Senator KERR. Thank you, Mr. Secretary, very much. Senator ANDERSON. I want to say to the Secretary that one time I occupied the position he occupied and the gentleman that just spoke was a Governor of the State of Oklahoma. I can never forget the things he persuaded me to do for the benefit of his State. He had more good ideas for fine things for Oklahoma than you ever saw, and we worked out most of them. May I point out, Mr. Secretary, that the language reads, "The President is authorized to do these things upon the request of the Governor." I am not trying to commit the President, and I know you would not either, but wouldn't you think normally the President in the exercise of this function would consult the other Governors before he set up a committee and thus be sure it was the desire of all the States? Secretary FREEMAN. I know he would and I know if he found a Governor like the former Governor of Oklahoma, before they got through they would find something on which all of the States could agree on. Senator ANDERSON. I am going to ask permission at this time to put into the record a copy of S. 1778 and the Agency reports thereon. This bill was introduced by Senator Kerr and Senator Case of South Dakota. Similar reports on S. 1629, my own State aid bill, will be found in the Interior Committee hearing on the measures which will be printed with the record of this joint hearing we are holding today. (The bill and its reports follow :) [S. 1778, 87th Cong., 1st sess.] A BILL To promote State planning with respect to public works necessary for the conservation, development, and utilization of water resources Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SHORT TITLE SECTION 1. This Act may be cited as the "Public Works Planning Act of 1961”. DEFINITIONS SEC. 2. When used in this Act (1) the term "Board" means the Water Resources Planning Board established under the provisions of section 5 of this Act; and (2) the term "State" means a State, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, or the Virgin Islands. STATEMENT OF POLICY SEC. 3. It is hereby declared to be the policy of the Congress, to recognize, preserve, and protect the primary responsibilities and rights of the States in the planning for the conservation, development, and utilization of their water and related land resources. In recognition of the need for increased participation by the States in water resources planning, the Board is hereby authorized to assist the States in improving the effectiveness of their comprehensive water resources planning activities in accordance with the provisions of this Act. APPROPRIATIONS AUTHORIZED SEC. 4. There is hereby authorized to be appropriated for the fiscal year beginning after the date of enactment of this Act, and for the nine succeeding fiscal years thereafter, $5,000,000 in each such year for grants to the States to assist them in developing comprehensive water resources plans in accordance with the provisions of this Act. WATER RESOURCES PLANNING BOARD SEC. 5. (a) There is established a Water Resources Planning Board which shall consist of such representatives of such Federal departments and agencies as the President determines in order to carry out the provisions of this Act. One such representative shall be designated by the President to act as chairman of the Board. (b) Members of the Board shall serve without compensation in addition to that received for their services in the department or agency which they represent, but they shall be reimbursed for travel, subsistence, and other necessary expenses incurred by them in the performance of the duties vested in the Board. ALLOTMENTS SEC. 6. (a) From the sum appropriated pursuant to section 4 for any fiscal year the Board shall from time to time make allotments to the States, in accordance with regulations on the basis of (1) the population, (2) the land area, (3) the need for comprehensive water resources planning programs, and (4) the financial need of the respective States. For the purposes of this section the population of the States shall be determined on the basis of the latest estimates available from the Department of Commerce and the land area of the States shall be determined on the basis of the official records of the United States Geological Survey. (b) From each State's allotment under this section for any fiscal year the Board shall pay to such State an amount equal to its Federal share (as determined under section 9) of the cost of carrying out its State program approved under section 7, including the cost of training personnel for carrying out such program and the cost of administering such program. STATE PLANS SEC. 7. (a) The Board shall approve any program for comprehensive water resources planning which is submitted by a State, if such program (1) provides for comprehensive water resources planning in such State to meet the needs of agriculture, industry, and the general public, for water and water related activities taking into account prospective demands for all purposes served through or affected by water resources development, with adequate provision for cooperation and coordination with all Federal and State agencies having responsibilities in such fields; (2) designates a State agency (hereinafter referred to as the "State agency") to administer the program; (3) provides that the State agency will make such reports in such form and containing such information as the Board from time to time reasonably requires to carry out its functions under this Act; (4) sets forth the procedure to be followed in carrying out the State program and in administering such program; and (5) provides such accounting, budgeting, and other fiscal methods and procedures as are necessary for the proper and efficient administration of the program. The Board shall not disapprove any program without first giving reasonable notice and opportunity for hearing to the State agency administering such program. (b) The Secretary of the Army, the Secretary of Agriculture, and the Secretary of the Interior are each authorized, at the request of any