1. I present for your information the following report for the fiscal year 1951 on the civil works activities of the Department of the Army which are carried out by the Corps of Engineers. 2. This report presents the engineering, statistical, and fiscal information regarding the authorized Federal improvements for navigation, flood control, and related water resource developments, similar to that contained in previous annual reports of the Chief of Engineers. The Civil Works under the jurisdiction of the Corps of Engineers have, however, become a large and important segment of the over-all Federal civil works activities; and have attracted wide public interest. During 1950 and 1951 these activities have been given considerable study by Congressional Committees and by the President's Water Resource Policy Commission. Late in 1951 the Public Works Committee of the House of Representatives established a special Subcommittee to Study Civil Works. In response to the requirements of that Special Subcommittee I have prepared a comprehensive "Report on the Federal Civil Works Program as administered by the Corps of Engineers," which was transmitted to the special subcommittee on 27 March 1952. Since that report contains much information of value to the public generally I am including it as an additional volume to part I of this annual report. LEWIS A. PICK, Lieutenant General, Chief of Engineers. 1 APPROPRIATIONS AND EXPENDITURES For use in the fiscal year 1951 net funds made available to the Corps of Engineers for river and harbor operations amounted to $187,190,164.05 and for flood-control operations $431,527,150.00, a total of $618,717,314.05. The expenditures from the available funds, including the balances on hand at the beginning of the fiscal year, amounted to $617,451,730.42, of which $192,761,364.22 was for river and harbor work and allied operations, and $424,690,366.20 for flood control and related work. New work was completed on 53 river and harbor and flood control projects, materially advanced on 137 other projects, and maintenance operations were in progress on 297 projects. The policy of the Corps of Engineers to have work performed by contract, except when the best interests of the United States require hired-labor operation, has been followed during the year, 79 percent of all work performed having been done by contract, and 21 percent by Government plant and hired labor. The continuation of an adequate check on the cost of work performed on river and harbor and flood-control projects has been maintained. Summary of these efforts is reflected throughout this report. With regard to the initiation of construction of new projects and the maintenance of existing projects, it is considered pertinent to point out that the General Appropriation Act, 1951 (Public Law 759, 81st Congress) provided for a reduction of over $75,000,000 in the Corps of Engineers' civil works construction program. It also called for an over-all reduction in Government expenditures for nondefense purposes of $550,000,000, a portion of which was applicable to the civil works program. In view of these reductions in funds and also the criteria set forth in the President's directive to all Government agencies to curtail nondefense expenditures, the Corps of Engineers' construction program for rivers and harbors and flood control was carefully screened to include only those projects which, as directed by the President, directly contribute to national defense or to civilian requirements essential in the changed international situation. Therefore, many worthwhile authorized river and harbor and flood control projects that could not be considered as meeting the requirements of the established criteria have been deferred for the duration of the present emergency. ACCIDENT PREVENTION During the fiscal year 1951 the application of comprehensive accident prevention to all new work operations and maintenance continued to hold accidental injuries to a low level. RIVERS AND HARBORS Program: The present program for Federal improvement of rivers and harbors for navigation and allied purposes as authorized by Congress includes projects located throughout the continental United States, Puerto Rico, Alaska, and the Hawaiian Islands. The total estimated cost to complete all authorized river and harbor projects presently deemed necessary in the interest of commerce and navigation is about $4,394,328,300. Planning: New funds appropriated by the Civil Functions Appropriation Act, 1952, approved October 24, 1951, for advance planning for river and harbor projects total $500,000. These funds, together with unobligated balances, will be used to carry on the planning program during fiscal year 1952. Congress in appropriating planning funds for rivers and harbors specifically limited their use, in that no planning may be undertaken or continued unless the individual project is certified by the President as necessary to the defense effort under criteria previously established. Navigation operations: Improvement operations were carried out on 54 river and harbor projects, of which 24 were completed. Maintenance operations were performed on 297 projects, including the numerous coastal ports, harbors, and connecting channels on the Great Lakes, and the extensive Intracoastal Waterway and Mississippi River networks, together with the operation and care of the canalized Ohio River system, Illinois Waterway, the Upper Mississippi River, and the hydroelectric power plants on the Columbia River at Bonneville Dam, Oregon and Washington, and the Missouri River at Fort Peck Dam, Mont. In addition to the above-mentioned hydroelectric projects, many of the navigation dams that have been completed or are under construction have been authorized as multiple purpose projects in river and harbor legislation or, most recently, in omnibus bills covering both flood control and river and harbor projects. These multiple purpose projects have been designed to serve in the interest of navigation, flood control, and the production of hydroelectric power. In this connection, it may be noted that the authorizing legislation with respect to general project features, including local cooperation, reservoir management, recreation, disposal of power referred to in detail hereafter under Flood Control-General, is synonymous in many respects with river and harbor legislation for the authorization of multiple purpose navigation dams. It will be noted from the above that the Corps of Engineers' civil works construction program for the fiscal year 1951 was limited to those projects which would contribute directly to national defense or to essential civilian requirements as well as conserve the resources of men, materials, and equipment. In keeping with the reduction in funds and also the criteria set forth in the General Appropriation Act, 1951 (Public Law 759, 81st Congress), a review was made by the Bureau of the Budget of all projects which were eligible for appropriation under Public Law 759. The Bureau of the Budget approved the program as it complied in all aspects with Presidential and Congressional criteria directed by Congress. Under this curtailed construction program, work was continued throughout the fiscal year 1951 on 50 or more river and harbor |