Colonel GEE. About $250,000. The CHAIRMAN. And all you do is dig the canal and build that structure; is that right? Colonel GEE. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. And they provide the rights-of-way for the canal? Colonel GEE. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. And there are no levees there? Colonel GEE. No, sir; there are no levees there. The CHAIRMAN. And they just provide the rights-of-way and they maintain the canal? Colonel GEE. Yes, sir; and they build two highway bridges. Colonl GEE. Nine thousand five hundred feet. The CHAIRMAN. But they do not contribute anything at all to the cost of that $250,000 structure to guarantee them the 3,000 acre-feet of water that they need for irrigation? Colonel GEE. No, sir; that is a water right which they own presently, and to build the canal without that structure would be to destroy what water right which they own own. The CHAIRMAN. That is right, and if we do not do anything they are in the same shape they are in now. Colonel GEE. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. And if we do that, it benefits them. Is there any reason why they should not contribute to the cost of those benefits more than furnishing the lands for the rights-of-way? Colonel GEE. That produces no benefits to the individuals. The corporations own these water rights. The CHAIRMAN. Not many individuals own them, do they? Colonel GEE. No, sir. I think it is one corporation which raises sugar. The CHAIRMAN. Are there any further statements? Mr. DAVIS. At this point I would like to include in the record a letter addressed to me from Mr. L. C. Tuckerman, chairman of the Kawainui Flood Control Committee of Honolulu. (The matter referred to is as follows:) Hon. CLIFFORD DAVIS, Chairman, Subcommittee on Flood Control, House of Representatives, Washington, D. C. MAY 2, 1949. DEAR MR. DAVIS: There should be reaching your committee a project known as the Kawainui flood control, Oahu, T. H. For 10 years this has been in and out of pigeonholes across the country, and was presented to the Congressional Public Works Committee that came out here 2 years ago. In these years the growth of the area under threat has been tremendous. There were perhaps a thousand people here at the time of the big flood in May 1940. Today there are 8,000. In the small area flooded in 1948 there are over 250 houses. In 1940 there were 15. The only present outlet follows a roundabout route of 2 or 3 miles. When this is opened the filthy, stinking water carrying the refuse from a large dairy is carried by the winds and tides along the length of Kailua Beach. Doctors warn everyone to stay out of the ocean during those periods. It is a serious health menace. The currents close the present outlet every high tide, requiring the use of bulldozers to maintain any daily flow. At first glance the threat here may seem small compared to others. But when one considers the flooding and caving-in of cesspools, there being no sewage system possible here, and the necessity for evacuation for weeks following a flood, the seriousness of the threat mounts. Money for the surveys of this project was sent out here before the war. But a new Army district engineer (afterwards court-martialed) neglected it. Since then delay after delay. Ten years since approval was given at a public hearing. And reapproved at a hearing in May 1947. We cannot urge you too strongly to pass this project at this time. L. C. TUCKERMAN, Chairman, Kawainui Flood Control Committee, Hui D Kailua. (Thereupon, the committee adjourned until tomorrow, Tuesday, May 24, 1949, at 10 a. m.) The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10 a. m., the Honorable William M. Whittington (chairman) presiding.) MISSISSIPPI RIVER AND TRIBUTARIES The CHAIRMAN. The committee will be in order and Chairman Davis will read the schedule. We have for consideration at this time projects on the lower Mississippi and tributaries, the special projects named in the schedule and any other matters that are brought to our attention. Mr. DAVIS. Mr. Chairman, it is our desire to take up the matters on the lower Mississippi today. Because we feel sure that you can expedite the hearing, we would suggest that you take over. The CHAIRMAN. I would like to say this, that we have here a list of witnesses for the Mississippi River at Canton, Mo. Is Representative Magee present? Are Mr. Zenge and Mr. McDonald present? Also the Mississippi River near Cape Girardeau, Representative Jones. Is Representative Jones here? Mr. JONES. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. And we have Representative Gathings listed for the St. Francis River project with a number of witnesses. Is Mr. Gathings here? Mr. GATHINGS. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. We have for the Cache River Basin, which has not been reported to us, Mr. Frierson, of Jonesboro. Is Mr. Frierson here? Mr. FRIERSON. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. And we have for the Ouachita River, near Calion, Ark., Representative Harris. Is Representative Harris here? Mr. HARRIS. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. We have for the Grand Prairie-Bayou Meto project Mr. Epps, and the Interior Department is here, and they have submitted a report on that matter which will be carefully considered when we reach it. Mr. Gathings, Mr. Jones, and the other witnesses here, including the Representatives from Louisiana are very much interested in the main Mississippi River, and inasmuch as General Feringa, president of the Mississippi River Commission, is here, I believe it would be in order for us to have first a general report from General Feringa covering 92329-49- -48 the lower Mississippi River project, with any recommendations that he has to submit, and then as fast as we can we will take up the individual projects in which Mr. Gathings, Mr. Norrell, Mr. Jones, Mr. Harris, and others are interested, and we will undertake to have the clerk notify you gentlemen as fast as we reach you. Off the record. (Discussion off the record.) · The CHAIRMAN. At this time, as