A more complete discussion of the area, of the works which are required to accomplish its rehabilitation, and of the probable benefits which will be derived from it (benefits which the Bureau of Reclamation estimates will outweigh costs in the ratio of 2.38 to 1) is contained in a report entitled "Plan of Rehabilitation for Fort Sumner Project, Pecos River, N. Mex.,' a copy of which I enclose for your information. Also enclosed are the comments on that report received from the Secretary of War, the Governor of New Mexico, the Board of Water Engineers of the State of Texas (to all of whom the report was sent pursuant to the requirements of section 1 of the Flood Control Act of 1944), the Secretary of Agriculture, and the Federal Power Commission Since the time that these comments were received, a compact relating to the use of the waters of Pecos River has been negotiated by the States of Texas and New Mexico and approved by the Federal representative The Committee on Public Lands unanimously recommends the enactment of S. 276. PROVIDING FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT AND OPERATION OF A RARE AND PRECIOUS METALS EXPERIMENT STATION AT RENO, NEV. JUNE 14, 1949.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed Mr. BARING, from the Committee on Public Lands, submitted the following REPORT [To accompany H. R. 2386) The Committee on Public Lands, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 2386) to provide for the establishment and operation of a rare and precious metals experiment station at Reno, Nev., having considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill do pass: EXPLANATION OF THE BILL The purpose of this bill is to authorize the construction, operation, and maintenance of a rare- and precious-metals experiment station at Reno, Nev. The authorization includes a laboratory and office building to house the present personnel and research facilities, and provides for moderate expansion. A rare- and precious-metals experiment station of the Bureau of Mines has been located in Reno for almost 30 years. From 1920 to 1942, the entire station personnel was housed in quarters made available by the University of Nevada. Due, however, to the prewar program of strategic mineral investigation, activities increased appreciably and space facilities that could be provided by the university were nadequate The Bureau of Mines was forced to rent space n Reno Reno has proved to be a convenient headquarters for the mining engineers assigned to mineral exploration work, and has been designated as headquarters for the Nevada district office of the western region. Since about 1946, the Mining Division personnel has occupied a temporary Quonset-hut building on university land. The Metallurgical Division occupies a small university-owned building containing roughly 5,000 square feet of usable space. The University of Nevada cannot furnish additional facilities to the Bureau. In fact, there is a possibility at this time that the university may be forced to discontinue the existing arrangements in order to meet its own needs for additional space. During the period of its existence, the station has made valuable contributions to mining and metallurgy. One of its early assignments was the production in cooperation with the National Radium Institute of 8,500 milligrams of radium from western carnotite ore for research in the treatment of cancer. A portion of the radium produced at that time is now contributing to our knowledge of nucleonics, through loan to Oak Ridge. The station pioneered in the selective flotation of copper and molybdenum. It was active in a number of occasions in making known fraudulent schemes devised by unscrupulous promoters to sell stock on the basis of false assays and salted samples. Initial work on the production of electrolytic manganese. now produced commercially, was done at this station. The suggestion has been made that the activities of the Reno station be transferred to the station at Boulder City, Nev. The committee is advised that such a transfer would be impractical because of the lack of both space and housing at the Bureau's Boulder City station. Furthermore, the facilities at Boulder City are unlike the kind needed for the experimental work conducted at Reno. Plant facilities at other stations also are specialized and apparently unsuited and unavailable for the purpose. Expansion of existing facilities at Reno also would permit the transfer from San Francisco to Reno of certain Bureau of Mines personnel who now occupy quarters for which high rents must be paid. The necessity for Bureau of Mines representation in the bay area is recognized, but it is believed that much of the work can be done from Reno. Because of its proximity to the University of Nevada, the Reno station has been able to utilize students as part-time employees. This arrangement is of mutual benefit to the station and to the university, since it enables students to gain practical research experience. The University of Nevada has made available to the Bureau of Mines 2 acres of ground as a site for the proposed structure authorized by