THE WHITE HOUSE, Washington, August 31, 1943. The Honorable, the SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR. MY DEAR MR. SECRETARY: This will acknowledge the receipt of your letter of August 9, 1943, together with supporting data, addressed to me through the Bureau of the Budget, requesting authorization for continuing the construction of the Newton irrigation project in Cache County, Utah, to completion, under the provisions of the Water Conservation and Utilization Act, as amended on October 14, 1940 and July 16, 1943, at an estimated total net cost of $660,000. Due to the apparent urgent necessity for this facility, as stated by you and the War Food Administrator, I hereby approve the continuation of construction of this project under the terms and conditions recommended. Sincerely yours, (Signed) FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT, President. NORTH PLATTE PROJECT WYOMING-NEBRASKA The North Platte project, originally called the Sweetwater project, was authorized by the Secretary on March 14, 1903, under the Reclamation Act of 1902; examined and reported upon by a Board of Army Engineers and approved by the President on January 5, 1911, pursuant to the act of June 25, 1910 (36 Stat. 835). See the Director's recommendation of March 7, 1903 (p. 8), and the Secretary's authorization of March 14, 1903 (p. 14). Guernsey Dam and power plant were found feasible by the Secretary on April 29, 1925, and approved by the President on April 30, 1925, pursuant to section 4 of the act of June 25, 1910 (36 Stat. 836) and subsection B of section 4 of the act of December 5, 1924 (43 Stat. 702). PATHFINDER DAM DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, THE DIRECTOR OF THE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. SIR: In a letter of the 2d instant to the Department you called attention to the authorization given you in departmental letter of March 14, 1903, to proceed with the work incident to the construction of five projects under the act of June 17, 1902 (32 Stat. 388), one of them being the Sweetwater project, Wyoming, and with reference to which project you have stated that the site first selected was not so favorable as a site lower down at the mouth of the Sweetwater River on North Platte, Wyo. You have reported that work was therefore transferred to the point mentioned and that it now appears that the Pathfinder Reservoir site, so-called, is probably the most desirable location for a storage dam, that the capacity of the Pathfinder Reservoir will approximate 1,000,000 acre-feet, that the cost of the dam will be, approximately, $1,000,000, and you have recommended that formal approval be granted for the construction of the Pathfinder Reservoir and that $1,000,000 be set aside for the construction of the reservoir, contingent on favorable report on details of construction and of lands to be reclaimed thereby. On consideration of the facts presented by you and in view of your recommendations I hereby authorize you to proceed with the construction of the Pathfinder Reservoir and the work incident thereto, and the sum of $1,000,000, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is hereby set aside from the fund provided by the act mentioned, for use in construction of this reservoir, contingent on favorable reports on details of construction and of lands proposed to be reclaimed. Very respectfully, (Signed) E. A. HITCHCOCK, FORT LARAMIE UNIT Secretary. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, The Honorable the SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR. SIR: With reference to the North Platte project, Nebraska, the Pathfinder Reservoir has been completed with a capacity of a little over 1,000,000 acre-feet and the North Side or Interstate Canal has been built requiring roughly about one-third of the capacity of this reservoir. The original plans contemplated constructing a canal on the south side of the river; the so-called Whalen Dam at the head of the Interstate Canal was built so that water could be diverted from the south side as well as into the Interstate Canal on the north side. The best location of canal on the south side has not been as obvious as that on the north side; surveys and examinations have been conducted through a number of years, studying the alternative locations, all of which present certain unfavorable features or items of extraordinary cost. Among the alternatives considered has been a high line canal heading above the Whalen Dam and covering the so-called Goshen Hole. This canal line is through extremely rough country and in it the construction of many miles of tunnel is involved. It has not been deemed feasible to undertake a work of this magnitude and the canal studies made lead to the conclusion that the most economical and advantageous location will be for a canal heading at the Whalen Dam and carried on a light grade, in order to take in as much land as possible, at the same