So I do recognize, and even more so, having made my preparation for that appearance, that the farmers and the landowners are the managers of the whole water system for the benefit of the 100 percent of our people. I am glad to have you mention your finding of this interest in the urban areas on this general subject. Mr. KELLOGG. Much is a very direct interest, Mr. Whitten. It disturbs me very much to see some of the large mistakes now being made in the development of some of the subdivisions around our cities. What happens is really a shame in many places. People have put their savings in houses that become unusable. Those far from the center of the city and have no city sewage system must be on soil of a kind in which proper drainage fields can be laid out. I have seen within the last 2 weeks some nice houses, even quite expensive ones, that have been partly or wholly ruined by being put on the wrong kind of soil. A few were ruined, destroyed. This matter is really becoming critical in several parts of the country, Mr. Congressman. Mr. WHITTEN. Economics enters into it; also lack of planning and lack of foresight. I was here when we had the Kansas-Missouri flood problem some years ago. In nearly every one of those cases, while there are exceptions, it is the houses and the buildings that were taking a chance on the threat of flood that suffered the biggest loss. Sometimes you have a flood that nobody can anticipate, but much. of the damage by flood is damage that anybody could have anticipated when the house was built, in most cases. Mr. KELLOGG. I am talking not only about floods. Mr. WHITTEN. I know you are not; you are talking about the land as such. I am saying that foresight both in the kind and texture of your land can go one step further and say the location can be a danger. All of this gets back to where you need to let them know what the facts are. Mr. KELLOGG. These failures I am talking about are all preventable by selecting proper soil or by proper design on the soil that is selected. There is a tremendous loss in this country at the present time to these people in the urban fringe. Mr. WHITTEN. Thank you for your contribution on this point. 69248-61-pt. 2-17 Mr. WHITTEN. We turn now to watershed protection. JUSTIFICATION OF THE ESTIMATE I ask here that pages 202 and 205 through 225 of the justifications, volume I, be placed in the record at this point. (The material referred to follows:) Watershed protection Appropriation Act, 1961_.. Supplemental Appropriation Act, 1961. Activity transferred in 1962 estimates to "Salaries and expenses, Office of the General Sounsel" for legal services in connection with loans Base for 1962____. Revised budget estimate, 1962-- Increase $35, 000, 000 1,800,000 -75,000 36, 725,000 53, 787, 000 +17,062,000 NOTE. The revised budget estimates for 1962 propose an increase of $17,062,000 above the amount appropriated for 1961. The following justifications are presented on a fundsavailable basis, and the amounts for 1960 and 1961 reflect carryover of funds from prior years. While this presentation reflects an apparent increase in estimated obligations of $11.739,202 in 1962, it is likely that there will be some carryover of funds from 1961 to 1962. The extent to which there may be such carryover cannot be estimated at this time. Summary of increases and decreases, 1962 [On the basis of available funds] Increase in project investigations and development of watershed work plans--- Decrease in the installation of work of improvement in the Increase in the installation of works of improvement in Public Decrease in loans and related expenses- +$296,000 -1,285,000 +13, 453, 202 -725,000 1 Represents obligations. Applied costs for 1960 are $27,619,846. The difference of $665,680 reflects, primarily, the excess of contractual services used for installation of structural measures in Public Law 566 watersheds over obligations for project agreements signed for construction in that year. Current activities. STATUS OF PROGRAM The Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act (Public Law 566, 83d Cong.), as amended (16 U.S.C. 1001-1008), provides for cooperation between the Federal Government and the States and their political subdivisions in a program to prevent erosion, floodwater, and sediment damages in the watersheds of rivers and streams and to further the conservation, development, utilization, and disposal of water. The work of the Department under this item consists of the following: 1. Investigations and surveys of proposed small watershed projects upon application by local sponsoring organizations and collaboration with them in the preparation of project work plans. These plans outline the proposed works of improvement to be installed and include the estimated costs, a cost-benefit analysis, cost-sharing and maintenance arrangements, a proposed schedule of operations, and other facts needed to determine whether Federal participation in the cooperative project should be approved. 