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Show Public health services in the hasin are minimal; local health departments are found in only a few metropolitan areas, and State staffs are limited. Local units of government have not actively sup- ported adequate health services in construction areas. In part, their attitude has been that the Federal Government and not the locality is re- sponsible. Supplying adequate health services for these projects is difficult. Rural areas generally are not able to pay for adequate health services for themselves, much less for a migrant population several times larger than the resident population. State legislatures thus far have not directly sup- ported programs to supervise health conditions in the project areas. equitable part of the costs. To conform to sound democratic policies, therefore, it would seem proper for the State and local agencies to share in the costs, as recommended by the Commission in volume 1 of this report. 2. Integrated Planning, Construction, and Opera- tion of Facilities for Water Control and Use The Problem Extent to which planning, constructing, and operating water projects should be coordinated in the basin. Conclusions Water resources programs for the basin require continued and increased participation by State and local public bodies and greater cooperative efforts by both State and Federal agencies. Local participation to the fullest possible extent is needed on all phases of the several programs, such as: (1) Soil and water conservation on farms, range land, and woodland. (2) The relocation of families and facilities in areas to be inundated. (3) Irrigation enterprises. (4) Rural electrification. (5) Flood protection and zoning. (6) Fire protection and reforestation. (7) Treatment plants for municipal and in- dustrial wastes. (8) Regulated use and improvement of facili- ties for local municipal and industrial water sup- ply, especially from ground water sources. (9) Enactment and enforcement of adequate State laws for pollution control. (10) Fish and wildlife protection, enhancement, and management. (11) Intermediary projects to fill the gap be- tween small soil conservation projects and large reclamation, flood control, or other costly projects. (12) Establishment of conservancy districts to as- sist in financing the cost of water resources pro- grams. Responsibility for costs.-The costs of any proj- ect should be borne by those who receive the bene- fits, and in proportion to the benefits each re- ceives. State interests as well as those represented by the Nation as a whole receive benefits from any water resources project, and all should assume an The Situation Initially, water projects in the Missouri Basin were constructed by local people at their own ex- pense. Most Federal investigation and planning related to individual projects or areas. The first over-all basin report was the so-called "308 Report" prepared in the early 1930's. Following a major flood in 1943, the Corps of Engineers submitted a basin-wide development plan. Shortly thereafter the Bureau of Reclamation released its plan. These plans were combined and the result approved by Congress. Subsequently the Department of Agri- culture has prepared a plan for watershed man- agement and on-the-farm water use, complemen- tary to the others, which is now recommended for authorization. Other Federal agencies are modi- fying and expediting their programs as far as possible to fit into these major plans. Early in 1945 the Missouri Basin Inter-Agency Committee was established to provide for inter- change of information and coordination of plan- ning and construction. The committee has sponsored the preparation and annual revision of a 6-year program which indicates the proposed rate of development by Fed- eral and State agencies for the following 6 years. This permits adjustment of the rate of progress proposed in various phases of the work, and allows for future coordination between various phases. The State agencies obtain information on the rate of development, and can plan for coordination of their activities with appropriate Federal agencies. Under the auspices of the Missouri Basin Inter- Agency Committee, special groups, consisting of representatives of agencies most directly involved, have been formed to find solutions to specific prob- 245 |