78TH CONGRESS 2d Session HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES REPORT No. 1193 PROVIDING FOR CONSTRUCTION OF HUNGRY HORSE DAM ON SOUTH FORK OF FLATHEAD RIVER IN STATE OF MONTANA FEBRUARY 24, 1944.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union and ordered to be printed Mr. HORAN, from the Committee on Irrigation and Reclamation, submitted the following REPORT [To accompany H. R. 3570] The Committee on Irrigation and Reclamation, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 3570) to provide as an emergency war project for the partial construction of the Hungry Horse Dam on the South Fork of the Flathead River in the State of Montana, and for other purposes, having considered the same, report favorably thereon with an amendment and recommend that the bill as amended do pass. Complete and exhaustive hearings were conducted on this bill. All interested departments of Government were consulted, asked for statements, and invited to attend the hearings. Official representatives from the State of Montana were in attendance as well as the full congressional delegation from the State of Montana. Evidence was also submitted by the Northwest States Development Association, comprising the Governors of the States of Oregon, Idaho, Washington, Montana, and Wyoming, together with two additional members from each of the five States including the State engineers. They have made a very careful study of the various projects in the Northwest, availing themselves of all information from governmental departments, State, and private sources, and are recommending for immediate or early post-war construction only such projects as are urgently necessary and self-liquidating, which means that the Government will be entirely reimbursed and that there will be no permanent charge against the taxpayers of the United States for this construction. We cannot emphasize this self-liquidating feature too strongly. The bill has been amended in accordance with request of the Department of the Interior in letter included in this report, and also amended to meet objections in original bill in amendments proposed by Mr. Lemke, Mr. Rockwell, Mr. Miller, and Mr. Barrett. The land to be irrigated is already settled and improved, and much of it under cultivation by dry farming methods. It is authoritatively stated that irrigation will double the production, chiefly in alfalfa for wintering and feeding cattle and sheep on adjacent ranges, and beans and peas, all of which are urgently needed, and none of which is in competition with crops raised in the Middle West. Montana, the third largest State, has vast natural resources but, because of lack of projects of this kind, the population has steadily declined for the past decade. The power will make it possible to develop their natural resources; the irrigation will produce beef and mutton and other foods urgently needed now, and take care of their increased post-war industrial population resulting from development of their natural resources. Much of their timber is Governmentowned, is now ripe and ready to cut and send to the market, otherwise it will rapidly deteriorate. This is an alternate project for the Flathead Lake project, urge by the Bonneville Power Administration to furnish additional storage of water and thereby increase the firm power at Grand Coulee Dam and Bonneville Dam needed in the war effort. The Flathead project would destroy much valuable cultivated land, part of the city of Kalispell, and close several sawmills and other industries; whereas the Hungry Horse Reservoir is entirely within the national forest; the land to be inundated being burned-over timberland of questionable value for reforestation purposes, and of no value for agricultural purposes. The small amount of merchantable timber remaining can be cut and sold or stock-piled when reservoir site is being cleared, so this will entail no loss. The only possible damages are very trivial, consisting of some forest trails, roads, telephone lines, and shelters now on, or traversing, the reservoir site, and used to guard and patrol the adjoining timberlands in the United States forest reserve. While this damage is small, when considering a project of this nature, yet in fairness to the Forest Service the committee feels that provision should be made to replace them when Hungry Horse Dam is constructed. The unanimity of the entire population of Montana, and the representatives of all five of the Northwest States, together with the careful and thorough investigation by the Committee on Irrigation and Reclamation, convinces us that this is a project of unusual merit, benefiting not only the State of Montana, but all down river projects in the four adjoining States, including the privately owned projects since by storing the surplus waters in the flood seasons and releasing them in the dry seasons of the year, there will be more water for irrigation, less danger of floods, and more firm power developed at all projects between Hungry Horse Dam and the mouth of the Columbia River. We have made reference to the recommendations of the advisory board of the Bonneville Power Administration, lest the title to this bill should seem incompatible with the reservation made by the Bureau of the Budget. We have not been advised that this board has changed its mind regarding this danger of power shortage for war industries, and the unusually light snowfall during winter of 1943-44 may increase that danger. We recommend that this bill be authorized so that in the event this danger does materialize, there will be no delay in getting work under way. If the emergency does not arise, the Hungry Horse Dam will then be in line for early post-war construction. The amendment is as follows: Strike out all after the enacting clause and substitute therefor the following: That for the purpose of irrigation and reclamation of arid lands, for controlling floods, improving navigation, regulating