Rivers and Harbors Act may refer to one of many pieces of legislation and appropriations passed by the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

since the first such legislation in 1824. At that time Congress appropriated $75,000 to improve navigation on the

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

and

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

rivers by removing sandbars, snags, and other obstacles.Improving Transportation
Like when first passed, the legislation was to be administered by the

United States Army Corps of Engineers The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the military engineering branch of the United States Army. A direct reporting unit (DRU), it has three primary mission areas: Engineer Regiment, military construction, and civil wo ...

(USACE), under its

Chief Engineer A chief engineer, commonly referred to as "Chief" or "ChEng", is the most senior licensed mariner (engine officer) of an engine department on a ship, typically a merchant ship, and holds overall leadership and the responsibility of that departmen ...

and the

Secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...

(more recently the

Secretary of the Army The secretary of the Army (SA or SECARMY) is a senior civilian official within the United States Department of Defense, with statutory responsibility for all matters relating to the United States Army: manpower, personnel, reserve affairs, insta ...

). In a

landmark case Landmark court decisions, in present-day common law legal systems, establish precedents that determine a significant new legal principle or concept, or otherwise substantially affect the interpretation of existing law. "Leading case" is commonly u ...

, the Supreme Court ruled in ''

Gibbons v. Ogden ''Gibbons v. Ogden'', 22 U.S. (9 Wheat.) 1 (1824), was a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States which held that the power to regulate interstate commerce, which is granted to the US Congress by the Commerce Clause of the US ...

'' that federal authority covered interstate commerce including riverine navigation, under the

Commerce Clause The Commerce Clause describes an enumerated power listed in the United States Constitution ( Article I, Section 8, Clause 3). The clause states that the United States Congress shall have power "to regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and amon ...

of the Constitution. This ruling in large part ended considerable divisiveness regarding transportation improvements between those supporting

Federalism Federalism is a mode of government that combines a general level of government (a central or federal government) with a regional level of sub-unit governments (e.g., provinces, State (sub-national), states, Canton (administrative division), ca ...

versus

States rights In American political discourse, states' rights are political powers held for the state governments rather than the federal government according to the United States Constitution, reflecting especially the enumerated powers of Congress and t ...

advocates. Shortly thereafter (April, 1824), the

General Survey Act The General Survey Act was a law passed by the United States Congress in April 1824, which authorized the president to have surveys made of routes for transport roads and canals "of national importance, in a commercial or military point of view, o ...

authorized the president to have surveys made of routes for roads and canals "of national importance, in a commercial or military point of view, or necessary for the transportation of public mail." The President assigned responsibility for the surveys to the Corps of Engineers. To broaden the scope of possible improvements, Congress passed the first federal rivers and harbors legislation in May, again with the USACE charged to administer the work. New river and harbor legislation in 1826, authorized the president to have river surveys made to clean out and deepen selected waterways and to make various other river and harbor improvements. That year Congress also authorized the first survey for a canal between Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico,Timeline: Development of US Inland Waterways System
from Coosa-Alabama River Improvement Association, Inc. and expanded the Army engineers' workload. Although the 1824 act to improve the Mississippi and Ohio rivers is often called the first rivers and harbors legislation, the 1826 act was the first to combine authorizations for both surveys and the projects themselves, thereby establishing a pattern that continues to the present day.

Early legislation

Many of the early river and harbor legislation included authorizations for initial surveys of the navigation safety of rivers then used for transportation; as these were developed, authorizations for specific improvements were added. Many of these improvements were driven by the rapid growth in the use of steamboats on inland waters and the great commercial success of the

Erie Canal The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east–west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigability, navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, ...

, financed solely by the state of New York. In 1828 the Corps conducted an initial survey of the

Tennessee River The Tennessee River is a long river located in the Southern United States, southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. Flowing through the states of Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky, it begins at the confluence of Fren ...

, and in 1829 the first steam-powered

snagboat A snagboat is a river boat, resembling a barge with superstructure for crew accommodations, and deck-mounted cranes and hoists for removing snags and other obstructions from rivers and other shallow waterways. USA During the American Civil ...

was launched at

New Albany, Indiana New Albany is a city in New Albany Township, Floyd County, Indiana, United States, situated along the Ohio River, opposite Louisville, Kentucky. The population was 37,841 as of the 2020 census. The city is the county seat of Floyd County. It ...