time avoiding the rough country to be traversed by the Goshen Hole project. In the report sent by the President to Congress on January 5, 1911, (H.R. Doc. 1262, 61st Congress, Third Session), the situation is described on pages 81 to 87. On the latter page in paragraph 7 it is stated: "The Fort Laramie Unit should be undertaken but the remainder of the Goshen Park Unit should not be commenced at present". At the time said report was prepared the recent surveys had not been completed and it is found that these do not bear out the assumptions made but the conclusions are believed to be applicable to the present conditions. A board of Engineers, consisting of Chief Engineer Davis, Consulting Engineer Henny, Supervising Engineer Walter, and Project Engineer Weiss, has taken up and considered all of the recent surveys and has recommended that construction be authorized upon the Fort Laramie Unit to cover approximately 107,000 acres at a total estimated cost of about $6,500,000, or a little over $60 per acre, provided that 95% of the owners of private lands, which include about one-half the area, pledge their holdings for the repayment of the proportionate cost of the project. In the report of January 5, 1911, above referred to, allotments for the years 1911 to 1914 were made for the North Platte project aggregating $4,185,000, this being based on the assumption that the Fort Laramie unit will include 60,000 acres at not to exceed $3,000,000. The recent study of the various alternatives has resulted in the recommendation which practically doubles the probable investment and acreage, but the amount recommended for expenditure, 1911 to 1914, will be adequate to start the work with the understanding that the necessary funds for completion must be provided after 1914. After a study of the reports of the engineers, the following recommendations are made: RECOMMENDATIONS 1st. That the Fort Laramie Unit of the North Platte Project be now definitely undertaken. 2nd. That no construction work be begun until at least 95% of the private holdings have been properly pledged for the repayment of the proportional cost of the project. 3rd. That instead of the usual organization of water users, some form of trust deed be used similar to that adopted for the Umatilla project, Oregon, which will secure a lien on the lands and require the sale of holdings in excess of 160 acres. GUERNSEY DAM BUREAU OF RECLAMATION, The SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR. MY DEAR MR. SECRETARY: The act of December 5, 1924 (Public No. 292, 68th Congress) contains the following appropriation: North Platte Irrigation Project, Nebraska and Wyoming: For continued investigations, commencement of construction of the Guernsey Reservoir and incidental operations, $800,000. The Act contains the following proviso: Provided, That no part of the sums herein appropriated shall be used for the commencement of construction work on any reclamation project which has not been recommended by the Commissioner of Reclamation and the Secretary of the Interior and approved by the President as to its agricultural and engineering feasibility and the reasonableness of its estimated construction cost. The estimated cost of the dam in round numbers is $1,780,000. The estimated cost of a 2,500 kilowatt power development at the dam is $325,000. To the foregoing must be added (a) $121,000, most of which has been already expended in connection with surveys and investigations, the purchase of flooded lands and road construction, and (b) $290,000 needed in connection with a subsidiary power plant at Lingle, Nebraska, and transmission lines connected therewith. The total estimated cost of the dam and power development therefore aggregates $2,516,000. To recoup this expenditure the Government may look to the following sources: (a) the Interstate Division of the North Platte project. The landowners on this division have agreed in the manner provided by the Act of Congress of August 13, 1914 (38 Stat., 686) to an increase of the construction charge against their land of $16 an acre, a part of which it is provided may be utilized for the building of the Guernsey Reservoir, including a 2,500 kilowatt power development. From this source it is estimated that a return of $966,000 will be available for the Guernsey Reservoir and power development; (b) the Northport Division of the North Platte project, from which, under contract with the United States, a total of $134,000 is to be paid for the Guernsey Reservoir and power development; and (c) the Fort Laramie Division of the North Platte project, on which construction charges have not yet been announced, but these charges when announced will include a rate per acre which in addition to other amounts will produce a return of $885,000 applicable to the cost of the Guernsey Reservoir and power development. These figures aggregate $1,985,000. The above amounts are to be returned from the North Platte |