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In the United States, there are multiple [[law]]s known as the '''Flood Control Act''' ('''FCA'''). Typically, they are enacted to control irrigation because of floods or other natural disasters and are administered by the [[United States Army Corps of Engineers]]. These laws were enacted beginning in 1917, with the most recent one being passed in 1965.

In the United States, there are multiple [[law]]s known as the '''Flood Control Act''' ('''FCA'''). Typically, they are administered by the [[United States Army Corps of Engineers]].


==Background==
==Background==
There were several major floods between 1849 and 1936 that moved Congress to pass legislation. The first significant federal flood control laws were the [[Swamp Land Act]]s of 1849 and 1850. A flood on the Mississippi River in 1874 led to the creation of the [[Mississippi River Commission]] in 1879. Booming steamboat traffic on the Missouri River and a flood in 1881 led to the creation of the [[Missouri River Commission]] in 1884, but it was abolished by the [[Rivers and Harbors Act|River and Harbor Act of 1902]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.grha.net/site/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/hydrologic-history-of-the-lower-missouri-river.pdf|title=grha.net - This website is for sale! - grha Resources and Information.|author=|date=|website=www.grha.net|accessdate=9 August 2018}}</ref> Floods on the Mississippi, Ohio, and other rivers in the Northeast led to the [[Flood Control Act of 1917]], which was the first act aimed exclusively at controlling floods. The [[Great Mississippi Flood of 1927]] led to substantial flood control funding. And a series of floods in 1935 and 1936 across the nation were critical in the passage of the [[Flood Control Act of 1936]].<ref name=Arnold/>
There were several major floods between 1849 and 1936 that moved Congress to pass legislation. The first significant federal flood control law was the [[Swamp Land Act of 1850]]<!-- Note: I have removed a reference to the Swamp Land Act of 1849 because I could not find a credible source. -->. A [[Mississippi River floods#Great Mississippi Flood of 1874|flood on the Mississippi River in 1874]] led to the creation of the [[Mississippi River Commission]] in 1879. Booming steamboat traffic on the Missouri River and [[Great Flood of 1881|a flood in 1881]] led to the creation of the [[Missouri River Commission]] in 1884, but it was abolished by the [[Rivers and Harbors Act|River and Harbor Act of 1902]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Jemberie|first1=Abebe A.|last2=Pinter|first2=Nicholas|last3=Remo|first3=Jonathan W. F.|date=May 28, 2008|title=Hydrologic history of the Mississippi and Lower Missouri Rivers based upon a refined specific-gauge approach|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/hyp.7046|journal=Hydrological Processes|language=en|volume=22|issue=22|pages=4436–4447|doi=10.1002/hyp.7046|bibcode=2008HyPr...22.4436J |s2cid=128637906 |issn=1099-1085}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://grha.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/hydrologic-history-of-the-lower-missouri-river.pdf|title=Hydrologic History of the Lower Missouri River|author=Pinter|first=Nicholas|last2=Heine|first2=Reuben A.|date=28 May 2008|website=Great Rivers Habitat Alliance|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170112121504/http://grha.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/hydrologic-history-of-the-lower-missouri-river.pdf|archive-date=January 12, 2017|access-date=February 15, 2020}}</ref> Floods on the Mississippi, Ohio, and other rivers in the Northeast led to the [[Flood Control Act of 1917]], which was the first act aimed exclusively at controlling floods. The [[Great Mississippi Flood of 1927]] led to substantial flood control funding. And a series of floods in 1935 and 1936 across the nation were critical in the passage of the [[Flood Control Act of 1936]].<ref name=Arnold>{{cite web|url=http://140.194.76.129/publications/eng-pamphlets/ep870-1-29/entire.pdf|volume=EP 870-1-29|title=The Evolution of the Flood Control Act of 1936|first=Joseph L.|last=Arnold|publisher=United States Army Corps of Engineers|year=1988|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110529061103/http://140.194.76.129/publications/eng-pamphlets/ep870-1-29/entire.pdf|archive-date=May 29, 2011}}</ref>


