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The CHAIRMAN. One more short question, Senator Anderson, and then I am through.

Do you think that the hazard is such that time is of the essence in starting the work of this project?

Senator ANDERSON. I do, Mr. Chairman. I think the hazard is such that we ought not to go through another season. I do not say the flood will come this winter, and I cannot guarantee the flood will come next spring. I hope I can guarantee that one will not come next spring. But I think in view of the importance of the work that is going on in these two great centers it is unwise to delay the comple tion of this project. The situation is such that, if we should wait and then get caught by a bad flood, we would be a long time catching up with some of the work that is under contemplation.

I think that all of us also recognize that additional projects may shortly be under way. We hardly recognize from day to day what the Government has planned in that particular area.

It is, I would think, a great convenience to the national defense to have available experiments in guided missiles, to have experiments in the use of all these wonderful rockets they are developing, to have aerial gunnery, to have the highly developed technical laboratories and Los Alamos, and then to have this project at Sandia Base that utilizes to some degree the developments at Los Alamos. All of that somewhat ties together. And when the Government is spending the millions it is spending on these other projects-and I praise them for doing it-I think it would be wise to make sure that the railroads along the Rio Grande are not washed out by floods.

The CHAIRMAN. Would you not consider that a little cheap insurance for the larger installations?

Senator ANDERSON. I would think it is cheap insurance not only from the standpoint of money, but from the standpoint of having available the things we might need and, if we did need, we would need in a hurry.

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you, Senator.

Senator ANDERSON. Thank you.

The CHAIRMAN. Congressman Fernandez, we are pleased to hear from you.

STATEMENT OF HON. ANTONIO M. FERNANDEZ, MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FROM THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO

Mr. FERNANDEZ. Mr. Chairman, we are all very grateful that this committee has taken up again the further consideration of this flood and reclamation project. I do not know that I can add very much to what Senator Anderson has so well said, and some of the thing that I had intended to emphasize this morning I find, on reading statement which has been sent to the committee by Judge Fred E. Wilson of Albuquerque, that he has done it far better than I could.

I just want to call that statement to the special attention of the committee for another reason, and that is that Judge Wilson is on of the best lawyers we have in New Mexico, who has for some year been attorney for the Interstate Stream Commission, and he is fu familiar with the problem up and down the river, and he has properi emphasized certain points which I wanted the committee to pai ticularly bear in mind.

For example, he calls to the attention of the committee the fact that this program is not only of benefit to the State of New Mexico, but is important and vital to the States of Texas and Colorado, and that all three States have joined in urging that action be taken at an early date.

Senator Anderson mentioned the fact we got by easily this year compared to what we had anticipated, and I want to add one word to that. We did so, yes; but the State of New Mexico itself from direct appropriations expended close to $150,000 in putting up temporary dikes. That is direct appropriated money. In addition to that, of course, it expended other moneys indirectly through the Highway Department and otherwise, and that is a recurring thing every year.

Now, that amount of money for the State of New Mexico is not hay, and I think that, the sooner this project is started and carried to completion, the better it would be for all three States, for the Nation, and for the New Mexico, which is having such a heavy burden every year in guarding against these floods, putting up these temporary dikes which, in the long run, is money wasted.

I want to thank the chairman for the opportunity of appearing here this morning.

The CHAIRMAN. Congressman Fernandez, as far as we New Mexicans are concerned, we feel there is a great need for the project. going forward. But for the moment, forgetting about that, forgetting about our great desire due to the fact that we are concerned about the future, and that we do want to go along and keep living, would you be able to state to the committee where in your opinion this project would affect the national defense, or whether not carrying on the project would subject the national defense and the national welfare to a hazard?

Mr. FERNANDEZ. To be very frank with you, of course, I am not too well advised of what is going on in Sandia Base and Albuquerque and would not want to testify as an expert.

The CHAIRMAN. You would agree, could you not, to take judicial notice it involves the national defense?

Mr. FERNANDEZ. I can take notice of what the people who are supposed to know are saying in New Mexico about it, and they think it is very important to those installations. I wish they could testify here openly about it.

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you, Congressman.

Mr. FERNANDEZ. What I emphasize here the chairman fully well knows, but I do not think it is unwise to reemphasize it as often as possible on the record.

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you.

At this point, I want to place in the record a statement of the Honorable John E. Miles, a Representative in Congress from the State of New Mexico.

(The statement referred to is as follows:)

STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN E. MILES, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO

During my years of service in New Mexico as a public official, I became thoroughly familiar with the importance of the Rio Grande River to the people of that State. As a source of water for irrigation, the Rio Grande is a prime economic asset to the entire region. As a dangerous flood threat, the river is also a constant

menace to the lives and property of the 200,000 or more people who live in the Rio Grande Basin.

The reclamation and rehabilitation aspects of the comprehensive Rio Grande project are of major importance to the entire area.

The flood danger has retarded economic development of the communities in the Rio Grande Valley. It might be noted that property holders in the Albuquerque area and in most of the entire valley cannot purchase flood insurance.

