WEDNESDAY, MAY 23, 1951.

AFTERNOON SESSION

Mr. KERR. You may proceed.

Mr. DONNELLY. We are ready to proceed.

FURTHER DISCUSSION OF MILEAGES

General PICK. Before we leave the mileage table, I would like to make a statement on the statement that was made prior to the recess for lunch.

Mr. Chairman, I am looking at page 201 of the hearings before the Committee on Rivers and Harbors, House of Representatives, Seventyninth Congress, second session, on the improvement of waterways connecting the Tombigbee and the Tennessee Rivers, Ala. and Miss., dated May 1 and 2, 1946.

A table was asked for in those hearings when Colonel Feringa, who was at that time on duty in the Office of the Chief of Engineers, was testifying on the report, and Mr. Rankin, a Member of Congress, asked this question:

Do you have a table worked out similar to that which you had last year? I would like to have you put one in here showing the mileage, the distance between ports, going either way.

Colonel FERINGA. All right, sir. I think there is such a table in the report. We will make a table and insert it in the record at this point.

The table is labeled "Tennessee-Tombigbee waterway, water distances to Gulf ports."

If you have before you there the document opened at page 201, you will see that the distance set up there from New Orleans to Minneapolis-St. Paul is 1,722 miles. In the second column, which is headed "To Gulf at Mobile via Tennessee-Tombigbee," there is a distance figure of about 1,596 miles to Minneapolis-St. Paul. The difference between the distance from Mobile via the Tennessee-Tombigbee waterway to Minneapolis and St. Paul, between that distance and the distance from New Orleans to Minneapolis and St. Paul, is that it is 126 miles shorter from the port of Mobile.

Mr. DONNELLY. Do you mean 156, General-130 plus 26?

General PICK. I am reading from the document here, and it says "126".

Now then, the same distances are given in the two columns to Chicago, St. Louis, Cairo, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Louisville, Paducah, Chattanooga, and then, junction of Tennessee River and Tombigbee

canal.

That was set up to show the differences between the two ports to points of destination on the inland waterway system, and that is all we claim it to be, sir. That is all.

Mr. DONNELLY. We understand from the heading of the table, General, appearing on page 201 of the 1946 hearings before the Committee on Rivers and Harbors, that the distances are between the upstream ports in the one column, to New Orleans, and the distance from the upstream ports to Mobile, in the second column; but the committee is interested in knowing what distances must be traversed by the barges which are to come back upstream via the proposed Tombigbee waterway to the upstream ports of Cairo, Minneapolis, instead of going back up the Mississippi.

The whole purpose of the proposed waterway is explained in your various documents, to provide an alternate waterway to go back up on the Tombigbee instead of upstream on the Mississippi.

General PICK. The counsel has made the statement for the record which says that these statements in this table in the document which I have just quoted from were incorrect. I maintain they are correct.

Mr. DONNELLY. And I say in turn they do not show the distances from New Orleans, which is the ultimate port of destination, back to the points such as Cairo and Minneapolis via the proposed waterway as laid before the committee by the Corps of Engineers.

REQUESTS FOR CONSTRUCTION FUNDS AND NEED OF DEFINITE PROJECT REPORT

To return to the subject that we discussed this morning, we had before us at that time the appropriation's history of the Tombigbee waterway, and we saw in the fiscal year 1949 the engineers had requested the Bureau of the Budget for $5,735,000, construction and planning, and again in 1951 they asked the Bureau of the Budget for $2,500,000 for construction.

General Pick, this morning and on yesterday you stated that the definite project report on the proposed Tombigbee waterway had not been completed. Mr. Slichter explained this morning there was a difference, and perhaps the committee does not understand the difference, between a definite project report and definite project studies. The term "definite project studies", he explained, is the operation pursued by the Corps of Engineers in planning, to compile the data necessary for the definite project report. He sought to explain these requests for construction money in the fiscal year 1949 and the fiscal year 1951 as based upon definite project studies.

General Pick explained to the committee that that is part of their normal regular procedure.

I would like to take that up at this point.

I have before me a manual of the Corps of Engineers entitled, "Civil Works Administration, Initiation of Projects. Down below, on the cover page there appears, "The Engineer School, Engineer Center, Fort Belvoir, Va." I would like to read from pages 7 and 8.

General PICK. I object to that. The engineering school has nothing to do with this hearing, and I have no idea where that document came from, or who wrote it. If the counsel will take a copy of our orders and regulations and quote from them, I will not object.

Mr. DONNELLY. I will also quote from the orders and regulations, and I will also quote from your report to this committee on April 16, 1951. Let us take it up in steps.

