PART II

APPENDIX A

MINUTES OF THE COMMISSION'S MEETINGS

[August 1, 1929, to June 20, 1930]

ONE HUNDREDTH MEETING HELD IN THE OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF WAR, AUGUST 1, 1929

Meeting called to order at 10.35 a. m.

Present: Secretary Good, chairman; Secretary Wilbur, member of the commission; Acting Secretary Dunlap, acting member of the commission; Maj. Glen E. Edgerton, chief engineer and acting executive secretary; Maj. L. W. Call, chief counsel; William V. King, chief accountant; Maj. F. K. Newcomer, assistant chief engineer; J. F. Lawson, assistant counsel; F. F. Henshaw, engineer; and Mr. Ely, assistant to Secretary of the Interior.

The chief engineer presented a list of 16 applications, Nos. 925 and 997 to 1011, inclusive, received since the meeting of June 14, 1929, and stated that 5 applications had been advertised.

The chief engineer presented the case of one instrument which has been executed since the meeting of the commission, June 14, 1929, and recommended that the action of the executive secretary in issuing this instrument, pursuant to authority given by the commission, be approved.

The commission thereupon took action as follows:

In order that the minutes of the commission may contain record of the formal approval by the commission of the amendment of license executed and issued by the executive secretary, under authority of the commission's Orders, No. 2, it was voted that the following amendment of license, accepted and/or issued on the dates respectively named, be and the same is hereby approved by the commission, and that the executive secretary be authorized to extend the period of such license from time to time for not to exceed 12 months during the continuance of investigations, looking to the determination of the net investment and the terms of the permanent amendment of license No. 16 to authorize the utilization of the water now provided for in the temporary license. Amendment of temporary license:

Project No. 16—

The Niagara Falls Power Co.

Niagara River.

Erie and Niagara Counties, N. Y.

Original license issued March 2, 1921.

Amendment No. 2 of temporary license No. 2 authorized June 14, 1929.

Accepted by licensee June 21, 1929.

Issued July 9, 1929.

Decisions on declarations of intention

1. The chief engineer made the following statement: John A. Reed, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, has declared his intention of constructing a power project in and across the Des Moines River near Evanston, about 70 miles above Des Moines, Iowa. The proposed project involves a dam with a crest elevation about 12 feet above the present mean water level and a power house with an installation capacity of about 3,000 horsepower. The Des Moines River is a navigable water of the United States from its mouth to Des Moines, a distance of 200 miles. However, navigation is at present impossible because of the number of fixed bridges, snags, and bars in the river. The project proposed by the declarant is a run-of-river plant and, while its intermittent operation during periods of low flow might create appreciable effects upon the flow of the stream, navigation would not be affected because it is not now practicable at such stages of the river. The Chief of Engineers, to whom the declaration was referred, reports that the project is not situated on a navigable section of the Des Moines River, and also that if constructed the project would not, in all probability, affect the navigable capacity of the navigable portion of the river. It is recommended that the commission find that the interest of interstate or foreign commerce will not be affected by the proposed project.

The commission thereupon took action as follows:

In the matter of the declaration of intention, under the provisions of section 23 of the Federal water power act, of John A. Reed, whose address is Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to construct a dam and other structures across and in Des Moines River in the vicinity of Evanston, Webster County, State of Iowa, said dam and other structures being part of a power project proposed to be constructed for the purpose, inter alia, of the development and utilization of power, said declaration having been submitted to the commission under date of March 11, 1929; the commission having caused investigation of such proposed construction to be made and it appearing from such investigation and from reports submitted thereon that said river in the part thereof involved in said declaration is not "navigable waters" within the definition thereof in said act and that the interests of interstate or foreign commerce would not be affected by such proposed construction, thereupon found that said river in the part thereof involved in said declaration is not navigable waters" within the definition thereof in said act and that the interests of interstate or foreign commerce would not be affected by such proposed construction.

Authorizations for preliminary permits

1. The chief engineer made the following statement: Holston River Power Co., of Johnson City, Tenn., made application December 2, 1922 for a preliminary permit for a power project on the Holston River and its tributaries. in Sullivan and Washington Counties, Tenn. The applicant's plans call for the construction of three dams: No. 1, 95 feet high, on the Holston River, 6 miles above Kingsport; No. 2, 135 feet high, on the Holston River, just below the confluence of the South Fork and Watauga River; and No. 3, 130 feet high, on the South Fork of the Holston, about 5 miles above Bluff City. The combined power capacity of the three sites is about 43,000 horsepower, ard the proposed installed capacity about 74,000 horsepower. The estimated useful storage of the three reservoirs is over 335,000 acre-feet. The power will be used for industrial and public utility purposes. At its meeting of July 8, 1927, the commission determined that the sections of the Holston River and tributaries involved are not "navigable waters as defined in the Federal