Our national-security program has a stake in the prevention of flood damage in the Rio Grande Valley. Albuquerque is the principal center of supply for the armed forces' special weapons project, with installations located in the suburbs of that city. It is also the principal center of supply for the Atomic Energy Commission's scientific laboratory at Los Alamos. El Paso, in the lower valley, is the principal center of supply for the armed forces' guided-missile research center at White Sands, N. Mex. One of the Nation's main arteries of commerce, the Santa Fe Railroad, runs through the Rio Grande Valley for approximately 150 miles.

In 1941,when I was Governor of the State, we experienced one of the worst floods in the history of the river. During the late spring and early summer, flood damage in the Espanola Valley, the middle valley, and in Bluewater Valley exceeded $2,000,000.

The comprehensive plan of improvement for the Rio Grande Valley, approved by the Flood Control Act of 1948, passed by the Eightieth Congress, is the answer to the problems which have existed for so many years. The project is the result of years of study by the Bureau of Reclamation and the Corps of Army Engineers. These agencies have done a great job in investigating the problem and in devising methods of control and correction.

The plan is ready; Congress has approved it, and now the funds to permit the work to begin must be authorized.

The CHAIRMAN. I also want to insert in the record a statement by Mr. John H. Bliss, State engineer for the State of New Mexico, and the statement of Fred E. Wilson, one of our best water attorneys in the State and well acquainted with the project, which has been called to our attention by Congressman Fernandez; also a statement by Mr. Oscar M. Love, chairman of the board of directors of the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District; and also a statement by Judge Clifford H. Stone, director of the Colorado Water Conservation Board. He represents the State of Colorado.

(The statements referred to are as follow:)

STATEMENT OF JOHN H. BLISS

My name is John H. Bliss, and I am State engineer of New Mexico and secretary of the Interstate Stream Commission. As such, I testified before the Senate Subcommittee of the Committee on Public Works last year in connection with H. R. 6419, which included the first hearings on the middle Rio Grande project. The present bill (S. 3912) is for the purpose of authorizing, in addition to previous authorizations for the project, a total of $53,000,000 to be expended by the Department of the Army and the Department of the Interior in accordance with the comprehensive plan as modified by the agreement reached last year and sealed into law by the act of June 30, 1948.

Due to natural causes beyond the control of the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District and the State to correct, conditions have deteriorated in the middle Rio Grande to such an extent that the State is no longer making its required annual deliveries required by the Rio Grande compact. In fact, the State is accumulating such a water deficit that, unless the situation is remedied within the next year or two at the latest, it will be completely bankrupt insofar as its ability to pay its water debits under the compact is concerned. One phase of the project needed at the earliest possible date is the channelization and reconstruction work to be done by the Bureau of Reclamation in the lower end of the project and above Elephant Butte Reservoir. Only by the prompt elimination of the excessive nonbeneficial uses of water by lakes, swamps, and sait cedar and bosque growth in this area can the State begin to repay its water obligations.

It is sincerely hoped that the committee may see fit to approve the authorizations herein sought so that necessray appropriations may be obtained at the earliest possible date to carry on this work.

STATEMENT OF FRED E. WILSON

My name is Fred E. Wilson. I am authorized to appear before the committee at this time, representing the Governor of the State of New Mexico and the New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission. The New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission is an agency created by the legislature to promote the interstate water interests of the State of New Mexico.

The entire State of New Mexico, including the Governor and the Interstate Stream Commission, is vitally interested and concerned in the middle Rio Grande project. Since 1940, all agencies of the State have cooperated fully with the Corps of Army Engineers and the Bureau of Reclamation in the investigations they have made of this project in an effort to bring about an early alleviation of the constant threat of floods, and relief from the deterioration of the irrigation facilities in the middle valley of the Rio Grande. These efforts resulted in the completion of the investigational phase of the project in 1947, when the Corps of Army Engineers and the Bureau of Reclamation completed and filed their reports recommending certain flood-control and rehabilitation work. These reports of the two agencies were coordinated, and an agreement was entered into between the two agencies by which it was agreed that the Corps of Engineers would perform certain phases of the entire comprehensive plan, and the Bureau of Reclamation would perform other parts of the work involved in the plan. Thus, it is a joint undertaking by the two Federal agencies; and, while perhaps 85 percent of it is necessary flood-control construction, that part dealing with irrigation and reclamation is vital and necessary, and the two go hand in hand. The comprehensive plan is included and described in the Flood Control Act of 1948, Public Law 858, passed by the last session of Congress. Before Congress included this plan in the Flood Control Act of 1948 there were extensive hearings held before the Public Works Committee of the Senate, and the entire plan was authorized and approved, and a small appropriation authorized in the amount of $3,500,000 to begin the construction of the emergency features involved in the first phases of the plan.

The request now before the Committee on Public Works of the Senate is to obtain additional authorizations in the amount of $38,000,000 for the Corps of Army Engineers, and $15,000,000 for the Bureau of Reclamation to enable these two agencies to continue construction of the works and to enable them to carry the plan to a final conclusion at the earliest possible time.

