Mr. CLASON. And so any information as to what the report contains with reference to those places will have to wait until further action by your superiors?

Colonel HALL. Yes, sir.

Mr. CLASON. The chairman suggested that prior to the Connecticut River local protection work all pumping plants had been constructed. at other cities and towns at the expense of those cities and towns.

The CHAIRMAN. And I might have said all flood protection work of every kind.

Mr. CLASON. It is true that all flood-protection work of all kinds, including pumping plants, were paid for by the local municipalities or other governing agencies prior to the act of 1938.

Colonel HALL. Except as regards the question of the Mississippi River and Sacramento River which were covered by separate statutes. The CHAIRMAN. We didn't have any law for any of them except the Mississippi River, the lower Mississippi River.

Colonel HALL. And the Sacramento River.

The CHAIRMAN. I would say the question of pumping was never brought up anywhere, within my recollection, until after 1936 when we passed the acts providing for national flood control. I don't recall any pumping anywhere in my State or in any city in the valley that was provided until after the act of 1936.

Mr. CLASON. Do you know of any other cities and towns which built pumping plants in connection with local protection work under P. W. A. projects except Springfield, Mass.?

Colonel HALL. I prefer to have the Department answer any general questions. I don't happen to recall any.

General ROBINS. I know of one case.

Mr. CLASON. Would you mind telling us what it is?

General ROBINS. It was a drainage case on the lower Columbia River out in Oregon. I know they got a P. W. A. loan and grant to build a pumping plant.

The CHAIRMAN. Just for the recond, I know one town after the other that has paid for such things long before P. W. A. or W. P. A. or X. Y. Z. was ever heard of.

Mr. CLASON. I was wondering if under the P. W. A. any other towns had built pumping plants.

Captain REBER. There are a few, Mr. Clason, but I don't recall them offhand.

General ROBINS. There are lots of districts called "drainage districts," where farmers band together for drainage purposes, and so forth, that have built pumping plants on P. W. A. money. Some of them are border-line cases. Some of them are down where the tide comes up and they have been incorporated into flood-control districts.

Mr. CLASON. What I was wondering was whether any of these pumping plants were in local flood-protection projects.

General ROBINS. Yes, sir. Some of them were and some were not at the time, but have since been put in local protection projects, particularly in tidal sections, estuary sections-in streams where we have now by law authority to go into projects for protection against tides where formerly we did not have.

Mr. CLASON. Now, since the War Department has sent up to the Congress Document No. 455 on December 11, 1937, has any city built pumping plants under a P. W. A. project except Springfield?

General ROBINS. Well, I couldn't answer that question without considerable research.

Mr. CLASON. You don't know of any offhand?
General ROBINS. I don't know of any offhand.

The CHAIRMAN. If you can get that information, I wish you would supply it for the committee and Mr. Clason.

(Inserted in the record by the office of the Chief of Engineers :)

There is no information now in the office of the Chief of Engineers to show that any other city besides Springfield, Mass., has built pumping plants with Public Works Administration funds since December 11, 1937.

Mr. CLASON. That is all.

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much, Colonel.
The next witness will be Colonel Sturdevant.

STATEMENT OF COL. C. L. STURDEVANT, DIVISION ENGINEER, MISSOURI RIVER DIVISION, KANSAS CITY, MO.

The CHAIRMAN. Colonel Sturdevant, for the record I will ask you with respect to a project in House Document 577, Seventy-sixth Congress, third session, an estimated cost to the Government of $18,000 at Indian Creek on the Missouri River at Council Bluffs, Iowa. Will you tell us about that project, and is that in your division?

Colonel STURDEVANT. Yes, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. What is the project?

Colonel STURDEVANT. The project calls for the excavation of a drainage ditch from the mouth of an existing project to the main channel of the Missouri River. Indian Creek is a small creek flowing into the Missouri River at Council Bluffs, Iowa. The drainage basin is about 20 square miles. It was authorized for improvement in the act of 1936, but was never undertaken by our department for the reason that it was started in February of that year with Government assistance through a P. W. A. grant and was completed in about December of 1936.

