OCR Text |
Show nomic appraisal of navigation and flood control projects, and the construction, maintenance, and operation of those approved by Congress. The Army Engineers, in their analyses of costs and benefits, take into consideration the general economic need and probable effect of proposed projects, and the transportation and other savings which would be expected to result from the use of the waterways. The criticism is sometimes made that their standards of comparison are faulty in that they are based on probable water transportation rates versus rates by other alterna- tive types of transportation, instead of comparing the costs of each type of transportation; also that the Army Engineers fail to take fully into account over-all transportation needs and the effects of the proposed waterway service on the whole econ- omy, including competing carriers. The Tennessee Valley Authority, in planning and adminstering water resources development in the Tennessee Valley, undertakes to obtain maximum, transportation benefits along with other beneficial uses of water in the region, and so far as it is able, to coordinate its transportation and flood control program with adjoining areas. However, the responsibilities of the Army Engi- neers, TVA, or any other agencies involved, do not extend so far as to determine the country's need for waterway transportation in relation to the transportation and economic development of the entire United States. This acts as a limita- tion on the most effective development of our resources. The importance of providing for such a deter- mination as a basis for sound waterway planning is apparent when consideration is given to the wide range of Federal objectives and agencies which affect in one way or another the develop- ment of inland navigation. Thus, in the field of water resources, irrigation and power dams con- structed by the Bureau of Reclamation may determine not only the water available for navi- gation but also the goods to be offered for trans- portation. Similarly, highway programs planned and administered by the Bureau of Public Roads may determine deliveries to or competition with wateiways. The pioneering of the Inland Waterways Corporation may open up new possi- bilities of water transport, while a new petroleum pipeline may have the reverse effect. And, of course, the administration of agricultural policy by the Department of Agriculture or the regula- tory activities of the Interstate Commerce Com- mission are bound to have an impact on the national transportation program. There is need, therefore, for more effective com- munication and cooperation between these agen- cies in the regional and national transportation aspects of their work. Broad planning and direc- tion of the over-all national development and use of all transportation and water resources is lack- ing, except to the limited degree interagency river basin committees work at it, or the extent that the Bureau of the Budget or Congress itself may attempt to deal with it. It is of high im- portance that the present deficiencies in coordina- tion of research, direction, and control be rem- edied. Genuine comprehensive river basin plan- ning should lead in that direction. The recent reports of the Commission on Or- ganization of the Executive Branch of the Gov- ernment (Hoover Commission) and of the Sec- retary of Commerce in his report to the President, December 1, 1949, on "Issues Involved in a Uni- fied and Coordinated Federal Program for Transportation," thoroughly analyzed the trans- portation issues. The President's recent appoint- ment of an Under Secretary of Commerce for Transportation, placing in the Department of Commerce greater authority and responsibility for conducting broad studies relating to Federal transportation policies and programs, should give impetus to the formulation and promotion of a unified transportation policy which would afford the basis for legislative action. The Office of the Under Secretary of Commerce for Transportation can provide a means for coordinating the activi- ties of the separate Government agencies dealing with transportation, eliminating duplication of effort, and establishing adequate standards for carrying forward a balanced national transporta- tion program. Clarification and unification of policy in the respective fields of water resources and of trans- portation will provide the means for eliminating conflicts within and between them. Transporta- 216 |