(b) A commission may accept for any of its purposes and functions appropriations, donations, and grants of money, equipment, supplies, materials, and services from any State or the United States or any subdivision or agency thereof, or intergovernmental agency, and may receive, utilize, and dispose of the same. (c) The commission shall keep accurate accounts of all receipts and disbursements. The receipts and disbursements shall be audited by a qualified public accountant who, where practicable, shall be licensed or certified by a regulatory body of a State, and the report of the audit shall be included in and become a part of the annual report of the commission. (d) The accounts of the commission shall be open at any reasonable time for inspection by such agency, representative or representatives of the jurisdictions which appropriate funds to the commission. TITLE III-FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO THE STATES COMPREHENSIVE PLANNING GRANT AUTHORIZATION SEC. 301. In recognition of the need for increased participation by the States if the planning and other activities authorized by this Act are to be effective, there are hereby authorized to be appropriated to the Council for the next 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 States to assist them in developing comprehensive water resources plans and in participating in the development of the comprehensive water resources plans authorized in title II of this Act. ALLOTMENTS SEC. 302. (a) From the sums appropriated pursuant to section 301 for any fiscal year the Council shall from time to time make allotments to the States, in accordance with its 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 Council shall pay to such State an amount equal to its Federal share (as determined under section 305) of the cost of carrying out its State program approved under section 303, including the cost of training personnel for carrying out such program and the cost of administering such program. STATE PROGRAMS SEC. 303. The Council shall approve any program for comprehensive water resources planning which is submitted by a State, if such program (1) provides for comprehensive planning with respect to intrastate or interstate water resources, or both, in such State to meet the needs for water and water related activities taking into account prospective demands for all purposes served through or affected by water resoruces development, with adequate provision for 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 Council from time to time reasonably requires to carry out its functions under this title: (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 Council shall not disapprove any program without first giving reasonable notice and opportunity for hearing to the State agency administering such program. REVIEW SEC. 304. Whenever the Council after reasonable notice and opportunity for hearing to a State agency finds that (a) the program submitted by such State and approved under section 303 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 Council shall notify such agency that no further payments will be made to the State under this title until it is satisfied that there will no longer be any such failure. Until the Council is so satisfied, it shall make no further payments to such State under this title. FEDERAL SHARE SEC. 305. (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, and (2) the Federal share for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands shall be 66% per centum: Provided, That in no event shall the Federal share exceed a State's allotment under section 302. (b) The Federal shares shall be promulgated by the Council 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 title and the suceeding fiscal year, and a promulgation shall thereafter be made for each suceeding two years and shall be conclusive for such years. PAYMENTS SEC. 306. The method of computing and paying amounts pursuant to this title shall be as follows: (1) The Council 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 title 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 Council may find necessary. (2) The Council 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 title was greater or less than the amount which should have been paid to such State for such prior period under this title. Such payments shall be made through the disbursing facilities of the Treasury Department, in such installments as the Council may determine. DEFINITION SEC. 307. For the purpose of this title the term "State" means a State, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, or the Virgin Islands. TITLE IV-MISCELLANEOUS AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS SEC. 401. There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of titles I and II and the administration of title III. RULES AND REGULATIONS SEC. 402. The Council is authorized to make such rules and regulations as it may deem necessary or appropriate for carrying out those provisions of this Act which are administered by it. DELEGATION OF FUNCTIONS SEC. 403. The council is authorized to delegate to any member or employee of the Council its administrative functions under section 105 and the detailed administration of the grant program under title III. UTILIZATION OF PERSONNEL SEC. 404. The Council may, with the consent of the head of any other department or agency of the United States, utilize such officers and employees of such agency as are necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act. EMPLOYEE BENEFITS SEC. 405. The Civil Service Commission of the United States is authorized to contract with any commission established under section 201 of this Act for coverage of the river basin commission's employees in the employee benefit programs of the Federal Government, as provided in section 205(a) (6) of this Act. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY, Washington, D.C., March 20, 1964. Hon. WAYNE N. ASPINALL, Chairman, Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, DEAR MR. ASPINALL: This responds to your request for the views of this Department on H.R. 3620 and S. 1111, similar bills "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." This is the proposed Water Resources Planning Act. We recommend enactment of the legislation with amendments in accordance with the recommendations in this report. The purpose of these bills is well stated in the title. Title I of the bills would establish a Cabinet-level Water Resources Council, composed of the Secretaries of the Interior, Agriculture, Army, and Health, Education, and Welfare, and, under S. 1111, the Chairman of the Federal Power Commission, to provide general direction to the activities of the Federal Government in the area of water resources planning. Although the four Secretaries who would sit on the Council have performed certain functions at the President's direction, enactment of title I will afford congressional endorsement of this institutional arrangement for coordinating their policy and planning efforts. No other major responsibility of the Federal Government is so divided as that relating to the conservation, development, and utilization of the Nation's water and related land resources. An effective mechanism for bringing the agency heads together on a regular basis for coordinated planning of their respective program responsibilities is badly needed and long overdue. Title II of H.R. 3620 and S. 1111 would create a framework under which joint Federal-State commissions can be established where needed for planning the comprehensive development of the water and related land resources of river basins, regions, or groups of related river basins in the United States. There are, of course, areas for which we would not expect new commissions to be established because comprehensive planning is well underway or functioning mechanisms exist for the coordination of comprehensive planning efforts, such as, for example, the Delaware River Basin Commission, the Columbia Basin Interagency Committee, and the Tennessee Valley Authority. For many remaining regions or basins, however, title II will make it possible to lay a firm organizational base for the indispensable coordination of planning efforts to meet the greatly accelerated competing demands of the American people for water and related land resources. Title III of the bills would authorize Federal grants to States to assist them in discharging their important responsibilities in water planning. H.R. 3620 and S. 1111 constitute revisions of the proposed Water Resources Planning Act which the President submitted to the Congress in July of 1961 and which was introduced in the 87th Congress as H.R. 8177 and S. 2246. One of the principal purposes of the amendments is to give added recognition to the responsibility of the States in water resources planning and to strengthen the role which the States will play on the river basin commissions. We respect this objective and welcome the spirit in which the amendments were prepared. The States are partners with the Federal Government in the multifaceted responsibilities of water and related land resources policy, and the public interest requires that all parties work together in harmony and cooperation. We believe there are three basic principles which must govern the operation of the river basin commissions authorized under title II if the joint FederalState planning mechanism is to work successfully. First, it is clear that the sole purpose of a commission is to promote orderly and more rapid progress in water and related land resources planning. It is imperative, therefore, to avoid statutory technicalities which might be used by dissident interests to frustrate the desired progress, rather than to facilitate it. Furthermore, the enactment of the legislation, and the establishment of a river basin commission under it, should not be used as an argument that no new Federal projects should be initiated until a complete new plan can be prepared and agreed upon by all parties concerned. Second, it must be recognized that while the joint Federal-State commissions will be extremely useful instruments for coordinating the planning efforts of the many Federal and State agencies in the basin, region, or group of basins, the ultimate responsibility and authority for any new authorizing action to carry out recommended plans rests in the respective legislative bodies. On the Federal side, construction of water and related land resource projects can be undertaken only under specific or general authority provided by the Congress; and on the State's side, the ultimate responsibility rests in the State legislatures to decide to what extent each State wishes to particitpate in water and related land resources development. The recommendations of the commission may assist and persuade, but cannot bind, the State legislative bodies or the Congress. This limitation is explicitly recognized in section 3 (a) of H.R. 3620 and S. 1111. The third principle is that complete unanimity of opinion among commission members and the entities they represent is not possible of attainment, and probably is not desirable, in all cases. The proper function of the commissions, as we see it, is to organize the responsible personnel of interested Federal and State agencies in a sound working relationship, to obtain the best information available, to analyze and to establish technical facts and assumptions, to give full consideration to all of the aspects of water and related land resources development, to define feasible alternatives where appropriate, and to assemble informed judgments on such alternatives. In a field where so many diverse