It consists of a line channel through the city of Council Bluffs to the south city limits and from there on an open channel leading to the Missouri River.

The CHAIRMAN. What is the local contribution under this estimated cost?

Colonel STURDEVANT. It was built at a cost of about $1,400,000. The

The CHAIRMAN. I beg your pardon. That is a P. W. A. project. Colonel STURDEVANT. Yes, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. But it was a project authorized under the act of 1936?

Colonel STURDEVANT. It was, but not built under that authority. The CHAIRMAN. Well, was it built in accordance with the project authorized or generally?

Colonel STURDEVANT. Generally, yes, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. Now, then, the project under consideration here. Colonel STURDEVANT. Is simply an extension of that project from what we call the high bank of the Missouri River to the present main channel.

I might say that since this project was started the main channel of the river has shifted away from it.

The CHAIRMAN. The river has shifted its channel?

Colonel STURDEVANT. Yes, sir. The Government has moved it. The CHAIRMAN. Was there any local contribution? .

Colonel STURDEVANT. No, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. Who would furnish the land on which you would construct that channel?

Colonel STURDEVANT. Well, it probably would be furnished without cost. It is low, acretion land.

The CHAIRMAN. And what would be the benefit?

Colonel STURDEVANT. The benefit would be making more effective the expenditure previously made, amounting to nearly one and a half million dollars.

The CHAIRMAN. One and a half million dollars by the Government? Colonel STURDEVANT. No, sir. By the Government and local people. The CHAIRMAN. What would you say the local interests expended there?

Colonel STURDEVANT. I suppose 45 percent of it. They got a grant of-well, I have forgotten the figure.

The CHAIRMAN. So you think that this project is economical and justified?

Colonel STURDEVANT. Yes, sir; I do.

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much, Colonel.

Mr. Jensen, have you any witnesses here or anybody else that you want to question?

STATEMENT OF HON. BEN F. JENSEN, REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF IOWA

Mr. JENSEN. No, sir; I don't have any witnesses, Mr. Chairman. The CHAIRMAN. Have you any word you want to add in connection with Colonel Sturdevant's statement at this time?

Mr. JENSEN. I don't know as there is anything I can add to what the Colonel already stated. He stated the facts in this case as they

are.

The original project extended, of course, to the river, and let the water and the wash out into the Missouri River. Then after the river was changed, after the channel was moved about a mile away or something like that, or a little less than a mile

Colonel STURDEVANT. The section now contemplated for improvement is about 9,000 feet long.

The CHAIRMAN. Do you think this project is necessary and justi

fied?

Mr. JENSEN. I surely do.

The CHAIRMAN. We are glad to have your statement.

The committee will stand adjourned until 10 o'clock tomorrow morning.

(Whereupon at 6 p. m., the hearing adjourned until 10 a. m., Wednesday, March 20, 1940.)

FLOOD CONTROL, UPPER OHIO RIVER AND TRIBUTARIES

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20. 1940

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
COMMITTEE ON FLOOD CONTROL,

Washington, D. C.

(The committee met at 10 o'clock a. m., the Honorable Will M. Whittington (chairman) presiding.)

The CHAIRMAN. The matter for consideration today, as stated in the schedule, is the sponsors and representatives of the Corps of Engineers, from the Upper Ohio and tributaries, on any additional authorizations for levees, flood walls, and reservoirs.

I understand that the district engineer and the division engineer are both here, but I have had the names of only two sponsors who desire to be heard, and those are Mr. Edgar, the secretary of the TriStates Authority, and Mr. Lawrence Campbell, of Johnstown, Pa. Mr. Edgar is here. Is Mr. Campbell here?

Mr. EDGAR. No; he is not, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. Will he be here?