, on the

Ohio River The Ohio River () is a river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing in a southwesterly direction from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to its river mouth, mouth on the Mississippi Riv ...

. The

Cumberland River The Cumberland River is a major waterway of the Southern United States. The U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 8, 2011 river drains almost of southern Kentucky and ...

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

and

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

was authorized for development in 1832, and the

Hudson River The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

was authorized in 1834. While other works were being implemented by the individual states, the

panic of 1837 The Panic of 1837 was a financial crisis in the United States that began a major depression (economics), depression which lasted until the mid-1840s. Profits, prices, and wages dropped, westward expansion was stalled, unemployment rose, and pes ...

led to a near collapse of federal waterway improvement program. In 1852 the Tennessee River was authorized for development, as was the

Illinois Waterway The Illinois Waterway system consists of of navigable water from the mouth of the Calumet River at Chicago to the mouth of the Illinois River at Grafton, Illinois. Based primarily on the Illinois River, it is a system of rivers, lakes, and cana ...

, downstream of the state-constructed

Illinois and Michigan Canal The Illinois and Michigan Canal connected the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. In Illinois, it ran from the Chicago River in Bridgeport, Chicago to the Illinois River at LaSalle-Peru. The canal crossed the Chicago ...

. While the federal government and the Corps concentrated on navigable rivers, it also assisted in canal work, mostly constructed by individual states. For example, the River and Harbor Act of August 11, 1858, pursuant to the report of the engineers, provides $102,000 for improving the

Muskingum River The Muskingum River ( ; ) is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately long, in southeastern Ohio in the United States. An important commercial route in the 19th century, it flows generally southward through the eastern hill country of Ohio ...

in Ohio with construction of a lock at Taylorsville and the reconstruction of the lock at

Zanesville Zanesville is a city in Muskingum County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Located at the confluence of the Licking and Muskingum rivers, the city is approximately east of Columbus and had a population of 24,765 as of the 2020 cen ...

. It also includes an early reference to

water power Hydropower (from Ancient Greek -, "water"), also known as water power or water energy, is the use of falling or fast-running water to produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by converting the gravitational potential or kin ...

associated with, and subservient to, the water's usage for navigation. The act includes that the Secretary of War is (hereby) authorized and empowered to grant leases or licenses for the use of the water powers on the Muskingum River at such rate and on such conditions and for such periods of time as may seem to him just, equitable, and expedient. Provided, that the leases or licenses shall be limited to the use of the surplus water not required for navigation, and he is also empowered to grant leases or licenses for the occupation of such lands belonging to the United States on the Muskingum River as may be required for mill-sites or for other purposes not inconsistent with the requirements of navigation. All moneys received under such leases or licenses shall be turned into the Treasury of the United States, and the itemized statement shall accompany the annual report of the Chief of Engineers. But nothing in this act shall be construed to affect any vested rights, if such there be, of any lessee of water power on said river.
Statutes Relating to Water Power
' Preliminary Report of the

Inland Waterways Commission The Inland Waterways Commission was a United States federal agency, created by Congress in March 1907 at the request of President Theodore Roosevelt, to investigate the transportation crisis that recently had affected the nation's ability to move ...

, Section 19, pp.596-694. (1908) The

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

ended civil works on rivers and harbors from 1861.

(Partial) List of early Acts

* ''An Act to improve the navigation of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. (4 Stat. 32), passed May 24, 1824, appropriating $75,000.''

Later legislation

Following the

, railroads became recipients of federal funding; funding for river and harbor improvements increased sharply. The 1869 appropriations for rivers and harbors exceeded $2 million, and rapidly grew to tens of millions of dollars per year by the close of the 19th century; the Rivers and Harbors Acts between 1869 and 1930 are illustrative. Each of these acts identifies hundreds of projects to be built by the Secretary of War under the supervision of the Army Corps of Engineers. The pattern established the Corps' close connection to civil works construction.John B. Miller
Principles of public and private infrastructure delivery
p.146 ff, Springer, (2000)

