Flood Control Act, 1936

This excerpt omits reference to individual projects except those on the Willamette River.

74th CONGRESS. SESS. II. CHS. 651, 688. JUNE 20, 22, 1936

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled

DECLARATION OF POLICYSection 1. It is hereby recognized that destructive floods upon the rivers of the United States, upsetting orderly processes and causing loss of life and property, including the erosion of lands and impairing and obstructing navigation, highways, railroads, and other channels of commerce between the States, constitute a menace to national welfare; that it is the sense of Congress that flood control on navigational waters or their tributaries is a proper activity of the Federal Government in cooperation with States, their political sub-divisions and localities thereof; that investigations and improvements of rivers and other waterways, including watersheds thereof, for flood-control purposes are in the interest of the general welfare; that the Federal Government should improve or participate in the improvement of navigable waters or their tributaries including watersheds thereof, for flood-control purposes if the benefits to whomsoever they may accrue are in excess of the estimated costs, and if the lives and social security of people are otherwise adversely affected.

Sec 2. That, hereafter, Federal investigations and improvements of rivers and other waterways for flood control and allied purposes shall be under the jurisdiction of and shall be prosecuted by the War Department under the direction of the Secretary of War and supervision of the Chief of Engineers, and Federal investigations of watersheds and measures for runoff and waterflow retardation and soil erosion prevention on watersheds shall be wider the jurisdiction of and shall be prosecuted by the Department of Agriculture under the direction of the Secretary of Agriculture, except as otherwise provided by Act of Congress; and that in their reports upon examinations and surveys, the Secretary of War and the Secretary of Agriculture shall be guided as to flood-control measures by the principles set forth in section 1 in the determination of the Federal interests involved: Provided, That the foregoing grants of authority shall not interfere with investigations and river improvements incident to reclamation projects that may now be in progress or may be hereafter undertaken by the Bureau of Reclamation of the Interior Department pursuant to any general or specific authorization of law.

Sec. 3. That hereafter no money appropriated under authority of this Act shall be expended on the construction of any project until States, political sub-divisions of, or other responsible local agencies have given assurances satisfactory to the Secretary of War that they will (a) provide without cost to the United States all 1ands, easements, and rights of way necessary for the construction of the project except as otherwise provided herein; (b) hold and save the United States free from damages due to the constructed works; (c) maintain and operate all the works after completion in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Secretary of War: Provided, That the construction of any dam authorized herein may be undertaken without delay when the dam site has been acquired and the assurances prescribed herein have been furnished, without awaiting the acquisition of the easements, and rights-of-way required for the reservoir area: And provided further, That whenever expenditures for lands, easements, and rights-of-way by States political sub-divisions thereof, or responsible local agencies for any individual project or useful part thereof shall have exceeded the present estimated construction cost therefor, the local agency concerned may be reimbursed one-half of its excess expenditures over said estimated construction cost: And provided further: That when benefits of any project or useful part thereof accrue to lands and property outside of the State in which said project or part thereof is located, the Secretary of War with the consent of the State wherein the same are located may acquire the necessary lands, easements, and rights-of-way for said project or part thereof after he has received from the States, political subdivisions thereof, or responsible local agencies benefited the present estimated cost of said lands, easements, and rights-of-way, less one-half the amount by which the estimated cost of these lands, easements, and rights-of-way exceeds the estimated cost of construction cost corresponding thereto: And providing further, That the Secretary of War shall determine the proportion of the present estimated cost of said lands, easements, and rights-of-way that each State in which said project or part thereof is located, provision (c) of this section shall not apply thereto; nothing herein shall impair or abridge the powers now existing in the Department of War with respect to navigable streams: And provided further, That nothing herein shll be construed to interfere with the completion at any reservoir or flood control work authorized by the Congress and now under way.

Sec. 4. The consent of Congress is hereby given to any two or more States to enter into compacts or agreements in connection with any project or operation authorized by this Act for flood control or the prevention of damage to life or property by reason of floods upon any stream or streams and their tributaries which lie in two or more such States approved by the Secretary of War, funds for construction and maintanence, for the payment of damages, and for the purchase of rights-of-way, lands, and easements in connection with such project or operation. No such compact or agreement shall become effective without the further consent or ratification of Congress, except a compact or agreement which provides that all money to be expended pursuant thereto and all work to be performed thereunder shall be expended and performed by the Department of War, with the exception of such reasonable sums as may be reserved by the States entering into the compact or agreement for the purpose of collecting taxes and maintaining the necessary State organizations for carrying out the compact or agreement.
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Willamette RiverConstruction of bank-protection works, with channel clearing on the Willamette River, Clackamas River, Tualatin River, Molalla River, Santiam River, Marys River, Muddy Creek, and on the McKenzie River in Oregon, for the reduction of flood heights and to prevent loss of land by erosion; special report in Office of the Chief of Engineers; estimated construction cost, $2,430,000.