OCR Text |
Show to the President and transmitted by him to Congress. Congress may then wish to hear evidence from appropriate State and Federal officials and de- cide on the merits of the plan in terms of the national welfare. This is in general accordance with present procedure under the River and Har- bor and Flood Control Acts, except that there would be an earlier and closer participation between Federal agencies and the interested States on a basin-wide group planning basis. RECOMMENDATIONS On the basis of these considerations and to assure unified planning of programs for the con- servation, development, and use of water and related land resources, the Commission recom- mends that: 1. Congress should provide that the unit for planning further water resources development by Federal agencies should be the river basin, ex- cept where the natural interrelationship of cer- tain river basins or the desirable power market area (as in New England) indicates the sound- ness of a wider area. There, more than one river basin may be included in the comprehen- sive planning operation. Smaller individual watersheds should generally be planned as sub- units of the total basin. Ground water as well as surface water should be included in all basin programs. * 2. A basin program should be prepared in re- lation to broader regional needs and assets. To meet this requirement the preparation of the basin program should include a thorough economic and social survey of the region and its prospective de- velopment ajs a factor in the growth of the Nation. 3. Congress should direct the principal Federal agencies to participate in preparing comprehen- sive basin-wide surveys and plans in place of the single-purpo>se and dominant-purpose surveys and plans now a_uthorized for such purposes as flood control, navigation, and irrigation, with their at- tendant incidental purposes. A single appropri- ation should be made for each survey and plan- ning operation, on the basis of a budget showing the approximate amounts to be allocated to spe- cial phases of the survey and to the participating agencies. The authorization should permit each agency to take part in surveys in any basin in which its special responsibilities are involved. 4. Congress should direct that in the future all proposals for authorization of water development projects should be submitted in the form of basin programs. Such programs should include all necessary details as to the projects proposed, in- formation on the relationship of the program in its various stages to the economic and social de- velopment of the region and the Nation, and spe- cific recommendations as to the timing of such functions as watershed management, flood man- agement, pollution abatement, silt control, water supply, irrigation, navigation, hydroelectric power, fish and wildlife, and recreation. They should be summarized for wide distribution among the citizens concerned. 5. At each step in the planning, authorization, and appropriation process, the basin program should be treated as a single program for all purposes rather than as an aggregate of plans for separate purposes to be individually approved. This procedure should replace the diverse au- thorization procedure now followed by the Fed- eral agencies. Appropriations should therefore be made to the basin programs as a whole, on the basis of budgets showing the approximate amounts to be allocated to the specific projects and participating agencies, rather than to specific functions. Consideration should be given to including in such appropriations funds which might be allotted to State agencies on a trial basis to initiate their participation. 6. Congress should direct all Federal depart- ments and agencies responsible for the develop- ment of water and land resources to promptly re- view as coordinated groups all existing plans and programs in cooperation with interested States, and to cooperate in preparing coordinated plans for water resources development for the several river basins. Plans already authorized by Con- gress should remain undisturbed unless this re- view results in specific recommendations for change. 52 |