ready for construction when the money is provided. I do not know of any objection or any opposition to the provisions of this authorization..

Mr. SCUDDER. Mr. Chairman, I would also like to submit for the record a statement by Mr. James F. Lyttle, chairman of the board of supervisors of Sonoma County, Calif., Santa Rosa, Calif., which outlines in detail the great need for this project. I shall appreciate your giving them your consideration.

Mr. HAND. Thank you very much. We will be glad to receive the statement. ·

(The statement referred to follows:)

GENTLEMEN: A great deal of information covering the Russian River projects in Sonoma County, Calif., has already been delivered to you and in the past the Congress has seen fit to appropriate planning funds for these projects. The local interests have completed all of their research and are submitting the local financing requirements in the amount of approximately $5,598,000 to the people at the State primaries, June 8, this year. This is for their share of what is called the Coyote Valley project to be constructed by the Federal Government. In addition to this, Sonoma County will submit a proposition to build a distribution and treatment plant in order to deliver water to people who are in urgent need of an additional supply because of the continued deletion from wells. This will also be submitted on June 8 to the electors.

The average annual flood damage is more than $750,000 and several counties north of San Francisco Bay can be easily served with an abundant cheap water supply from the Russian River. This area produces food and fiber, as well as a considerable number of industrial products that are necessary to the welfare of the Nation. The ground water supply is rapidly becoming depleted and they must in the very near future develop surface storage as proposed in these projects. The Russian River projects have been authorized by all Federal authorities concerned following exhaustive studies by the Corps of Engineers. The projects have also been authorized by action of the State agencies involved in California. They have established a local authority competent to negotiate and enter into contracts with the Federal and State authorities, as well as any other that might be involved.

Recommended for immediate construction is the first stage of an ultimate twostage dam and reservoir in Coyote Valley near Ukiah, Mendocino County, and one-third of the channel and stabilization works. During the last session of the Congress about one-half of the planning funds were appropriated, and they are now seeking $150,000 to complete these plans. We are advised that this amount will be sufficient to place the projects in the position of being ready for construction and unless these funds are provided by the Congress, the project will be delayed for a considerable period of time.

The total project cost for the recommended immediate construction is around $16 million and our Countywide Flood Control and Water Conservation District is committed to advance about $5,598,000 of this in cash in order to pay for the cost of conserved water of local benefit.

The local interests have already expended more than $100,000 in planning their diversion works and distribution system. They have completed their engineering studies and have also just completed a full analysis of the economic and financing needs of the projects. This is not strictly a local project because it will serve at least three and possibly more counties that are all in a position of urgently needing an additional supply of water.

In conclusion may we recommend that the Congress appropriate $150,000 to complete the plans for the Russian River projects in Sonoma and Mendocino Counties, Calif. May we also recommend the appropriation of $500,000 to begin construction of these projects on a basis that work start in the spring of 1955. Many complete reports and briefs have been submitted previously to you and other Members of the Congress, so in order to save time may we merely make note of these because they are currently in your files for reference and to substantiate the critical situation we face and the need for quick action.

Report of the Corps of Engineers, United States Army, dated September 9, 1948, as revised and approved by the division engineer, South Pacific Division, the Board of Engineers for Rivers and Harbors, and the Chief of Engineering (H. Doc. 585, 81st Cong., 2d sess.).

41866-54-pt. 2—49

Condensed report prepared for Sonoma County Flood Control and Water Conservation District by the Whipple Engineering Co., dated May 1950.

The report on utilization of water from the proposed Russian River project prepared for the Sonoma County Flood Control and Water Cnservation District by the Whipple Engineering Co., dated October 1950.

Report to the Congress of the United States covering the Russian River projects in California prepared by the North Coast Office, California State Chamber of Commerce, dated March 23, 1951.

Additional material prepared for current presentation dated May 14, 1953. The Russian River project-extracts from Federal, State, and district reports prepared by Paul L. Nichols, chief engineer, Sonoma County Flood Control and Water Conservation District, May 1, 1953.

A copy of the Redwood Journal published in Ukiah, Mendocino County, dated March 4, 1953.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 1954.

HUMBOLDT HARBOR

WITNESS

HON. HUBERT B. SCUDDER, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

Mr. HAND. We are glad to have with us Congressman Scudder who will talk on Humboldt Harbor.

