tion. The requirement for the proposed exhibit is intended to encourage appli cant's early consultation with Federal and State Fish and Wildlife agencies in planning for the conservation and enhancement of fish and wildlife resources affected by a project. It would also facilitate the Commission's compliance with the requirements of the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act (P.L. 85-624, 48 Stat. 401) for consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of the Interior and appropriate state fish and wildlife agencies on the conservation of fish and wildlife resources affected by a project. 3. This amendment is proposed to be issued under the authority granted to the Federal Power Commission by the Federal Power Act, as amended, particularly sections 4(e), 9, 10(a), 10(i), and 309 thereof (16 U.S.C. 797 (e), 802, 803, 825 (h)). 4. Accordingly, it is proposed to amend Part 4, Subchapter B, Chapter I, Title 18 of the Code of Federal Regulations, (1) by adding Exhibit S, to follow S. 4.41 Exhibit R reading as follows: § 4.41 Required Exhibits. * Exhibits S. A report on the effect, if any, of the project upon the fish and wildlife resources in the project area and proposals for measures considered necessary to conserve and, if possible, to enhance fish and wildlife resources affected by the project, including functional design drawings of any fish ladders proposed to be constructed in compliance with section 18 of the Federal Power Act and such other facilities or developments as may be necessary for the protection, conservation, improvement, and mitigation of losses of fish and wildlife resources. The Applicant shall prepare this exhibit on the basis of studies made after consultation and in cooperation with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of the Interior, and appropriate state fish and wildlife agencies and shall include therein a statement on the nature and extent of its consultation and cooperation with those agencies. (2) by modifying § 4.50 to include an exception to the requirement for an Exhibit S with respect to applications for certain constructed projects: § 4.50 Contents. Exhibit S. This exhibit shall not be required for license applications on constructed projects, except with respect to applications for licenses under Section 15 of the Federal Power Act. 5. Any person may submit to the Federal Power Commission, Washington, D.C. 20426, not later than May 19, 1966, data, views, comments and suggestions in writing concerning the proposed revision in the regulations under the Federal Power Act. An original and nine conformed copies of any such submittals should be filed. The Commission will consider any such written submittals before acting on the proposed regulations. By direction of the Commission. JOSEPH H. GUTRIDE, Secretary. [H.R. 14414, H.R. 14975, 89th Cong., 2d sess.] BILLS To amend the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act to make it applicable to the Atomic Energy Commission, the Federal Power Commission, and to permittees and licensees of such Commissions Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That section 9 of the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act (16 U.S.C. 666c) is amended to read as follows: "SEC. 9. (a) The provisions of this Act shall not apply to the Tennessee Valley Authority. "(b) The provisions of this Act shall apply to the Atomic Energy Commission, the Federal Power Commission, and to any public or private person, agency, or instrumentality issued a permit or a license by either of such commissions." Hon. EDWARD A. GARMATZ, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, Chairman, Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: This is in response to your request of April 15, 1966, for the views of this Department on H.R. 14414, a bill "To amend the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act to make it applicable to the Atomic Energy Commission, the Federal Power Commission, and the permittees and licensees of such Commissions." The Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act (48 Stat. 401), as amended (16 U.S.C. 661-666C), provides for recognition of the contribution of our wildlife resources to the Nation, the increasing public interest in them and their significance to our economy. It provides that wildlife conservation shall receive equal consideration and be coordinated with other features of water-resource development programs. It authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to provide assistance to and cooperate with Federal, State, and public or private agencies and organizations in the development, protection, rearing and stocking of all species of wildlife, resources thereof, and their habitat, to make surveys and investigations of the wildlife of the public domain; and to accept donations of land and contributions of funds in furtherance of its purposes. Section 9 of the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act exempts the provision of the Act from application to the Tennessee Valley Authority. H.R. 14414 would retain that exemption, but make the provisions of the Act applicable to the Atomic Energy Commission, the Federal Power Commission, and to any public or private person, agency, or instrumentality issued a permit or a license by either of such Commissions. In this connection we note that H.R. 14455, also under consideration by your Committee, would repeal the exemption from application of the provisions of the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act to the Tennessee Valley Authority. Since the provisions of H.R. 14414 relate to the programs and responsibilities of other agencies of the Federal Government, this Department refrains from any comment on the bill. The Bureau of the Budget advises that there is no objection to the presentation of this report from the standpoint of the Adminisration's program. Sincerely yours, ORVILLE L. FREEMAN, Secretary. ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION, OFFICE OF THE CHAIRMAN, Washington, D.C., May 12, 1966. Hon. EDWARD A. GARMATZ, Chairman, Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, DEAR MR. GARMATZ: You have requested the comments of the Atomic Energy Commission on H.R. 14414, a bill "To amend the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act to make it applicable to the Atomic Energy Commission, the Federal Power Commission, and to permittees and licensees of such Commissions." With respect to the Commission's regulatory functions, the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended invests the Commission with comprehensive authority to license and regulate the possession and use of atomic energy materials and the construction and operation of nuclear plants, including nuclear power reactors. The Commission's regulatory authority, however, is limited to matters of radiological health and safety and the common defense and security. The AEC, in discharging its regulatory functions under the Atomic Energy Act, already makes it a practice to seek and obtain the recommendations of the the Fish and Wildlife Service with respect to the potential radiological hazards to fish and wildlife that might result from the discharge of effluents from nuclear power plants proposed for licensing. The bill, if enacted, would probably not significantly affect the AEC's regulatory activities. The AEC would still not be empowered to impose license conditions regarding the thermal effects of facility operation or other matters outside the AEC's regulatory authority since the bill would not grant any new jurisdiction to the AEC. The AEC is very much in sympathy with programs seeking to protect the nation's fish and wildlife resources and would have no objections to legislation of the type which would require all power plants producing electrical energy to be regulated from the point of view of their effects on fish and wildlife. But H.R. 14414, even if it should be construed or revised to grant the AEC regulatory authority over thermal effects, would not accomplish such a purpose. It would affect nuclear plants but not fossil-fueled plants. For these reasons, we are opposed to H.R. 14414, but would be in favor of legislation along the lines of another pending bill, namely H.R. 10701, which would amend the Federal Power Act to authorize the Federal Power Commission to license "water diversion facilities." Legislation along the lines of H.R. 10701 would have the effect of treating equally, from the standpoint of effects on fish and wildlife, all "water diversion facilities," whether or not the associated power plant is nuclear-fueled or fossil-fueled. Under such legislation the Federal Power Commission would be in a position to impose license conditions designed to control thermal and other non-radiological effects of the utilization of water in power production. The AEC also carries on in Government-owned plants and laboratories research and production activities in atomic energy fields. To the extent these activities of the AEC require waters to be impounded, diverted or otherwise controlled within the scope of 16 U.S.C. 662 (a) and 16 U.S.C. 663 (a), they are subject to the FWCA. Throughout its history, the AEC has endeavored to cooperate with Federal, state and local authorities having an interest in various aspects of our plant operations. For example, our criteria for the selection of plant sites require that assistance and information be obtained from various Federal and state agencies which include the Bureau of Commerical Fisheries, and Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife, of the Department of the Interior. Accordingly, as far as the operation of Government-owned plants and laboratories is concerned, the proposed addition to the FWCA by H.R. 14414 is not needed. In summary, the Commission strongly supports programs seeking to protect the nation's fish and wildlife resources. However, in view of the considerations mentioned above, we are opposed to enactment of H.R. 14414. The Bureau of the Budget has advised that there is no objection to the presentation of this report from the standpoint of the Administration's program. Cordially, GLENN T. SEABORG, Chairman. FEDERAL POWER COMMISSION, Hon. EDWARD A. GARMATZ, Chairman, Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: In response to your request of April 13, 1966, the Commission wishes to advise the Committee that it does not believe enactment of H.R. 14414 would effect or require any