It is interesting to note that this comprehensive plan was worked out by the two agencies, and was approved by the three States of New Mexico, Colorado, and Texas, all of which are affected States under the terms of the Flood Control Act of 1944.

At the hearings before the Senate Committee on Public Works on May 17, 1948, representatives of the States of Colorado and Texas, as well as New Mexico, appeared before the committee and urged that the project, as it is now defined and included in the Flood Control Act of 1948, be authorized, and adequate appropriations made to carry out the plan. See printed hearings before the subcommittee of the Committee on Public Works, United States Senate, second session, on H. R. 6419, as follows:

Statement of Clifford H. Stone, director of the Colorado Conservation Board, pages 286 and 315.

Statement of the Honorable Kenneth Mills Regan, Representative in Congress from Texas, page 315.

Colloquy between Senator Connally of Texas and Colonel Spence of Texas, pages 285 and 286.

Statement of Robert Lee Bobbitt, attorney at law, San Antonio, Tex., speaking for the attorney general of Texas, page 286.

Statement of J. E. Quaid, Texas representative of the Rio Grande Compact Commission, of El Paso, Tex., page 388.

Statement of John L. Gregg, manager of Elephant Butte irrigation district of New Mexico, page 288.

Statement of Roland Harwell, general manager, El Paso County and water improvement district No. 1, El Paso, Tex., page 287.

The above statements are sufficient to show that the law enacted by Congress approving this comprehensive plan, was passed with the full consent and approval of three sovereign States, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas, and that their representatives appeared before the committee of Congress and urged that the project be authorized for the benefit of the people of all three States, as well as the particular area affected.

I am sure that it is the desire of the three States that further appropriations be made for this project, in order that the joint use of the waters of the Rio Grande by the water users of each State, in full conformity with the provisions of the Rio Grande compact, to which all three States are signatories, may be carried out. It is believed that the small appropriation of $3,500,000 authorized by the Eightieth Congress to start the initial phases of the plan will be appropriated by the present Congress; however, it is the purpose of this bill to obtain authorization of the future amounts that will be necessary in order to relieve the emergency which now exists in the middle valley, which affects all three States.

The emergency nature of the legislation involving this project has been fully demonstrated, I think, by the witnesses who have testified before this committee. It seems apparent that the constant, recurrent threats which have plagued the valley for so many years should be alleviated. It is equally apparent from the testimony of the witnesses, including the technical testimony of the Corps of Army Engineers, Bureau of Reclamation, State engineer of New Mexico, and the engineers from the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District, that the deterioration of the irrigation in the valley is equally as urgent as the danger from floods. It is believed that this comprehensive plan will furnish the answer and will bring about a more secure economy to the area affected, as well as afford protection to the vast investments of the Federal Government in that area, including the matters referred to by the witnesses affecting the national defense. I therefore join with the other witnesses in urging favorable action on the request that has been made for authorization of additional appropriations for this project.

I wish to direct the attention of the committee to the report of the Bureau of the Budget under date of April 12, 1949, to the Secretary of the Army, Secretary of Interior, and the Secretary of Agriculture, which is favorable. In this report the Bureau of the Budget refers to the comprehensive plan and shows that it is a joint undertaking and is the result of coordinated studies by the Bureau of Reclamation and the Corps of Army Engineers. Specific reference is made to the agreement between the two agencies dated June 25, 1947, setting forth the major features of the proposed comprehensive plan, and indicating the agency which is to be responsible for the construction, operation, and maintenance of each major feature. I desire to emphasize the importance of following the specific language proposed by Senator Chavez in S. 1392, so that the Omnibus Flood Control Act of 1949, now under consideration by this committee, will contain a specific authorization for future appropriations to be made for the Bureau of Reclamation as well as the Corps of Army Engineers. Failure to specify the Bureau of Reclamation as well as the Corps of Army Engineers will result in confusion in the future, and make it difficult to obtain future appropriations for that part of the comprehensive plan to be undertaken by the Bureau of Reclamation. One agency cannot very well proceed without the other in view of the provisions of the coordinated plan which Congress has already approved.

Senator Chavez has proposed that there be authorized, in addition to the previous monetary authorization, $38,000,000 to be expended by the Department of the Army, and $15,000,000 to be expended by the Department of the Interior for prosecution of the comprehensive plan. Personally, I feel that these are the minimum amounts that should be authorized, and I wish to suggest to the committee that, unless there is some compelling reason why future authorizations should be limited, there should be no limitation on future authorizations. In other words, Congress has already approved the comprehensive plan in its entirety. as defined by the Flood Control Act of 1948, and it should, in my judgment, be left to Congress in the future to determine what amounts are necessary to be ap propriated from time to time in order to complete the project. In other words, why not leave it to the committees of the next Congress, and the next, and the next, et seq., to determine what amounts, if any, shall be appropriated?

STATEMENT OF 0. M. LoVE

Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, it may be appropriate to say by way of identification that I have resided in Albuquerque since July 1921; that I am vice president of the Albuquerque National Bank; that I have been active for

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