Gifford Pinchot Gifford Pinchot (August 11, 1865October 4, 1946) was an American forester and politician. He served as the fourth chief of the U.S. Division of Forestry, as the first head of the United States Forest Service, and as the 28th governor of Pennsyl ...

observed that, "Under the powers granted or applied in the Constitution of the United States, the federal government has control over navigatable rivers and their tributaries. Yet for a hundred years after the Constitution was adopted, Congress left the regulation of

entirely to the states... Federal stream legislation at its beginning had to do chiefly with preventing or removing obstructions to navigation." Pinchot, Gifford
Long Struggle for Effective Federal Water Power Legislation
George Washington Law Review 14 Geo. Wash. L. Rev. (1945-1946) This changed over the later periods, with the construction of dams and locks for greater navigation improvement. With the advent of Edison's DC light bulb the early 1880s, and the later use of AC, with its superior ability to be transmitted great distances, the demand for electricity rose rapidly. Starting about this time, river and harbor legislation had to deal with a proliferation of

hydroelectric plants Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

and other competing modern multipurpose improvements. The Rivers and Harbors Appropriation Act of 1899, like earlier appropriations acts, began with a long list of navigational improvement projects (section 1), funded a survey program for said projects (section 2) and authorized the President to "make full and complete investigation of the Isthmus of Panama" with a view to constructing the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal () is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean. It cuts across the narrowest point of the Isthmus of Panama, and is a Channel (geography), conduit for maritime trade between th ...

(section 3). Section 9 of the act established congressional authority over bridges, dams, dikes, and causeways and Section 10 established authority over un-authorized obstructions in

navigable waters A body of water, such as a river, canal or lake, is navigable if it is deep, wide and calm enough for a water vessel (e.g. boats) to pass safely. Navigability is also referred to in the broader context of a body of water having sufficient under ...

and requires authorization for "any wharf, pier, dolphin, boom, weir, breakwater, bulkhead, jetty, or other structures". The depositing of refuse in navigable waters is forbidden in Section 13, with provisos and permits as exceptions. Additional sections address the use or alteration of various public works related to navigation, anchored or sunken vessels, and surveys for improvements to existing harbors. This act is the basis for some

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the military engineering branch of the United States Army. A direct reporting unit (DRU), it has three primary mission areas: Engineer Regiment, military construction, and civil wor ...

permit requirements.

List of later acts

* "Act to Improve Rivers and Harbors for fiscal year ending June 30, 1869 and 1870", (16 Stat. 44), passed April 10, 1869, appropriating $2 million. * "Act to Improve Rivers and Harbors for fiscal year ending June 30, 1871", (16 Stat. 223), passed July 11, 1870, includes $3.9 million appropriated for a long list of projects specified for completion and Congress identifies particular projects across the nation. This act begins the age of dam construction on the inland rivers. Prior to this act, all river improvements had been directed toward enhancing the existing channel by removing obstructions and redirecting flows with dikes or weirs. With this act, dams and locks began to be constructed that raised the level of the river in an effort to deepen the river for larger vessels and provide deep water during drought conditions. Work on the

Warrior A warrior is a guardian specializing in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal society, tribal or clan-based warrior culture society that recognizes a separate warrior aristocracy, social class, class, or caste. History ...

Tombigbee River The Tombigbee River is a tributary of the Mobile River, approximately 200 mi (325 km) long, in the U.S. states of Mississippi and Alabama. Together with the Alabama, it merges to form the short Mobile River before the latter empties i ...

in Alabama is authorized for development; in 1872 the

Monongahela River The Monongahela River ( , ), sometimes referred to locally as the Mon (), is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed August 15, 2011 river on the Allegheny Plateau in nor ...

in Pennsylvania, the

Houston Ship Channel The Houston Ship Channel, in Houston, Texas, is part of the Port of Houston, one of the busiest seaports in the world. The channel (geography), channel is the conduit for ocean-going vessels between Houston-area terminals and the Gulf of Mexico, ...

