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Show 411 nate or create," to construct or finance any public-works project included in the program prepared.95 A few months later, Congress requested the President to transmit a "comprehensive plan for the improvement and de- velopment of the rivers of the United States," for guidance of legislation which would "provide for the maximum amount of flood control, navigation, irrigation, and development of hydroelectric power."96 The resulting report, containing plans for ten river basins, consisted primarily of information already at hand.97 It was a kind of compendium of water projects drawn from the "308 Re- ports" of the Army Engineers and the experience of the Bureau of Reclamation.98 The report of the President's Committee on Water Flow pointed out that existing basic data "is fragmen- tary and scattered among many bureaus and agencies."99 While emphasizing the need for continued study and the devel- opment of more specific plans, the Committee asserted that the basis for a "comprehensive plan for a water policy" lies in: 10° (1) adequate facts, maps, and general information in easily accessible and comparable form; (2) continuous study and refinement of plans for the full development of river basins with coordination of present agencies M § 203(a), 48 Stat. 202, 40 U. S. C. 403(a). 99 Sen. Res. 164, 78 Cong. Red. 1738 and H. Res. 248, 78 Cong. Rec. 1854, both 73d Cong., 2d sess. (1934). 97 H. Doc. No. 395, 73d Cong., 2d sess. (1934). The basins selected were, in order of priority: Tennessee Valley, St. Lawrence-Great Lakes Basin, Mississippi-main stem, Missouri including the Platte, Sacramento-San Joaquin, Delaware River Basin, Columbia River Basin, Colorado River Basin, Ohio Valley, Great Salt Lake Basin. Id. p. 5. The report was preliminary in character, being prepared and submitted to the President within less than three months. Id. pp. Ill, 1. The study was organized by the President's Committee on Water Flow, consisting of the Secretaries of Agriculture, the Army, the Interior, and Labor-working through six technical subcommittees, including representatives from the Departments of Agriculture, the Army, and the Interior, and the Federal Power Commission, all coordinated by the National Planning Board. Id. p. 3. 98 Water Planning, National Resources Committee, p. 2 (1938). M H. Doc. No. 395, p. 9. 100 IUd. |