==List of Flood Control Acts==
==List of Flood Control Acts==
*[[Flood Control Act of 1917]]
*[[Flood Control Act of 1917]]
*[[Flood Control Act of 1928]], passed in the wake of the [[Great Mississippi Flood of 1927]]. FCA 1928 had three important effects. It increased public awareness of advances in flood control theory and practice. It put flood control on par with other major projects of its time with the largest public works appropriation ever authorized. And, FCA 1928 increased debate on local contributions to a new level.<ref name=Arnold/>
*[[Flood Control Act of 1920]]
*[[Flood Control Act of 1936]]. FCA 1936 was part of the profusion of important Depression Era legislation enacted by the [[74th Congress]] in 1935–1936, including the [[Social Security Act]], the [[National Labor Relations Act]], the [[Banking Act of 1935]], the [[Revenue Act of 1935|Wealth Tax Act]], the [[Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935|Public Utility Holding Company Act]], the [[Rural Electrification Act]], the [[Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act of 1936|Soil Conservation Service Act]], and the $4.8 billion [[Emergency Relief Appropriation Act of 1935]].<ref name=Arnold/>
*[[Flood Control Act of 1928]], passed in the wake of the [[Great Mississippi Flood of 1927]]. FCA 1928 had three important effects. It increased public awareness of advances in flood control theory and practice. It put flood control on par with other major projects of its time with the largest public works appropriation ever authorized. And, FCA 1928 increased debate on local contributions to a new level.<ref name=Arnold>[http://140.194.76.129/publications/eng-pamphlets/ep870-1-29/entire.pdf EP 870-1-29, The Evolution of the Flood Control Act of 1936, Joseph L. Arnold, [[United States Army Corps of Engineers]], 1988] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110529061103/http://140.194.76.129/publications/eng-pamphlets/ep870-1-29/entire.pdf |date=2011-05-29 }}</ref>
*[[Flood Control Act of 1936]]. FCA 1936 was part of the profusion of important Depression Era legislation enacted by the [[74th Congress]] in 1935-1936, including the [[Social Security Act]], the [[National Labor Relations Act]], the [[Banking Act of 1935]], the [[Revenue Act of 1935|Wealth Tax Act]], the [[Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935|Public Utility Holding Company Act]], the [[Rural Electrification Act]], the [[Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act of 1936|Soil Conservation Service Act]], and the $4.8 billion [[Emergency Relief Appropriation Act of 1935]].<ref name=Arnold/>
*[[Flood Control Act of 1937]]
*[[Flood Control Act of 1937]]
*[[Flood Control Act of 1938]]
*[[Flood Control Act of 1938]]
*[[Flood Control Act of 1939]]. FCA 1939 was instrumental in establishing the Federal policy of [[Cost-benefit analysis]], the standard by which the government determines whether or not a project provides sufficient benefits to justify the cost of expending public funds. It specified the standard that "the benefits to whomever they accrue [be] in excess of the estimated costs.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=KGFnn4KJHN8C&pg=PA304&lpg=PA304&dq=%22Flood+Control+Act+of+1939%22&source=bl&ots=Dc5oLG0mkm&sig=tXTtcTe9hPO9xYIBTseb9LO2Ndw&hl=en&ei=bjawSdavN4_HtgeNmvnaBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=6&ct=result Google book extract from ''Cases in Public Policy Analysis'' By George M. Guess, Paul G. Farnham]</ref>
*[[Flood Control Act of 1939]]. FCA 1939 was instrumental in establishing the Federal policy of [[Cost-benefit analysis]], the standard by which the government determines whether or not a project provides sufficient benefits to justify the cost of expending public funds. It specified the standard that "the benefits to whomever they accrue [be] in excess of the estimated costs.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Guess|first1=George M.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KGFnn4KJHN8C&q=%22Flood+Control+Act+of+1939%22&pg=PA304|title=Cases in Public Policy Analysis|last2=Farnham|first2=Paul G.|date=2000|publisher=Georgetown University Press|isbn=978-0-87840-768-2|pages=304|language=en|access-date=February 15, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130929101644/http://books.google.com/books?id=KGFnn4KJHN8C&pg=PA304&lpg=PA304&dq=%22Flood+Control+Act+of+1939%22&source=bl&ots=Dc5oLG0mkm&sig=tXTtcTe9hPO9xYIBTseb9LO2Ndw&hl=en&ei=bjawSdavN4_HtgeNmvnaBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=6&ct=result|archive-date=September 29, 2013|url-status=live}}</ref>
