We have also H. R. 228 which bill seeks to authorize the Board of Engineers for Rivers and Harbors to prepare estimates and plans of improvement for certain rivers and harbors and for other purposes. The CHAIRMAN. I believe there is nothing else to be brought to our attention, particularly today. Mr. DAVIS. Since there appears to be nothing further, the committee will recess until 9:30 tomorrow morning. (Whereupon, at 5: 40 p. m., a recess was taken to reconvene Thursday, May 26, 1949, at 9:30 a. m.) FLOOD CONTROL AUTHORIZATIONS, 1949 THURSDAY, MAY 26, 1949 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Washington, D. C. (The Committee met, pursuant to recess, at 9:30 a. m., the Honorable Will M. Whittington, chairman, presiding.) The CHAIRMAN. The committee will come to order. Off the record. (Discussion off the record.) TRINITY RIVER AREA, TEXAS STATEMENT OF LT. COL. H. C. GEE, DEPUTY CHIEF OF CIVIL WORKS FOR FLOOD CONTROL Mr. DAVIS. All right, Colonel Gee. Colonel GEE. There is a survey report now with the Bureau of the Budget dealing with the local flood protection projects at Dallas and Fort Worth on the Trinity River. The report before the Bureau of the Budget has with it comments of all the Federal agencies, except the Department of the Interior, and has the comment of the Governor of the State of Texas. The Department of the Interior, in view of the recent flood disaster on the Trinity River, has indicated they will do everything possible to expedite their report on this survey report which is before them. The report involves the improvement of the interior drainage facilities in connection with the existing levee system built by local interests at Dallas, Tex. The estimated cost of the improvement is $4,172,000, of which local interests would pay $762,000 as their contribution to the project in the form of rights-of-way, and a contribution in cash of $300,000 to pay for certain modifications on the stream drain lines leading to the proposed pump house, to be located inside of the existing levee system. The CHAIRMAN. Is that a modification of an existing project? Colonel GEE. Yes, sir, it the modification of an existing project built by local interests, modified by a Federal project for the improvement of the Trinity River channel only, and the ratio of benefit to cost for the improvement as proposed is 1.28 to 1. The annual benefits from the proposed improvement are $239,500. Mr. DAVIS. What did you say the local contribution would amount to? Colonel GEE. $762,000, Mr. Chairman. Mr. DONDERO. What is the attitude of the Governor of Texas toward this project, Colonel? Colonel GEE. It is very favorable, sir. Mr. DAVIS. Are there any questions on this subject? Mr. ANGELL. Does it have the approval of the Corps of Engineers and the Chief of Engineers? Colonel GEE. Yes, sir, the project has been reported on favorably by the district engineer, the division engineer, the Board of Engineers for Rivers and Harbors, and the Chief of Engineers. Mr. ANGELL. Colonel Gee, is there any navigation involved in this project? Colonel GEE. No, sir. Mr. ANGELL. It is purely flood control or drainage? Colonel GEE. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Ford? Mr. FORD. I have no questions, Mr. Chairman. The CHAIRMAN. What is the adopted project, Colonel? Give us the reference to the act under which it was approved for the Trinity River, the existing project for the improvement of the channel. Colonel GEE. I will have to get it from the act, sir, and insert it in the record. The CHAIRMAN. What act, and what does it provide for, Colonel? We are in the very difficult situation of having no report herewith and no abstract, and it will help us if you will give us the authorized improvement and tell us what it authorizes. Colonel GEE. I will have to look it up for you, sir. The CHAIRMAN. Was it in the 1946 act, the 1948 act, or what act was it in? Colonel GEE. I will have to check back on that, sir. The CHAIRMAN. We will have to come back on that, Mr. Chairman. What does that act authorize, for the record, Colonel? I know what it is, but we have to make a record here. Colonel GEE. It authorizes the improvement of the channel of the Trinity River in the corporate limits of Dallas and Fort Worth, both projects having been approved in the same act, in order that the channel will be adequate with the levee system constructed by local interests to pass a flood of record, modified by the construction of the presently authorized upstream reservoirs Benbrook, Garza-Little Elm, and Grapevine, the three authorized flood control reservoirs in the headwater areas of the Trinity River above Dallas, Tex. The CHAIRMAN. In order that the committee may be advised of the situation, Congress has approved and authorized the construction of several reservoirs along the Trinity River. Colonel GEE. Yes, sir; that is correct. The CHAIRMAN. And they have authorized and approved local protective works to which you refer, and to which you will give us the reference. What is the estimated cost of those reservoirs, Colonel? Estimated Federal cost for the three reservoirs, as of May 1949, is as follows: The CHAIRMAN. What is the status of construction at the present time: what work has been done under this authorization? Colonel GEE. The Grapevine, the Benbrook, and the Garza-Little Elm Reservoirs are already under construction. The CHAIRMAN. What amount has been appropriated for construction? Colonel GEE. I do not have the figures on that, sir. The CHAIRMAN. What has been done on the local improvement authorized by the Federal Government? Colonel GEE. No funds have been appropriated for that purpose to date, sir. The CHAIRMAN. You have done some work. Colonel GEE. Not on the authorized or improved channel work, sir. The CHAIRMAN. Now, the authorized work for channel improvement was to be at Federal expense in both Fort Worth and Dallas, and it was to supplement that protection that was to be afforded by existing levees constructed by the local interests. Is that right or not, Colonel? Colonel GEE. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. Do you have that information which I requested before you now? Colonel GEE. The authorized project at Dallas and Fort Worth was authorized in the Flood Control Act of March 2, 1945. The CHAIRMAN. March what? Bolonel GEE. March 2, 1945, sir. The CHAIRMAN. When you say March 2, 1945, what flood-control act was that? That is not a general flood-control act, is it? Colonel GEE. That is a river-and-harbor act, sir. The CHAIRMAN. Well, please get it correct, Colonel, because I know that there was no such flood-control act in existence. Colonel GEE. The River and Harbor Act of March 2, 1945, approved the building of the projects on the Trinity River. The CHAIRMAN. On what page of the act, and give us the language of the approval. Colonel GEE. I can give you the projects and the total estimated cost of each element of this presently authorized plan, Mr. Chairman. The CHAIRMAN. Very well, sir. Colonel GEE. The Benbrook Dam and Reservoir is estimated to cost $16,520,000, and was placed under construction in May 1947. The Grapevine Dam and Reservoir The CHAIRMAN (interposing). Excuse me just a minute, Colonel. We are trying our best to get a record of the hearing, and so I suggested that you give the authorization and the reference to the act. Colonel GEE. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. Now, the act that you have spoken about is a river-and-harbor act. Colonel GEE. That is correct, sir. The CHAIRMAN. Does that authorize those local protective works? Colonel GEE. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. In what language, please, sir? Colonel GEE. I will have to get the act; I do not have it here, sir. The CHAIRMAN. Well, what is the substance of the language, Colonel? Colonel GEE. It authorizes the improvement of the floodways at Dallas and Fort Worth, and the construction of three headwater reservoirs, whose names I have given you. 92329-49- -60 |