Mr. SCUDDER. Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, in the Federal budget for fiscal year 1955, under civil functions administered by the Department of the Army, there is a recommendation calling for $265,000 to complete the dredging project at Humboldt Harbor, Calif.

Last year, funds were allocated with which the harbor entrance was dredged to a depth of 40 feet. The recommendation in the fiscal 1955 budget is to complete the dredging project by deepening the inner channel of the harbor to a depth of 30 feet.

If this project is completed, in accordance with plans of the Army engineers, Humboldt Harbor will accommodate large-type vessels of the American merchant fleet as well as those of other countries.

Humboldt Harbor and the port of Eureka, serves an area wherein is located one of the largest stand of virgin timber in the United States. A great portion of this timber is federally owned, much of it is overripe for harvesting. This is one of the reasons why the United States Forest Service has endorsed this project, as well as other agencies and departments of the Government.

Due to its location, about halfway between San Francisco and Portland, Oreg., Humboldt Harbor is the only economical outlet for the shipment of lumber from the areas of northern California and southern Oregon. We are in desperate need for an adequate harbor so that ships can ply in and out safely with full cargoes.

Under the authorization obtained in the 82d Congress and the appropriation last year, shipping has been facilitated by the deepening of the harbor entrance; resulting in the movement of 100 million board feet of lumber out of the harbor on ocean-going carriers last

year.

I deeply appreciate the courtesies extended by this committee in the past. Last year when we requested the full amount for the project, we were content to receive half. I sincerely hope that the funds in this budget to complete the project to the depth recommended by the Corps of Engineers, and approved by the Bureau of the Budget, will be sustained.

An item of $265,000 is provided in the budget to complete the dredging of Humbolt Harbor in northern California. In 1952 I secured an authorization for the deepening of the harbor. Humbolt Harbor is well located in the heart of the lumber industry. It was only able to accommodate the small-type ships, and after World War II it practically went out of existence because of insufficient depth. The ships that were built during World War II and later such as the Liberty-type ships, draw from 29 to 31 feet of water and the bar at the entrance of the harbor was only 30 feet deep and the channel 26 feet. The entrance to Humbolt Harbor is very rough. Great surges of water make the entrance very hazardous, and a captain just won't take a ship in there under such conditions.

Mr. HAND. How is the water beyond the bar and the entrance channel? Is that a good depth?

Mr. SCUDDER. Oh, yes.

Mr. HAND. So the dredging problem is concentrated on the entrance channel and the bar?

Mr. SCUDDER. This money will be spent to dredge the inside channels. Last year we secured $250,000 for dredging. That was sufficient to take the bar down to 40 feet and we now have 40 feet over the bar. And to show you the value of this work, from almost nothing we went up to the shipment of over 100 million board feet of lumber the latter part of last year, and today we stand very high in lumber shipments. This harbor is necessary to load lumber barges from Crescent City. There is an interlocking relationship below these two harbors.

Humbolt Harbor is to have a depth sufficient to ship full cargoes of lumber, and will serve 2 of the southern counties of Oregon and 4 of the northern counties of California which are tributary to that harbor, besides the great store of minerals in the mountains.

Mr. HAND. You go out into a natural bay there?

Mr. SCUDDER. Oh, yes. It is quite a large bay. It is a perfect bay except for the inner harbor and the contemplated dredging will cure

that situation.

Two hundred and sixty-five thousand dollars is recommended by the Army engineers and the Bureau of the Budget. This will deepen the harbor to a point where it can be made useful at all times of the year.

Mr. HAND. Thank you.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 1954.

CRESCENT CITY HARBOR, CALIF.

WITNESSES

HON. HUBERT B. SCUDDER, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

BRADLEY PAGE,

SECRETARY-MANAGER, DEL NORTE COUNTY

CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

JOHN D. CONNER, REPRESENTING VARIOUS COMPANIES

WILLIAM H. FOSS, TRAFFIC MANAGER, A. C. DUTTON LUMBER CO., POUGHKEEPSIE, N. Y.

Mr. HAND. We will now hear from Congressman Scudder and a local group on Crescent City Harbor.