*[[Flood Control Act of 1941]]
*[[Flood Control Act of 1941]]
*[[Flood Control Act of 1944]]. Also known as the Pick-Sloan Flood Control Act of 1944, FCA 1944 transferred ownership of large parcels of land from around the [[Missouri River]], more than 20% of which was owned by [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]], to the Corps of Engineers.{{Citation needed|date=February 2007}} The [[Lakota people|Lakota]], [[Sioux|Dakota]] and [[Nakota]] tribes lost {{convert|202000|acre|km2|-1}}. The [[Three Affiliated Tribes]], specifically, lost {{convert|155000|acre|km2|-1}} in their [[Fort Berthold Reservation]] due to the building of the [[Garrison Dam]]. This project caused more than 1,500 American Indians to relocate from the river bottoms of the Missouri river due to the flooding.
*[[Flood Control Act of 1944]], also known as the Pick–Sloan Flood Control Act of 1944. The [[Lakota people|Lakota]], [[Sioux|Dakota]], and [[Nakota]] tribes lost {{convert|202000|acre|km2|-1}}. The [[Three Affiliated Tribes]], specifically, lost {{convert|155000|acre|km2|-1}} in their [[Fort Berthold Reservation]] due to the building of the [[Garrison Dam]]. This project caused more than 1,500 American Indians to relocate from the river bottoms of the Missouri river due to the flooding.
*[[Flood Control Act of 1946]]
*[[Flood Control Act of 1946]]
*[[Flood Control Act of 1948]]. FCA 1948 gave the [[Chief of Engineers]] the power to authorize minor flood control projects without having to get Congressional approval. It also authorized several larger flood control projects and amended the budget set forth in the Flood Control Act of 1946.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nww.usace.army.mil/dpn/publaw.htm|title=Walla Walla District Corps of Engineers Public Law Page|author=|date=|publisher=|accessdate=9 August 2018}}</ref>
*[[Flood Control Act of 1948]]. FCA 1948 gave the [[Chief of Engineers]] the power to authorize minor flood control projects without having to get Congressional approval. It also authorized several larger flood control projects and amended the budget set forth in the Flood Control Act of 1946.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nww.usace.army.mil/dpn/publaw.htm|title=Public Laws|website=Digital Project Notebook|publisher=US Army Corps of Engineers Walla Walla District|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090726064919/http://www.nww.usace.army.mil/dpn/publaw.htm|archive-date=July 26, 2009|access-date=August 9, 2018}}</ref>
*[[Flood Control Act of 1950]]. The Act was prompted in part by floods that swept through the [[Columbia River]] watershed in 1948, destroying [[Vanport, Oregon|Vanport]], then the second largest city in [[Oregon]], and impacting cities as far north as [[Trail, British Columbia]].<ref>{{cite journal|title=Columbia River Treaty: History and 2014/2024 Review |publisher=Bonneville Power Administration and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers |date=April 2008 |url=http://www.bpa.gov/Corporate/pubs/Columbia_River_Treaty_Review_-_April_2008.pdf |format=PDF |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604002805/http://www.bpa.gov/Corporate/pubs/Columbia_River_Treaty_Review_-_April_2008.pdf |archivedate=June 4, 2011 }}</ref> By that time, local communities had become wary of federal hydroelectric projects, and sought local control of new developments; a [[Public Utility District]] in [[Grant County, Washington]], ultimately began construction of the [[Priest Rapids Dam|dam at Priest Rapids]].<ref>{{cite journal
*[[Flood Control Act of 1950]]. The Act was prompted in part by [[Vanport, Oregon#Flood|floods]] that swept through the [[Columbia River]] watershed in 1948, destroying [[Vanport, Oregon|Vanport]], then the second largest city in [[Oregon]], and impacting cities as far north as [[Trail, British Columbia]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Columbia River Treaty: History and 2014/2024 Review |publisher=Bonneville Power Administration and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers |date=April 2008 |url=http://www.bpa.gov/Corporate/pubs/Columbia_River_Treaty_Review_-_April_2008.