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Show see Valley Authority Act are not subject to Com- mission review. In the marketing of Federal power, preference is generally accorded to public bodies and coop- eratives. In marketing of power at reservoir projects under Army control, the Secretary of the Interior has authority to construct or acquire transmission, lines necessary to make such power available in wholesale quantities for sale on fair and reasonable terms. Transmission facilities also constitute parts of authorized reclamation projects. In addition to the foregoing, Congress has separately provided for multiple-purpose projects and for the generation and marketing of power at particular localities and in prescribed regions. Examples are the Boulder Canyon and Fort Peck Project Acts. Similarly, the Bonneville Power Administra- tion is an example of special treatment of the role of power in multiple-purpose projects, dealing with a series of large dams on one river system, the Columbia. But the governing statutory pro- visions are varied from project to project. The provisions generally applicable to Army and Reclamation projects, already discussed, apply to certain projects in the integrated Bonneville network. Others are subject to the varying pro- visions of special acts. In the Tennessee Valley, coordinated multiple uses of water under basin-wide development are largely controlled under uniform provisions by a single Government corporation, the Tennessee Valley Authority. The dams and reservoirs must be operated to regulate stream flow pri- marily for navigation and flood control, and so far as consistent with these purposes, projects are to be operated for generation of power. De- tailed rate provisions are included, contract pro- vision for regulation of resale rates being required in certain instances. Extensive authority is in- cluded with respect to transmission lines. International Waters.-A number of treaties and statutes relating to international waters per- mit or limit; their use for power development. The previously mentioned international commis- sions have functions concerning power and mul- tiple uses of water. At Niagara Falls, diversions for power have long been made under the pro- visions of international agreements, and under a recent agreement may be greatly increased in volume. Other Public Purposes Some of the activities summarized here are in- cidental to primary purposes already discussed, some are ends in themselves, but all serve public purposes in the course of development, utiliza- tion, or conservation of water resources, including related uses of land. Drainage.-Drainage activities of the Federal Government may be divided into three categories. "Channel and major drainage improvements" are works prosecuted by the Army Engineers as a part of flood control activities. In the Depart- ment of Agriculture's flood control and soil conservation programs, drainage activities em- phasize farmland drainage. The Bureau of Reclamation also conducts drainage work as a part of its irrigation project development. Water Supply.-In several instances, Congress has expressly provided for supplying water for domestic, municipal, stock-watering, and indus- trial purposes. Exemplary of several such pro- visions in the case of reclamation projects is a 1939 authorization for the Secretary of the In- terior to enter into contracts to furnish water "for municipal water supply or miscellaneous pur- poses." Noteworthy among the several relevant provisions concerning navigation and flood con- trol projects is the 1944 authorization for the Secretary of the Army to make contracts "for domestic and industrial uses for surplus water." Licenses under the Federal Power Act may in- clude conditions against interference with water supply. Still other legislation makes special provision for stock watering on public lands. And Con- gress in 1937 legislated especially to assist in pro- viding small facilities for water storage and utilization in the arid and semiarid areas of the West. Fish and Wildlife Preservation.-Climaxing attention to fish and wildlife in legislating for 292 |
