Engineer
answers. My whole point was just to try to get this group to look beyond the
immediately obvious.
It is easy to list things that we should do, but most take for granted some of the benefits
that come
things to which they object. It was a good exchange. Essentially, in my
trips, I tried to represent General Clarke's position and my own as chairman of the
rivers and harbors board, one of my ancillary duties. I had a very interesting two years
in the assignment.
Q ..
Do you recall much about General Cassidy's position on environmental matters?
..
The pressures were not the same. I don't think any of us wanted to despoil the
environment. On the other hand, most of us who came up through that period were
committed to the fact that, if something was economically justified under the terms
controlling at that time and Congress authorized the project, it represented an economic
gain and was therefore a viable and desirable thing to do. The environmental movement
simply added a dimension and additional specific criteria that we had to take into
account. It soon became a major factor in project planning.
Then came the requirement for the so-called environmental impact statement. Nobody
knew what it was, and the courts began to make determinations. The whole thing
seemed to consist of determining how many feet of books you could include in a study
to come up with an environmental impact statement. The main effect was to greatly
increase the time it took to plan a project and to greatly increase litigation.
Q ..
Do you recall political pressures being particularly strong on the Corps to become more
responsive environmentally, such as, perhaps, from Congressman [Henry] Reuss of
Wisconsin?
A ..
I don't remember having any personal contact with Reuss. Certainly, there were vocal
elements. In the early stages of the Council on Environmental Quality, I remember
several meetings with them when [Russell] Train was chairman-discussions about the
Cross-Florida Barge Canal and other projects. This was more in terms of discussion.
Senator [Edmund] Muskie is the only one I remember particularly, because I
participated in several hearings before his committee.
Q ..
Did you feel that he had much of an understanding of the Corps? Was he taking an
adversarial position?
A
No. Actually, in the dealings that I had, he was trying to use the Corps, which he
characterized as being responsive to environmental concerns, as a "club" against the
AEC [Atomic Energy Commission], whom he couldn't get to take the same attitude.
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