OCR Text |
Show 490 Agency River Basin Committee by an agreement among the principal agencies involved in river development. This Committee reviews and seeks to coordinate agency activities respecting basin programs, but cannot resolve any conflict inherent in statutory requirements. Nor can it require the agencies to conform to its decisions. The President, through review by the Bureau of the Budget and through executive directives, has also sought to coordinate the project proposals and programs of the different agencies. In addition, department heads have effectuated considerable coordination of planning and operations within statutory limits. The Reorganization Act of 1949 permits certain transfers and consolidations of functions and agencies, but does not furnish the further authority necessary for a full reconciliation of statu- tory conflicts encountered in basin development. Federal-State Coordination.-Comprehensive develop- ment necessarily affects both federal and state activities. Con- gress has repeatedly declared its policy to recognize the rights and interests of the states in the development of water resources. Progress in Coordination Within Particular Regions.- Water-resource policies vary not only in accordance with the principal purpose for which a project is authorized, but they also differ from basin to basin. At times and for various reasons, development of more than one basin may be encompassed in a single plan. Thus, provision has been made for coordinated, multiple-agency surveys for the Arkansas-White and Red River Basins, and for the New England-New York Region for the purpose of developing comprehensive, integrated plans of improvement for many related purposes. In the Alabama-Coosa Basin several agencies are pur- suing their separate developmental programs independently. In the Central Valley of California, plans for basin-wide devel- opment have been prepared by both the Bureau of Reclama- tion and the Army Engineers. The Bureau of Reclamation has principal responsibility for preparing a "comprehensive scheme" for water-resource development in the Colorado Basin. |