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comprehensive flood-control plan for the Ohio and lower Mississippi Rivers. They came up after the Congress had given them $75,000 to make a fair and free investigation, regardless of any politics or any group or areas. In the Committee Report No. 1, it does first appear, and it does not come from the engineers originally.

The CHAIRMAN. Even so, you are opposed to it, is that right?

Mr. FULTON. Yes, sir.

Senator GUFFEY. It is only a forerunner of a waste of money to build a canal from Cleveland to Pittsburgh.

Mr. FULTON. What date is that?

The CHAIRMAN. April 19.

Senator GUFFEY. I would like to be here and explain a little bit about how long I have been working on this thing.

The CHAIRMAN. So far as this committee is concerned, we know generally about the differences of opinion between Ohio and Pennsylvania in that matter. It would not have been embraced in that bill if the Chief of Engineers had not recommended it.

Mr. FULTON. Is it not correct that the engineers in 1938 did not put it into their comprehensive plan?

The CHAIRMAN. I will have them to go into that and refresh our memories. You shall have full information with respect to that matter. You may go on the assumption that this committee would not have included the project in its report if it had not been recommended by the Chief of Engineers.

Mr. FULTON. That is the whole point I want to make.

The CHAIRMAN. We will do our best to oblige you. The gentlemen of the Corps of Engineers will be in a position to furnish us full information. We will be glad to hear you gentlemen further when we return to the matter.

(April 18, 1946)

The CHAIRMAN. We will turn now to the Eagle Creek Reservoir in Ohio.

STATEMENT OF HON. WALTER B. HUBER, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE FOURTEENTH DISTRICT OF OHIO

Mr. HUBER. Huber, Fourteenth District of Ohio.

The CHAIRMAN. And on what stream do you live? Do you live on the stream that is involved here?

Mr. HUBER. It is in my district. Eagle Creek is in my district.
The CHAIRMAN. Is the dam located in your district?

Mr. HUBER. I understand it is on the borderline between my district and Mr. Kirwan's district, who is a resident of Youngstown-Representative Kirwan, of Ohio.

The CHAIRMAN. He has previously testified today about the matter. This dam is about the border between you

Mr. HUBER. Mr. Chairman, I am not able to place it definitely. That is one reason I was reluctant to testify today because I haven't received certain information which I have requested which would have enabled me to be more familiar with the facts as to the location.

The CHAIRMAN. Your remarks will be passed on to you and you may correct them in that regard, you may proceed with your statement

now.

Mr. HUBER. Well, I would simply like to say that officials and citizens of Akron, Ohio, have communicated with me their opposition to the creation of the Eagle Creek Dam, feeling that it would jeopardize the future water supply-that is, the Akron municipal water supply-in the future. And it might divert water from the Cuyahoga River system which supplies Akron with its water supply. Also residents, rural residents, of Portage County have objected to me because they thought that if this dam were created it might reduce the taxable property on their tax duplicate, and they are especially alarmed because we have had already established the Ravanna ordnance plant, which has reduced their tax collection in that county considerably. I believe that is about all. I would like to respectfully ask permission to come back at a later time to go more into detail and present information which might be supplied to me in the meantime.

The CHAIRMAN. Pardon me, for the record now, where is Youngstown, Ohio, on the map there, please?

[It was pointed out on the map.]

The CHAIRMAN. In what direction does it flow, and what does it. empty into?

Mr. HUBER. I can't tell you, Mr. Chairman.

The CHAIRMAN. I am asking Mr. Bousquet for the record here. Mr. BOUSQUET. Eagle Creek rises in northeastern Ohio and flows in a southerly direction for a short distance and then flows easterly to join the Mahoning River.

The CHAIRMAN. And thence?

Mr. BOUSQUET. Into the Beaver River which in turn joins the Ohio River several miles downstream from Pittsburgh.

The CHAIRMAN. How far from the source of the river is the proposed dam? How far would you say about?

Mr. BOUSQUET. About 14 miles, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. From the source of the river to the proposed dam? Mr. BOUSQUET. It is about 14 miles from the source of Eagle Creek to the proposed dam site.

