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And we are finding a great interest; and I want to say for the record that Colonel Strong did a swell job for his part in those meetings. He certainly did know his subject and he knew how to make the expression. The CHAIRMAN. Now, General Wheeler, the division engineer for the New England area, his name is what, please?

General WHEELER. Maj. Gen. D. L. Weart.

Mr. WARNER. I want to say this: The Governor of Ohio and the Adjutant General of Ohio National Guard are very much interested in the development of Salt Creek by the engineers, that they are now working on, and we want a change of our National Guard camp, and that depends upon the building of the Salt Creek Reservoir, as other reservoirs in the Scioto-Sandusky Conservancy District. The Governor has written to you about that, and so has the Adjutant General of the State of Ohio.

The CHAIRMAN. He got a reply the same day that I received his letter.

Mr. WARNER. I also wanted to bring you that message, because they wanted to be sure to emphasize the fact that we want enough appropriations so that the Army engineers will be sure to make that.

The CHAIRMAN. I would say that not only will the Governor get a response, but every citizen of the United States, no matter from what State, who submits a request or communication to the Committee on Flood Control, gets a prompt reply.

(Discussion off the record.)

The CHAIRMAN. The committee stands adjourned until 10 o'clock tomorrow morning.

(Whereupon, at 4:05 p. m., Wednesday, April 10, 1946, the committee adjourned to meet at 10 a. m., Thursday, April 11, 1946.)

FLOOD CONTROL BILL OF 1946

THURSDAY, APRIL 11, 1946

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
COMMITTEE ON FLOOD CONTROL,

MISSOURI RIVER BASIN

Washington, D. C.

The committee met at 10 a. m., pursuant to adjournment, Hon. Will M. Whittington (chairman) presiding.

The CHAIRMAN. The committee will be in order.

The committee has under consideration, under the schedule announced for today, the Missouri River Basin, including additional authorizations for the Corps of Engineers, and any recommendations for additional authorizations or any other recommendations that the Bureau of Reclamation cares to present to this committee, and we have before us a report published as House Document No. 294, Seventyninth Congress, covering a local protection project in the vicinity of Mandan, N. Dak. We will revert to that again in a few minutes.

This committee only considers reports that have been submitted to the Congress or to this committee or to the Director of the Bureau of the Budget by the Chief of Engineers.

We have with us this morning, among others, Representative Carlson, former member of this committee, from Kansas; Representative Bennett, of Missouri; and Representative Case, of South Dakota. Are there any other Representatives present here this morning?

For your information, the matters under consideration are the local protective work in North Dakota and increased authorizations for the approved work in the Missouri River Basin. The record in that. matter up to date, so far as previous authorizations are concerned, is that the estimated cost of the approved works under the Corps of Engineers is $785,088,000. Thus far there have been authorized $216,000,000, $200,000,000 having been authorized for the works under the so-called Pick plan in the act of December 22, 1944, and $16,000,000 for other projects in the basin which were authorized in the plan approved in the act of June 28, 1938. It is estimated that it will require a total of $303,000,000 to complete the works that are under way.

So the matter of prime importance, so far as the Missouri Basin is concerned, is increased authorization for the completion of projects adopted including those now under way.

Mr. Carlson, is there any matter you want to develop or bring to our attention before we begin with General Pick?

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STATEMENT OF HON. FRANK CARLSON, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF KANSAS

Mr. CARLSON. I do not care to discuss the particular projects before your committee, but I would like to make a short statement. The CHAIRMAN. We will be glad to have you do so.

Mr. CARLSON. I would like to say this. I have fond recollections from my service on this committee of the splendid work done by its chairman, Mr. Whittington, and I have been particularly interested in the developments of a basin control on the Missouri River.

I was pleased to work with General Pick when he was there some years ago, and then later I was pleased to work with General Crawford. We are happy General Pick is back and we hope he will carry into completion some of the projects that have been authorized by Congress, and, of course, previously by this Committee.

There are projects under way out in that section. Mr. Chairman, the contract for the completion of the Kanopolis Reservoir was recently let and the work begins next Monday. It is one of my pet projects, and the chairman was very helpful in getting it approved and getting it through Congress, and I am looking forward to its completion.

