this is very significant-expended $6,341,000 for new work and maintenance on the Duwamish east and west waterways-that is down near the mouth. The costs to the United States up to June 30, 1948, were $170,000 for new work, $413,000 for maintenance, a total of $583,000. In other words, we have already put in over $6,000,000 and the Federal Government has put in a half million up to last year, 1948. In addition, $69,000 was expended from contributed funds for new work. No Federal project for flood control on the Green or Duwamish Rivers has been authorized. Local interests have constructed further dikes, have organized and operated two drainage districts. Figures are not available on that. The two drainage districts have constructed, however, ditches and pumping plant at a cost of $53,000. Pile and timber shear walls for bank protection have been constructed. Approximately, as the colonel pointed out, 11.4 miles of private dikes at an estimated cost of $90,000. In other words, we have put in already over $7,000,000 as compared to a half million dollars of the Federal Government up to June 30, 1948. Senator SPARKMAN. This was not included in the consideration of the House bill, as I understand it. Senator MAGNUSON. NO. Senator SPARKMAN. It was not presented to the House committee at all. Senator MAGNUSON. No. We had no chance because of the difficulty in arriving at the formula for local cooperation. Senator SPARKMAN. Thank you very much. The next project is the Columbia River Basin. Both Senator Miller and Senator Taylor are here. Senator Magnuson is also interested. Senator MAGNUSON. Mr. Chairman, I hate to interrupt here but the Bureau of Reclamation is represented here today and I understand that if they were called upon to testify they would concur in a general way with what has been said regarding the advisability of this project. Senator SPARKMAN. That is the Green-Duwamish? Senator MAGNUSON. Yes, sir. Senator SPARKMAN. I have a statement by Congressman Hugh B. Mitchell that will be included in the record at this point. STATEMENT BY CONGRESSMAN HUGH B. MITCHELL Chairman Chavez and members of the committee, I wish to submit testimony in approval of the Corps of Army Engineers' report, covering the preliminary examination for flood control of the Green and Duwamish Rivers of King County, Wash., and in suport of the various bills introduced for the purpose of implementing the engineers' report in order to bring to an end the devastating floods of these rivers. These rivers have annually flooded, inundating large sections of an extensive and fertile valley vitally needed for agricultural and industrial use. Through the past several years many attempts have been made to control these floods. These attempts have been through local action and have resulted in only the most limited relief. It is, therefore, my opinion that congressional action is now essential in order to activate the program proposed by the Corps of Engineers. In order that the committee might more fully understand the problem, I will explain that the Green River rises in the Cascade Mountains at an elevation of approximately 5,000 feet, and it flows north and west about 60 miles to its junction with the Black River. Below this junction it is known as the Duwamish River and flows another 12 miles to empty into Puget Sound at Seattle. The flood plain starts just above Auburn (a city with a population of 6,000) and comprises a fertile valley 2 or 3 miles wide. Exclusive of Seattle, the basin has an area of 474 square miles and a population of 32,000 people. The plain which is subject to flooding is, in part, a rich farm area and in part an industrial district through which three continental railroads operate. The lower Duwamish flows through one of the few areas where the industry of Seattle may logically expand. The flood history of this river is a matter of record. In order to provide the committee with some evidence, however, I would like to bring to the attention of the committee the fact that the 1933 flood inundated 13,800 acres of land in this plain, and the 1946 flood inundated 12,000 acres of the same area. The tangible damages from these two floods alone are estimated to have reached $3,100,000. The indefinable damages resulting from displacement, accident, illness, and mental anguish should be given the gravest consideration by the committee. The Chief of Engineers and the Board of Engineers have recommended the construction of a dam at Eagle Gorge, on the upper Green River. The estimated cost of this dam is $18,300,000. The Washington State Legislature has appropriated $1,500,000 as its contribution, and King County will make available $500,000 as proof of local interest in the project. The necessity for immediate action by this committee on this project is especially evident because: (1) The Green River project can be started almost immediately with the $2,000,000 in State and local matching funds already mentioned. However, unless used in tehucrrent biennium, the State funds will revert to a special fund, and it will be necessary to reappropriate them through action by the next legislature. (2) The State matching money was voted contingent upon the approval and appropriation by Congress of funds to carry forward construction of the project. While the project would not be revenue producing, it is estimated by the Army engineers that $893,000 in annual benefits would accrue, mainly from the abatement of floods, pollution control, and benefits to fish life. This figures does not include the added land value which will logically accrue when industry is permitted to extend into the area. I recognize that it is unnecessary to recite the great values of flood-control projects such as this one, for I realize that the committee is cognizant of them. However, I do wish to say that the State of Washington is located in the most rapidly growing section of our Nation-the Pacific Northwest. It is, therefore, all the more imperative