opinions are held by so many groups, every reasonable effort should be made to reach a consensus on technical facts and policy judgments. At the same time, proper opportunities must be provided for the expression of alternatives or dissenting views. It is clearly not the obligation or the objective of the commissions to develop a single and uniform view which is irrevocably binding upon all participants. H.R. 3620 is similar to the form in which S. 1111 was originally introduced. During the consideration of the measure in the Senate, however, including the view and recommendations of this Department and other executive agencies, a number of amendments were adopted. In general, we endorse these amendments as improving the measure consistent with the principles discussed above. We favor enactment of S. 1111 in its present form, therefore, with the following additional changes. 1. On page 5, revise lines 7 through 11 to read as follows: "(a) formulate such recommendations as it deems desirable in the national interest; and ."(b) transmit its recommendations, together with the plan or revision of the river basin commission and the views, comments, and recom-" When the Council submits the river basin commission's plan to the President, we believe it should be free to submit at the same time all of its relevant recommendations based on its review of the plan. The Council's recommendations may include, among other things, its views with respect to the plans for Federal projects (see sec. 103, p. 4), its selection among alternatives that may be set forth in the plan (see sec. 201(b) (2), p. 8), and its recommendations with respect to continuing the functions of the commission and implementing the plan (see sec. 204 (4), pp. 13–14). Accordingly, the proposed amendment eliminates the provision of clause (a) that limits the Council's recommendations to "modifications in such plan." 2. Put a period after "located" on page 7, line 20, and delete the proviso that follows: The proviso would require that wherever a river basin has been divided into subbasins by an act of Congress or an approved interstate compact, the subbasin "shall be treated as a separate basin." While the quoted words are ambiguous, the intent of the provision seems to be to forbid establishment of commissions responsible for planning for a broader area than the subbasin and to forestall preparation of one comprehensive plan covering a broader area. We think this might in some cases serve as too limiting a restriction. 3. On page 8, lines 4 and 5, delete "that such planning as is otherwise authorized by law proceed." and substitute "an alternative means of accomplishing such planning."; or, in the alternative, delete the entire last sentence of subsection 201(a). In the event sufficient State concurrences are not obtained for the establishment of a river basin commission, it seems unnecessarily restrictive to prevent the Water Resources Council from recommending a planning mechanism that might involve some departure from the existing law. The proposed amendment would substitute the provision contained in H.R. 3620 on this point. As an alternative, the entire last sentence of subsection 201(a) could be deleted. 4. Insert a comma after "practicable" on line 13, page 8. 5. On lines 21 and 22, page 10, delete the words "not less than one-half”. We believe that the concurrence of a "majority" of the States should be required to terminate a river basin commission rather than simply "one-half" of the States. This will make a difference when an even number of States are members of the commission, as in such cases a "majority" would be one State more than one-half. 6. Change the period at the end of line 24 to a colon and add the following: "Provided further, That the chairman, in consultation with the vice chairman, shall have the final authority, if necessary, to fix the times and places for meetings, to set deadlines for the submission of annual and other reports, to establish subcommittees, and to decide such other procedural questions as may be necessary for the commission to perform its functions." The amendment suggests a distinction between matters of procedure and matters of substance. It is necessary, in our opinion, that someone have the final responsibility to decide the procedural matters essential to the proper functioning of the commission, such as the times and places for meetings, deadlines for annual and other reports, and establishment of subcommittees, if these arrangements cannot be fixed by agreement. The amendment assigns this authority to the chairman, to be discharged after consultation with the vice chairman. We believe that adequate restraints exist against the arbitrary use of this power: The President always may be persuaded to replace an unsatisfactory chairman; the majority of the States may unilaterally dissolve the commission if the rulings of the chairman are unacceptable. On questions of substance, however such as what standards shall be followed to evaluate water resources developments, what value judgments shall be given priority, or, of course, what elements will be included in the comprehensive plan-arrangements must be made for the presentation and statement of minority, dissenting or alternative opinions. This is the basis on which various river basin commissions and interagency groups have functioned successfully for a number of years. Their experience attests to the significant contribution which the river basin commissions proposed under S. 1111 can make notwithstanding, and probably because of, the absence of voting provisions in the traditional sense. The Bureau of the Budget advises that enactment of the bill with the amendments recommended herein and in its report would be in accord with the program of the President. Sincerely yours, STEWART L. UDALL, Secretary of the Interior. |