General PICK. Who prepared that document, please?

Mr. DONNELLY. It is shown here as the "Engineer School, Engineer Center, Fort Belvoir, Va."

On the second page there is the following:

This text was prepared at the Engineer School, Fort Belvoir, Va., during 1946-48. It was reviewed and revised by the Office of the Assistant Chief of Engineers for Civil Works in December, 1949.

Now, the Assistant Chief of Engineers for Civil Works is under your command, is he not, General Pick? General PICK. He is.

Mr. DONNELLY. I will now read from pages 7 and 8 of this manual: Detailed planning and design: The steps involved in this phase of project development involve many considerations, including the over-all planning and establishment of construction programs on both an annual and a long-range basis. More detailed discussion of this phase is covered in another program of this course. The purpose at this time is to outline the principal steps with respect to an individual project.

Request for construction funds:

And that involves this committee..

The first step after authorization of the project and determining its place in the construction program is to obtain funds with which to carry out the construction. This usually takes place in two or more stages. First, a request for detailed planning funds with which to prepare definite project reports, plans, and specifications, etc., and second, request for the funds required for actual construction. In some cases, however, the initial request may cover both the planning fund and funds for initiation of construction. In either case the procedure is the same. The Chief of Engineers, on the basis of information from the division and district engineers, prepare data sheets to support a request for inclusion of funds for a specific project in the budget for the coming fiscal. year. These proposed budget items are first presented to and discussed with the Bureau of the Budget in order that they may be correlated with budget requests from other departments of the Government into a consolidated budget consistent with the over-all program of the President. When the budget request. of the President is made available to Congress shortly after the beginning of each calendar year, a subcommittee

this subcommittee

of the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives takes the initial action in Congress on the President's budget proposals. The subcommittee holds hearings and asks for information from the Chief of Engineers and local interests concerned with the projects and prepares its recommendations to the full Committee on Appropriations which, in turn, presents a proposed appropriation bill for consideration by the House of Representatives. After action by the House, or simultaneously with consideration in the House, similar action is taken in the Senate. After passing of the appropriation bill by the House and Senate, and signature by the President, the money required for the project is made available to the Chief of Engineers (see O. and R. 4212.01 to 4212.09 and 4213.01 to 4213.14).

Preparation of definite project report: The Chief of Engineers assigns to the appropriate division and district engineer the responsibility for preparing a definite project which serves as a basis for programing the planning and construction of the project to establish definitely the most suitable plans for accomplishment of the project and provides a definite basis for final detailed plans and specifications. (See O. and R. 4214.01 to 4214.34.) This important step in the detailed planning of a project is taken in order to close the gap between the preliminary engineering design completed during the survey stage and the final engineering design necessary to initiate construction of the project. Due to the interval of time between surveys on a project and actual construction and the necessity for limiting expenditures during survey stage to the minimum necessary to furnish a conclusive answer on the general nature and justifiability of a project, the preparation of a definite project plan has been found to be an efficient procedure. Upon receipt and approval by the Chief of Engineers of the definite project plan, the Chief of Engineers assigns responsibility to the division and district engineers for preparation of the final plans and specifications.

Are the young engineering officers being told there about any such concept as definite project studies which take the project up piecemeal as a basis for requests for funds to the Congress?

General PICK. The procedure which you have outlined there, sir, is in general exactly what we have done and it is the procedure which was used at that time. Those young officers down there are given a very short course in civil works, and it was not necessary to go into great detail because it would be too much for them-they do not have

86506-51-pt. 2- -6

enough time in the course to do that, so it was more or less generalized.

In 1949, on the 12th of August, I had prepared and submitted to our field organization a letter which was putting into effect our definite procedures in this work, which, Mr. Chairman, I would like to read into the record at this time.

(The letter was read by General Pick, as follows:)

DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY,

OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS,
Washington, D. C., August 12, 1949.

Subject: Definite project reports-Civil works.

To: Division engineers, except division engineers WOD.

District engineers, except district engineers of districts in WOD.

1. The modifications to existing project planning procedures as outlined in the following paragraphs are presented with the view toward reducing engineering planning costs, maintaining uniformity in engineering work loads, and enabling further delegation of authority to division engineers for approval of final plans and specifications. In the application of these procedures it is suggested that district engineers establish and maintain up-to-date, tentative planning and construction schedules for those projects where construction may be initiated within the next 6 years.

