may be, it has a limit. And when that limit is reached, then for additional power we must look to steam plants and power costs that are unfavorable compared to other parts of the country.

In any event, and in the best interest of all of us in the Pacific Northwest, and in the best interests of the West and of the Nation, there needs to be a fair deal decision on the difficult and complex policy questions. Members of the Congress do not pretend to be Solomons; but they are the elected representatives of all concerned. And in Congress the necessary decisions should be made.

The policy questions might be decided in legislation not specifically related to the review report. There might be legislation Nation-wide or West-wide in scope. There might be legislation basin-wide in scope. Basin-wide legislation of a sort has recently been suggested. But whatever the scope of the legislation be, we expect that the policy questions which have West-wide and Nation-wlde import will receive the attention they deserve.

We hope to see those policy questions decided by the Congress; and we hope we do not see the decision of those or similar policy questions delegated to any existing or new administrative agency.

We hope that the administration of Federal activiites in this basin area, and in the rest of the West, will continue to be administered by existing agencies which like the Corps of Engineers do confine themselves to carrying out the law of the land and do not attempt the making of the law which is the responsibility of our elected representatives.

We believe that the Corps of Engineers is here in Spokane today fulfilling its function as a public servant and is not seeking to be a public master.

The report of the division engineer does not pretend to offer a master plan that contains all of the answers, nor does it try to leave the answers to administrative agencies. Rather, the report offers a plan of engineering works that would tame and harness the Columbia River and its tributaries; the report mentions some of the policy questions and leaves the answers to the Congress; and in your good pattern of procedure you are here today to receive and record the comments of the areas affected before you refer the matter to Congress for decision. We like the way you operate both before and after authorization of the civil works you undertake. Evidence of your efficiency is a Bonneville Dam and McNary Dam site and along the protected banks of our rivers.

Much of what is underway here today, in this review report, should come to pass. We hope to be working with you in the States drained by the Columbia River and its tributaries, for years to come. We thank you.

J. KENNARD CHEADLE,

Chairman of Columbia Basin Committec and of Special Committee re 308 Revised Report, Spokane Chamber of Commerce.

Above statement approved and authorized January 26, 1949, by executive committee and Special Committee re 308 Revised Report, Spokane Chamber of Com

merce.

Mr. FORD. I wanted to add in connection with that, we recognize as needing very high priority on this the Albeni Falls Dam for the reasons already stated to you. Not only that it helps the flood situation downstream, but adds materially to the power relief, and very, very quickly and cheaply.

And equal priority we want to ask for the Libby Dam, which you have been discussing, for the same reasons, that it offers very material assistance to the down-river flood situation, and adds very heavily to the power supply down river, to the power plants down river in addition to what it generates itself, and on top of that will relieve the wonderful Kootenai Valley of those terrific floods which they are having almost all the time.

In answer to the Congressman's question a while ago about the attitude of Canada, 2 weeks ago in Bellingham we had a meeting of the Northwest Trade Association, which is made up of the trade associations of British Columbia and Washington and Oregon, and that very question was asked there, and representatives of British Columbia and others living in the Kootenai Valley all spoke up and were very anxious to see the Libby Dam built.

You can understand when you see that geography how the river below the Libby Dam turns and runs north into Canada, so the Libby Dam will help the power in Canada. So they will get a great deal out of it.

The citizens are for it. There is no objection to it any way that I know of. We endorse very heartily the 308 report as worked out jointly with the Bureau of Reclamation.

Mr. LARCADE. Thank you, Mr. Ford.

The next witness will be Mr. H. C. Webb, of Seattle, Wash.

STATEMENT OF H. C. WEBB, VICE PRESIDENT, PUGET SOUND POWER & LIGHT CO

Mr. WEBB. My name is H. C. Webb, vice president of the Puget Sound Power & Light Co. I have a prepared statement, Mr. Chairman, which I would like to file and briefly make just three points.

I would like to endorse the Albeni Falls project. We feel it is very necessary. We also endorse in principle the 308 report. We think it is a good blueprint to follow. We would like to make one statement with respect to one project which I understand will be included in that report, and that is with respect to the Priest Rapids development, which is downstream from a large hydro project owned by our company.

We would like to be assured at the right time when the plan has been fully developed that our project if the pool elevation and method of operation affects it in any way, that we will be restored to what we were before.

Mr. LARCADE. Without objection, you may file your statement, and I will assure you that your interest will be given full consideration when this other project is considered.

(Mr. Webb's statement follows:)

STATEMENT PREPARED FOR HOUSE PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE ON COMPREHENSIVE DEVELOPMENT OF THE COLUMBIA RIVER ARMY ENGINEERS REVISED 308 REPORT AND ALBENI FALLS PROJECT BY PUGET SOUND POWER & LIGHT Co.