that vast sections of farm and industrial lands be saved from annual inundation by floodwaters. Mr. Chairman, the Bureau of the Budget feels that a more detailed study of hydroelectric power potentialities should have been included in the report of the Army engineers. This may well be the case. However, it is recognized that authorization of the project by this committee will not preclude such a study. The Corps of Army Engineers has promised to make more detailed analysis in this regard prior to actual construction. If it is determined that a dam at this site should include facilities for the generation of power, it would then be possible to ask and obtain an additional authorization from this committee for these facilities. This procedure is not novel. The Bureau of the Budget also disagreed with the corps' computation of benefits based on a standard project flood. The solution to this problem can only be reached through a more detailed study of the hydrology of the area. This study would necessarily be completed prior to the actual construction of the dam. May I urge the committee to approve the Army engineers' report on this project and authorize the appropriation of the necessary funds to provide for the immediate beginning of work on the project. COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN Senator SPARKMAN. With reference to the Columbia River Basin, we have had considerable testimony already from both the Army engineers and from the Bureau of Reclamation. I understand they are both here today and prepared to testify further if there should be any desire for it. Bills S. 1595 and S. 2180 will be inserted at this point. [S. 1595, 81st Cong., 1st sess.] A BILL Approving plans for the development of the Columbia River Basin, 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 general comprehensive plans for the coordinated development of the Columbia River Basin set forth in the report of the Chief of Engineers dated April 1949, and in the report of the Bureau of Reclamation dated June 1948, all in accord with the agreement approved by the Secretary of the Army and the Secretary of the Interior on April 11, 1949, are hereby approved and the initial stages recommended are hereby authorized and shall be prosecuted by the Corps of Engineers and the Department of the Interior as speedily as may be consistent with budgetary requirements. 2. (a) In addition to previous authorizations for improvements in the Columbia River Basin, there is hereby authorized to be appropriated for the partial accomplishment of the plans the sum of $500,000,000 for works to be undertaken by the Corps of Engineers and the sum of $500,000,000 for works to be undertaken by the Department of the Interior. [S. 2180, 81st Cong., 1st sess.] A BILL Authorizing certain works for the improvement of navigation, the eontrol of floods, and the conservation and utilization of the waters of the Columbia River and its tributaries, 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 the purposes of improving navigation, controlling floods, and conserving and utilizing the waters of the Columbia River and its tributaries for the irrigation of arid and semiarid lands and the generation of hydroelectric power, and for incidental purposes, the plan for the Columbina River Basin reflected in the report of May 2, 1949, by the Commissioner of Reclamation and in the report of June 28, 1949, by the Chief of Engineers entitled "Columbia River and Tributaries, Northwestern United States", all as coordinated by agreement of April 11, 1949, entered into by the Commissioner of Reclamation and the Secretary of the Interior, on the one hand, and the Chief of Engineers and the Secretary of the Army, on the other, is hereby approved and the initial stages therein recommended are hereby authorized to be prosecuted respectively by the Bureau of Reclamation under the supervision and direction of the Secretary of the Interior and by the Chief of Engineers under the supervision and direction of the Secretary of the Army in accordance with the statement of the responsibilities of said agencies denominated exhibit F and attached to the Digest Agreement on Principles and Responsibilities, Columbia River Basin, enclosed with the letter of April 11, 1949, addressed to the President by the Commissioner of Reclamation, the Secretary of the Interior, the Chief of Engineers, and the Secretary of the Army. SEC. 2. The recommendations in the report dated May 2, 1949, addressed by the Commissioner of Reclamation to the Secretary of the Interior and the recommendations contained in the report of June 28, 1949, by the Chief of Engineers entitled "Columbia River and Tributaries, Northwestern United States", are hereby adopted and given the force and effect of law as if herein fully set forth In prosecuting the work hereby authorized, the Commissioner of Reclamation and the Secretary of the Interior, the Chief of Engineers and the Secretary of the Army shall be governed thereby and by the said agreement of April 11, 1949. Except as is otherwise specified in said reports, the Bureau of Reclamation and the Secretary of the Interior shall be governed by the Federal reclamation laws (Act of June 17, 1902, 32 Stat. 388, and Acts amendatory thereof or supplementary thereto), to which laws this Act shall be deemed a supplement. Except as is otherwise specified in said reports, the Chief of Engineers and the Secretary of the Army shall be governed by the laws affecting the prosecution of works for the improvement of navigation and the control of floods. SEC. 3. The initial stages hereby authorized for construction by the Bureau of Reclamation and the Chief of Engineers, respectively, are: FOR THE BUREAU OF RECLAMATION Mountain Home project, Idaho; Mann Creek project, Idaho; Hell's Canyon project, Idaho-Oregon; Bitterroot Valley project (including the Woodside Unit thereof), Montana; Crooked River project, Oregon; Bully Creek extension of the Vale project, Oregon; Canby