Committee postponed to allow the cities in this area to present facts and information on the subject. Thank you for your consideration. JAY F. GIBBS, City Manager. I also have a letter from the city manager of Royal Oak, which reads as follows: Hon. WILLIAM M. WHITTINGTON, Member of Congress, House of Representatives, Washington, D. C. APRIL 10, 1946. DEAR SIR: We desire to call to your attention that the city of Royal Oak, along with a number of political subdivisions in southern Oakland County, has been confronted with the problem of widening and deepening the Red Run Creek, which is a tributary of the Clinton River, to provide an adequate outlet for storm-water drainage from these areas. Serious flood conditions have occurred a number of times during the past 10 years, causing considerable property damage and adversely affecting the health of many families residing in our community. Petitions were recently filed with the county drain commissioner of Oakland County, requesting the deepening, widening, and straightening of the Red Run drain, and as a result of said petition a meeting of the drainage board was called for April 9, 1946, to determine the necessity and practicability of the proposed improvement. The draining board comprises Mr. Earl L. Clark, drain commissioner of Macomb County, and Mr. John Hudson, deputy commissioner of agriculture of the State of Michigan. The drainage board was restrained from proceeding with this hearing due to an injunction issued by Judge Spier, of the Macomb County circuit court. The reasons cited in the injunction writ restraining the drainage board from proceeding with the hearing are subject to argument and will no doubt have to be decided through the legal processes of law. We are informed that a hearing is scheduled sometime this week before the Flood Control Committee, concerning the proposed improvement at the mouth of the Clinton River which consists generally of a cut-off channel extending in a southeasterly direction from a point on the Clinton River about 1,500 feet below the Gratiot Avenue Bridge, to Lake St. Clair, the estimated cost to be assumed by the Federal Government being $378,000, which represents approximately 53% percent of the total cost. When and if this project is approved for construction all of the drainage district of the Clinton River Basin will be subject to a drainage assessment for this improvement. However, the city of Royal Oak and other communities in southern Oakland County would receive no particular benefit from the improvement at the mouth of the Clinton River until the channel of the Red Run Creek was deepened and widened to eliminate the frequent flood conditions which now occur in this stream. If we are restrained from proceeding with the proposed Red Run Creek flood-control improvements, we do not feel that our communities would benefit by the improvement at the mouth of the Clinton River. In order that we may have time to prepare a more detailed statement regarding this important matter, we earnestly request that the hearing of the proposed flood-control improvement at the mouth of the Clinton River, before the Flood Control Committee, be postponed to a later date. Your cooperation in this matter, which is of vital concern to the people residing in the city of Royal Oak, will be very much appreciated. Very truly yours, CITY OF ROYAL OAK, City Manager. I may say that Representative Wolcott furnished us with the names of witnesses after having first requested that they be heard some days ago. He was advised under our schedule that the witnesses on this project would be heard today. Subsequently. I believe, day before yesterday, Representative Dondero said that his people were interested in the matter and asked that his witnesses be heard at a later date, stating that they could be prepared by today. I contacted Rep resentative Wolcott's office and was advised that his witnesses had been advised and were on their way and we thought it fair to hear them and at the same time we thought it fair to hear the other witnesses later. Those witnesses will be heard Thursday, April 18, after we have concluded the other schedules for that day. Mr. Dondero, we will be glad to have your statement at this time. STATEMENT OF HON. GEORGE A. DONDERO, REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF MICHIGAN Mr. DONDERO. Oakland County does not intend to oppose this project in any way. They are here more in a cooperative attitude to have some improvement made on the Clinton River, because it is of vital interest and important not only to Macomb County but Oakland County as well. I want to say to the committee first, that this problem of the Clinton River deepening and widening to provide an outlet has been a perplexing one for a number of years. I recall it came up when I was mayor of Royal Oak 25 years ago. I have lived in Royal Oak for 60 years. The CHAIRMAN. How far is that from Mount Clemens? Mr. DONDERO. About 18 miles. I am very familiar with this entire territory and all of the municipalities that