2. For projects of a major scope it is desirable in many cases to begin construction on initial phases before completion of detailed plans for the later phases. In order to facilitate this procedure and to expedite preparations for initial construction, it is desired that consideration be given to submittal of the definite project report in sections, each section covering a phase of the work. Provisions of paragraph 4214.02b, orders and regulations, are hereby modified to permit preparation of definite project reports by sections.

3. The amount of investigations and design analyses necessary for each section will depend upon the extent of the investigations made for the survey report, on local conditions, and on the type of project under consideration. Each section will be a continuation and extension of the survey report investigations and will conclude with definite recommendations (excepting the general section) for that phase of the work with which it deals.

4. Sections of the definite project report will be completed and submitted in an order that will assure continuity between the planning and construction of the project. The order of submission and the extent of treatment in each part will be determined by the division and district engineers. For example, in the case of a hypothetical multiple-purpose project, sections might be submitted in the following sequence in advance of each phase of the work.

(a) General: This section will furnish the reviewer with a general description of the engineering features and conditions associated with the project. It will serve to coordinate the various sections of the report, and will include a brief general treatment of such items outlined in paragraphs 4214.12 to 4214.30, inclusive, of orders and regulations, as are applicable, including estimates of cost. As this section is to contain only information, it will not include recommendations or require approval.

(b) Hydrology (including criteria for reservoir, spillway and outlet capacities, for flowage requirements, and plan of reservoir regulation).

(c) Geology, field investigations and topography.

(d) Site selection (if not adequately fixed by survey report).

(e) Capacity of hydro-power installation.

(f) Land acquisition (to include information currently required in real estate planning report and to replace that report, and to be submitted in first and second parts when necessary to expedite construction progress. It will not duplicate information included elsewhere in the definite project report).

(g) Reservoir clearing.

(h) Access roads and administrative facilities.

(i) Sources of construction materials.

(j) Relocations.

(k) Stream diversion and outlet works.

(1) Navigation locks.

(m) Dam.

(n) Spillway.

(0) Powerhouse.

(p) Reservoir management (including recreation, fish and wildlife, malaria control).

5. Each section of the definite project report will establish the basis of design and will include all applicable studies now required by paragraphs 4214.33 and 4215.11, orders and regulations. Upon approval, the design of details and the preparation of contract drawings and specifications for the phase of the work covered in the section may proceed provided that funds for that purpose have been allotted.

6. Upon review of a section of the definite project report by the Chief of Engineers the action on that section of the report in the Office of the Chief of Engineers will indicate whether the designs are considered adequate and in conformance with departmental standards, and whether the authority for approval of plans and specifications for that phase of the work is to be delegated to the division engineer. If such authority is granted, the conditions established by paragraph 4215.04, orders and regulations, may be disregarded, provided no consequential changes in design are made during preparation of the final plans. It is anticipated that the success of this procedure will depend on the extent to which engineers in the Office of the Chief of Engineers are used in a consulting capacity during preparation prior to submittal of a section of the definite project report.

7. Paragraph 4214.09, orders and regulations, is modified to require the submission of 10 copies of definite project reports, or sections thereof, for the use of the Chief of Engineers. Submittal of copies of correspondence in quadruplicate, copies of the report for the Federal Power Commission and to the Waterways Experiment Station, as required by paragraph 4214.09, orders and regulations, is not modified.

8. Submittal of some sections of the definite project report following initiation of construction should reduce the amount of planning funds required prior to the allotment of construction funds. Planning programs, including those for projects where definite project reports are now in preparation, will be reviewed to determine whether submittal of definite project reports in sections will be of advantage and whether an adjustment in planning funds is possible. 9. Orders and regulations will be modified in accordance with the above by publication of a change thereto in the near future.

By order of the Chief of Engineers:

CRAIG SMYSER,

Lieutenant Colonel, Corps of Engineers, Executive. Mr. DONNELLY. You have read the document, of which I have a copy in front of me, and you will note in paragraph 4 the languageSections of the definite project report will be completed and submitted * I note in paragraph 6:

Upon review of a section of the definite project report by the Chief of Engineers

*

and we note in paragraph 8

submittal of some sections of the definite project report following initiation of construction ***

This morning your assistant here, Mr. Slichter, sought to convey to this committee a new concept, something which he styled "a definite project study," which I do not find in any of your orders and regulations; which I do not find in this letter that you have just read, and which I do not find in the manual for the school of engineers at Fort Belvoir.

Now, in the fiscal year 1949, and again in the fiscal year 1951, the Corps of Engineers asked for substantial money to initiate the construction of this proposed Tombigbee-Tennessee waterway, and the explanation given this morning by Mr. Slichter was that at that time you had definite project studies for the Gainesville lock and dam which is the first lock involved in the operation.