, and the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and is the longest free-flowing (undammed) river in the Eastern United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock, New York, the river flows for a ...

are authorized for development. * "Act to Improve Rivers and Harbors for fiscal year ending June 30, 1873", (17 Stat. 370), passed June 10, 1872, appropriating $5.8 million. The

Kanawha River The Kanawha River ( ) is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately 97 mi (156 km) long, in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The largest inland waterway in West Virginia, its watershed has been a significant industrial region of th ...

in West Virginia is authorized for development, and Congress authorized the first survey of inland waterway west of Mississippi. * "Act to Improve Rivers and Harbors", (18 Stat. 237), passed June 23, 1874, appropriating $5.15 million. * "Act to Improve Rivers and Harbors", (19 Stat. 132), passed August 14, 1876, concerning ( South Pass/

Eads Airbus SE ( ; ; ; ) is a Pan-European aerospace corporation. The company's primary business is the design and manufacturing of commercial aircraft but it also has separate defence and space and helicopter divisions. Airbus has long been th ...

), as well as the authorization for development of the

Missouri River The Missouri River is a river in the Central United States, Central and Mountain states, Mountain West regions of the United States. The nation's longest, it rises in the eastern Centennial Mountains of the Bitterroot Range of the Rocky Moun ...

, and the

San Joaquin River The San Joaquin River ( ; ) is the longest river of Central California. The long river starts in the high Sierra Nevada and flows through the rich agricultural region of the northern San Joaquin Valley before reaching Suisun Bay, San Francis ...

in California. * "Act to Improve Rivers and Harbors", (20 Stat. 152), passed June 18, 1878. * "Act to Improve Rivers and Harbors", (21 Stat. 180), passed June 14, 1880. * "Act to Improve Rivers and Harbors", (21 Stat. 468), passed March 3, 1881. * River and Harbor Act of 1882, an appropriations act (like the next in 1884), signaled congressional intent to improve waterways to benefit nation by promoting competition amongst transportation modes (particularly railroads). It was the first act passed by Congress to combine appropriations for development of nation's waterways with a reaffirmation of the policy of freedom from tolls and other user charges; that policy had been established almost one hundred years earlier, before the Constitution, by the

Northwest Ordinance The Northwest Ordinance (formally An Ordinance for the Government of the Territory of the United States, North-West of the River Ohio and also known as the Ordinance of 1787), enacted July 13, 1787, was an organic act of the Congress of the Co ...

. The act was passed over President Arthur's veto. * River and Harbor Act of 1884, (23 Stat. 133), passed July 5, 1884. This appropriations act authorized the

James River The James River is a river in Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows from the confluence of the Cowpasture and Jackson Rivers in Botetourt County U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowli ...

in Virginia for development, and made the first appropriation for improving the

Black Warrior River The Black Warrior River is a waterway in west-central Alabama in the southeastern United States. The river rises in the extreme southern edges of the Appalachian Highlands and flows 178 miles (286 km) to the Tombigbee River, of which the ...

. Preventing and removing obstructions to navigation was also a purpose of this act, for it authorized the Secretary of War to remove unauthorized obstructions to navigation, including dams, bridges and causeways." * River and Harbor Act of 1886, (24 Stat. 310), passed August 5, 1886, authorized the

Allegheny River The Allegheny River ( ; ; ) is a tributary of the Ohio River that is located in western Pennsylvania and New York (state), New York in the United States. It runs from its headwaters just below the middle of Pennsylvania's northern border, nor ...

in Pennsylvania for development. A year earlier the Corps of Engineers completed their first lock built at Davis Island near

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

. * River and Harbor Act of 1888, (25 Stat. 400), passed August 11, 1888, authorized the

Green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a com ...

and

Barren Barren primarily refers to a state of barrenness (infertility) Barren may also refer to: Places * Barren, Missouri *Barren County, Kentucky *Barren Island (Andaman Islands) * Barren Island, Brooklyn * Barren River Lake Other uses * ''Barren Coun ...

rivers in Kentucky for development; in 1889 the

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook language, Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin language, Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river headwater ...

on the

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

border is similarly authorized. *

River and Harbor Act of 1890 A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of its course if it run ...

