I recommend that you approve this report and finding, and that you authorize the expenditure of funds under the above act, to continue construction on the Shirley and Terry units, and to resume construction on the Fallon unit as soon as the War Production Board grants a favorable priority rating. Sincerely yours, THE WHITE HOUSE. November 30, 1943. (Signed) HAROLD L. ICKES, Secretary of the Interior. Approved in accordance with my letter of November 30, 1943: (Signed) FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT, President. THE WHITE HOUSE, Washington, November 30, 1943. The Honorable the SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR. MY DEAR MR. SECRETARY: On November 5, 1943, you submitted for approval your proposal for the continuation of construction of the Second Division of the Buffalo Rapids irrigation project in Montana, under the terms of the Act of August 11, 1939, as amended. This project is approved with the stipulation that no commitments to the construction of the Fallon unit will be made until adequate priority ratings for the materials required for that unit are issued by the War Production Board. Sincerely yours, (Signed) FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT, President. COMPLETION OF BUFFALO RAPIDS PROJECT An act to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to complete construction of the irrigation facilities and to contract with the water users on the Buffalo Rapids project, Montana, increasing the reimbursable construction cost obligation, and for other purposes. (Act of October 10, 1949, 63 Stat. 725, Public Law 336, 81st Cong., 1st sess.) *That the Secretary of the Interior is authorized to complete the construction of irrigation facilities including necessary drainage works on the first and second divisions of the Buffalo Rapids project, Montana, as approved by the President under authority of the Act of May 10, 1939 (53 Stat. 685), and the Act of October 14, 1940 (54 Stat. 1119), as amended: Provided, That of the funds heretofore or hereafter expended for such construction an amount equal to $60 per irrigable acre as determined and announced by the Secretary of the Interior upon completion of the project, shall be reimbursable by the water users over a repayment period of not to exceed sixty years, and provision for the recovery thereof and for payment of the operation and maintenance costs of the irrigation and drainage features of the project shall be made by a contract or contracts satisfactory to the Secretary of the Interior. SEC. 2. To carry out the purposes of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized to allot any moneys available from appropriations heretofore made to the Department of the Interior for "water conservation and utility projects" and "water conservation and utilization projects", and there is hereby authorized to be appropriated to the Department of the Interior, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, such sums of money as may be necessary to complete the project. BUFORD-TRENTON PROJECT NORTH DAKOTA The Buford-Trenton project was found feasible by the Secretary under the Reclamation Act of 1902 (32 Stat. 388) on November 18, 1904, examined and reported upon by a Board of Army Engineers pursuant to section 1 of the act of June 25, 1910 (36 Stat. 835), and approved by the President on January 5, 1911. (It was considered one of two units of the Missouri River pumping projects, later called the North Dakota Pumping project; the other unit was the Williston project.) The project was unsuccessful, however, and the Act of May 26, 1926 (44 Stat. 653) authorized the cancellation of all water-right charges and the release of all liens existing against the lands in the Buford-Trenton project on account of the water-right charges. On August 23, 1939, under the terms of the Act of May 10, 1939 (53 Stat. 685, 719), the Secretary recommended construction of a project in the same general area. The plan was approved by the President on September 23, 1939. On July 22, 1942, a new finding enlarging the project area was made by the Secretary and approved by the President on August 7, 1942. Funds were provided, without a finding of feasibility, for emergency flood protective work and minor completion work by the Interior Department Appropriation Act, 1954 (Act of July 31, 1953, 67 Stat. 261, 266, Public Law 172 83d Cong. 1st sess.) The Nesson project was authorized by the Secretary under the Reclamation Act of 1902 on January 23, 1906, but was later reclassified as a secondary project. No construction was undertaken under this authorization. A project in the same general area was authorized as a unit of the Missouri River Basin project under the provisions of the Flood Control Acts of 1944 and 1946. The Bismarck project was also authorized by the Secretary under the Reclamation Act of 1902 (32 Stat. 388) on November 18, 1904, but it was later reclassified as a secondary project. Under terms of the act of May 10, 1939 (53 Stat. 685, 719), a project in the same