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604002805/http://www.bpa.gov/Corporate/pubs/Columbia_River_Treaty_Review_-_April_2008.pdf |archive-date=June 4, 2011 }}</ref> By that time, local communities had become wary of federal [[hydroelectric]] projects, and sought local control of new developments; a [[public utility district]] in [[Grant County, Washington]], ultimately began construction of the [[Priest Rapids Dam|dam at Priest Rapids]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.gcpud.org/pudDocuments/naturalResourcesDocs/disk3/GCPUDFLA3D/contents.pdf|title=Priest Rapids Hydroelectric Project No. 2114 Final Application for New License, Exhibit B: Project Operation and Resource Utilization|last=Grant County Public Utility District|date=October 2003|website=Grant County Public Utility District|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117052759/http://www.gcpud.org/pudDocuments/naturalResourcesDocs/disk3/GCPUDFLA3D/contents.pdf|archive-date=January 17, 2013|access-date=October 5, 2008}}</ref>
*[[Flood Control Act of 1965]]. Prior to 1965, the state of Louisiana designed and built its flood protection through its levee boards. After [[Hurricane Betsy]], Congress gave control of the flood protection to the US Army Corps of Engineers in the Act which called for a [[flood]] protection system to protect south [[Louisiana]] from the worst storms characteristic of the region. When [[Hurricane Katrina|Katrina]] struck in 2005, the project was between 60–90% complete and the projected date of completion was estimated to be 2015.<ref name="gao.gov">{{cite web|url=http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d051050t.pdf|title=GAO-05-1050T Army Corps of Engineers: Lake Pontchartrain and Vicinity Hurricane Protection Project|author=Mittal|first=Anu|date=September 2005|publisher=United States Government Accountability Office|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190827104056/https://www.gao.gov/new.items/d051050t.pdf|archive-date=August 27, 2019|access-date=August 9, 2018}}</ref> The initial scope of the project was to provide hurricane protection to areas around the lake in the parishes of Orleans, Jefferson, St. Bernard, and St. Charles with the federal government paying 70 percent of the costs and the state and local interests paying 30 percent, the typical cost-share arrangement.<ref name="gao.gov"/><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/50xx/doc5045/doc17-Entire.pdf|title=Efficient Investments in Water Resources: Issues and Options|date=August 1983|publisher=Congress of the United States Congressional Budget Office|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090903214429/https://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/50xx/doc5045/doc17-Entire.pdf|archive-date=September 3, 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| title = Priest Rapids Hydroelectric Project No. 2114 Public Utility District No. 2 of Grant County Final Application for New License, Exhibit B: Project Operation and Resource Utilization
| date = October 2003
| url = http://www.gcpud.org/pudDocuments/naturalResourcesDocs/disk3/GCPUDFLA3D/contents.pdf
|format=PDF| accessdate = 2008-10-05
}}</ref>
*[[Flood Control Act of 1954]]
*[[Flood Control Act of 1958]]
*[[Flood Control Act of 1960]]
*[[Flood Control Act of 1962]]
*[[Flood Control Act of 1965]]. Prior to 1965, the state of Louisiana designed and built its flood protection through its levee boards. After [[Hurricane Betsy]], Congress gave control of the flood protection to the US Army Corps of Engineers in the Act which called for a [[flood]] protection system to protect south [[Louisiana]] from the worst storms characteristic of the region. When [[Hurricane Katrina|Katrina]] struck in 2005, the project was between 60-90% complete and the projected date of completion was estimated to be 2015.<ref name="gao.gov">{{cite web|url=http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d051050t.pdf|title=GAO-05-1050T Army Corps of Engineers: Lake Pontchartrain and Vicinity Hurricane Protection Project|author=|date=|publisher=|accessdate=9 August 2018}}</ref> The initial scope of the project was to provide hurricane protection to areas around the lake in the parishes of Orleans, Jefferson, St. Bernard, and St. Charles with the federal government paying 70 percent of the costs and the state and local interests paying 30 percent, the typical cost-share arrangement.<ref name="gao.gov"/><ref>http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/50xx/doc5045/doc17-Entire.pdf</ref>
*[[Flood Control Act of 1966]]
*[[Flood Control Act of 1968]]
*[[Flood Control Act of 1970]]


