<br />000865
<br />
<br />1963
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<br />water rights controversy and that it
<br />would be drafted so it would not ad-
<br />versely affect any existing agencJes oper-
<br />ating In the water resources field.
<br />Section 3 or 8. 1111 Is a. statement snd
<br />a proposed enactment or these basic
<br />understandings and purposes. It needs
<br />to be J"ead carefuJly and understood, lor
<br />it, puts aside many of the controversial
<br />side Issues which have In the past unnee..
<br />essarlly delayed the water. planning job.
<br />Section 3 reads as follows:
<br />SEC. 3. Nothing In thlB Act !IhaIl be con-
<br />BlrUed-(I!,) to expand or diminIsh either
<br />Federnl or State Jurlsdlctlon, responslbU1ty,
<br />or rights In tho tleld o( water resources
<br />planning, development, or control; nor to
<br />d18pJoce, Bupersede, or limit the Jurl.lldlctlon
<br />or responsibility of any Jf!gally cfltnbllshed
<br />Joint or common lIgcncy or two or more
<br />Statcs. or of two or more Sta.tes and the Fed~
<br />eral Government.; nor to Ilmlt t.he authority
<br />of Congress to authorize and fund proJects;
<br />nor to limit the use of other mechanleDUl,
<br />If preferred by the participating govern~
<br />mental unlts. 1n the water resources field:
<br />(b) as superseding, modifying, or repeat-
<br />Jng existing lawa applicable to the varloUl
<br />(Federal agencies which are authorlzed to
<br />develOp or participate in the development of
<br />water and related land resources, or to exer-
<br />cise licensing or regulatory functions In
<br />relatlon thereto; nor to affect the Jurisdic-
<br />tion, pOwers, or prerogatlvea of the Intern a-
<br />ttonaI Joint Comrnlsalon, United States and
<br />Canada, or of tb., International Boundary
<br />and Water Commission, United States and
<br />Mexico.
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<br />During one of the hearings on this
<br />bUl, I made the statement t.hat the long-
<br />standIng water rights controversy be..
<br />tween the Federal Government and the
<br />States had never prevented the construc-
<br />tion of 8 project. I chn.llenged one wit..
<br />. ness to name any project which had
<br />been forestalled by the rights Issue. He
<br />.named two, but it proved that he was
<br />mistaken on both of them.
<br />It Was. and is, my belief that if we
<br />w1l1 set the water engineers and experts
<br />from the Federal Government and the
<br />States down around a table to come up
<br />with the very best possible plan for the
<br />use of the water of a river basin, they
<br />will get the Job done without any exten-
<br />61ve debate on rights. They deal In facts.
<br />The costs and benefits of alternative
<br />. projects and program are measurable.
<br />They will study those alternatives, com-
<br />pare them, and select the alternatives
<br />which are best for the basin Involved.
<br />Time after time, the engineers have
<br />been able to recommend projects'whlch
<br />all of the participants In some of our.
<br />major water rights battles come In and
<br />support and then go back home and
<br />start scolding each other about water
<br />rights again.
<br />We can plan. We can prepare for the
<br />development of' our water resources
<br />which wll1 be urgently needed In the
<br />next 10, 20, and 30 years, 11 we w1ll Just"
<br />suspend bureaucratic arguments Jong
<br />. enough to Sf't up a planning machinery .
<br />which will allow the engineers and the
<br />water experts to get together.
<br />The Senate Interior and Insular AJlalrs
<br />Committee, which has recommended the
<br />passage ot S. 1111, has anotller bill be-
<br />- fore It, S. 1275, which deals With the State
<br />and Federal water rights Issue. We are
<br />going to hold hearings on It and Bee If
<br />we can take at least a short step toward
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<br />~ONGRESSIONAL RECORD - SENA" E
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<br />settlement of that dispute. I am not
<br />sure whether we w1ll be able to or not.
<br />But that dispute can be dealt with sep-
<br />arately and does not need to impede the
<br />passage of S. 1111 to get the planning
<br />Job done.
<br />Mr. PresIdent, S. 1111, before the Sen-
<br />ate today. 5tH] seeks to achieve the same
<br />purposes as President Kennedy's bill
<br />which is the implementation of recom-
<br />mendations I, 2, 4, and 5 of the Senate
<br />Select Committee on National Water
<br />Resources.
<br />Title I of S. 1111 establishes a Water
<br />Resources Councn composed of the Sec-
<br />retary of the Interior, the secretary of
<br />the Anny, the Secretary of Health, Edu-
<br />cation. and Welfare. the Secretary ot
<br />Agriculture and .the Chairman of the
<br />Federal Power CommissIon. Including
<br />the five major agencies which have re-
<br />sponslbUltles for water resources plan-
<br />nlng now.
<br />The title charges this Council with
<br />perfonnlng one of the Important Jobs
<br />recommended by the Select Committee
<br />on Water Resources. a biennial assess-
<br />ment of water supply and demand in the
<br />various regIons of the Nation.
<br />This is a considerably more Important
<br />function than mat'ly realize. Experience
<br />shows that It sometimes takes 20 years
<br />and longer to bring major water re-
<br />sources facUlties from the planning stage
<br />to completion. After all the planning Is.
