OCR Text |
Show operation Act of 1968,34 statutory requirements to coordinate the planning and design of direct Federal programs that have a significant state, local, or regional influence were unevenly developed. Federal water resources project proposals formulated by the Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Reclamation, and the Soil Conservation Service were sent to the states for comments and views but, before enactment of the Water Resources Planning Act in 1965,35 project coordination was little more than after-the-fact action. The states seldom had an opportunity to participate in project formulation. The 1965 Act provided the legal basis and organizational arrangements -the joint river basin planning commission-for states to participate with Federal agencies in water resources planning each step of the way from assessment of needs to multiproject design and analysis. Statutory requirements for coordinating Federal public land activity with states and local government have been confined primarily to notification and soliciting of state views on proposed Federal land acquisition, with state approval required for some kinds of purchases. Beyond this, there has been little exposure of the Federal comprehensive land use planning process or the plans themselves to state and local government. Title IV of the Intergovernmental Cooperation Act of 1968 36 provides, in part, that the President 34 40 U.S.C., §§ 531-535; 42 U.S.C. §§ 4201, 4211-4214, 4221-4225, 4231-4233, 4241-4244 (Supp. IV, 1969). 35 42 U.S.C. §§ 1962-1962d-3 (Supp. IV, 1969). 36 42 U.S.C. §§ 4231-33 (Supp. IV, 1969). 62 The public affected by land-use planning deserves a voice in such procedures. Federal administrators should hold public hearings (left), consult state and local government officials (center), and seek the counsel of advisory boards (right) as a vital part of the planning process. ". . . establish rules and regulations governing the formulation, evaluation, and review of Federal programs and projects having a significant impact on area and community development." The implementing regulations issued by the Bureau of the Budget37 call for the establishment of procedures by Federal agencies administering programs for construction of Federal buildings and installations or other Federal public works, or for the acquisition, use, and disposal of Federal land and real property to assure: 1. Consultation with Governors, regional and metropolitan comprehensive planning agencies, and local elected officials at the earliest practicable stage in project planning in the relationship of any project to the development plans and programs of the state, region, or locality. 2. Consistency and compatibility of any such Federal project with state, regional, and local development plans and programs. The Bureau of the Budget regulations also call for use of the state, regional, and metropolitan planning and development clearinghouses that have been established as part of the recent efforts to im- 37 Bureau of the Budget Circ. No. A-95, July 24, 1969. |