Mr. SCUDDER. I have a witness here who is prepared to testify on Crescent City, Mr. Foss, traffic manager of the A. C. Dutton Lumber Co., who runs a fleet of ships from the Atlantic to the Pacific and they have docks where they load and ship their lumber intercoastal. I know of no opposition to this project. It is highly essential. I had quite a job selling it last year, because of the inhibition against new starts: but it was so noticeable when you started to delve into the necessity of the harbor that I got it through. In fact, I went to the engineers and then to the Department of Agriculture. They gave me a letter which I put into the record to the effect that in that area federally owned timber was being lost to the extent of $850,000 a year, which was overripe, bug-infested, and so forth. This harbor ties into that project by permitting them to get that timber out. And just this past week the lumber interests appeared before our Committee on Public Works to support our bill authorizing $22,500,000 for forest highways and $22,500,000 for forest roads and trails in order to make accessible this Federal timber which is going to waste for lack of proper harvest. And one of them testified to the effect that the lumber industry was very anxious to tap the overripe timber in our Federal forests because they felt they could hold back certain stands of the privately owned timber that was not in such an overripe condition. So economically it is a wonderful thing for the country. This project will develop a net profit to the United States from the sale of this overripe timber.

The $265,000 will take care of the completion of that project.

Crescent City Harbor is located about 70 miles north from Humbolt Harbor. This harbor was authorized about 1917; there were changes and modifications in the plan. They had been endeavoring to carry out the original plan that would extend the jetty out to Round Rock. It was a straight jetty from the battery out to Round Rock. The terrific storms and the depth of the water made the construction of this jetty extremely expensive. The seas are very rough and we have suffered some very severe damage to the jetty.

Mr. HAND. When was the jetty built?

Mr. SCUDDER. Well it has been under construction since about the early 1920's. It was slow in developing. They could not show the traffic at that time; the traffic was potential. It was hard to get a sufficient amount of money to do the job properly.

Mr. HAND. It must have been entirely suspended for a long period of years.

Mr. SCUDDER. It was hard to get funds.

Mr. HAND. When was the last work done on it?

Mr. SCUDDER. They are working on it now, making repairs. They put $1 million in the project about 5 years ago and the storms hit it and did a lot of damage, and at the present time they are repairing that damage.

Mr. HAND. Do you have a completed jetty now, subject to the repairs that are being made?

Mr. SCUDDER. No; it is not completed, because they changed their plan.

This was to run 4,700 feet in a straight line out to Round Rock. Mr. HAND. That was the original plan?

Mr. SCUDDER. Yes. Then the engineers went in and made further investigation of it. This is a good jetty out here. This has been scattered around a bit. This jetty will project 1,400 feet here. This plan, when completed, will give them good harbor protection. Mr. HAND. You have deep water out here, do you not?

Mr. SCUDDER. Yes; it is quite deep, but it has a good foundation. It is a reef.

Mr. HAND. Is this a double jetty?

Mr. SCUDDER. No; it is a single jetty capped.

Mr. CEDERBERG. Lumber is your main product?

Mr. SCUDDER. Yes; but last year they delivered over 200,000 tons of oil. From this little harbor they are supplying all southern Oregon and northern California, and they have negotiated for a pipeline to serve the inland area.

I have witnesses here who are vitally interested in this project. Mr. Bradley Page, the secretary-manager of the Del Norte County Chamber of Commerce at Crescent City, is here. He represents the city council, the board of supervisors, the harbor commission, and other interests in that area. I would like to present Mr. Bradley Page from Crescent City to discuss his phase of it with you. Mr. HAND. Mr. Page, we will be glad to hear you.

Mr. PAGE. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, I thought you might like to see the appearance of the harbor at the present time.

In the center foreground is the breakwater that is under discussion. In the foreground the building you see is an old lighthouse that is becoming a museum. Behind that are the three wharves. In the background is the citizens' dock and wharfing and mooring facilities for the Oil Terminals Co. that import the petroleum products that Congressman Scudder spoke about.

I will read, if I may, for the sake of time, just one statement and then, with the permission of the committee, I would like to rest to become a part of the record.

Mr. HAND. Without objection it will be made a part of the record at the conclusion of your statement.

Mr. PAGE. I wish to call your attention first of all to the fact that although I am secretary-manager of a chamber of commerce, we have striven to keep this material entirely factual. I am actually here representing the city council and harbor commission and board of super