The CHAIRMAN. And how far from Akron-is Akron in the river basin of this dam? How far is Akron from the proposed dam? Mr. BOUSQUET. Oh, something like 30 miles. Akron is not in the same drainage basin.

Mr. BEARD. Akron is south and west of this dam, and Youngstown is south and east.

The CHAIRMAN. What cities in your district are below the dam, would you say, please, sir?

Mr. HUBER. You mean directional?

The CHAIRMAN. Below the dam on the river.

Mr. HUBER. Well, the southeast section, I would say. It comprises probably the cities of Garretsville and Ravanna.

The CHAIRMAN. Now, the county you spoke of by name—is that below the dam?

Mr. HUBER. My impression is that it is. As I say, I am not too familiar with the exact location because this information hasn't been made available to me which I was seeking.

The CHAIRMAN. Now, this for the record-General Crawford, when was this project adopted?

Colonel HERB. 1938.

The CHAIRMAN. No appropriations thus far have been made for it?
General CRAWFORD. That is right, sir; none for construction.
The CHAIRMAN. No work being done?

General CRAWFORD. Nothing except planning.

The CHAIRMAN. Now, we will be glad to have you supply any additional information that you have in the very nature of the case, and this is in the record, these hearings have been advertised for 2 weeks, and we have to have a closing date for them, and we will oblige you if you have additional information that you want to submit to the committee, and the chairman will bring it to the attention of the committee.

Mr. HUBER. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

STATEMENT BY HON. JAMES G. FULTON, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF PENNSYLVANIA, THIRTY-FIRST DISTRICT

The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Fulton has previously testified in opposition to the Eagle Creek Dam and Reservoir, and you represent the district in Pennsylvania on the Mahoning River, as I understand

Mr. FULTON. No, I represent the district in Pennsylvania that is south of Pittsburgh; it is in the Ohio watershed, and, of course, is all tied up with this flood-control program for the Ohio River district and the Mahoning-that whole basin.

I wanted to say this: If we could have the committee give us a time when the recess was over, Senator Guffey has asked me to keep him in touch with the hearings so that he can come and testify, and I would like to come and testify and bring in some technical things, objections on the comprehensive report and the acts as passed, showing the authority, and also show some practical difficulties on the construction of it in reference to flood control.

The CHAIRMAN. Now, as I understand you, you represent the district south of Pittsburgh on the Ohio River?

Mr. FULTON. That is correct.

The CHAIRMAN. In the State of Pennsylvania?

Mr. FULTON. That is correct.

The CHAIRMAN. And does your district extend up to Pittsburgh? Mr. FULTON. I have six city wards of Pittsburgh in it.

The CHAIRMAN. And how far south of Pittsburgh does it extend? Mr. FULTON. I go down along the Ohio to practically Aliquippa and then cut down the Beaver and Washington lines in Pennsylvania. The CHAIRMAN. The Beaver River extends along your district or through it?

Mr. FULTON. No, it goes in my district-it is on the other side in Beaver County-but we are in that same general watershed that is concerned with flood control.

The CHAIRMAN. I see. This Mahoning and the river on which this dam is located

Mr. FULTON. Does not come through my district, but is near there. And, of course, I am interested in flood-control problems generally in

this basin because I want to see the communities handled evenly in regard to flood-control protection.

The CHAIRMAN. I see.

Mr. FULTON. On this particular dam, it gives more flood-control protection to one area than any other area has, and, as I understand it, the area now in question there has 52 percent flood-control protection, which is higher than any other area in the United States.

The CHAIRMAN. Are there any projects that have been reported that would protect your area that we haven't considered that you would like to bring to our attention?

Mr. FULTON. No, because at this particular time I think it is better to bring other districts up to the level of the remaining districts rather than put one district clear ahead of all the others.

The CHAIRMAN. I see.

Mr. FULTON. And, if I may be able to bring you some figures on the use of this water, first, for flood control, second, for reservoir purposes such as flow control-and for civic purposes, such as the use by public consumption for water, and also by consumption of companies for industrial purposes.