stated by Chairman Davis, and as announced in the schedule of hearings, we have under consideration the lower Mississippi River and tributaries, including any additional authorizations that may be required, keeping in mind that the Chief of Engineers has made an over-all recommendation that there should be an increase of the total authorizations of around $200,000,000, as I recall the statement. We are delighted to have with us this morning for the first time since his recent deserved appointment as President of the Mississippi River Commission the most capable member of the Corps who has been of great service to this committee during the Eightieth session of the Congress and in previous Congresses, having represented the Corps of Engineers in appearances of the Corps before the Committee on Flood Control. If Gen. Peter A. Feringa, president of the Mississippi River Commission will come around, we will be glad at this time to have him offer a statement covering the lower Mississippi River, and if your assistant, General, will get over to the map with the pointer and follow you so that the members of the committee can understand the over-all project, it will be of help to the members of the committee. General Feringa, we have your full name and your official position for the record, and now you may proceed with your general over-all statement. STATEMENT OF GEN. PETER A. FERINGA, PRESIDENT OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER COMMISSION General FERINGA. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for your courteous words, and your welcome. I really feel very much at home in appearing before your very distinguished committee. The first time I appeared before the Committee on Flood Control of the House was back in 1938 in the Old House Office Building. Mr. DONDERO. I do not want to interrupt you, General, but I want to say that we, likewise, on the left side of this committee, join in the sentiments expressed by Mr. Whittington. General FERINGA. I think you, Mr. Dondero, and I thank the other members of the committee, sir. The project for the flood control of the Mississippi River and its tributaries is so vast that I have prepared, mostly by my own work and thinking, an over-all statement, and I have given a copy of that statement to the reporter. The CHAIRMAN. Do you have additional copies that would be available to the members of the committee? General FERINGA. No, I have not, sir, because they were dictated practically last Friday and Saturday, and the only copies I have are typewritten copies. The CHAIRMAN. The members will keep up with the hearings and it will be made available to the members of the committee. General FERINGA. If I may, rather than read that statement, I am going to talk from the statement, and Mr. Darling, my assistant, will point out the items which I mention on the map, which has been prepared, and which shows pictorially the works on which I will talk. The CHAIRMAN. Without objection, the general over-all statement which has been prepared, the high points of which he will now give us, will be inserted by the clerk at this point in the record of the hearing. General FERINGA. Thank you. (The matter referred to is as follows:) STATEMENT OF GENERAL P. A. FERINGA, PRESIDENT, MISSISSIPPI RIVER COMMISSION, ON FLOOD CONTROL, MISSISSIPPI RIVER AND TRIBUTARIES ORIGINAL PROJECT The project for flood control, Mississippi River and tributaries was adopted by the Flood Control Act of May 15, 1928, which authorized the appropriation of $325,000,000 for its prosecution. It provided for the raising of main levees, with surplus flood flows to be carried by the Birds Point-New Madrid floodway between Cairo, Ill., and New Madrid, Mo.; by the Boeuf Basin floodway between the Arkansas River and the Red River backwater area; and by the east and west Atchafalaya floodways between Red River and the Gulf of Mexico; with the Bonnet Carre spillway just above New Orleans forming a supplemental outlet to the east. The plan also included dredging, dikes and revetments. It contemplated that admission of flow to the floodways would be by the overtopping of low levees at their heads, called fuse plug levees; that local interests would furnish rights of way for all main line levees and that except in the Birds PointNew Madrid floodway and the Bonnet Carre spillway, payment by the United States would not be required for flowage easements nor for drainage adjustments. SUBSEQUENT MODIFICATIONS Since 1928 the project has been modified in many respects and its scope has been greatly expanded. Cut offs eliminate floodway The Boeuf and the Eudora floodways were discarded when artificial cutoffs in the Mississippi River between the Arkansas and Red Rivers so lowered the flood plane that it was feasible to contain the flow in the main river by raising levee grades by safe and practical amounts. PURCHASE OF LANDS AND FLOWAGE; ADJUSTMENT OF DRAINAGE AND FACILITIES Subsequently the purchase of flowage rights in the Atchafalaya Basin floodways above the latitude of Krotz Springs and over lands below Krotz Springs not subject to frequent overflow was authorized; purchase of rights of way for levees on the Arkansas and Red Rivers, and for levee set-backs on the Mississippi itself became a part of the project cost; the rectification of drainage made necessary by levees was authorized, as was the elevation of floodway crossings for railroads and highways. Revision of levee grades Since the inception of the project in 1928 it has been found necessary in the light of subsequent flood data to revise the main line levee grades upward, to apply impervious blankets of compacted soil to the river face of many of the levees, and to enlarge the levee cross section. Protection against tributary floods The original project had for its goal the protection of adjacent basins from direct headwater flooding by the Mississippi River. As this objective began to be realized it became apparent that in order to be really effective in permitting the region to develop, the plan would have to be enlarged to prevent invasion from |