Hon. CARL HAYDEN, NEW YORK, N.Y., September 21, 1961. U.S. Senate, Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C.: On behalf of the Nation's transit industry we respectfully urge the restoration in H.R. 9169 supplemental appropriations bill, of at least the $185,000 requested by the administration for administrative expenses in connection with the mass transit provisions of the housing bill of 1961. These funds are necessary to properly and effectively administer the program which is of vital importance to our industry. GEORGE W. ANDERSON, Executive Vice President, American Transit Association. WASHINGTON, D.C., September 22, 1961. Hon. CARL HAYDEN, Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C.: In the public interest the National Housing Conference earnestly hopes for the restoration in the supplemental appropriation bill of adequate funds for the programs of mass transportation, open space, housing for the elderly and lowrent public housing. LAURANCE G. HENDERSON, Executive Vice President, National Housing Conference. LOS ANGELES, CALIF., September 21, 1961. Hon. CARL HAYDEN, Chairman, Senate Appropriations Committee, U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C.: The Federation of National Professional Organizations for Segregation, comprising eight national membership organizations dedicated to the recreation welfare of the American people, strongly urges your support of President Kennedy inclusion $150,000 in H.R. 9169 for administrative funds for the open spaces program under HHFA. NORMAN P. MILLER, President. WATER SUPPLY AND WATER POLLUTION CONTROL LETTER FROM SENATOR KERR Senator HAYDEN. I have a letter from Senator Kerr with an accompanying statement by Dr. George W. Reid, Director of the Bureau of Water Resources Research, University of Oklahoma, in support of the budget request for supplemental funds for "Water supply and water pollution control" and, as the Senator requests, the statement will be made a part of the record. (The statement referred to follows:) Hon. CARL HAYDEN, Chairman, Appropriations Committee, U.S. SENATE, Washington, D.C., August 14, 1961. DEAR CARL: Attached hereto is a statement by Dr. George W. Reid, director of the Bureau of Water Resources Research, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Okla., in support of the supplemental request of the Department of Health Education, and Welfare, under Public Law 87-88, the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1961. I would appreciate this being made a part of the record. Sincerely yours, ROBERT S. KERR. STATEMENT BY GEORGE W. REID, PROFESSOR AND CHAIRMAN, CIVIL ENGINEERING AND DIRECTOR BUREAU OF WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH, UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA, NORMAN, OKLA., ON "WATER SUPPLY AND WATER POLLUTION CONTROL" Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, this is a statement in support of the request for supplemental budget proposals for Public Law 87-88 to bring the appropriation to $80 million for waste treatment construction grants. While this is most important, I wish to address my statement largely to other parts of the new Water Pollution Control Act. I'm very pleased with Public Law 87-88 and believe that it has given new scope to the Federal Government's responsibility, of particular interest to us, the intensification and broadening of research and inclusion of research fellowship, training, and demonstration grants. We of Oklahoma are very proud that our senior Senator was the author of some very fine provisions in this legislation. These pertain to (1) the storage of water in Federal reservoirs for release during periods of low flow to maintain better quality of water; (2) emphasis on research to solve problems which are already plaguing us in the Southwest and which are just around the corner for the rest of the country. Public Law 87-88 states that $5 million a year should be spent in these particular kinds of research. In my opinion, that is scarcely enough but will permit the Public Health Service to make a start. My only hesitation in fighting for a larger amount is the qeustion of obtaining the trained scientific personnel to do the research work. I should therefore like to bring out as forcefully as I can the urgent need for action to insure the scientific personnel which will be necessary to carry on this complex research. There are various estimates, in some of which I assisted in the compilation, of the requirements for engineers in water pollution control activities. A minimum appears to be approximately 300 per year. In addition there are needed many scientific people, such as chemists and biologists, trained in a manner to compliment the engineers activities. At present, universities, such as the University of Oklahoma, produce a total yearly of about 55 engineers available for this purpose. Employment in this activity is not as remunerative as private industry and it appears to me that the Government could and must legitimately and selfishly assist graduate engineering and sanitary science students financially in preparing themselves for public service either through direct training grants or fellowships. Both techniques have their place and have proven successful in many other programs. With the growing competition for the better students in our graduate schools and the financial aids and inducements in other fields I see no alternative to some Federal assistance in meeting our personnel needs to conserve the Nation's water from pollution. Last year I worked with the Select Committee of the Senate on Water Resources. The portion I worked on was concerned with estimates of low flow augmentation requirements of our rivers in years 1980 and 2000. In undertaking this problem it became very apparent to me that to be able to make useful estimates for the provisions of storage, that considerably more research on reaeration, nutritional loadings and algal stimulations were needed. With tens of millions of dollars involved in a decision as to how much storage should be provided in a reservoir for low flow supplementation as authorzied in the new act, I feel that research, as is also specified in the act, to more precisely determine these needs should be started at once. When one realizes that it may require even with 90-percent reduction of wasted loads before discharge as we know this now 3-4 volumes of good water to dilute one of bad, this research takes an added inference. Low flow augmentation is not the only answer, research; and particularly demonstration projects, need support on new treatment processes so as to reduce these low flow requirements. I am certainly in favor of fundamental research but I also feel that there is a need for applied research or demonstration project grants. It has been my experience that worthy fundamental problems can find support, but there is no way to support the project that "breaches the gap" between the fundamental research and actual design, and this is the stage of applied research that most generally requires the engineer. With this step-up in research-which is so vital-if we are to meet our future water needs-I urge that funds be provided for demonstration grants to provide a practical bridge between the laboratory bench and the drafting room use of the research findings. I appreciate the opportunity to speak in favor of this matter. CONCLUSION OF HEARINGS Senator MCCLELLAN. The hearing is now concluded on this supplemental appropriation bill. (Whereupon, at 5:10 p.m., Thursday, September 21, 1961, the committee was adjourned.) 75285-61- -52 |