Colonel HANNIS. Yes, sir.

Senator WATKINS. How far inland?
Colonel HANNIS. It varies in depth.

Senator WATKINS. Are there any benefits that go to private individuals as such, or does it all go to the public?

Colonel HANNIS. The length of the beach under consideration is 2.7 miles. The city of Redondo Beach owns about eight-tenths of a mile. The county of Los Angeles owns 1.5 miles, and privately owned is about one-third of a mile. So it is preponderantly owned by either the county or Redondo Beach.

Senator WATKINS. To what use is the beach now put?

Colonel HANNIS. Right now it has very little use outside of what you would expect of a community on a beach, and a boardwalk or a seawalk. But with this improvement, in building the vertical seawall, and building up the land with dredged sand, the city will get property for recreational and commercial use. The land and property owners inland from the city owned property will also receive protection from the action of high waves. That is along this area here.

This seawall comes out here and this is the strand walk along here. All this will be built up to allow the development for recreational, residential, and commercial activities which are normally found on improved harbors.

Senator DowNEY. Senator Watkins, under the Supreme Court decision in the Tidelands case, the Court declares that what is termed inland waters belongs to the States. Even though this would not be construed to be inland waters, and the Supreme Court does not attempt to define what are inland waters-that will have to be left to Congress-the strip between high and low tide belong to the State. And in addition to that the State of California or the municipalities have acquired large strips extending inland from the high-tide water. I understand that is the case here.

Mr. KING. Yes.

Senator WATKINS. What is the depth of the land? You have given the frontage; what is the depth of city-owned and county-owned land? Mr. KING. It would be sketchy. I have walked it many times. Colonel HANNIS. My answer is that I do not know. I would think, however, that the property back of the strand would more likely be in private hands.

Mr. KING. That is right.

Colonel HANNIS. And that seaward of the strand would probably be public.

Senator WATKINS. The reason for my asking the question is for the purpose of the record it is always well to have the public interest in there.

Senator DowNEY. Yes, sir.

Colonel HANNIS. I do not believe you were here, but local interests will build a seawall with their own funds so that the building up of that land will be done by local interests.

Senator WATKINS. I have been on the beach several times but I did not remember too much about it.

Senator DOWNEY. Mr. King, I think the question asked by Senator Watkins ought to be very precisely answered: What is the ownership of the land there? How far does it extend and what is the ownership! Mr. KING. Yes.

Senator DOWNEY. There is a considerable strip there between the privately improved property and the beach line, Senator. We will ascertain that.

Senator WATKINS. I wanted to know just for the purposes of the record.

Senator DOWNEY. I think it ought to be in there.
(The information above referred to, is as follows:)

CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES,

Hon. SHERIDAN DOWNEY,

Senate Office Building, Washington, D. C.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Washington, D. C., July 26, 1949.

DEAR SHERIDAN: With reference to the question raised by Senator Watkins at the hearing this morning as to the ownership of the beach fronting the proposed harbor project, I am attaching hereto memorandum and map taken from the basic report of the Corps of Engineers which furnishes the desired information. Would you be so kind as to have this memorandum and map inserted at the appropriate place in the hearings.

I am sending a copy of the memorandum to Senator Watkins for his information also.

Thanking you, and with kind personal regards, I am

Very sincerely yours,

CECIL R. KING, M. C.

29. Water-front ownership.—The city of Redondo Beach owns the 3,800 feet of beach fronting the proposed harbor. The city of Redondo Beach acquired all tide and submerged lands from the State of California by act of dedication approved April 12, 1915. All of the filled area between the proposed vertical bulkhead and the Strand Walk would be in public ownership. Between Beryl Street and Diamond Street the proposed beach fill and existing eroded property landward to Hermosa Boulevard, with the exception of the Fox Theater property, would be in public ownership. The ownership of the beach frontage, within the city limits, is as follows:

Water-front ownership

Owner

City of Redondo Beach.

County of Los Angeles (county park).

Privately owned: Simon Meyer-between Diamond Street and 267 feet south of Monstad pier 1

Total beach frontage..

Length of shore

Mile

C. 827 1.537

0.308

2.672

Action has been started by Los Angeles County to purchase this property.

30. The beach northward from the existing breakwater, in the city of Hermosa Beach, is owned by the city of Hermosa Beach.

31. Nearly all property shoreward of the high-tide line, except between Diamond and Beryl Streets, is owned by private interests. The city of Redondo Beach has purchased the area that has been severely eroded between Diamond and Beryl Streets seaward of Hermosa Bulevard.

Senator DowNEY. I have been there when these great waves come bursting in, and I know they go up over a large expanse of the beach, clear up into the front yards of some very valuable home developments there.

Mr. KING. I was there last winter, Senator Downey, and the Red Cross and the Salvation Army were in command of the whole town. Probably 16 or 18 homes were completely ruined. And the streets now are being eroded away. The sewer lines, gaslight standards are being destroyed. It is getting right up into the town.

Senator DOWNEY. Unless there are further questions or comment, I think that will conclude it.

Mr. KING. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

MUDDY RIVER AND MEADOW VALLEY WASH, NEV.

Senator DOWNEY. Senator Malone has a project here that he now desires to present to the committee. It is described here as Muddy River and Meadow Valley Wash, Nev.

Senator MALONE. Mr. Chairman, Colonel Gee is here, and with a short preliminary statement I would like for the committee to call Colonel Gee to present the project to the committee, since the Army engineers have completed the survey. It has been approved by the Army engineers, the Board of Army Engineers, and the Chief of Army Engineers, also by the Governor of the State of Nevada, and, therefore has been sent to this committee for hearings and proper action.

Now, it affects about 6,000 population in Meadow Valley Wash and Muddy River Basin, the towns of Pioche, population 2,000; Overton, population 800; Caliente, population 1,500; Panaca, population 550; or about 6,000 total population.

The occupations there are, of course, farming and stock raising, mining, transportation. There is a Union Pacific railroad. The main line of the Union Pacific runs almost full length of the Meadow Valley Wash and has been subject to traffic interruptions as well as the farming areas and the towns.

Now, the two reservoirs that have been approved are Pine Canyon and Mathews Canyon Reservoirs. I have, of course, seen these reservoir sites many times. I was State engineer for the State for 811⁄2 years, 1927-35, and was very familiar with this whole project.

Now, one of the things that they do there in the Meadow Valley is a very expensive type of farming. They raise cantaloup and lettuce and beet seed and tomato plants. Tomato plants are shipped east. They raise them to sell wholesale. It is the only place out there that I have noted anything like that; they raise asparagus, radishes, and high-value crops.

The elevation runs from about 1,200 feet at Lake Mead, backed up behind Hoover Dam, to about 10,000 feet elevation back in the watershed, and these damaging floods have occurred, according to the record, 23 times in 46 years, of course with varying damages. The highest damage was something over $800,000, in any 1 year.

The benefits, tangible benefits and intangible benefits, are pronounced adequate by the Army engineers, and with that preliminary statement I would like for the committee to call Colonel Gee.

Senator DOWNEY. I never knew you had any rainfall in Nevada at all, Senator Malone. How do you get floods without rain? (Discussion was had outside the record.)

Senator KERR. Are there any reclamation benefits in this project! Senator MALONE. There are, and charges will be made accordingly. Senator WATKINS. How is it going to be handled, Senator, repayment contracts?

Senator MALONE. That, I would like for Colonel Gee to answer. The Agriculture Department and the Reclamation Service are also working, but it is a separate thing. The flood damage is the main