(26 Stat. 426), again tightened restrictions on unauthorized obstructions to navigation. This act forbade "the creation of any obstructions, not affirmatively authorized by law, to the navigable capacity of any waters, in respect of which the United States has jurisdiction." The act also required that dam sites and development plans on navigable rivers be approved by the

and the Corps of Engineers before construction. * River and Harbor Act of 1892, (27 Stat. 88), passed July 12, 1892. * River and Harbor Act of 1894, (28 Stat. 338), passed August 18, 1894. * River and Harbor Act of 1896, (29 Stat. 202), passed June 3, 1896. * Rivers and Harbors Appropriation Act of 1899, "An Act Making appropriations for the construction, repair, and preservation of certain public works on rivers and harbors, and for other purposes", Mar. 3, 1899, ch. 425, 30 Stat. 1121, is the oldest federal environmental law in the United States; this act also made it illegal to dam navigable streams without a license (or permit) from Congress; this included for the purposes of hydroelectric generation, at a time when the electric utility industry was expanding rapidly. * River and Harbor Act of 1902, (32 Stat. 331), passed June 13, 1902. * River and Harbor Act of 1905, (33 Stat. 1117), passed March 3, 1905. * River and Harbor Act of 1907, (34 Stat. 1073), passed March 2, 1907. * River and Harbor Act of 1909, (35 Stat. 815), passed March 3, 1909, set national policy for an intracoastal waterway from

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

to the

Rio Grande The Rio Grande ( or ) in the United States or the Río Bravo (del Norte) in Mexico (), also known as Tó Ba'áadi in Navajo language, Navajo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the Southwestern United States a ...

. *River and Harbor Act of 1910, June 25, 1910, ch. 382, 36 Stat. 630, authorized a 9-foot x 100 ft channel on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway between the

Apalachicola River The Apalachicola River is a river, approximately long, in the state of Florida. The river's large drainage basin, watershed, known as the ACF River Basin, Apalachicola, Chattahoochee and Flint (ACF) River Basin, drains an area of approximately ...

and St. Andrew Bay, Florida, as well as a study of the most efficient means to move cargo. *River and Harbor Act of 1911, Feb. 27, 1911, ch. 166, 36 Stat. 933 *River and Harbor Act of 1912, July 25, 1912, ch. 253, 37 Stat. 201 *

Rivers and Harbors Act of 1913 In United States federal legislation, the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1913 appropriated money for various Congressional river and harbor improvement projects, the most prominent of which was Indiana Harbor, Indiana. References 1913 in Amer ...

, appropriated money for various Congressional river and harbor improvement projects, the most prominent of which was Indiana Harbor, Indiana *River and Harbor Act of 1914, Oct. 2, 1914, ch. 313, 38 Stat. 725 * Rivers and Harbors Appropriation Act of 1915, establishment of anchorage grounds and harbor regulations generally, codified in 33 USC 471. *River and Harbor Act of 1916, July 27, 1916, ch. 260, 39 Stat. 391 *River and Harbor Act of 1917, Aug. 8, 1917, ch. 49, 40 Stat. 250 *River and Harbor Act of 1918, July 18, 1918, ch. 155, 40 Stat. 904 *River and Harbor Act of 1919, Mar. 2, 1919, ch. 95, 40 Stat. 1275 *River and Harbor Act of 1920, June 5, 1920, ch. 252, 41 Stat. 1009 *River and Harbor Act of 1922, Sept. 22, 1922, ch. 427, 42 Stat. 1038 *River and Harbor Act of 1925, (43 Stat 1186), passed March 3, 1925, ordered the Corps of Engineers to determine the cost to do surveys of the nation's rivers and recommend ways to improve them.Columbia River History
/ref> *River and Harbor Act of 1927, passed January 21, 1927, ordered the Corps of Engineers to conduct the surveys costed out in RHA1925.
It also directed the Corps to build a dam at

Hastings, Minnesota Hastings ( ) is a city mostly in Dakota County, Minnesota, Dakota County, Minnesota, of which it is the county seat, with a portion in Washington County, Minnesota, Washington County, Minnesota, United States. It is near the confluence of the M ...

, to increase the water depth of the Mississippi River to 9 feet in spite of the fact that the

Chief of Engineers The Chief of Engineers is a principal United States Army staff officer at The Pentagon. The Chief advises the Army on engineering matters, and serves as the Army's topographer and proponent for real estate and other related engineering programs. ...