Puget Sound Power & Light Co. is an independent operating company with over 21,000 stockholders, no one of whom holds as much as 2 percent of the stock of the company. It is engaged principally in the business of generating, transmitting, distributing, and selling electric energy in all or parts of 12 counties in the western or Puget Sound and central sections of the State of Washington, comprising approximately 4,100 square miles and having an estimated population of approximately 1,100,000.

Service is furnished at retail to approximately 260,000 customers located in over 400 communities and adjacent rural areas. Of these customers approximately 50 percent live in rural areas outside of incorporated cities and towns. The most important municipalities served are Seattle, where there is competing municipal service, Bremerton, Everett, Bellingham, and Olympia.

The company began purchasing power from the Bonneville Power Administration in the fall of 1943. Since that time it has purchased nearly $10,000,000 of power from this Federal agency. The peak electrical requirements of our customers have increased by more than 50 percent since the initial purchases, and the load is continuing to grow at a substantial rate. We presently estimate an annual increase of peak power requirements, assuming no restrictions or curtailment of use, of about 45,000 kilowatts per year.

We now have only a 1-year contract with Bonneville which expires this fall and which includes a commitment during some months of the year for Bonneville to supply approximately 100,000 kilowatts. This amount of purchased power

is grossly inadequate to meet the demands of Puget's customers, and we have no assurance as to what amount of power we may be able to purchase after the expiration of the present contract because of the marketing policy of Bonneville and a lack of generating capacity at the Federal projects.

As the Federal Government has forced Puget to depend upon it for an adequate power supply for its customers, it is evident that the Government must take immediate steps to alleviate the present power shortage and to assure the region of an adequate power supply.

The present situation in which the region finds itself power-wise is intolerable. This is illustrated by the following excerpt from the Bonneville 1949 advance program:

"Even the maximum construction program feasible of accomplishment as recommended in this advance program cannot provide sufficient generating and reservoir capacity to assure that the most essential regional loads will be supplied under minimum water conditions of record until 1954 at the earliest."

That the economic growth of any region should be thus stifled is rather shocking.

Obviously, every effort must be made to correct such a situation. Since the development of multiple-purpose projects on the Columbia River involves the coordinated effort of several Government agencies and the programing of construction requiring the expenditure of several billions of Federal funds over a period of more than 20 years, it is obvious that some over-all plan should be adopted.

The Corps of Engineers in response to a request of Congress has prepared a comprehensive report in which is outlined a plan for the development of the water resources of the Columbia River and its tributaries. No other equally comprehensive program has been developed and since this report has been prepared after extensive exploratory surveys and engineering analyses by an organization of recognized competence it may be accepted as the best available guide for the future development of the water resources of the Columbia River.

Puget Sound Power & Light Co. recognizes the various benefits which would result from the construction of the projects recommended in the report by the Corps of Engineers. It is, however, primarily interested in the power-development features of the proposed plan, with particular reference to the necessity for an adequate supply of power for the future requirements of the customers which it serves.

The report now before you requests authorization for 10 multiple-purpose, power-producing dams and reservoirs and includes generating capacity rated at more than 4,000,000 kilowatts. The report contemplates that these projects will be authorized for immediate construction, but no order of priority as to completion of the individual power projects is stated. Because of the existing critical power-supply situation, it is recommended that an order of priority be stipulated for the construction of these multiple-purpose dams and reservoirs together with associated transmission facilities so that the region will be assured of an adequate power supply at the earliest possible moment.

Puget Sound Power & Light Co. recommends that this report be adopted as a guide for the future development of the Columbia River. In making this recommendation it should be recognized that this report has been in the process of preparation for a number of years and has required the man-hours of many experienced and capable individuals. Likewise, the report covers a program designed to extend over more than 20 years. Our organization could not make a complete detailed analysis of the entire report in the brief time it has been available; hence, we cannot, without qualification, endorse the report in its entirety.

In supporting the need for these additional multiple-purpose projects Puget wishes to be assured that if the proposed pool elevation and method of operation at the Priest Rapids development on the Columbia River reduce the capacity of its Rock Island plant upstream such loss in capacity will be restored from the output of the Priest Rapids plant. This was called to the attention of the Corps of Engineers at the hearings on the Priest Rapids project and also before the Board of Army Engineers.

Nevertheless, the region needs the power that can be developed from these projects and it needs it at the earliest possible moment. We specifically urge immediate authorization of the Albeni Falls project which can materially help the present critical power situation if special effort is directed toward its immediate construction. The contribution which the Albeni Falls project can

make to the over-all power supply in the area is substantial and since it can be built more rapidly than many of the other projects we respectfully request that your committee place it at the top of the priority list in order to more rapidly alleviate the power shortage in the Pacific Northwest. H. C. WEBB,

MAY 20, 1949.

Vice President, Puget Sound Power & Light Co.

Mr. LARCADE. The next witness is Mr. Bob Dow, Priest River, Idaho, representing the Priest River Chamber of Commerce.

STATEMENT OF BOB DOW, PRIEST RIVER, IDAHO

Mr. Dow. My name is Bob Dow, Priest River, Idaho, representing the Priest River Chamber of Commerce, the citizens of Old Town, Sand Point Chamber of Commerce, and Newport, Wash.