change in its present practice. The bill would specifically make the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act applicable to the Commission, to the Atomic Energy Commission and to licensees or permittees of either agency. However, section 2 of the Act presently requires that "any department or agency of the United States, or * * * any public or private agency under Federal permit or license" shall consult with the Fish and Wildlife Service and with the appropriate State bodies before taking any action to impound or divert any stream or other body of water. The Federal Power Commission has consistently interpreted this language as applying to the Commission, since Part I of the Federal Power Act provides for the licensing of substantial impoundments and diversions of streams by hydroelectric projects. The criteria and machinery of the Power Act for multi-purpose river development are in harmony with the policy of the Coordination Act and give the Commission full authority to implement that policy. For example, we have recently issued the attached notice of proposed rulemaking in Docket No. R-303 (31 Federal Register 6379) requiring applicants for a license to consult directly with the fish and wildlife agencies and develop a plan for conservation and enhancement of fish and wildlife resources prior to filing their application; the proposed rule would be issued under the Federal Power Act in order to "facilitate the Commission's compliance with the requirements of the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act" as well as the complementary requirements of Section 10(a) of the Federal Power Act. The Commission therefore does not believe that the proposed amendment would actually change the present law insofar as it applies to the Federal Power Commission and to its permittees and licensees. Sincerely, LEE C. WHITE, Chairman. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY, Washington, D.C., May 10, 1966. Hon. EDWARD A. GARMATZ, Chairman, Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, DEAR MR. GARMATZ: Your Committee has requested our views and recommendations on H.R. 14414, a bill "To amend the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act to make it applicable to the Atomic Energy Commission, the Federal Power Commission, and to permittees and licensees of such Commissions," and H.R. 14455, a bill "To repeal section 9 of the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act." H.R. 14414 amends section 9 of the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act (16 U.S.C. 666c) by adding a new subsection specifically making the Act apply to the Atomic Energy Commission, the Federal Power Commission, and any public or private person, agency, or instrumentality licensed by either of these Commissions. We recommend against enactment of this bill. It is not necessary. The Act now applies to these applicants, as well as applicants for navigation permits issued by the Corps of Engineers. H.R. 14455 repeals section 9 of the Act. Section 9 now exempts the Tennessee Valley Authority from the Act's coverage. We recommend enactment of this bill. All other Federal agencies authorized to impound, divert, or otherwise modify or control the waters of any stream or other body of water are now subject to the provisions of the Fish and Wildlife Cordination Act. We are unaware of any valid reason for excluding TVA. The Department of the Interior is very concerned about the potential damaging effects of thermal pollution on fish and wildlife resources. We believe that we must give closer attention to this matter. Recently, in considering the Duke Power Company's application for a license from the Federal Power Commission for the contemplated use of water at the Keowee-Toxaway Project (FPC No. 2503) for cooling thermal generating plants, the Department engaged a consultant of recognized authority on the subject of thermal pollution. The consultant conducted an appraisal of heat transfer and water temperature change by computation of heat losses through evaporation, convection, and radiation, and heat gains by solar radiation. Climatological data, including temperature, wind, humidity, and solar radiation records are basic to these computations. The studies demonstrated to us the magnitude and seriousness of thermal effects which are possible with the use of stream or impounded waters for condenser cooling. While, we will, in the future, continue to study the problem on a project-byproject basis, we believe that a larger study, not necessarily related to a single project, of this problem is needed. While section 5 of the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act appears to be broad enough to authorize such a study, we believe it is desirable to amend that section to remove all doubts. We, therefore, recommend that H.R. 14455 be amended by adding a new section at the end thereof to read as follows: "SEC. 2. The first sentence of section 5 of the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act (48 Stat. 402), as amended (16 U.S.C. 665), is amended to read as follows: The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to make such investigations, as he deems necessary, to determine the effects of domestic sewage, treated