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<br />TIlen Ihcrc is thc conduct of the public hearing itself-thaI is, when a hcaring is held. As
<br />astonishing as it may seem, some \Vater resource projects are authorized without the formality
<br />of Congressional hearings. Example: the SI20-million Days Creck lake Dam ProjecI in
<br />Oregon which W3S aulhorized wilhout a House hearing.
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<br />The Washington public hcarings, when held, are oflen condu.ted in a cavalier manner with Ihe
<br />con essional committee members exhibiting little concern about the fairness or "balance" of
<br />I e wi ness roster. sual y, t e pro-development foret's are heard from first, starting with the
<br />federal agency rcpresentatives and Ihe home district and home state congressmen. Only after
<br />Ihat parade is completed, what lillle time remains-if any-is open lestimony from other
<br />interested parties. .'
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<br />And w.hile special criticism is leveled at the Burc:lU of Reclamation's nClivitics in these
<br />articles, the othc-r federal watc.r rt~SO\Jrcc development .agencies arc far from being free of
<br />guilt. Since the passage of the Flood Control Act of 1936 and ,he Watershe<l Protection and
<br />Flood Prevention Act of J 954, both the V.S, AmlY Corps of Engineers and the Deportment of
<br />Agriculture's Soil Conservation Sen'ice have had an almost free license to build dams, dredge.
<br />chan"ncJize, divert, and otherwise emasculate free-flowing streams, and drain valuJble wet-
<br />lands, all under the guise of nood control. Nollo be outdone, the Tennessee Valley Authority
<br />has also done its share of damage to the environment.
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<br />. Many authorities, both inside and outside government ranks, have long recogn~ed the need to
<br />completely revam OUr national olie and rocedures concelOin develo ment and use of
<br />water resource,. The Presidenl's Water Resources Council (WRC ,chaired by Ihe Secrelary of
<br />the Interior and including several other cabinet members, has been attempting for several
<br />years to reconcile the diametricaUy-opposed views of environn~ntalists and water resource
<br />develooers in a planning docu'ment acceptable to both faclions.
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<br />Extensive public hearings were held last sl',in~ on the WRC document (See CN, Vol. 36, No.
<br />27; Vol. 37, No.7, 12, an<l19).ln Aug\1st. the WRC published a "Summary/Analysis" of the.
<br />hearings which condcnses and tabulates commenls made by more Ihan 1000 people in 4,782
<br />slatcments. running 8500 p;J~('s" The "Summary/AnJlysis" indicJtcs clearly the major differ.
<br />ences. b~twccn cn"irol1m~l1talisl:i and wat~r resourc," developers. It shuwed, 3lso, thai the
<br />ovcrwhC'lmino m;l"orit . of )~o lIe who testified or submitted statements were in sympathy
<br />with conservationists and cHC deeply cUllccrnc about :my url cr C'gra al10Tl 0 environ-
<br />mental values.
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<br />Environmentalists arc convinced that the 93ro Congress will attempt, as a priority issue, to
<br />deal itself a hand in the game of making fin,,1 water resource planning decisions. That could
<br />result in a knock. down "roles and missions" battle between White House and Capitol Hill
<br />forces.
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<br />In an October 5 Senate speech highly critical of fees paid by W3ter resource users and the
<br />methods used to compute reclamatinn project benefits and costs, Sen. Honry Bollmon (Okla.)
<br />.probably made some of Ius home (reclamation) state COllstituenlS unhappy, But as far as
<br />conservationists arc coricerned, he stood ten feet tall for "telling it like it is'". Hore, in part, is
<br />what he said: (Not quoted, 81nce the full speech was distributed by NWRA at the Umi!)
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<br />. Poss~ssing In outsL311ding :urny of professional skill~, r:<p~rt in opt:rational know-huw, and
<br />erfiric:ntly organized, the Corps. for examp!e, is in an (,;(Cl'llr.llt position to t~I('~I~ the mClnu-
<br />mcnt:lI problems associated with waste treatmt:nt. and flood plain zoning, oS \':..:-11 as b~comc
<br />actively engJgcd in the construction of modern rccyding Oippar:Jtus alii..! ~W<J~~C trC'..ltmcnt
<br />plants.
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<br />The SCS should return to its original policy of "holding the raindrop where it falls" and use
<br />its splendid corps of conservationists to work with landowners on projects Ihat ellhance
<br />environmental vJlues. such as eliminating or alleviating problems associaLed with agricultural
<br />runoff.
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<br />As for the Bureau of Reclamation and the TV A, let's face up to the fact that their principal
<br />missions have been accomplished. Let's transfh Iheir resources, at least in part, to solve
<br />pressing environmental problems, su~ as recla,!""tion of land scarred by strip mines and other
<br />forms of environ_Rental desecrations.
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