Mr. LARCADE. Do you have a statement to file?

Mr. Dow. No; I have not a statement, and my words will be very brief.

Mr. LARCADE. You may proceed.

Mr. Dow. These four towns are the closest towns to the Albeni Falls Dam, and I am sure you would like to know what the people there feel about it, how they feel about it. They heartily endorse not only Albeni Falls Dam, but the whole 308 report.

I would like to congratulate the Army engineers on their very fine report. I have attended a good many of their hearings, and the people of our community have a great deal of respect for them.

Mr. LARCADE. You may file a statement if you desire, at a later date. The next witness is Kinsey Robinson.

STATEMENT OF KINSEY M. ROBINSON, PRESIDENT, THE
WASHINGTON WATER POWER CO., SPOKANE, WASH.

Mr. ROBINSON. My name is Kinsey M. Robinson, president of the Washington Water Power Co., Spokane, Wash. I have a statement that I would like to file for the record, and just a few brief remarks. Mr. LARCADE. Without objection, your statement will be included in the record, and you may proceed.

Mr. ROBINSON. First we want to congratulate the Army engineers, and particularly in the Northwest district in connection with the 308 report. We believe that it is a good blueprint for the future development of the river. And we think that plan integrated with the Bureau of Reclamation program will constitute a good plan for the future development of the entire Columbia Basin area.

We have one objection, and that is the fish sanctuary which forecloses the rivers leading into the lower Columbia, particularly the Deschutes and Cowlitz Rivers. Our company is interested in building a plant on the Deschutes River along with two other private utilities, and we believe that there is no need for closing that river to a dam if reasonable provisions are made to save the fish.

We think that Albeni Falls is a very necessary project and unless Congress expects to pass a major flood control bill this year, then Albeni Falls should be passed as a separate measure and give the Army engineers the advantage of the first low-water year to build at

least the storage part of the dam, even though the power plant has to go in at some later date, because it does create an additional 85,000 watts more power, which is sorely needed.

We also think that the Libby Dam should be given early consideration because it does the two things, it protects the farm lands both in north Idaho and in Canada, it produces additional water for the power plants on the Canadian side of the line as well as in the United States. And if that is given consideration, it will materially increase the value of the power plants downstream, Grand Coulee, and the others. That is all I have.

Mr. LARCADE. All right. Your statement, without objection, may be filed. Thank you very much. We are glad to have you appear before the committee.

(Mr. Robinson's statement follows:)

STATEMENT OF KINSEY M. ROBINSON, PRESIDENT, THE WASHINGTON WATER POWER Co., SPOKANE, WASH., ON PACIFIC NORTHWEST AREA FLOOD CONTROL PROJECTS The Corps of Engineers, and particularly the North Pacific division engineer and the district engineers in Seattle and Portland, are to be highly commended for their long, arduous task of preparing this review report on Columbia River and tributaries. The document was greatly needed as a basis for the orderly development of the water resources of the Columbia Basin in conformity with future requirements as they develop.

The Corps says of its proposed plan:

"These projects are proposed at this time as a long-range plan, flexible in outline, which will be more definitely determined as physical conditions and economic circumstances develop in this rapidly growing region. Only a few of these future projects may be considered as definitely favorable without further study, but each should receive careful consideration before any conflicting plan for its particular functions and river reach is adopted."

The division engineer states in recommending the plan that it "be adopted as a general guide for the further development of the water resources of the Columbia River Basin and the related programs of other agencies, and that future plans for water use development give due consideration to the comprehensive plan outlined

*

The report quite properly has developed the plan under existing laws, but has left it flexible so that the Congress, if it so desires, may adjust its policy to existing circumstances.

At the present time there exists in the Columbia Basin a power shortage, due to the accumulation of a number of occurrences, including the readjustment after World War II. There is now under construction a multipurpose project, including the installation of incidental power at McNary on the Columbia River. It appears that this power supply will not be available until 1953 or 1954.

The program of federally developed hydroelectric power has tended to preclude private interests from making developments and to an increasing extent the responsibility for providing power for the area has become a function of the Government.

The plan proposed indicates Federal development of the larger projects involving large sums for navigation, flood control, etc. Smaller projects are available for private development except that most of them are being delayed by the fish problem. The fish sanctuary recommended by this report would stop both the proposed development of the Cowlitz River by the city of Tacoma and the Deschutes River by the Northwest Power Supply Co.

It is requested that, as far as the will of Congress is concerned, it remove the Cowlitz and Deschutes Rivers from the fish sanctuary. These rivers should be developed for power purposes with reasonable plans for preserving the fish.

At the two past sessions of Congress the local utilities in the Pacific Northwest-both public and private-have appeared before committees setting forth the conditions of power shortage. Last winter, considerable curtailment was necessary. It is expected further curtailment will be necessary between now and 1953 or 1954, when McNary Dam power supply is available.