this bill. The sum of $750,000 would cover construction costs. Approximately $250,000 annually would be required for maintenance and operation. The Nevada State Legislature, with the approval of Gov. Vail Pittman, has memorialized Congress to enact this legislation. The passage of H. R. 2386 is recommended by the Department of the Interior in the following report: Hon. ANDREW L. SOMERS, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY, Washington 25, D. C., March 29, 1949. Chairman. Committee on Public Lands, House of Representatives. MY DEAR MR. SOMERS: Reference is made to your letter of February 10 requesting a report on H. R. 2386, a bill to provide for the establishment and operation of a rare and precious metals experiment station at Reno, Nev., and to the interim reply of the Legislative Division dated February 14. It is the recommendation of this Department that the bill be enacted. The Bureau of Mines, since about 1920, has been conducting investigations relating to the mining and metallurgy of the rare and precious metals on the campus of the University of Nevada, using laboratory and office space furnished by the university in one of its buildings. Recently, a Quonset-type hut was set up by the Bureau of Mines on adjacent Government-owned land to provide urgently needed storage facilities for drill cores and equipment of the Mining Division, but this storage building is also being used as working quarters by employees of the Mining Division. The authorized activities of the Metallurgical Division re.ating to the rare and precious metals, which are of great interest and benefit to the industry, have expanded to the point where more space is required to conduct researches and investigations, to house additional equipment and to provide adequate working quarters for employees. The University of Nevada cannot furnish additional facilities to the Bureau. Indeed, the possibility exists that the university may be forced to discontinue the existing arrangements in order to meet its own needs for additional space. A new building, as proposed in H. R. 2386, would provide adequate office space and laboratory facilities for the work of the Bureau in the Sierra Nevada mining region and would directly benefit the University of Nevada by returning to it the space now used and occupied by the Bureau. Copies of this report have been submitted to the Bureau of the Budget, but no reply has been received, and the time schedule for a hearing of the matter by your committee will not permit this Department to ascertain in advance the relationship of the bill to the program of the President; therefore this report does not constitute a commitment respecting the President's program. Sincerely yours, OSCAR L. CHAPMAN, Under Secretary of the Interior. The Department later provided the following supplemental information to the chairman of the Subcommittee on Mines and Mining of the Committee on Public Lands: DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Hon. CLAIR ENGLE, House of Representatives. BUREAU OF MINES, MY DEAR MR. ENGLE: This letter contains information on H. R. 2386, a bill providing for the establishment and operation of an experiment station at Reno, Nev. The information is supplemental to that contained in Director Boyd's letter to you of May 16, 1949, and that which was given in his recent testimony before your subcommittee. It may be helpful as a matter of initial consideration to draw attention to the fact that a rare and precious metals experiment station of the Bureau of Mines has been located at Reno, Nev., for a number of years. The primary purpose, then, of H. R. 2386 is to provide funds for the construction, operation, and maintenance of a laboratory and office building suitable to house present personnel and activities at Reno and to provide for moderate expansion. From 1920 to about 1942, the entire station personnel was housed in quarters made available by the University of Nevada. Due, however, to the prewar program of strategic mineral investigation activities increased appreciably and space facilities that could be provided by the university were inadequate. The Bureau was forced to rent space in Reno. Reno proved to be a convenient headquarters for the mining engineers assigned to mineral exploration work, and was designated as headquarters for the Nevada district office of the western region. Since about 1946, the Mining Division personnel has occupied a temporary Quonset building of its own erection on university land. The Metallurgical Division occupies a small university-owned building containing roughly 5,000 square feet of usable space. During the period of its existence, the station has made valuable contributions to mining and metallurgy. One of its early assignments was the production in cooperation with the National Radium Institute of 8,500 milligrams of radium from western carnotite ore for research in the treatment of cancer. A portion of the radium produced at that time is now contributing to our knowledge of nucleonics, through loan to Oak Ridge. The station pioneered in the selective flota H. Repts., 81-1, vol. 4- -49 |