the flow of the South Fork of the Flathead River, for the generation of electric energy urgently needed for the war effort, and for other beneficial uses primarily in the State of Montana but also in downstream areas, the Secretary of the Interior is authorized and directed to proceed as soon as practicable with the construction, operation, and maintenance of the proposed Hungry Horse Dam (including facilities for generating electric energy) on the South Fork of the Flathead River, Flathead County, Montana, to such a height as may be necessary to impound not less than one million acre-feet of water. SEC. 2. The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to complete, as soon as the necessary additional material is available, the construction of the Hungry Horse Dam so as to provide a storage reservoir of the maximum usable and feasible capacity. SEC. 3. The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to construct, operate, and maintain under the provisions of the Federal Reclamation Laws (Act of June 17, 1902, 32 Stat. 388, and Acts amendatory thereof or supplementary thereto), such additional works as he may deem necessary for irrigation purposes. Such irrigation works may be undertaken only after a report and findings thereon have been made by the Secretary of the Interior as provided in such Federal Reclamation Laws; and, within the limits of the water users' repayment ability, such report may be predicated on allocation to irrigation of an appropriate portion of the cost of constructing said dam and reservoir. Said dam and reservoir and said irrigation works may be utilized for irrigation purposes only pursuant to the provisions of said Federal Reclamation Laws. SEC. 4. There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act. Hon. HAROLD L. ICKES, COMMITTEE ON IRRIGATION AND RECLAMATION, Secretary of the Interior, Washington, D. C. DEAR MR. SECRETARY: We are enclosing a copy of H. R. 3570, relative to the partial construction of the Hungry Horse Dam on the South Fork of the Flathead River in the State of Montana, and would appreciate a statement of your views on the proposed legislation. Sincerely yours, COMPTON I. WHITE, M. C. COMMITTEE ON IRRIGATION AND RECLAMATION, Hon. HAROLD L. ICKES, Washington, D. C. Secretary of the Interior, DEAR MR. SECRETARY: On March 12, 1943, the Bonneville Advisory Board, anticipating a probable hydroelectric power shortage in the Northwest during the low-water season of 1944-45, because of war-emergency requirements, advocated up-river storage at Albeni Falls, Idaho, and Flathead Lake, Mont. This would firm up the power and increase the stream flow during the low-water months, thereby substantially increasing the firm power developed at Grand Coulee and Bonneville Dams. It was proposed to start emergency construction on these projects on July 1, 1943, but protests by the people of Kalispell that excessive damage would be done to property and lands under cultivation, caused the Bonneville Administration to abandon the Flathead Lake project, and select instead the Hungry Horse Dam site, where the storage reservoir would flood only burned-over and cut-over lands in the forest reserve, and result in minor damage, compared to the benefits to be derived. To clear the way, so that this project could be partially constructed for storage purposes, H. R. 3570 has been introduced by Congressman Mansfield of Montana. As we understand it, this partial construction will require only a limited amount of strategic material and manpower, and is justified on the grounds that when the war in the Pacific is intensified, the power demands will increase. Of course, in the post-war period, when this dam is completed, it will be a multiple-purpose project, combining power, irrigation, and flood control along with storage, but at present only storage facilities are planned. The people of Kalispell, Mont., fear that until H. R. 3570 becomes law, there will always be the danger, should an emergency arise, to return to the original Flathead Lake project. They are, therefore, insistent that our committee hold hearings on H. R. 3570, and we have set February 1, 1944, as the date for such hearings. We will appreciate a statement from your Department regarding this proposed legislation at your earliest convenience. Sincerely yours, COMPTON I. WHITE, M. C. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, Washington, February 19, 1944. Hon. COMPTON I. WHITE, Chairman, Committee on Irrigation and Reclamation, House of Representatives. MY DEAR MR. WHITE: You have asked for an expression of my views regarding H. R. 3570, entitled "A bill to provide as an emergency war project for the partial construction of the Hungry Horse Dam on the South Fork of the Flathead River in the State of Montana, and for other purposes.' " I recommend that this proposed legislation be enacted after being amended in the following particulars: (a) By deleting lines 3 to 8, inclusive, on page 1 of the bill, and inserting in lieu thereof the following: "That for the purpose of irrigation and reclamation of arid lands; for controlling floods, improving navigation, and regulating the flow of the South Fork of the Flathead River, for the generation of electric energy urgently needed for the war effort, and for other beneficial uses, primarily in the State of Montana but also in downstream areas, the Secretary of the Interior is authorized and directed to"; (b) By deleting the word "immediately" in line 9, on page 1, and substituting "as soon as practicable"; (c) By inserting a comma after the word "construction", in line 9, on page 1 of the bill, together with the following: "operation and maintenance"; (d) By deleting the word "immediately" in line 4, page 2; (e) By substituting the phrase "not less than" for the word "approximately" in line 4, on page 2; (f) By deleting all of section 2, following the word "reservoir" in line 9, on page 2, and by substituting therefor "of the maximum usable and feasible capacity"; (g) By adding a new section 3, reading as follows: Such "SEC. 3. The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to construct, operate and maintain under the provisions of the Federal Reclamation Laws (Act of June 17. 