Guide to Federal Records

Records of Interagency Committees and Councils Coordinating Water Use Programs


(Record Group 315)
1938-81

OVERVIEW OF RECORDS LOCATIONS

Table of Contents

  • 315.1 ADMINISTRATIVE HISTORY
  • 315.2 RECORDS OF THE FEDERAL INTERAGENCY RIVER BASIN COMMITTEE 1938-72
  • 315.2.1 General records
  • 315.2.2 Records of technical subcommittees
  • 315.2.3 Records of regional committees
  • 315.3 RECORDS OF THE WATER RESOURCES COUNCIL 1966-82
  • 315.3.1 General records
  • 315.3.2 Records of the Pacific Northwest River Basins Commission
  • 315.4 CARTOGRAPHIC RECORDS (GENERAL)
  • 315.5 SOUND RECORDINGS (GENERAL)


 315.1 ADMINISTRATIVE HISTORY

Related Records: Records of the Office of the Secretary of the Interior, RG 48.
Records of the Office of the Chief of Engineers, RG 77.
Records of the Bureau of Reclamation, RG 115.

Subject Access Terms: Environment.

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 315.2 RECORDS OF THE FEDERAL INTERAGENCY RIVER BASIN COMMITTEE
1938-73

History: Established as an advisory, coordinating body for interagency water use projects by an agreement, December 29, 1943, among the Federal Power Commission and the Departments of War, Agriculture, and the Interior, later extended to the Departments of Commerce; Labor; and Health, Education, and Welfare. Abolished by letter of President Dwight D. Eisenhower to Secretary of the Interior Douglas McKay, May 26, 1954, and succeeded by the Interagency Committee on Water Resources.

Finding Aids: Roland C. Rieder, comp., "Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the Federal Interagency River Basin Committee," NC 19 (Dec. 1962).

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 315.2.1 General records

Textual Records: Correspondence and related subject files, 1945- 54. Minutes of meetings of the committee, 1944-54, with index, 1944-53. Technical reports, 1948-51. Miscellaneous records, 1940-52. Records relating to the Council of Members, 1965-70; the Council of Representatives, 1966-70; and the Interagency committees, 1963-70. Manuscript drafts relating to the First National Assessment of Water Resources, 1966-68. Records relating to framework studies, 1966-70; and river basin studies, 1963-70. Status reports and other records relating to framework and river basin studies, 1964-73. Records relating to task forces, 1968-70; work groups, 1965-70; legal issues, 1967-70; interest rates, 1967-69; and Water Resources Council programs, 1968-70.

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 315.2.2 Records of technical subcommittees

Textual Records: Minutes of the Subcommittee on Hydrology, 1946- 54. Minutes, 1946-54; and river and reservoir sedimentation analysis reports, 1940-53, of the Subcommittee on Sedimentation. Semiannual report of the Subcommittee on Energy Conversion Procedures, Factors, and Empirical Constants, July 1950. Minutes, 1946-53; and reports, 1947-52, of the Subcommittee on Benefits and Costs.

Maps (164 items): Subcommittee on Hydrology, two published atlases showing river basin hydrologic stations, 1947-49 (160 items); and maps showing river basin boundaries, 1946 (2 items). Subcommittee on Sedimentation, map showing adequacy of reservoir sedimentation survey data, and accompanying mimeographed instructions, 1949-50 (2 items). SEE ALSO 315.4.

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 315.2.3 Records of regional committees

Textual Records: Minutes, 1950-52; and reports of testimony at public hearings, 1951-52, of the New England-New York Interagency Committee. Minutes of the Arkansas-White-Red River Basins Interagency Committee, 1950-53. Minutes of the Missouri Basin Interagency Committee, 1945-54. Minutes, 1946-54; and (in San Francisco) program correspondence, 1938-70, and minutes and reports, 1949-70, of the Columbia Basin/Pacific Northwest Interagency Committee. Minutes, 1948-54; and (in San Francisco) minutes, 1948-58, and correspondence and meeting records, 1948- 72, of the Pacific Southwest Federal Interagency Technical Committee.

Maps (25 items): Published maps of the New England-New York Interagency Committee showing farm economics by county, including average farm size, percentage of dairy farms, percentage of area in farms, and decline in agricultural acreage from peak development, 1949-50 (9 items); and maps of the Connecticut, St. Lawrence, and Lake Champlain river basins relating to soil erosion, forests, landforms, and improvement measures, 1953-54 (16 items). SEE ALSO 315.4.

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 315.3 RECORDS OF THE WATER RESOURCES COUNCIL
1966-82

History: Established by the Water Resources Planning Act (79 Stat. 244), July 22, 1965, to encourage the conservation, development, and use of water and related land resources on a coordinated basis by the Federal Government, the states, localities, and private enterprise. Coordinated and reviewed river basin and regional plans. Terminated October 31, 1982.

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 315.3.1 General records

Textual Records: Central subject files, 1967-70. Records of the Planning Committee, 1966-69. Records of the Office of the Director, consisting of speeches, 1969-82; press releases, 1978-81; reading files, 1973-82; and publication files, 1971-81. Records of the Program Division, consisting of budget files, 1964-82; and legislative files, 1972-77. Records of the Policy Division, consisting of water policy files, 1972-80; national assessment files, 1971-81; Level "A" framework studies, 1971-76; Level "B" studies, 1967-81; principles and standards files, 1969-72; river basin commissions files, 1963-77; and Title III state grant files, 1977. Records of the Inter Agency Committee on Water Resources, 1954-66. National Water Commission files, 1973. Records of the Water Policy Task Force, consisting of Water Policy Task Force files, 1977; and transcripts of hearings, public comments received, and general information files, 1977. Water Assessment and Appraisal Task Force files, 1976. Minutes of meetings of the Water Resource Council of Members, 1974-82; and the Water Resources Council of Representatives, 1973-77. Minutes and reports of the Water Resources Planning Committee, 1970-77; and the Water Resources Policy Development Commitee, 1971-77.

Sound Recordings (27 items): Proceedings of the National Conference on Water, April 22-25, 1975.

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 315.3.2 Records of the Pacific Northwest River Basins Commission

History: Established by EO 11331, March 6, 1967, under authority of the Water Resources Planning Act of 1965. Terminated by EO 12319, September 30, 1981.

Textual Records (in Seattle): General correspondence, minutes of meetings, and studies, 1967-81 (26 ft.).

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 315.4 CARTOGRAPHIC RECORDS (GENERAL)

SEE Maps UNDER 315.2.2 and 315.2.3.

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 315.5 SOUND RECORDINGS (GENERAL)

SEE UNDER 315.3.1.


Bibliographic note: Web version based on Guide to Federal Records in the National Archives of the United States. Compiled by Robert B. Matchette et al. Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Administration, 1995.
3 volumes, 2428 pages.

Ordering information

This Web version is updated from time to time to include records processed since 1995.


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