2. Participation in the installation of works of improvement in approved watershed projects; detailed construction plans and specifications are prepared for specific flood prevention and water management features of the project. The Federal Government bears all of the construction cost of the flood prevention and related features except easements and rights-of-way, water rights, and administration of contracts, and pays for an equitable part of the cost of installation of the agricultural water management and fish and wildlife development features. Local organizations must pay all costs of works of improvement for purposes other than these. Funds are provided to local organizations for the Federal share of the cost of contracts they award for installation of authorized works of improvement on other than Federal lands. The Federal agencies do this work on Federal lands which they administer with appropriate contributions being made by the local people who receive benefits. Engineering assistance is provided for flood prevention, fish and wildlife, and agriculturál water management construction work, either directly by the Federal Government or by advancement of funds to local organizations for employment of engineers. Technical assistance is provided, if needed, to accelerate the planning and application of land treatment measures in the watersheds to prevent erosion and protect the structural works of improvement from flood and sediment damage. Financial assistance at the same rate as provided under other programs of the Department is also provided for land treatment measures installed primarily for flood prevention. 3. Installation on a cost-sharing basis of improvement measures on 21 currently active pilot watersheds which were authorized by the Congress under authority of the act of April 27, 1935 (16 U.S.C. 590a-f), to serve as demon strations of the effectiveness of complete watershed treatment in preventing erosion and reducing floodwater and sediment damage. 4. Program evaluation studies in selected watershed protection projects to determine the effectiveness of structural and land treatment measures installed. 5. Surveys and investigations of the watersheds of rivers and other waterways in cooperation with other Federal, State, and local agencies, as the basis for the development of coordinated interagency water resources and related programs. 6. The making of loans to local organizations to finance the local share of the costs of carrying out works of improvement for flood prevention and for the conservation, development, utilization, and disposal of water. Program assignments The Soil Conservation Service has general responsibility for administration of the work of the Department authorized under the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act and for the formulation of guiding principles and procedures. It assists local organizations with (a) the development of watershed work plans, and (b) the application of land treatment measures and the installation of structural works of improvement on non-Federal land in authorized watersheds. Some works are also installed on Federal lands by arrangement with the administering agency. It also makes surveys and investigations of the watersheds of rivers and waterways and cooperates with other agencies in the planning, development, and coordination of works and programs. The Forest Service participàtes in the development of watershed work plans and in the installation of watershed improvement measures. It concerns itself with (a) all national forest and other lands in the authorized watersheds that are administered by the Forest Service, and (b) certain specialized technical assistance on other forest lands in the watersheds. It also provides specialized assistance in forestry aspects of coordinated river basin programs. The Bureau of Land Management and the Bureau of Indian Affairs of the Department of the Interior participate in the planning and installation of works of improvement on lands under their jurisdiction. The Agricultural Research Service assists with the development of criteria to be used in the economic evaluation of work plans and measures installed in small watershed projects. It also makes special economic analyses of specific watershed projects and of river basin resource development proposals. The Farmers Home Administration has responsibility for administration of section 8 of the act relating to loans to local organizations. Funds are made available from this appropriation to the U.S. Weather Bureau and the U.S. Geological Survey, either by transfer or reimbursement, for precipitation and runoff data needed in watershed program evaluation, planning, and design work. Selected examples of recent progress: Agency participation INVESTIGATIONS AND PLANNING Allocations of funds to the cooperating agencies for 1960 and 1961 and proposed for 1962 for investigations and planning watershed protection projects are as follows: ! Includes approximately $30,000 for reimbursable work performed by the U.S. Weather Bureau. Development of watershed work plans During the fiscal year 1960, the Department received 171 new applications for assistance in planning and carrying out works of improvement in small watersheds. This brought the total number of applications received from local organizations to 1,319 as of the end of 1960. These applications covered land areas totaling 92,993,600 acres in 47 States and Puerto Rico. During the fiscal year |