1902, 32 Stat. 388, and Acts amendatory thereof or supplementary thereto), such additional works as he may deem necessary for irrigation purposes. irrigation works may be undertaken only after a report and findings thereon have been made by the Secretary of the Interior as provided in said Federal Reclamation Laws; and, within the limits of the water users' repayment ability, such report may be predicated on allocation to irrigation of an appropriate portion of the cost of constructing said dam and reservoir. Said dam and reservoir and said irrigation works may be utilized for irrigation purposes only pursuant to the provisions of said Federal Reclamation Laws." (h) Section 3 of the bill would then become section 4. This proposed project has been viewed in the light of comprehensive, long-range plans for the multiple-purpose development of the Columbia River Basin which for some years have been urged by the Bonneville Advisory Board, the Corps of Engineers, the Bureau of Reclamation and other Federal agencies and more recently by the newly organized Pacific Northwest Development Association. These plans, formulated with due consideration of the need of and benefits from navigation, flood control, irrigation, and land development and power founded upon investigations of wide scope, provide a basis for the improvement and stabilization of the economies of various parts of the region as well as the Northwest as a whole. The foregoing recommendation is accordingly predicated both upon an analysis of these plans for post-war development and upon presently indicated wartime needs. Furthermore, it is predicated upon the position that, while an over-all study of the Columbia Basin should be made, emergency projects should, nevertheless, be undertaken without waiting for the over-all study, particularly where such projects are integral parts of any comprehensive plan and will benefit downstream developments. The Hungry Horse project would be located some 4 miles above the confluence of the South Fork and the Flathead River, in turn a tributary of the Clark Fork of the Columbia. The Clark Fork, because of its large discharge, its high elevation in the Columbia River system, and its point of discharge into the main Columbia above the international boundary and above all of the dams of the comprehensive development plan for the main stem of the Columbia, is the most strategic and important tributary of the Columbia from the standpoint of river regulation and effective use of its water resources. The Hungry Horse project is one of the major features of the comprehensive plan as it relates to the Clark Fork. It is a logical and significant unit in the over-all development program. It is a part of the basic program recommended by the State of Montana and has very wide and strong support throughout that State. Any region-wide basic program for water and land development will be seriously weakened by omission of a project of its key character in the drainage basin scheme and in the regional economy. The power output of the Columbia River may be increased either by the installation of additional dams and power plants on the river, or by the development of upstream water storage, or by a combination of these means. The combined method-a concurrent and integrated development of river installations and of upstream projects for storage and other economic purposes-is desirable. Upstream storage development permits the repeated use of water for multiple purposes. It provides for needed water and land development in headwater It distributes the work and the long-term benefits of drainage basin development. It provides advantages not otherwise available to upstream and interior States and areas. It is in accord with the logical policy of basin-wide physical and economic development, and not merely one looking toward the most efficient use of all water resources from an engineering standpoint. areas. The water storage provided by the Hungry Horse Reservoir would be a logical part of any plan and program for the general development of water-storage capacity and improved regulation of the Columbia River system. The reservoir would be located in a valley, with little damage to forest areas and practically none to other land, agricultural, and community resources. The reservoir would lie above developed areas and potential agricultural land development areas in the Flathead and Clark Fork Valleys. Use of the reservoir will have major values in power production, minor values in the improvement of navigation downstream and in flood protection for the upper Flathead and Pend'Oreille Valleys, and potential values with respect to ultimate full irrigation uses of water. From a power viewpoint, water storage of 1,500,000 acre-feet will make a most significant contribution in the form of incidental downstream benefits. It is estimated that the firm power capacities of existing downstream power plants at Polson, Thompson Falls, Grand Coulee, Rock Island, and Bonneville will be increased to the extent of some 78,000 kilowatts. When the increase in the firm power capacities of the power plants likely to be installed downstream as a part of the contemplated post-war development is also taken into account, the total increase in firm power capacity directly attributable to the Hungry Horse project will be about 284,000 kilowatts. The project is considered economically feasible, subject to the insurance or development of its power market. Power installations should be made in advance of a promising market. Availability of power at suitable volume and low cost is essential to the development of latent resources of industries and |