project, Oregon; West Unit of the Dalles project, Oregon; Upper Star Valley project, Wyoming; and Modifications of Grand Coulee Dam, Washington, in the interest of flood control. FOR THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS Hills Creek Dam, Middle Fork, Willamette River, Oregon. Fall Creek Dam, Fall Creek, Middle Fork of the Willamette, Oregon. Dexter Dam, Middle Fork, Willamette River, Oregon. Waldo Lake tunnel and regulating works, North Fork, Middle Fork, Willamette River Basin, Oregon. Albeni Falls Dam, Pend Oreille River, Idaho. Libby Dam, Kootenai River, Montana. Cougar Dam, South Fork, McKenzie, Oregon. Blue River Dam, Blue River, McKenzie River Basin, Oregon. Gate Creek Dam, Gate Creek, McKenzie River Basin, Oregon. Green Peter Dam, Middle Santiam River, Oregon. Cascadia Dam, South Santiam River, Oregon. Wiley Creek Dam, Wiley Creek, South Santiam River Basin, Oregon. Willamette Falls fish ladder, Willamette River, Oregon. Holley Dam, Calapooya River, Oregon. John Day Dam, Columbia River, Washington and Oregon. The Dalles Dam, Columbia River, Washington and Oregon. Lewisville Dam, Little Luckiamute River, Oregon. Tumtum Dam, Tumtum River, Marys River Basin, Oregon. Snake River navigation channel, Snake River, Idaho and Washington. Lower Columbia River levees and bank protection works, Columbia River, Washington and Oregon (modification of levees at twenty-five locations, seven new levees, and bank protection at sixty-six locations). Harbors at twenty-one locations, Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. Minor Willamette Basin extensions (supplemental levees, overflow channel closures, channel improvements, bank-protection works, channel clearing and snagging, and hydrologic reporting network), Oregon. - Minor Columbia Basin works (navigation improvements, lower levees, and local flood-control works), except the fishery plan, which is the responsibility of the Fish and Wildlife Service. Previously recommended improvements, all as outlined and recommended in reports of the Chief of Engineers (Jackson Hole, Wyoming; Heppner Dam and downstream improvements, Oregon; Pendleton, Oregon). Umatilla Harbor, Oregon; Columbia Slough Channel, Oregon; Westport Slough channel enlargement, Oregon; Baker Bay channel and mooring basin, Ilwaco, Washington. An engineering laboratory. Meridian Dam, Middle Fork, Willamette River (modification for power), Oregon. Fern Ridge Dam, Long Tom River (modification), Oregon. SEC. 4. There are hereby authorized to be appropriated out of any moneys in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for the partial accomplishment of the plans (a) to the Bureau of Reclamation, Department of the Interior, $500,000,000; and (b) to the Chief of Engineers, Department of the Army, $500,000,000. Furthermore, we have statements here from the Corps of Engineers a statement which I will offer for the record at this point. 94522-49-pt. 1-30 (The above-described statement is as follows:) STATEMENT ON COMPREHENSIVE PLAN OF IMPROVEMENT FOR COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN I. INTRODUCTION 1. The potentialities of the Columbia River and its tributaries are so vast, and the physical circumstances for their regulation are so favorable that it is possible to develop economically feasible programs not only to meet fully the needs of this generation, but also to allow an ample margin for many years to come. A complete resurvey of the water resources of the Columbia River Basin has been made by the Corps of Engineers, Department of the Army, bringing up to date the previous comprehensive study of 1932. This resurvey reveals major economic changes and population growth since that time and prospects of accentuated progress in the future. The river developments based upon that earlier plan and upon subsequent detailed studies of lesser scope have benefited and assisted development of the region in many respects. However, the tremendous water resources of the Columbia River still remain little used, and their natural fluctuations are still relatively uncontrolled. 2. With the changed conditions, floods on the Columbia River and its tributaries now cause appalling damages and flood control has become a matter of necessity. The present and potential unsatisfied demand for hydroelectric power has become a critical factor in the thriving economy of the Pacific Northwest and further development of generating facilities is essential to provide for the needs of the region. Almost from earliest times, the developments of inland waterway navigation and of irrigation have been key objectives of regional development, and their continued extension and improvement is essential in a multiple-purpose program for the promotion of further regional development. Continued development of water resources also requires that attention be given to the preservation and rehabilitation of the fisheries resource, which in the past has been largely neglected. II. PLAN OF IMPROVEMENT 3. The Chief of Engineers proposes in his report of June 28, 1949, a carefully integrated, comprehensive plan of development, consisting of a system of dams and reservoirs, hydroelectric generating facilities, transmission lines, irrigation works, levees, fish facilities, and other works. This plan embodies the recent and authoritative engineering plans of other Federal agencies so far as are known, and their assistance, as well as that of State agencies, has been fully utilized in its preparation. Likewise, the implementation of the plan will require the participation of these agencies, each in its appropriate role. According to the report the elements of the comprehensive plan for which the Corps of Engineers would be responsible are as follows: (a) Main control plan consisting of multiple-purpose reservoirs and lower Columbia River levees, which will meet the principal basin needs for power, Columbia and Kootenai River flood control, and inland navigation is as follows: |