or untreated, and mine, petroleum, and industrial wastes, and erosion silt, thermal pollution, and other polluting substances on wildlife, and to publish reports thereon and to make recommendations to the President concerning means and measures for alleviating dangerous and undesirable effects of such pollution, and the President shall submit to the Congress such recommendations, including legislation, as he deems appropriate." The Bureau of the Budget has advised that there is no objection to the presentation of this report from the standpoint of the Administration's program. Sincerely yours, STANLEY A. CAIN, Assistant Secretary of the Interior. TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY, Hon. EDWARD A. GARMATZ, Chairman, Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, DEAR MR. GARMATZ: This is in response to your letter of April 20 requesting our views with respect to H.R. 14414 and H.R. 14455, amending the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act. In general, the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act, which was enacted in essentially its present form in 1946, requires federal agencies, before constructing a water resource development project, to consult with the Department of Interior and with the heads of state agencies responsible for wildlife resource administration as to the possible effects of such project on wildlife resources and also how the project can contribute to the development and improvement of these resources. The recommendations of Interior and the state agencies in these respects must be submitted by the constructing agency as part of any proposal for the construction of the project. The act also authorizes the purchase of land and addition of project facilities for fish and wildlife enhancement; use of reservoir waters and lands for these purposes; and allocation of project costs to such purposes. TVA is not subject to the provisions of the Coordination Act by virtue of the exemption in section 9. H.R. 14455 would repeal section 9 and thus terminate the exemption. H.R. 14414 would preserve TVA's exemption while adding a provision to section 9 which states that the act shall apply to the Atomic Energy Commission, the Federal Power Commission, and to any person or firm granted a license by either commission. Since we believe that TVA's experience as described below has fully justified the exemption and that its continuation is important in carrying out TVA's program of resource development in the Tennessee Valley, we do not favor the enactment of H.R. 14455 repealing the exemption. Inasmuch as H.R. 14414 would retain the exemption, we have no objection to its enactment. We express no opinion as to the desirability of the coverage of AEC, FPC, and their licensees under the provisions of the act. The legislative history of the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act indicates that it was passed because Congress felt that in conserving and developing the fish and wildlife resources of the country there was need for coordination between federal agencies with narrow authority for the construction of water resource projects and the federal and state agencies with special competence and responsibility in the area of fish and wildlife management. Some federal agencies also needed additional authority in order to take account of fish and wildlife interests in designing water control propects and allocating the costs and use thereof. Congress recognized that TVA's authority and responsibility under the TVA Act for the unified development of all the resources of the Tennessee Valley, which include fish and wildlife, obviated the need for any additional authority or requirements for these purposes in respect to TVA under the Coordination Act. TVA's experience in fish and wildlife conservation and development, even by 1946, had amply demonstrated its competence and interest in this area. Soon after its establishment in 1933, TVA, as a matter of policy, recognized the desirability of the objectives and practices later established in the Coordination Act. Beginning with its first water resource projects-Norris in Tennessee and Wheeler in Alabama-TVA considered not only the possible injurious effects of these projects on fish and wildlife resources but also how they and subsequent water control structures might have significant, positive benefits in developing these resources. To handle these problems, TVA established its own biological readjustment until (now the Fish and Wildlife Branch) and has maintained a staff of experts for these purposes. The staff presently include a wildlife technician and nine fishery biologists. In carrying on its fish and wildlife programs, TVA has consulted and cooperated with the Fish and Wildlife Service and its predecessors, the Bureau of Fisheries and Biological Survey. TVA has also cooperated fully with the fish and wildlife agencies of the Tennessee Valley states and has assisted them in getting effective fish and wildlife programs underway. Agreements providing for the development, management, and protection of fish and game in the Tennessee Valley region have been made with these federal and state agencies. Under these agreements a great number of bird and wild |