have been mentioned are within my Congressional District, because they lie in Oakland County. Many years ago I lived near the mouth of the Clinton River. During the summertime I would spend 2 weeks there on my vacation. I know that stream from its mouth clear up to the tributaries that reach way back in Oakland County in my section. It is a perplexing problem. The natural fall for all of these cities is northeast into Red Run and into this river. It does not seem there is any other way we can drain our storm water and also the sewage after it has been properly processed. It has got to be done. The outlet that has been proposed has been familiar to me for a number of years, because it has been proposed in other terms prior to this one. We are within that drainage district. The people of southeast Oakland County undoubtedly will be asked to pay a portion of it. My interest in the matter is to see the thing done. I do not presume to say to this committee that I know all the details about this litigation that they have started. That will be a matter for the lawyers to determine. I refer to the injunction suit that has been instituted to prevent the State officials and the county officials from even holding a hearing as to the widening, the deepening, and dredging of Red Run to make it more possible as an outlet for our farm waters. It creates a considerable amount of damage in Oakland County and in these municipalities, and including a portion of my home city. I refer now to basement damage where the water backs up and does not get away fast enough when we have storms. So the damage does not apply alone to Macomb County and Mount Clemens. It also applies to that portion affected in Oakland County. I might say, Mr. Chairman, that within this week the Rivers and Harbors Committee has reported out a bill in order to solve the prob lem of stream pollution in the United States. It may be a feeble step, but it is a sincere step in an effort to solve that most difficult problem of all problems in our waters of this country. It will apply undoubtedly to this project that is before us now. So, Mr. Chairman, I not only voice my personal interest because it affects my people and those for whom I speak, but it also affects the two counties and the district of my colleague, Mr. Wolcott. So, we are here in a cooperative spirit, not to oppose this project, because I think it does present one of the solutions to a problem that affects the life and the health and the welfare of the people of the two counties, perhaps the four counties. That is all I have to say. Mr. Clark, the drainage commissioner of Oakland County, and Mr. Holmes are here, mainly at my suggestion in order that they might know what is said here and be familiar with the entire matter. I appreciate very much, Mr. Chairman, the privilege of making this short statement. The CHAIRMAN. We are always glad to have your statement. Mr. Dondero, if Mr. Holmes, the city attorney of Ferndale, or Mr. Clark, the drainage commissioner of Oakland, both of whom are present, desire to make a statement, then, we will be glad to hear them at this time. Mr. DONDERO. That is a matter of their choice. STATEMENT OF H. C. HOLMES, CITY ATTORNEY, FERNDALE, MICH. Mr. HOLMES. I wish to reserve my formal statement until our hearing of next week. However, I would like to inquire at this time as to whether or not the report of the Army engineers, which has been submitted to this committee, is a part of the record at this time. The CHAIRMAN. That is a fair question. This is our situation. This committee is considering reports for flood control that have not previously, if there were any, been acted upon that were submitted after this committee conducted hearings in 1944. Those reports are available to the public if they are published. We have also announced that if the Chief of Engineers has submitted a report, after it has been considered by the Governors and the other Federal representatives, to the Director of the Budget that we will hear those reports on the theory that before these hearings have been concluded the report will probably have been transmitted to Congress and be published and made available for the information of the public and for distribution to those that are interested. We do not include the full report as a part of the hearings of the committee. I would say this, however, that I would think that if you and Mr. Clark desire the report that we have here that has been submitted to us, it will be made available for your inspection and examination. Mr. HOLMES. We would like that. The CHAIRMAN. You can use this room or you can take it along with Mr. Dondero and he can return it to the chairman of the committee. Mr. HOLMES. Very well. That is all I wish to say. Mr. DONDERO. I think, through inadvertence, one of the representatives of Macomb County has been omitted. Mr. Rosso is here. The CHAIRMAN. Is he the mayor? Mr. DONDERO. I think he is higher than that. The CHAIRMAN. First, Mr. Clark, do you desire to submit any statement? STATEMENT OF EARL CLARK, OAKLAND COUNTY DRAINAGE COMMISSIONER Mr. CLARK. I would like to reserve that right. The CHAIRMAN. We want to oblige Mr. Dondero and you people. The CHAIRMAN. You would like to make a special trip to tell us about that? Mr. CLARK. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. About your favoring it? Mr. CLARK. I reserve that favoring. The CHAIRMAN. You want the privilege of making a statement about it? Mr. CLARK. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. That will be accorded to you. We will do our best to get to you next Thursday if it is at 10 o'clock that night. If we do not get to you on Thursday, then, we will hear you the next day. There are a number of matters scheduled prior to the time that you are to appear. Ordinarily, as Mr. Dondero knows far better than I, a brief or statement in behalf of a party, supplemented by emphasis on high points, is always helpful to us. Now, Mr. Rosso, we will be glad to have you come around. STATEMENT OF F. W. ROSSO, CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS, MACOMB COUNTY, MICH. Mr. Rosso. My name is F. W. Rosso. I am chairman of the board of supervisors. The CHAIRMAN. Of what? Mr. Rosso. Of Macomb County. I am also the supervisor of Harrison Township. I think we have more damage than anyone else, although the mayor of Mount Clemens has a terrible flood menace. The CHAIRMAN. On what stream is your township? Mr. Rosso. On the Clinton. My township borders Lake St. Clair. The CHAIRMAN. All right; you may make your statement. Mr. Rosso. I have lived there practically all of my life. Maybe my township is to blame for some of this injunction that was served on Oakland County. The water came up down there. It was not so high. It took a lot of boathouses away. Mr. Dondero and his brother have been in my township a number of times. If we had a couple of days of rain, we would have the same sort of flood we had a year ago. I live right on the Clinton River and I have gone through these floods, and I know what they are. Selfridge Field comes along and puts a dike around about a quarter of my township in acreage. Consequently, where the water used to go across to Tucker's Creek, it cannot go there any more. It simply goes over the South River Road. I would say that it floods about half of my township. I had a large delegation come to me and ask if there was any way of stopping these ditches being dredged. The water comes so fast, we do not have a chance. I went to bed 2 years ago this last spring, in 1943, and I got a telephone call, and I had 27 inches of water in my own house on Clinton River. I had been driven out of the Selfridge area. I had a farm there. This was the only house for sale. It is a beautiful home. Mr. Dondero, I guess you know where that is. So we instructed our attorney to stop all projects where they were deepening and widening the ditches contributing to the Clinton River. I think that is about all. The CHAIRMAN. We are glad to have had your statement. I would just like to say this now. All of you gentlemen have spoken, and Mr. Dondero has made his usual splendid statement. I think you men are all fair. That is the impression you make on me. Frankly, it strikes me that there is no occasion for a division. I am not trying to give you any advice. If you do not want a project, then, the best thing in the world for you to do is to divide about it, because there are 47 other States and many subdivisions that are demanding. projects. I do not know any better way to prevent the adoption of projects than for the people in the community to divide and oppose. I do not know how you feel. I live down the creek in Mississippi. You do not have anything that is unique. It occurs all over the country. I would like to ask Colonel Herb this question: Colonel Herb, at these hearings with respect to the Clinton River, does this report indicate whether you made any surveys of the two branches and the third that come together and form the Clinton River, and whether or not it was advisable to improve those branches? Colonel HERB. Yes, sir; that matter was investigated when we made our original survey in connection with this report, and it was found not to be economically justified for Federal participation at this time. The CHAIRMAN. The proposed improvements would put substantially all the cost on the Federal Government on Red Run because you would clean and clear the existing channel, whereas under this cut-off Oakland residents would be required to furnish the rightsof-way. Colonel HERB. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. But you did make an investigation? Colonel HERB. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. It was the view of the corps at the time that the only improvements that you were warranted in recommending was the improvement embraced in this report on Clinton River? Colonel HERB. That is correct, sir. The CHAIRMAN. Of course, that would not preclude any improvements that the local interests under the laws of Michigan are empowered to make on the tributary? |