OCR Text |
Show 432 Basin Committee (FIARBC).188 The Department of Com- merce became a party to the agreement in 1946, and the Fed- eral Security Agency in 1950.199 The purpose of this agreement was to permit these agencies "to cooperate more completely in the preparation of reports on multiple-purpose projects and to correlate the results to the greatest practicable extent."200 A large share of the work of FIARBC is discharged through subcommittees and regional committees.201 Although FIARBC has provided an opportunity for inter- agency discussions, its ability to achieve coordination between agency programs is limited in several ways. The Committee is without statutory standing and has no budget.202 The au- thority, powers, and financial discretion of the constituent agen- cies remain with these agencies to be exercised individually by them.203 As a result, FIARBC's decisions are advisory only and their implementation depends entirely upon the voluntary cooperation and individual consent of its member agencies. Furthermore, an agency's ability to cooperate in effectuating a Committee decision with which it agrees may be limited by the statutory provisions relating to that agency's power and duties.204 198 Id. pp. 23-24. For dissolution of the NRPB, see Act of June 26, 1943, § 101, 57 Stat. 169,170. 190 Id. p. 25 (Commerce) ; Minutes, FIARBC, July 27, 1950, p. 5 and Ex- hibits A, B, and O (FSA). mId. p. 23. 201 Id. pp. 4, 5. Four major technical subcommittees are now active: Bene- fits and Costs, Hydrology, Sedimentation, and Energy-Conservation Proce- dures. Regional committees have been established for the Missouri Basin, Columbia Basin, Pacific Southwest, and Southwest. Ibid, and Minutes, FIARBC, June 12, 1950, Exhibit A. 802 Id. p. 2. 203 Ibid. ^Id. pp. 2S. These limiting factors undoubtedly are reflected in FIARBC's unsuccessful efforts to reconcile the California Central Valley reports of the Army Engineers and of the Bureau of Reclamation. A sub- committee appointed to deal with the problem made a point-by-point analy- sis of the major differences, but did not resolve them. Id. pp. 19-20. In analyzing its own accomplishments, FIARBC said merely that "the report of this subcommittee has been extensively used by the two agencies pri- marily concerned, both in resolving their differences as set forth in the re- port, and in preparing their final reports." Id. p. 20. For one evaluation of FIARBC and its effectiveness, see Report of The Commission on Oegani- |