water power act, but that the interests of interstate or foreign commerce would be affected by the proposed construction. Further action on the application was suspended pending completion in this section of the river of studies by the War Department authorized by Congress for the purpose of determining the possibilities of a combined power, navigation, and flood-control project. On June 30, 1926, the Tennessee Eastern Electric Co. filed an application for a power project (No. 726), conflicting with that of the applicant, but as this company has been denied articles of convenience and necessity, in favor of the applicant, by the Railroad and Public Utilities Commission of the State of Tennessee, its application has been rejected under the provisions of paragraph 20 of the commission's Orders, No. 10. The applicant's plan of development, with slight modifications, can be made to utilize and to conserve in the public interest the navigation and water resources of the section of the river and to conform to the general plan of development of the Tennessee River as outlined in House Document No. 185, Seventieth Congress, first session. The project will occupy lands partly within the Unaka National Forest, but will not be inconsistent with the purposes for which said project was created. The Forest Service, to which the application of the Holston River Power Co. was referred, has no objections to the issuance of a permit, and the Chief of Engineers, who investigated the application, reports in favor of its being granted if made subject to appropriate conditions in the interest of navigation, of flood control, and of power development. The chief engineer recommended that the issuance of a preliminary permit for two years to Holston River Power Co. be authorized.

The commission thereupon took action as follows:

In the matter of the application of Holston River Power Co., a corporation organized under the laws of the State of Tennessee, whose address is Johnson City, in the State of Tennessee, for a preliminary permit and license under the Federal water power act for a power project (No. 361) on Watauga River, Holston River, and its South Fork, and on lands of the United States partly within the Unaka National Forest, in Sullivan and Washington Counties, State of Tennessee, involving the construction of three concrete dams with power houses and appurtenant project works: Said applicant having on December 2, 1922, submitted, in the form of said application for permit, declaration of its intention to construct said project in said rivers, and the commission after having caused investigation of such proposed construction to be made and from such investigation having found on July 8, 1927, that said rivers in the part involved are not "navigable waters" within the definition thereof in said act, but that the interests of interstate or foreign commerce would be affected by such proposed construction; said applicant having submitted satisfactory evidence of its right to perform within said State of Tennessee the acts necessary for the purposes of such permit and of its ability to carry out the preliminary work and the proposed project; and notice of said application having been given and published as required by section 4 of said act, full opportunity having been given for all interested parties to be heard, and no application for said project or in conflict therewith having been filed by any State or municipality; the commission thereupon found that said project can be developed into and adapted to a comprehensive scheme of improvement and utilization for the purposes of navigation, of flood control, of waterpower development, and of other beneficial public uses, and that neither the permit nor the license applied for will interfere or be inconsistent with the purpose for which any reservation affected thereby was created or acquired; and in accordance with said findings authorized the issuance of a preliminary

permit for a period of two years, subject to the provisions of said act, to the rules and regulations of the commission pursuant thereto, and to the following special conditions:

(a) The permittee shall keep the district engineer of the War Department fully advised of its investigation and plans and shall consult with him as to the location of the draft tubes, so that full advantages may be taken of the maximum drawdown when desired in the interest of navigation, of flood control, and of power development.

(b) The permittee shall make provision in the design of all three dams for the installation of log chutes, free of cost to the United States, when so required by the Secretary of War in the interest of navigation.

(c) The permittee shall investigate the economic feasibility of locating dam, No. 3, in the South Fork, at about 183.4 miles as measured from the mouth of the Holston River, and of raising the surface of the reservoir to as near elevation 1,600 as is practicable, in order to increase the storage capacity of the reservoir.

(d) The permittee shall submit with its application for license, a comprehensive engineering and economic report on the effect on flood control, navigation, and power development on the Holston River that would result from a provision for 5-foot surcharge on each of the project dams.

(e) The license, if issued, shall contain the following special conditions: (1) That the operations of the licensee, so far as they affect the use, storage, and discharge from storage of waters of the Watauga River, Holston River and its South Fork, shall at all times be controlled by such reasonable rules and egulations as the Secretary of War may prescribe in the interests of navigation and as the Federal Power Commission may prescribe in the interests of flood control and of the fullest practicable utilization of said waters for power purposes.

(2) That whenever the United States shall desire to construct, complete, or improve navigation facilities in connection with said project, the licensee shall convey to the United States, free of cost, such of its lands and its rights of way and such right of passage through its dams or other structures and permit such control of pools as may be required to complete such navigation facilities. (3) That the licensee shall furnish, free of cost, to the United States power for the operation of such navigation facilities, whether constructed by the licensee or by the United States.

(4) That the licensee shall cut and remove or destroy, to the satisfaction of the district engineer of the War Department, all brush and trees from that zone within and adjacent to the area to be submerged at each reservoir which is included between the contour of extreme low-water pool elevation and the contour 2 feet above the maximum pool elevation, but in no case need said clearing extend over 20 feet measured horizontally from the water when at maximum pool elevation; shall also cut in such manner or so remove or destroy brush or trees within said area to be submerged that no part of such brush or trees shall project above the contour elevation of 10 feet below the extreme low-water pool elevation; and shall remove or destroy all floatable refuse or other material within said area to be submerged.

2. The chief engineer made the following statement: Two applications for preliminary permit for power projects on the Chattahoochee River between West Point and Franklin, Ga., have been filed with the commission. Of these, one was filed on January 19, 1928, by an association formed by B. H. Hardaway, J. Smith Lanier, and F. H. McDonald, for a combined power and flood protection project, No. 870. After the filing of the application, West Point