Flood Control Act of 1939 (FCA 1939) (ch. 699, 53 Stat. 1414), enacted on August 11, 1939, by the
76th Congress
The 76th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1939, ...
, authorized construction of flood control projects across the United States. The Act authorized the transfer of ownership of local and state dams to the
. The Act was also 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
ein excess of the estimated costs.
See also
Other flood control provisions enacted in 1939
can be found under:
*the ''Omnibus Flood Control Act'', which authorized 35 preliminary flood control surveys; declared the
Alamorga Dam and Reservoir on the
Pecos River
The Pecos River ( es, Río Pecos) originates in north-central New Mexico and flows into Texas, emptying into the Rio Grande. Its headwaters are on the eastern slope of the Sangre de Cristo mountain range in Mora County north of Pecos, New Mexico ...
, New Mexico, authorized for the purpose of controlling floods; and in other ways promoted the project of flood control.
*the ''State-Justice-Commerce Appropriation Act'' (approved June 29), which authorized projects on the
Rio Grande
The Rio Grande ( and ), known in Mexico as the Río Bravo del Norte or simply the Río Bravo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the southwestern United States and in northern Mexico.
The length of the Rio G ...
.
*the ''Military Appropriation Act'' (approved April 26), which granted $305,188,584 for the civil functions of the
War Department. The largest items here were $133,000,000 for general flood control work; $96,000,000 for the preservation and maintenance of existing river and harbor works; $39,000,000 for flood control along the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...
and its tributaries and $24,774,924 for the
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a conduit ...
and the
Canal Zone.
References
External links
*U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Printable copies of legislation including this Act.
1939 in the environment
1939 in American law
76th United States Congress
United States federal legislation articles without infoboxes
1939
This year also marks the start of the Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history.
Events
Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
January
* January 1
** Third Reich
*** Jews are forbidden to ...
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