Mr. EDGAR. I know he is also intending to be at a Senate subcommittee hearing this morning. Whether he will be over here or not I am not certain.

The CHAIRMAN. Are there any other sponsors or opponents of the flood-control works in the Upper Ohio River and its tributaries here who desire to be heard, any other sponsors or opponents of projects of any kind in the Upper Ohio and its tributaries?

(No response.)

The CHAIRMAN. The first witness will be Colonel Marks, division engineer.

STATEMENT OF COL. EDWIN H. MARKS, UNITED STATES ARMY, DIVISION ENGINEER, OHIO RIVER DIVISION

The CHAIRMAN. Please give us your name and your position. Colonel MARKS. Col. Edwin H. Marks, division engineer, Ohio River Division.

The CHAIRMAN. What generally is the area embraced in that division, and where are your headquarters?

Colonel MARKS. Our headquarters are in Cincinnati, Ohio, and the area embraced is the valley of the Ohio River and all tributaries flowing into the Ohio River.

The CHAIRMAN. How long have you been division engineer?

Colonel MARKS. I have been division engineer for about 15 months. The CHAIRMAN. And prior to becoming division engineer, what work did you do in the Corps of Engineers? Where were your assignments?

Colonel MARKS. I have had assignments on river-control work as district engineer at Buffalo, N. Y.; Galveston, Tex.; Duluth, Minn.; and St. Paul, Minn.; and in some other districts as assistant.

The CHAIRMAN. Colonel, we have under consideration the upper Ohio and its tributaries today, and I would like you to state for the record generally the improvements that are under way. Under the acts of 1936, 1937, and 1938, they consist of levees, flood walls, and reservoirs. First, I will ask you about the local protective works, and generally what authorized works have been completed, if any. Colonel MARKS. We have quite a list here.

The CHAIRMAN. I know you have, but we have largely the Pittsburgh district this morning, the upper Ohio River.

Colonel MARKS. The local protective works for the business section at Wellsville, Ohio, are practically completed. This is one of two sections which is planned for this place.

The CHAIRMAN. What about the city of Pittsburgh and the area of Pittsburgh?

Colonel MARKS. We have under study local protection for the Triangle area in Pittsburgh. That has not yet reached the approval stage.

The CHAIRMAN. What other local protective works, if any, are being allocated for presently, or being planned for immediate construction in the Pittsburgh district?

Colonel MARKS. We have under way a channel-improvement project at Johnstown, Pa., which we consider in our reservoir list, merely because it is a substitute for a reservoir. We have a local protective project at Kitanning, Pa., upon which bids will shortly be requested.

The CHAIRMAN. Generally, how many reservoirs are authorized in the Pittsburgh district, and how many are under way?

Colonel MARKS. The act of 1936 authorized the construction of nine reservoirs above Pittsburgh. There are four reservoirs under way at the present time.

The CHAIRMAN. Can you give us the names of those reservoirs and the tributaries on which they are located?

Colonel MARKS Crooked Creek Reservoir, on the Crooked Creek, Pa.; Tionesta Creek Reservoir, on the creek of the same name: Mahoning Creek Reservoir, on the creek of the same name; and Loyalhanna Creek Reservoir, on the creek of the same name.

The CHAIRMAN. About what is the estimated costs of these reservoirs?

Colonel MARKS. Crooked Creek Reservoir cost, estimated, $4,850.000; Tionesta Creek Reservoir, $5,900,000; Mahoning Creek Reservoir, $6,500,000; Loyalhanna Creek Reservoir, $5,700,000.

The CHAIRMAN. And those are under way?

Colonel MARKS. Yes, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. Today we have under consideration a reservoir along a tribuntary of the Allegheny, known as the Allegheny Reservoir in Pennsylvania. Where is that reservoir located, and we would be glad to have any statement you care to submit with respect to that reservoir?

Colonel MARKS. The reservoir is in the northwestern part of the State of Pennsylvania, near the city of Warren, and the reservoir would back up somewhat into New York State.