<br />done. alter aU the blue prints for a dam
<br />have been completed and Congress hBB
<br />actually authorized the first money to
<br />start work on a. dam, It sometimes takes
<br />6 to "1 years just to construct the access
<br />roads, excavate. drill foundations, bore
<br />water tunnel8 and finally erect the struc-
<br />ture that wlll impound a river's waters.
<br />It Is too late to start the planning and
<br />COIl8tructlon of a dam after a water
<br />shortage is upOn a city. It must be done
<br />years in advance. It Is.. .consequently
<br />essential that we know years In advance
<br />when demand Is going to exceed the
<br />supply under different stages of develop-
<br />ment.
<br />A second major tWlctlon ot the Coun-
<br />cn-and a very Important one In some
<br />major areas-Is to assess the effeCt that
<br />the Individual river basin plans will have
<br />on other regions in the Nation.
<br />The Mississippi River BasJn has been
<br />treated for Federal wa.ter planning and
<br />development purposes as six different
<br />basins in the past. It has been treated as.
<br />a Lower Mississippi" River Basin. the
<br />Tennessee, the OhJo, the Upper MIssJs-
<br />'slppt River Basin. the Missouri Basin,
<br />and the Arkansas-Red-Whlte River
<br />Basin.
<br />Water management in the Tennessee
<br />Valley effects water flows In the lower
<br />Mississippi below Cairo, nl., as does water
<br />management In the Ohio. Irrigation In
<br />Montana. and North Dakota efl'ects the
<br />amOWlt of water flowing past Vicksburg.
<br />Miss. It Is necessary that there be a
<br />Federal agency making certain that In
<br />Inst.ances Uke the MissiSSippi basin that
<br />the plan for one of Ule six segments does
<br />adversely efl'ect others.
<br />A second example of Interbasln rela-
<br />tionships which must be watched Is In-
<br />terbaslD exchange of water. Some of
<br />these are Intraata.te.. as In California,
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<br />22121
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<br />where it Is planned to divert waler from
<br />humid northern CaHrornla areas to arid
<br />southern California. Some Instances are
<br />Interstate, such as diversions from the
<br />Colorado River to the Missouri and Ar-
<br />kansas Ri ver basins.
<br />A third major task of the Water Re~
<br />sources Council has already been under-
<br />taken on an ad hoc basis. We needed
<br />a new statement ot Federal principles.
<br />standards and policies to provide Federal
<br />water agencies with a common guide for
<br />Justification and plannlng of water proJ-
<br />ects. President Kennedy asked Ute four
<br />Ca.binet members In the proposed Coun-
<br />cil to meet on an ad hoc basis and prepare
<br />such prinCiples and standards, to replace
<br />the old a.nd unPopular standards In
<br />Budget Circular No. 97. This Job has
<br />been successfully accomplished. B. 1111
<br />directs the new Council to keep this work
<br />current, to develop common cost alloca-
<br />tJon practices and to encourage voJun.
<br />tary coordination of the Federal OOv~
<br />ernment's water planning and develop-
<br />ment activities.
<br />Title n of the bill is where the prInci-
<br />pal debate has occurred. It prOVides the
<br />pattern for the Federal-State River
<br />Basin Planning CommissIons.
<br />Under S. 1111 the Federal Govern-
<br />ment and the States wlll each appoint
<br />. and pay their own representatives in any
<br />commission. The Federal and State
<br />people w1ll meet as representatives of
<br />autonomous Wlits of government. The
<br />. Commissions will be truly Federal-State,
<br />not Federal Commissions to which the
<br />.Presldent has appointed people intended
<br />to represent the view point of the dif-
<br />ferent States. The Federal Government
<br />and the States will share In the budget.
<br />Since preparation of the best plan for
<br />the development of the water and re-
<br />lated land resources of a river basin
<br />requires a .determinatlon of the best al-
<br />ternatives based on the facts involved
<br />and it Is not a pOlitical question which
<br />can be settled by voting, no provision Is
<br />made for voting In the Commissions.
<br />In Instances where the engineers and
<br />experts finally disagree on what is the
<br />best plan: then the C;ommlssions wIU
<br />report to the PresJdent and the Gover-
<br />nors. and through them to the legis-
<br />lative bodies, on the alternatives. Con-
<br />gress ultJmately has to authorize the
<br />projects. It wm not be WlU&ual it we
<br />have to JUdge occaSionally between al-
<br />_ temative DroJects. It wlll be unusual to
<br />Judge between alternatives where the
<br />engJneerlng facts and the antJclpated.
<br />results of the alternatives have been
<br />. Clearly defined and we know the exact
<br />.nature of the choice we are makJng.
<br />The Advisory Commission on Inter..
<br />governmenta.l Relations on which three
<br />distinguished. members of this body serve
<br />with dlstlnctlon-Senators ERVIN
<br />MUNDT, and MUSltIE-has approved thia
<br />new type of commission with some en..
<br />thusiasm.
<br />The Commission includes representa-
<br />tives of the execuUve branch of the
<br />Federal Government, Senators. Repre-
<br />sentatives. Governors. State legislators,
<br />mayors, county omcla18, and Private cit-
<br />Izens.
<br />The members of the COD1D1lsston, with..
<br />out any dissents. agreed to a report on
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