Chapter 9

Transcript Chapter 9 - UGA Hydrology

Federal Water Agencies

Chapter Headings

• U.S. Army Corps of Engineers • U.S. Bureau of Reclamation • U.S. Geological Survey • U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services • National Park Service • Bureau of Land Management • U.S. Environmental Protection Agency • Natural Resources Conservation Service • U.S. Forest Service • Federal Energy Regulatory Commission • National Marine Fisheries Service • Federal Emergency Management Agency

Chapter Headings

US Army Corps of Engineers (COE)

• Founded in 1794 • Early history in removing snags and building levees on the Mississippi – Average lifespan of a steamboat in 1800’s was less than 2 years • Great Mississippi River Flood of 1927 stimulated federal role in flood control – Peak discharge of 2.5 million cfs – 200 people killed and 600,000 left homeless – Flood Control Acts of 1928 and 1936 – 1936 law required cost-benefit analysis

Mississippi Flood 1927

U.S. Army COE: Dams

• Until 1930’s primary activity was flood control and navigation in Eastern States – Most navigable rivers are in the East – 230 locks • Federal government began large western dam-building program during Great Depression – Hoover Dam completed in 1935 – Part of purpose was to provide employment

U.S. Army COE: Dams

• COE began to compete with Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) for western dam projects – Primary purpose was irrigation – Flood control and navigation was secondary • Example is Garrison Dam on the Missouri River in North Dakota – USBR had determined that it was uneconomical – Dam would inundate Fort Berthold Indian Reservation land – COE redid cost-benefit analysis and lobbied Congress to approve project – Approved in 1944 for construction by COE

U.S. Army COE: Wetlands

• Early federal laws encouraged draining of swamps for navigation and disease control – Swamp Lands Act of 1850 and 1860 • Clean Water Act Amendments 1972 provided protection of

wetlands

(swamps) – Section 404 required COE approval of any development that would alter or destroy a wetland

Chapter Headings

U.S. Bureau of Reclamation

• John Wesley Powell (1834-1902) – Promoted federal role in irrigation projects • Founded by Reclamation Act of 1902 – Purpose to provide water to promote settlement of arid western states – Irrigation water initially limited to farms < 160 acres – Construction costs to be repaid by farmers – Local irrigation districts set up to control finances • Early success in making small projects pay • Later large projects catered to corporate farms and special interests – Acre limits were ignored and local districts did not collect finances – Hoover Dam in 1935 and Grand Coulee Dam in 1941

US Bureau of Reclamation (USBR)

• First to explore the Grand Canyon • Cautioned that allowing inter-basin transfers of water would leave some basins without water • Thought state lines should be drawn along watershed divides to avoid water disputes

USBR

• 1960’s to 1970’s heyday of dam building – USBR (and COE) allied with strong Congressional committee leaders and agricultural/corporate special interest groups – Obtained federal funding for western irrigation projects with questionable cost-benefit analysis – Often in direct conflict with Presidents’ wishes

USBR

• Anti-dam era began in 1970’s – Ralph Nader’s

Damming the West

critical of USBR – Teton Dam failure in eastern Idaho in 1976 • President Jimmy Carter recommend eliminating funding for 18 USBR dam projects • Endangered Species Act passed in 1973 – Snail darter vs. Tellico dam in 1978-79 • New mission to manage existing water projects and promote conservation

Chapter Headings

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

• Conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats • Administers the 1973 Endangered Species Act (ESA) – Protects endangered species and their habitat • Oversees National Wildlife Refuges for migratory birds • Operates 70 fish hatcheries for game and endangered species of fish

Chapter Headings

U.S. EPA

• Water Quality Act of 1965 – Created first water quality standards – Limited success • U.S. EPA created in 1970 – Legislative authority to impose fines and jail sentences for violation of environmental laws • Filed suit against Detroit, Cleveland, and Atlanta shortly after being created

U.S. EPA

• Clean Water Act Amendments of 1972 – Goal of making all waters “fishable and swimable” by 1983 – Strengthened federal water quality standards – Established permit system for point sources (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, NPDES) – Over $20 billion spent on municipal sewage plants 1972-1992 – Section 404 protected wetlands – TMDL program

Snail Darter vs. Tellico Dam

Conflict described in Marc Reisner’s Cadillac Dessert and Chapter 12 of textbook

Snail Darter vs. Tellico Dam

• Jimmy Carter’s first experience with dams was as Governor in Georgia – Carter had a degree in engineering from U.S. Naval Academy • Dam was proposed on Flint River at Sprewell Bluff by COE – Now a state park • Carter read COE plan – Wrote blistering 18-page letter to COE accusing it of “computational manipulation” • Vetoed plans for the dam

Snail Darter vs. Tellico Dam

• Shortly after election as President in 1976 Carter reviewed federal program to manage water resources – 19 new water projects were proposed by USBR and COE • Concluded “There is no coherent water resources management policy” • Later Carter vetoed a bill to fund the projects

Snail Darter vs. Tellico Dam

• • Tennessee Valley Authority • Created during the Great Depression by President Franklin Roosevelt – “A corporation clothed with the power of government but possessed of the flexibility and initiative of a private enterprise” • First attempt at “watershed approach” to planning • Goal was to aid development in poor rural areas by providing cheap electricity, fertilizers, etc.

• Did this by developing hydroelectric dams www.tva.gov/sites/sites_ie2.htm

Snail Darter vs. Tellico Dam

• TVA started out with a good approach but then outgrew it’s mission – in Reisner’s view • By 1970’s much of the electric power was being generated by coal-powered plants – Strip mining coal was destroying the land – Much of the area was still poverty-stricken – Coal-powered plants were contributing to acid rain problems in the northeast

Snail Darter vs. Tellico Dam

• Tellico Dam had been proposed by TVA in 1960s • Dam would not produce hydropower – Would raise the level in the Little Tennessee River so that extra water could be run through a canal to an existing hydroelectric dam – Would produce relatively insignificant additional power – No flood control benefit – Little recreational benefit (many other reservoirs in surrounding area) • Approved for construction in 1969

Snail Darter vs. Tellico Dam

• Endangered Species Act passed in 1973 • In 1973, professor of zoology from University of Tennessee discovered snail darter in Little Tennessee River • 1975 USFW classified snail darter as an endangered species • Court ordered dam construction halted • Decision upheld by Supreme Court in 1978

Snail Darter vs. Tellico Dam

• Congress began considering amendments to ESA that would allow construction of Tellico Dam – Passed a law that set up a Cabinet-level committee that would resolve any case where ESA stopped construction of a dam – Composed of Secretaries of Interior, Agriculture, Army, EPA and others – Called the “God Squad”

Snail Darter vs. Tellico Dam

• In 1978 God Squad reviewed case • Unanimously decided against dam construction – Based decision on economics, not environmental impact – Cost-benefit analysis was faulty and did not justify construction

Snail Darter vs. Tellico Dam

• June 1979 Congress approved a little-noticed amendment to House appropriations bill – Exempted Tellico Dam from ESA • Congress approved appropriations bill • Carter could veto bill – Needed Congressional support for treaty that would return Panama Canal to Panama – Couldn’t afford to alienate key congressmen • Tellico Dam was completed in 1980 • 1984 USFW downgraded snail darter from endangered to threatened

Chapter Summary

• Principal federal agencies dealing with water resources are – Army Corps of Engineers – Bureau of Reclamation – Environmental Protection Agency • Historical trend has been toward greater federal involvement • Water resources development in the west has tended to benefit special interest groups • Recent focus is on environment and conservation