Water Resources People and Issues
suddenly Budget Circular A-47 appeared, as you pointed out, in the
interregnum between Truman and Eisenhower. I think they got frustrated with
all these panels not being able to really agree on anything. For example, on the
water transportation panel,
Faison, representing the Corps of
Engineers, was not about to agree on a policy that would base navigation
project justification on costs of alternatives rather than on rail freight rates. A
Corps person just couldn't agree to knock out the economic justification for the
Arkansas River Navigation project. Well, maybe he could, but they would have
gotten somebody else to represent the Corps the next week.
Well, anyway, the panels didn't get anywhere, and so I think that some staff
people, probably people like Floyd Peterson who was the assistant chief of
what was called Resources and Civil Works produced the draft of A-47.
Maybe it was even before him, possibly Charlie
was still there at that
time, and he was a staunch critic of agency economic policies.
Whoever was responsible saw that this was their chance to put some rigorous
policies in effect, with a new tough Republican administration coming in to
enforce them; but with the responsibility placed on the outgoing administration.
There wasn't as much emphasis on transition teams as we have now. I don't
know whether the name had been invented. We had people doing it, but it
wasn't as organized.
And there weren't as many political appointees in the Bureau of the Budget.
There were only two or three of them.
Yeah.
That's right. Anyway, so I can see the handwork of Floyd Peterson in this, and
maybe Charlie
because they were the ones who were the most critical
of the Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Reclamation policies. A-47
establishes very rigorous economic policies for all projects to meet. I don't
remember all the details, but there were increases in local cost sharing on
recreation and on fish and wildlife conservation and preservation, that would
make it very difficult to get projects authorized.
But that's the way things get done. And if it had been Reagan coming in,
probably, with the support of the Heritage Foundation, A-47 might well have
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