General Taylor refused to say whether the cost was commensurate with the benefit gained. *River and Harbor Act of 1930, July 3, 1930, ch. 847, 46 Stat. 918 * Rivers and Harbors Act of 1935, , was passed August 30, 1935, after months of debate. Although other projects were included with then-standard documentation, the House of Representatives had insisted on voting separately for

Grand Coulee Grand Coulee is an ancient river bed in the U.S. state of Washington. This National Natural Landmark stretches for about southwest from Grand Coulee Dam to Soap Lake, being bisected by Dry Falls into the Upper and Lower Grand Coulee. Geo ...

and

Parker Parker may refer to: People * Parker (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Parker (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname Arts and entertainment * ''Parke ...

dams. These dams were planned for broader purposes and different funding, which include "controlling floods, improving navigation, regulating the flow of the streams of the United States, providing for storage and for the delivery of the stored waters thereof, for the reclamation of public lands and Indian reservations, and other beneficial uses, and for the generation of electric energy as a means of financially aiding and assisting such undertakings..." * River and Harbor Act of 1936, , better known as the

Flood Control Act of 1936 The Flood Control Act of 1936, , (FCA 1936) was an Act of Congress, Act of the United States Congress signed into law by President of the United States, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Franklin Delano Roosevelt on 22 June 1936.

, established a nationwide policy for flood control, provided by the Federal Government in cooperation with local entities. * River and Harbor Act of 1938, , June 20, 1938, Authorizing the construction, repair, and preservation of certain public works on rivers and harbors, and for other purposes, the most significant being construction of the

Bonneville Dam Bonneville Lock and Dam consists of several run-of-the-river dam structures that together complete a span of the Columbia River between the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington at River Mile 146.1. The dam is located east of Portland, Ore ...

in the

. * River and Harbor Act of 1940, , October 17, 1940, authorizing improvements of certain rivers and harbors in the interest of national defense and for other purposes. *Rivers and Harbors Act of 1945, , March 2, 1945 *Rivers and Harbors Act of 1946, , July 24, 1946 *Rivers and Harbors Act of 1948, , June 30, 1948 *Rivers and Harbors Act of 1950, , May 17, 1950 * River and Harbor Act of 1954, Title 1 of , September 3, 1954, Authorizing and appropriated funds for the construction, repair, and preservation of certain public works on rivers and harbors for navigation, flood control, and for other purposes, to include

beach erosion Coastal erosion is the loss or displacement of land, or the long-term removal of sediment and rocks along the coastline due to the action of waves, currents, tides, wind-driven water, waterborne ice, or other impacts of storms. The landward r ...

. Title 2 of PL 83-780 was the Flood Control Act of 1954. *Rivers and Harbors Act of 1956, , March 29, 1956, authorized (among other things) the construction of the

Mississippi River Gulf Outlet Canal Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

, a shortcut between the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

and the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

. MRGO has been considered a contributory factor in the flooding of

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

during

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...

. *

River and Harbor Act of 1958 A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of its course if it run ...

, , July 3, 1958 *Rivers and Harbors Act of 1960, , July 14, 1960 *Rivers and Harbors Act of 1962, , October 23, 1962 * Rivers and Harbors Act of 1965, , October 27, 1965 * River and Harbor Act of 1966, , November 7, 1966, authorizing navigation and beach erosion projects.It also created an Interstate Compact between

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

and

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

for a commission for the Jefferson-Monroe Bridge and an Interstate Compact between

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

and

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

on the

Arkansas River The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. It generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's source basin lies in Colorado, specifically ...

. Title 2 of PL 89-789 was the Flood Control Act of 1966. *River and Harbor Act of 1968, *River and Harbor Act of 1970, , December 31, 1970 NOTE: Titling of these

acts The Acts of the Apostles (, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; ) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of its message to the Roman Empire. Acts and the Gospel of Luke make up a two-par ...

over the years has been inconsistent. If the act itself is not self-titled, the convention used here ("River and Harbor Act of 19xx") is only for consistency of reference only with the US Code in the recognized database at the Legal Information Institute at

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

.https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/ US Code at Legal Information Institute at Cornell University

References

{{Woodrow Wilson United States federal defense and national security legislation United States federal public land legislation United States federal environmental legislation Water law in the United States United States federal appropriations legislation

Early legislation

(Partial) List of early Acts

Later legislation

List of later acts

See also

References