.V.a. song 56 Barrett, Senator Frank A.. Bennett, Senator Wallace F. Brandborg, Stewart M., assistant director, National Wildlife Federa- Brown, Carl, Director of the Planning Division, Soil Conservation Burrus, Herschel, executive director, State Soil Conservation Board of Cook, Howard L., Chief of Special Projects Branch, Corps of Engi- neers. Fudge, David, executive director, Oklahoma Municipal League_- Johnson, Hon. Lester R., Member of Congress- McCarthy, Dan., Chief, Programs and Coordination Branch, Bureau McDonald, Angus, National Farmers Union- Page, Carter, Chief of Planning Division, Office, Chief of Engineers. Parish, W. D., Hidalgo and Cameron Counties Water Control and Peterson, Hon. E. L., Assistant Secretary of Agriculture... Rittenoure, Lawrence, National Association of Soil Conservation Stevens, Theodore, acting legislative counsel, Department of the Triggs, Matt, assistant legislative director, American Farm Bureau 62, 101 Beckett, I. P., president, Yampa Soil Conservation District... Bodine, Leo V., executive vice president, National Lumber Manu- Boswell, D. B., presid nt, Western Slope Conservation District_ Casselman, L. B., National Association of Soil Conservation Districts_ Coleman, Harry S., president, Upper White River Soil Conservation Jones, Roger W., Assistant Director for Legislative Reference, Bureau Miles, Clarence R., Chamber of Commerce of the United States.. Svedman, Clarence, president, Colorado Association of Soil Conser- Weaver, George E., president, Fort Collins Soil Conservation District_ Young, Gladwin, Acting Administrator, Soil Conservation Service___ III AMENDING THE WATERSHED PROTECTION AND FLOOD PREVENTION ACT TUESDAY, JULY 3, 1956 UNITED STATES SENATE, COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC WORKS, SUBCOMMITTEE ON FLOOD CONTROL, RIVERS AND HARBORS, Washington, D. C. The subcommittee met in room 412, Senate Office Building, at 10: 15 a. m., Senator Robert S. Kerr (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. Present: Senators Kerr, Case, and Hruska. Senator KERR. We will now go to H. R. 8750. I want to place in this record at this point copy of Public Law 566 along with a copy of H. R. 8750. (Public Law 566 and H. R. 8750 are as follows:) Public Law 566-83d Congress Chapter 656-2d Session H. R. 6788 AN ACT To authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to cooperate with States and local agencies in the planning and carrying out of work of improvement for soil conservation, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That erosion, floodwater, and sediment damages in the watersheds of the rivers and streams of the United States, causing loss of life and damage to property, constitute a menace to the national welfare; and that it is the sense of Congress that the Federal Government should cooperate with States and their political subdivisions, soil or water conservation districts, flood prevention or control districts, and other local public agencies for the purpose of preventing such damages and of furthering the conservation, development, utilization, and disposal of water and thereby of preserving and protecting the Nation's land and water resources. SEC. 2. For the purposes of this Act, the following terms shall mean: The "Secretary"-the Secretary of Agriculture of the United States. "Works of improvement"-any undertaking for or (1) flood prevention (including structural and land-treatment measures) (2) agricultural phases of the conservation, development, utilization, and disposal of water in watershed or subwatershed areas not exceeding two hundred and fifty thousand acres and not including any single structure which provides more than five thousand acre-feet of total capacity. No appropriation shall be made for any plan for works of improvement which includes any structure which provides more than twenty-five hundred acre-feet of total capacity unless such plan has been approved by resolutions adopted by the Committee on Agriculture and Forestry of the Senate and the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives, respectively. A number of such subwatersheds when they are component parts of a larger watershed may be planned together when the local sponsoring organizations so desire. 1 "Local organization”—any State, political subdivision thereof, soil or water conservation district, flood prevention or control district, or combinations thereof, or any other agency having authority under State law to carry out, maintain and operate the works of improvement. SEC. 3. In order to assist local organizations in preparing and carrying out plans for works of improvement, the Secretary is authorized, upon application of local organizations if such application has been submitted to, and not disapproved within 45 days by, the State agency having supervisory responsibility over programs provided for in this Act, or by the Governor if there is no State agency having such responsibility— (1) to conduct such investigations and surveys as may be necessary to prepare plans for works of improvement; (2) to make such studies as may be necessary for determining the physical and economic soundness of plans for works of improvement, including a determination as to whether benefits exceed costs; (3) to cooperate and enter into agreements with and to furnish financial and other assistance to local organizations: Provided, That, for the landtreatment measures, the Federal assistance shall not exceed the rate of assistance for similar practices under existing national programs; (4) to obtain the cooperation and assistance of other Federal agencies in carrying out the purposes of this section. SEC. 4. The Secretary shall require as a condition to providing Federal assistance for the installation of works of improvement that local organizations shall (1) acquire without cost to the Federal Government such land, easements, or rights-of-way as will be needed in connection with works of improvement installed with Federal assistance; (2) assume such proportionate share of the cost of installing any works of improvement involving Federal assistance as may be determined by the Secretary to be equitable in consideration of anticipated benefits from such improvements: Provided, That no part of the construction cost for providing any capacity in structures for purposes other than flood prevention and features related thereto shall be borne by the Federal Government under the provisions of this Act; (3) make arrangements satisfactory to the Secretary for defraying costs of operating and maintaining such works of improvement, in accordance