The CHAIRMAN. Yes. Now, Mr. Fulton, we recall your former statement. I am not saying perfunctory, we are glad to have you views here and the committee advertised its hearings and it has been carried in the record as you know

Mr. FULTON. May I say, Mr. Chairman-

The CHAIRMAN. Just a moment. We have to have a day for the beginning and a day for the conclusion of the hearings, and when you were here the other day I advised you that we would get to it today. We advertised a date for it tomorrow if by chance you have some facts and figures that the committee ought to have in the further consideration of the matter if you give us that in a brief form you can submit them in executive session.

Mr. FULTON. I know there are three of us that want to do it-Congressman Huber, of Akron, Ohio, Senator Guffey, of Pennsylvania, and myself, from Pennsylvania-all in opposition.

AFTER RECESS

The committee met at 2:25 p. m., pursuant to recess, Hon. Will M. Whittington (chairman) presiding.

The CHAIRMAN. Are there any Representatives and Senators here! I observe Mr. Kirwan of Ohio.

Mr. Kirwan, at this time, we will be glad to have a general statement from you. Mr. Kirwan is always interested in flood control, and particularly in sponsoring reservoirs and dams.

STATEMENT OF HON. MICHAEL J. KIRWAN, A. REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF OHIO

Mr. KIRWAN. I am not here to ask anything of the Flood Control Committee. I am here to congratulate this committee especially on the leadership of Mr. Whittington. It is my privilege to appear before this committee, as it was in 1938 when I asked them to authorize and construct both the Mosquito Creek and Berlin Reservoirs. They authorized the construction of those reservoirs and dams in 1938, and

then in 1940 I tried to make an effort to have the first dam constructed. Fnally I was successful in getting an appropriation. Before that dam was fully constructed a flood came and it held back about 8 or 10 billion gallons of water. If that water had come on down, it would have come within one-half an inch of stopping all the steel, or 10 percent of all the steel that was produced in the United States. That is how low we had fallen. Just another half inch and that water would have gotten into the pipes and the open hearths of the blast furnaces-and you know how scarce we were for steel in the year 1942. That was the only dam in Mosquito Creek that was constructed during the war. After the President saw how near we had come to losing the 10 percent production, he immediately gave orders to construct this second dam, and the Army engineers give it to the contractors with a clause in it that it had to be constructed within 3 months. That is how essential those two dams were.

Now, there is a complaint about constructing the other. In 1942-
The CHAIRMAN. What is the other?

Mr. KIRWAN. Eagle Creek.

Several Representatives from Pennsylvania and one from Ohio have appeared before this committee and the Senate committee telling that the dam is not for flood control. That is what the dam is authorized for. They are afraid it is a part of the Lake Erie-Ohio River Canal. It is not that at all. The Representative from Ohio, placing in the record accordingly, received from the chamber of commerce, they said it would probably take some of the water from the city of Akron. You could expect that from a chamber of commerce. They are not on the same watershed. The Little Cuyahoga River goes through Akron and empties into Lake Erie. This reservoir is on the western branch of the Mahoning River that empties into the Gulf of Mexico. I am only asking to show what that great chamber knows about dams and watersheds, and yet they are opposing the construction of this dam. This dam is well needed, especially engineers know that all steel plants, the ground all around, is porous, slag from the steel plants, and the moment water gets into that or on that it seeps right into the electric cables, goes into the pipes, and it stops the production of steel; and yet when we came within a half inch in 1942 of stopping 10 percent of the steel in this country, and detoured trains from one road to another, and then you have a Senator and Congressman coming in here and testifying this dam is not needed. It would be just the same for me to go in front of the same committee and tell the Army engineers that the Conomaugh Dam is not needed in Pennsylvania, because what would I know about the Conemaugh Dam, at the study the engineers have made. But this Eagle Creek Reservoir and Dam flows through six municipalities before it gets to the steel plants that they are testifying is just being built for them. In fact, the steel plant is 25 miles away from this reservoir.

I am asking you people again today, Mr. Chairman, and the committee, if there is anything you can do to expedite the building of this dam, the Conomaugh, and all dams, that the Army engineers have recommended, to help control the flood on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, I am certainly for it, and will do all in my power, not only for Eagle Creek, but any dam that the Army engineers have recommended. The CHAIRMAN. We are glad to have your statement, Mr. Kirwan.

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