Theodore M.
to pay for it. All you're doing is trying to sell us what's already ours." That
was their argument, long before Eisenhower was elected, really-that the
Bureau was trying to dominate California. In my view it wasn't that the Bureau
wanted to dominate California, the Bureau just wanted to build more projects
and to have an integrated system. Remember, whichever agency builds the dam
keeps on operating it when it is finished.
But I've never felt that the Corps really would have built a lot of these dams
if it hadn't been for the Bureau of Reclamation. And vice-versa-in other
words, the fight was shared by both side.
Q: The Bureau suggested projects so the Corps wanted to build them, and the
Corps suggested projects so the Bureau automatically wanted to build them,
something of that sort?
A: No, it was more that the local water users wanted the Corps to build the
projects so they wouldn't have to pay for the water and the Bureau wanted to
build them to uphold the integrity of the federal reclamation laws. The Bureau
thought it was the dominant Western water agency. The Corps of Engineers
thought, on the basis of history, that it was the dominant United States water
agency, and they clashed in the West.
Now, remember the Section 308 language exempted the Colorado River,
specifically saying that this is not to be covered because the Bureau of
Reclamation has responsibility there. That was in the law that authorized the
308 reports.
Q: 1927 Rivers and Harbors Act.
A: Yes.
Q: Ted, I want to go back and pick up some areas that we haven't really covered.
As you know, beginning in the late 1940s in particular, there was growing
criticism really of both the Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Reclamation
about the size of water projects, expense and so forth, so there was an
increasing concern about both expense and environmental devastation.
Do you-looking back, as I'm sure you have over time-do you see any
particular seminal causes for this growing concern, or do you think it's a
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