State agency, to provide technical assistance in the preparation of such State's program to be submitted under the provisions of this section. REVIEW SEC. 8. Whenever the Board, after reasonable notice and opportunity for hearing to a State agency finds that (a) the program submitted by such State and approved under section 7 has been so changed that it no longer complies with a requirement of such section; or (b) in the administration of the program there is a failure to comply substantially with such a requirement, the Board shall notify such agency that no further payments will be made to the State under this Act until it is satisfied that there will no longer be any such failure. Until it is so sat isfied, the Board shall make no further payments to such State under this Act. FEDERAL SHARES SEC. 9. (a) The Federal share for any State shall be 100 per centum of the cost of carrying out its approved program less that percentage which bears the same ratio to 50 per centum as the per capita income of such State bears to the per capita income of the entire United States, except that (1) the Federal share shall in no case be more than 66% per centum or less than 33% per centum, (2) the Federal share for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands shall be 66% per centum, and (3) the Federal share for any State shall not exceed that State's allotment under section 6. (b) The Federal shares shall be promulgated by the Board on the basis of the average of the per capita incomes of the States and of the entire United States for the three most recent consecutive years for which satisfactory data are available from the Department of Commerce. The first such promulgation shall be conclusive for the first fiscal year for which payments are made under the provisions of this Act and the succeeding fiscal year, and a promulgation shall thereafter be made for each succeeding two years and shall be conclusive for such years. PAYMENTS SEC. 10. The method of computing and paying amounts pursuant to this Act shall be as follows: (1) The Board shall, prior to the beginning of each calendar quarter or other period prescribed by it, estimate the amount to be paid to each State under the provisions of this Act for such period, such estimate to be based on such records of the State and information furnished by it, and such other investigation as the Board may find necessary. (2) The Board shall pay to the State, from the allotment available therefor, the amount so estimated by it for any period, reduced or increased, as the case may be, by any sum (not previously adjusted under this paragraph) by which it finds that its estimate of the amount to be paid such State for any prior period under this Act was greater or less than the amount which should have been paid to such State for such prior period under this Act. Such payments shall be made through the disbursing facilities of the Treasury Department, in such installments as the Board may determine. ADMINISTRATION SEC. 11. (a) The Board may prescribe such regulations as are necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act. (b) The Board may, with the consent of the head of any department or other agency of the United States, utilize such officers and employees of such department or agency as are necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act. (c) There are authorized to be appropriated such amounts as may be necessary for the administration of this Act. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, BUREAU OF THE BUDGET, Washington, D.C., July 14, 1961. Hon. DENNIS CHAVEZ, Chairman, Committee on Public Works, DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: This is in reply to your letter of May 5, 1961, requesting the views of the Bureau of the Budget with respect to S. 1778, to promote State planning with respect to public works necessary for the conservation, development, and utilization of water resources. The bill would authorize grants to the States to assist them in developing comprehensive water resources plans. The President is transmitting to the Congress draft legislation to provide for the optimum development of the Nation's natural resources through the coordinated planning of water and related land resources, through the establishment of a Water Resources Council and river basin commissions, and by providing financial assistance to the States in order to increase State participation in such planning. The provisions of title III of the draft legislation are similar to those of S. 1778. In addition, the proposed legislation brings together in a single 74139-61 -3 authorization the complementary planning activities of the Federal agencies and the States. This Nation must take aggressive action to meet the growing demands on its water resources. The development and management of these vital resources is a vast undertaking which can be expected to grow even larger in the future. This will require concerted and coordinated action by the many Federal, State, and local agencies involved in water resources development. As future programs for development are planned, every effort must be made to reconcile possible conflicts among alternative uses of water and to insure that every projectFederal, State, or local-will further the most efficient use of water and the attainment of maximum benefits. The legislation proposed by the President will provide the basis for the necessary coordinated and integrated water resources planning-essential to sound water resources development-to meet the growing demands for water. Accordingly, while the Bureau of the Budget supports the objectives of S. 1778, it recommends enactment of the more comprehensive proposal which the President is transmitting to the Congress. Sincerely yours, (Signed) DAVID E. BELL, Director. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY, Hon. DENNIS CHAVEZ, Chairman, Committee on Public Works, DEAR SENATOR CHAVEZ: This responds to your request for the views of this Department on S. 1778, a bill to promote State planning with respect to public works necessary for the conservation, development, and utilization of water resources. We wholeheartedly endorse the purposes of this bill, so that the States can participate fully in the comprehensive planning required to forestall approaching water crisis. We urge, however, that the grant program be enacted as a part of general legislation establishing an integrated system for multiple-purpose water resources planning, as recomemnded by the President in proposed legislation submitted to the Congress. The President's proposal is designated as the Water Resources Planning Act of 1961. It is designed to achieve the goal urged by the Senate Select Committee on National Water Resources and accepted by the President in his natural resources message to the Congress to develop comprehensive river basin plans by 1970 in cooperation with the individual States. Title I of the President's bill establishes a Cabinet-level Water Resources Council to coordinate comprehensive water resources planning. The council would be composed of the Secretaries of the Interior, Agriculture, the Army, and Health, Education, and Welfare, with the President empowered to designate the chairman. Title II of the measure authorizes the President to establish river basin commissions for major river basins, for multiple basins or for various regions in the United States for which there is a demonstrated interest in comprehensive planning. These commissions, composed of representatives of interested Federal agencies, of affected States and of interstate and international commissions, would have the responsibility for the formulation of multiple-purpose plans for the conservation, development, and utilization of water and related land resources. The commissions would secure the comments of affected States and Federal agencies and report to the Council, which in turn would transmit these comprehensive plans and modifications of plans to the President for his review and submission to the Congress. Title II of the President's proposal establishes the program envisaged by S. 1778 for ederal financial assistance to the States to enable them to discharge their resensibilities in water resources planning. As contemplated by S. 1778, title III nthorizes annual appropriations of $5 million for a period of 10 years to be allotte to the individual States on a basis of (1) population, (2) land area, (3) the need for comprehensive water resources planning programs, and (4) financial need. The Federal payment to a State is a percentage of the determined cost of the State's necessary program. This grant-in-aid program for State planning would be administered by the Water Resources Council, which would have authority to review State plans and discontinue Federal payments under certain circumstances. It will take no less than the combined efforts of all interested groups, intelligently organized, to satisfy the inexorable expansion of demands upon our available water and related land resources. This is the challenge which we must meet. Accordingly, in the light of the above, the Department of the Interior recommends the enactment of the President's proposal in lieu of S. 1778. Sincerely yours, STEWART L. UDALL, Secretary of the Interior. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, Hon. DENNIS CHAVEZ, Chairman, Committee on Public Works, DEAR SENATOR CHAVEZ: This is in reply to your request of May 5, 1961, for the views of this Department on S. 1778, a bill to promote State planning with respect to public works necessary for the conservation, development, and utilization of water resources. The bill would establish a Water Resources Planning Board consisting of such representatives of such Federal departments and agencies as the President de termines and would authorize the Board to grant $5 million of Federal funds each year for 10 years on a matching basis to the States to assist them in developing comprehensive water resources plants. It would direct the Board to make allotments to the States in accordance with regulations based on population, land area, need for comprehensive water resources planning programs, and financial need. It would require the Board to approve programs for comprehensive water resoures planning submitted by the States that meet specified qualifications, and to discontinue payments under them at such time as they may fail to meet these qualifications. Further, the Secretaries of the Army, the Interior, and Agriculture would each be authorized, at the request of a State, to provide technical assistance in the preparation of such State's program for submission. This Department is in accord with the bill's objective which is to increase the participation by the States in comprehensive water resources planning. However, it feels that the purposes of the bill can be most effectively carried out in the framework of the proposed bill being recommended by the administration. Accordingly, the Department of Agriculture recommends enactment of the President's more comprehensive proposal contained in S. 2246 in lieu of S. 1778. Sincerely yours, ORVILLE L. FREEMAN, Secretary. Senator ANDERSON. Senator Dworshak, any questions? Senator DwORSHAK. Mr. Secretary, I note with interest the emphasis you place upon the multiple-use concept of water resource development. You refer to the individual participation of farmers in the national soil conservation program and then point out the need of cooperation and coordination between this particular program and the major downstream programs for flood control, hydroelectric power and navigation. Near the end of your statement you say you believe that the proposal submitted by the President will provide the most useful means by which all agencies of the Federal, State and local governments concerned with land and water resources can cooperate most effectively together. Now, I think that is a very forthright comment and it leads me to ask you whether you think there is any conflict between the views here expressed by you and the concept of wilderness preservation, which is embraced in a bill recently considered by this committee. |