KINZUA DAM SATURDAY, MAY 18, 1963 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, OF THE COMMITTEE ON INTERIOR AND INSULAR AFFAIRS, Salamanca, N.Y. The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10 a.m. in the Central High School Auditorium, Salamanca, N.Y., Hon. James A. Haley (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. Present: Representatives Haley, Martin, and Abele. First, may I introduce the members of the congressional delegation who have come here to your fine community to assist in any way that we possibly can with regard to some of the things that will be happening very shortly in your part of the country. May I introduce at this time Representative Homer E. Abele, of Ohio, who is a member of the committee; Representative Patrick M. Martin, from California, who is a member of the Indian Affairs Subcommittee. We had with us yesterday for a tour of the valley and the reservation Representative Edward R. Roybal, of California who, unfortunately, had another commitment and had to return for that reason. I regret that he could not be with us today. Our professional staff consists of Dr. Taylor, the committee consultant. We also have with us Mr. Graham Holmes, of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, who is over here. We also have a representative for your very able and outstanding Member of Congress from this District, Mr. William Gifford, who is assistant to Representative Goodell. Mr. GIFFORD. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. HALEY. I might say to you good people here in this part of the country that you have an excellent, an able, and a very capable man in the Representative that you sent to the Congress in Mr. Goodell. The only fault that I can find against this fine fellow is that he happens to be a member of another party which I will not mention here. But if you must send Republicans to Washington, he is about the best of the lot I have seen down there from this part of the country, so just keep on sending him down there if that is your wish, to continue his representation. Our reporter, Mr. Karl Veley, is the reporter for the subcommittee and for the full committee. I might say that the purpose of this visit here is in the interest of the problems of the Seneca Indians. We find many times that people have a great interest in legislation, but some of them will be unable to come to our Capital City to testify. Then we try where it is possible to come to the people. I think that it is only right and proper that you be heard on any matter affecting your well-being. At this time I would like to put in the record a bill that I introduced in the 86th Congress, House Joint Resolution 703. Hearings were held on this resolution in June of 1960. You people, or the people who are interested, will recall that the gist of that resolution was that I wanted, if possible, to have a study of any alternative that might be available to the Corps of Army Engineers in the construction of this reservoir. I had hoped that we would have an opportunity to allow the Corps of Army Engineers to make a new study of this plan and see if there was an alternative. Unfortunately, it was introduced late in the Congress that session, and we did not get very far on that. I would also like to introduce in the record a summary of House Joint Resolution 703 which will be made a part of the record at this point in the proceedings. (The resolution and summary follow :) [H.J. Res. 703, 86th Cong., 2d sess.] JOINT RESOLUTION Directing the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of the Army to investigate and report on alternatives of the Kinzua Reservoir project, New York, and for other purposes Whereas by its treaty of November 11, 1794 with the Six Nations (7 Stat. 44), the United States acknowledged certain lands to be the property of the Seneca Indians and agreed that it would "never claim the same, nor disturb the Seneka nation, nor any of the six nations, or of their Indian friends residing thereon and united with them, in the free use and enjoyment thereof" and that these lands should "remain theirs, until they choose to sell the same to the people of the United States, who have the right to purchase"; and Whereas, notwithstanding its power of eminent domain, the United States and all of its agencies should scrupulously avoid taking any of these lands unless there is no reasonable alternative thereto; and Whereas, although the Congress has authorized construction of the Kinzua Reservoir project in the State of New York in accordance with plans which will require the invasion of lands owned by the Seneca Indians, it appears that possible alternatives to said project which would avoid such taking have not been fully explored or evaluated: Now, therefore, be it Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives in Congress assembled, That the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of the Army, acting jointly, shall cause a survey to be made to determine whether there is any practicable alternative to the Kinzua Reservoir project which will afford protection from floods to Pittsburgh, the Allegheny Valley, and the Upper Ohio Valley without invasion of the Seneca lands, giving particular attention to potential developments in the Conewango Valley for the storage and discharge of floodwaters, and shall report thereon to the President and the Congress and that, pending the furnishing of such report and during the first full regular session of Congress thereafter, no further land shall be acquired for the Kinzua Reservoir project, no person shall be removed from any land which has already been acquired for that project, persons who have removed therefrom shall be permitted to return to their former lands upon reasonable terms and conditions, no further contract shall be awarded for construction of the project, and all reasonable efforts shall be made to secure delay in the carrying out of any contract for such construction which has already been awarded. SUMMARY OF HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 703 Mr. Haley's resolution would direct the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of the Army to investigate and report on alternatives of the Kinzua Reservoir project in southwestern New York and northwestern Pennsylvania. House Joint Resolution 703 calls particular attention to potential developments in the Conewango Valley for the storage and discharge of flood waters. Under the treaty of November 11, 1794, with the Six Indian Nations the United States acknowledged certain lands to be the property of the Seneca Indians and agreed it would "never claim the same, nor disturb the Seneca Nation, nor any of the Six Nations, or of their Indian friends residing thereon and united with them, in the free use and enjoyment thereof," and that these lands should "remain theirs, until they choose to sell the same to the people of the United States." The Allegheny (Kinzua) project was authorized as a flood control measure over a quarter century ago but construction work is just getting underway by the Corps of Engineers. An appropriation item for $4,530,000 for fiscal 1961 is awaiting congressional approval before the $119 million project gets fully underway. From funds presently on hand, the corps is rerouting Route 59 preparatory to beginning full-fledged operations. The project has the approval of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and most of its congressional delegation, but such is not the case in New York where there is strong sentiment against the project and favorable to the 545 Seneca Indians who stand to lose much of their 30,000-acre reservation. Dr. Arthur E. Morgan, an engineer of note, retained by the Senecas, has sought to block the $4,530,000 appropriation for Kinzua by contending that it is not the best plan. Dr. Morgan says it would be better to divert flood waters of the upper Allegheny River into the Conewango Valley through the Cattaraugus Creek to Lake Erie. Water also would be released into the Allegheny below the cutoff to maintain the flow to Pittsburgh and downstream cities. Within the past 2 years the Senecas have lost their case in the U.S. district court and the U.S. Supreme Court refused to grant certiorari holding that the Seneca land is subject to the same public power of eminent domain as that of other Americans. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY, Washington, D.C., June 22, 1960. Hon. WAYNE N. ASPINALL, Chairman, Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, House of Representatives, DEAR MR. ASPINALL: Your committee has requested a report on House Joint Resolution 703, "Directing the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of the Army to investigate and report on alternatives of the Kinzua Reservoir project, New York, and for other purposes." We have no objection to the enactment of the resolution. The Kinzua Reservoir project is a part of the plan for flood control in the Ohio River Basin. It was authorized for construction by the Corps of Engineers by the Flood Control Act of June 28, 1938, and modified by the Flood Control Act of August 18, 1941. Appropriations were made in fiscal years 1959 and 1960 for the initiation of construction. The appropriation for fiscal year 1960 was made by Congress despite the fact that the President did not include funds for that purpose in the budget. The decision to proceed with construction was therefore a deliberate one reached by Congress after extensive hearings by the appropriations committees involving both the proponents and the opponents of the project. The resolution provides that the Secretaries of the Interior and the Army, acting jointly, shall investigate and report on the alternatives to the Kinzua Reservoir project with particular attention being given to potential development in the Conewango Valley. Their findings are to be reported to the President and the Congress. The resolution further provides that until the end of the first full regular session of Congress after the report is submitted no further land shall be acquired for the project, no persons shall be moved, persons already moved may be permitted to return under certain conditions, no further construction contracts shall be awarded, and all reasonable effort shall be made to delay the carrying out of existing construction contracts. The selection of the Kinzua project for construction and the proposed taking of Seneca Indian land has been greatly publicized, and during the last 4 years it has become an increasingly controversial issue. During this time the authority for the taking of the Indian land has been litigated and sustained by the courts. There was also concluded a reevaluation of the Kinzua project in comparison with several proposed alternate plans which would require much less Indian land. This was done upon request of the Secretary of the Interior under contract between the Corps of Engineers and a private New York engineering firm. Their findings were reported to be that the Kinzua plan was the most feasible of the plans studied. After completion of the litigation and engineering review referred to, Dr. Arthur E. Morgan, a well-known engineer formerly with the TVA, advanced a variation of one of the alternative plans studied by the New York firm. Dr. Morgan claims that this plan is superior both as to cost and as to the water control and flood protection it will afford. Extensive publicity has been given the plan. The Seneca Indians have consistently opposed the taking of their land for the Kinzua project. Their former president has stated that his people have maintained the position that if the Kinzua plan were the only economic engineering solution for flood prevention downstream on the Allegheny River they would not oppose the taking of their lands. They have contended, however, that other plans could be developed which would not involve the taking of most of their best land. They believe Dr. Morgan's plan to be the solution and have asked that it be given a fully impartial and competent examination before the final choice of plans is made. We concur in the recital in the resolution that the United States should avoid the taking of this Indian land unless there is no reasonable alternative. If a feasible alternative can be found which is acceptable to Congress and would not involve a taking of the Seneca lands, it would certainly have our wholehearted endorsement and support. The Bureau of the Budget has advised that there is no objection to the submission of this report. A copy of its letter is enclosed. Sincerely yours, ROGER ERNST, Secretary of the Interior. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, The Honorable the SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR. (Attention: Mr. Theodore F. Stevens). BUREAU OF THE BUDGET, Washington, D.C., June 22, 1960. MY DEAR MR. SECRETARY: This will acknowledge Under Secretary Bennett's letter of June 15, 1960, transmitting a proposed report on House Joint Resolution 703, "Directing the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of the Army to investigate and report on alternatives of the Kinzua Reservoir project, New York, and for other purposes." Kinzua Dam and alternatives to it have been recently restudied by the Corps of Engineers and a private engineering consulting firm. The results of these studies and of studies by representatives of the Seneca Indians have been made available to the executive branch and to the Congress. As you know the President's 1960 budget did not recommend funds to continue construction of Kinzua Dam. However, the Congress, after hearing testimony both for and against the project, appropriated $1.4 million for the fiscal year 1960. In view of this decision by the Congress, and since we were not aware of the existence of any important new information not considered by the Congress in arriving at its decision, the President recommended an additional $4,530,000 in his 1961 budget for the project. The Bureau of the Budget would, of course, not object to further study of Kinzua Dam if the Congress reverses its decision of last year and authorizes such a study. However, it is believed that the terms of the authorization should make it clear that the study should seek a superior rather than merely a practicable or reasonable alternative. The Bureau of the Budget would, therefore, recommend that the word "practicable" be changed to "superior" on page 2, line 4, of House Joint Resolution 703. Accordingly, there would be no objection to the submission of your proposed report to the committee. It is requested that a copy of this letter accompany your report. Sincerely yours, PHILLIP S. HUGHES, Assistant Director for Legislative Reference. |