general area was recommended by the Secretary on April 5, 1940, and approved by the President April 26, 1940. That project was reauthorized as a unit of the Missouri River Basin Project under the provisions of the Flood Control Acts of 1944 and 1946. ORIGINAL BUFORD-TRENTON AND UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY, November 14, 1904. The Honorable the SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR. SIR: During the summers of 1903 and 1904 reconnaissance investigations and surveys have been in progress to determine the feasibility of irrigating the lands along the Missouri River in North Dakota by the use of the waters of that river. The fall of the river is so slight that it is not practicable to divert it upon the irrigable lands which lie at a considerable elevation above the low water plane. The only feasible method of irrigating these lands and utilizing the abundant water supply of the Missouri River in this region is by pumping. Extensive beds of lignite appear throughout this region and it is proposed to utilize this for the production of power for pumping the waters of the Missouri River above the adjacent lands. The work has now reached a point where the preliminary investigations are completed and the experts engaged upon the plans and estimates have reported two feasible projects. One is known as the Buford-Trenton tract, situated on the left bank of the Missouri River close to the western boundary of the State where 18,000 acres of irrigable land can be reached at elevations above the low water plane of the Missouri River varying from 25 to 85 feet. It is proposed to irrigate this by means of two pumping plants, the first cost of which is estimated at $300,000 and the annual maintenance and operation charges at $36,000. Under the provisions of the Reclamation Act it will be necessary for the irrigators to make 10 annual payments of $3.66 per acre and subsequent annual payments of $2 per acre. These estimates are preliminary and may be modified by more complete surveys. The other project recommended is known as the Bismarck tract and lies in the vicinity of Bismarck. It contains 15,000 acres of irrigable land at elevations varying from 25 to 65 feet above the low water plane of the Missouri River at that point. It is proposed to irrigate this tract by the installation of two pumping plants, the first cost of which is estimated at $250,000. The annual operating expenses are estimated at $30,450. Under the requirements of the Reclamation Act the irrigators will be required to pay 10 annual installments of $3.70 per acre and subsequent annual payments of $2.03 per acre. These estimates are preliminary and may be modified by more complete surveys. Most of the land under both projects is in private ownership and some of it in tracts which will require subdivision before it can receive the benefit of the Reclamation Act. In view of the facts presented I have to recommend that you give your preliminary_approval to these projects and that the Chief Engineer of the Reclamation Service be authorized to complete detailed investigations, plans, and estimates preparatory to construction. I have to recommend further that the sum of $550,000 be tentatively set aside in the reclamation fund for these two projects pending the results of final surveys, estimates, etc. I have to recommend further that the Chief Engineer of the Reclamation Service be authorized to take proper steps to inform the landowners of the tracts proposed to be irrigated of the cost of the proposed works and annual operating expenses, and the requirement of the Reclamation Act regarding payments by water-users, etc., for the purpose of determining whether they will cooperate with the Government in the manner provided by the Reclamation Act in carrying out the two proposed reclamation projects herein described. Very respectfully, (Signed) H. C. RIZER, Acting Director. OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY, Washington, November 18, 1904. The DIRECTOR OF THE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. SIR: In a letter of the 14th instant to the Department the Acting Director reported that reconnaissance surveys and investigations along the Missouri River in North Dakota have developed two feasible projects for irrigation by pumping methods in this region in connection with which it is proposed to use extensive beds of lignite in the vicinity for the production of pumping power. The Acting Director states that under the first project, embracing the Buford-Trenton tract, 18,000 acres of irrigable land can be reached at elevations above the low water plane of the Missouri River varying from 25 to 85 feet, which it is proposed to irrigate by means of two pumping plants, the first cost of which is estimated at $300,000, and the annual maintenance and operation charges at $36,000, and that under the second project embracing the Bismarck tract, 15,000 acres of irrigable land, at elevations varying from 25 to 65 feet above the low water plane of the Mis |