I am especially interested in Harlan Reservoir, for which funds are being made available in this Congress.

I am interested in all of the projects.

I am not a candidate for reelection to Congress. I want to state that it was a privilege to serve with you, Mr. Chairman, and this committee.

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you.

We are glad to have Mr. Case of South Dakota, who is on the Committee on Appropriations that handles flood-control appropriations, and who has been most helpful.

Mr. Case, do you have a general statement you desire to make?

STATEMENT OF HON. FRANCIS CASE, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA

Mr. CASE. I did not come over here with the idea of making a statement, but I would like to say a few words.

The work of this committee, as you know, is one which I hold in high regard. Dealing with the appropriations for flood-control authorizations which this committee makes, I have been repeatedly impressed by the thoroughness in which you go into these matters in this committee. I may say that it is because of the confidence that the subcommittee has for the work of this committee we are favorably disposed to making appropriations for carrying out the authorizations which this committee has approved.

You have made reference to the Missouri River Basin program. In the civil functions bill, which has passed both the House and the Senate for the fiscal year 1947, and on which we will have our conferences this week, appropriations are carried for the Harlan County Reservoir, to which Mr. Carlson has already referred. That is for the initiation of new work on the Garrison Reservoir and for initiation of construction on the Fort Randall Reservoir in South Dakota.

It has been my hope that when you expand your authorizations that consideration be given to two of the units in the authorized programs which were not mentioned in the initial phases for projects in South Dakota. Those two projects are the Moreau River project in South Dakota and the Keyhole.

On the Belle Fourche River in South Dakota there is at the present time an irrigation project known as the Belle Fourche project. It is served by an off-stream reservoir known as the Corman Dam which has a capacity of a couple of hundred thousand acre-feet of water. The water is fed to that reservoir by an inlet canal which takes off below the city of Belle Fourche. That canal is not large enough to carry all the flood water in peak floods. Consequently, a great deal of the flood water goes down here [indicating] and down in Missouri. The CHAIRMAN. Is that project embraced in the comprehensive Missouri River Basin or Pick plan?

Mr. CASE. The proposed Keyhole Reservoir gets its name from the fact that it is a unique reservoir site. It is estimated $750,000 will create a reservoir of over 200,000 acre-feet capacity. It is a very unique reservoir site, but the construction of that will afford floodcontrol protection for the city of Belle Fourche.

I hope if you expand the authorization that you include at least $750,000 for the Keyhole Reservoir as a part of the over-all plan. The CHAIRMAN. Now, the other item.

Mr. CASE. These [indícating] tributaries are not shown in here. The principal tributaries of the Missouri in western South Dakota are the White River, the Cheyenne River, the Moreau River, and the Grand River.

There is in the presently authorized initial phase for prosecution by the Bureau of Reclamation an authorization for reservoirs on the Grand River, and also one on the Cheyenne River. Although the Moreau River projects are included in the over-all basin program, there is no specific authorization in the initial construction phase for anything on the Moreau River.

The CHAIRMAN. That is the second matter?

Mr. CASE. It is the Moreau River which we feel should also be included. The Moreau River flows clear across this [indicating] half of the State. Floods have destroyed highway bridges and property of the United States Government. It was the subject of a flood-control study recently made by the Army engineers under authorization of a resolution by this committee a few years ago, but the tentative report, as I understand it, points out that it is in the over-all basin program. But until it is included in an authorization for construction, and you expand your authorization, no funds will be available for construction there.

The United States Government is paying dearly in the loss of Indian lands and the loss of highway bridges, and in the loss of bottom lands. by the floods which occur frequently on the Moreau River.

It has been estimated that the complete stoppage of floods on the Moreau River and the stoppage of the silt which it carries down in the main Missouri River could be accomplished for approximately 412 million dollars. That would include the construction of two reservoirs, one at Bixbee and one at Green Grass.

I hope in the consideration of your expanded authorizations you will include approximately a total of $5,000,000, which would include the

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