with regulations presented by the Secretary of Agriculture; (4) acquire, or provide assurance that landowners have acquired, such water rights, pursuant to State law, as may be needed in the installation and operation of the work of improvement; and (5) obtain agreements to carry out recommended soil conservation measures and proper farm plans from owners of not less than 50 per centum of the lands situated in the drainage area above each retention reservoir to be installed with Federal assistance. SEC. 5. At such time as the Secretary and the interested local organization have agreed on a plan for works of improvement, and the Secretary has determined that the benefits exceed the costs, and the local organization has met the requirements for participation in carrying out the works of improvement as set forth in section 4, the Secretary is authorized to assist such local organizations in developing specifications, in preparing contracts for construction, and to participate in the installation of such works of improvement in accordance with the plan: Provided, That, except as to the installation of works of improvement on Federal lands, the Secretary shall not construct or enter into any contract for the construction of any structure unless there is no local organization authorized by State law to undertake such construction or to enter into such contract, and in no event after July 1, 1956: Provided, That in participating in the installation of such works of improvement the Secretary, as far as practicable and consistent with his responsibilities for administering the overall national agricultural program, shall utilize the authority conferred upon him by the provisions of this Act: Provided further, That, at least forty-five days (counting only days occurring during any regular or special sessions of the Congress) before such installation involving Federal assistance is commenced, the Secretary shall transmitt a copy of the plan and the justification therefor to the Congress through the President: Provided further, That any such plan (a) which includes reclamantion or irrigation works or which affects public or other lands under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior, or (b) which includes Federal assistance for floodwater detention structures, shall be submitted to the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of the Army, respectively, for his views and recommendations at least sixty days prior to transmission of the plan to the Congress through the President. The views and recommendations of the Secretary of the Interior, and the Secretary of the Army, if received by the Secretary of Agriculture prior to the expiration of the above sixty-day period, shall accompany the plan transmitted by the Secretary of Agriculture to the Congress through the President: Provided further, That, prior to any Federal participation in the works of improvement under this Act, the President shall issue such rules and regulations as he deems necessary or desirable to carry out the purposes of this Act, and to assure the coordination of the work authorized under this Act and related work of other agencies including the Department of the Interior and the Department of the Army. SEC. 6. The Secretary is authorized in cooperation with other Federal and with States and local agencies to make investigations and surveys of the watersheds of rivers and other waterways as a basis for the development of coodinated programs. In areas where the programs of the Secretary of Agriculture may affect public or other lands under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of the Interior is authorized to cooperate with the Secretary of Agriculture in the planning and development of works or programs for such lands. SEC. 7. The provisions of the Act of June 22, 1936 (49 Stat. 1570), as amended and supplemented, conferring authority upon the Department of Agriculture under the direction of the Secretary of Agriculture to make preliminary examinations and surveys and to prosecute works of improvement for runoff and waterflow retardation and soil erosion prevention on the watersheds of rivers and other waterways are hereby repealed: Provided, That (a) the authority of the Department of Agriculture, under the direction of the Secretary, to prosecute the works of improvement for runoff and waterflow retardation and soil erosion prevention authorized to be carried out by the Department by the Act of December 22, 1944 (58 Stat. 887), as amended, and (b) the authority of the Secretary of Agriculture to undertake emergency measures for runoff retardation and soil erosion prevention authorized to be carried out by section 7 of the Act of June 28, 1938 (52 Stat. 1215), as amended by section 216 of the Act of May 17, 1950 (64 Stat. 163), shall not be affected by the provisions of this section. SEC. 8. There are hereby authorized to be appropirated such sums as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act, such sums to remain available until expended. SEC. 9. This Act may be cited as the "Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act." Approved August 4, 1954. [H. R. 8750, 84th Cong., 2d sess.] AN ACT To amend the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act (Act of August 4, 1954, 68 Stat. 666) is amended as follows: (a) Strike out the third sentence of section 2 and amend the second sentence of said section to read: "Works of improvement'—any undertaking for— "(1) flood prevention (including structural and land treatment measures); or "(2) the conservation, development, utilization, and disposal of water in watershed or subwatershed areas not exceeding two hundred and fifty thousand acres and not including any single structure which provides more than five thousand acre-feet of total capacity except structures proposed to be constructed by a local organization as an integral part of a watershed plan in which any capacity in excess of five thousand acre-feet is for purposes other than flood prevention and the construction cost of such excess capacity is to be borne entirely by the local organization." (b) Section 4 of the Act is amended by striking out of the proviso in paragraph (2) the words "That no part of the construction cost for providing any capacity in structures for purposes other than flood prevention and features related thereto shall be borne by the Federal Government under the provisions of this Act;" and inserting "That the Secretary shall not require local organizations to assume any part of the construction cost of structural measures applicable to flood prevention;" |