==See also==
==See also==

Latest revision as of 00:21, 21 August 2023

In the United States, there are multiple laws known as the Flood Control Act (FCA). Typically, they are enacted to control irrigation because of floods or other natural disasters and are administered by the United States Army Corps of Engineers. These laws were enacted beginning in 1917, with the most recent one being passed in 1965.

Background

[edit]

There were several major floods between 1849 and 1936 that moved Congress to pass legislation. The first significant federal flood control law was the Swamp Land Act of 1850. A flood on the Mississippi River in 1874 led to the creation of the Mississippi River Commission in 1879. Booming steamboat traffic on the Missouri River and a flood in 1881 led to the creation of the Missouri River Commission in 1884, but it was abolished by the River and Harbor Act of 1902.[1][2] Floods on the Mississippi, Ohio, and other rivers in the Northeast led to the Flood Control Act of 1917, which was the first act aimed exclusively at controlling floods. The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 led to substantial flood control funding. And a series of floods in 1935 and 1936 across the nation were critical in the passage of the Flood Control Act of 1936.[3]

List of Flood Control Acts

[edit]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Jemberie, Abebe A.; Pinter, Nicholas; Remo, Jonathan W. F. (May 28, 2008). "Hydrologic history of the Mississippi and Lower Missouri Rivers based upon a refined specific-gauge approach". Hydrological Processes. 22 (22): 4436–4447. Bibcode:2008HyPr...22.4436J. doi:10.1002/hyp.7046. ISSN 1099-1085. S2CID 128637906.
  2. ^ Pinter, Nicholas; Heine, Reuben A. (May 28, 2008). "Hydrologic History of the Lower Missouri River" (PDF). Great Rivers Habitat Alliance. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 12, 2017. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
  3. ^ a b c Arnold, Joseph L. (1988). "The Evolution of the Flood Control Act of 1936" (PDF). United States Army Corps of Engineers. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 29, 2011.
  4. ^ Guess, George M.; Farnham, Paul G. (2000). Cases in Public Policy Analysis. Georgetown University Press. p. 304. ISBN 978-0-87840-768-2. Archived from the original on September 29, 2013. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
  5. ^ "Public Laws". Digital Project Notebook. US Army Corps of Engineers Walla Walla District. Archived from the original on July 26, 2009. Retrieved August 9, 2018.
  6. ^ Columbia River Treaty: History and 2014/2024 Review (PDF). Bonneville Power Administration and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. April 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 4, 2011.
  7. ^ Grant County Public Utility District (October 2003). "Priest Rapids Hydroelectric Project No. 2114 Final Application for New License, Exhibit B: Project Operation and Resource Utilization" (PDF). Grant County Public Utility District. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 17, 2013. Retrieved October 5, 2008.
  8. ^ a b Mittal, Anu (September 2005). "GAO-05-1050T Army Corps of Engineers: Lake Pontchartrain and Vicinity Hurricane Protection Project" (PDF). United States Government Accountability Office. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 27, 2019. Retrieved August 9, 2018.
  9. ^ Efficient Investments in Water Resources: Issues and Options (PDF). Congress of the United States Congressional Budget Office. August 1983. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 3, 2009.