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The problem of implementing the Federal Water Project Recreation Act in Oregon

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  • This research investigates the implementation of the Federal Water Project Recreation Act (PL 89-72) in Oregon, comparing what is actually occurring with what Congress intended. Congress intended the Act to accomplish three major goals: 1) The provision of uniform standards for the Corps of Engineers and Bureau of Reclamation when enhancing recreation at water projects. 2) The granting of legislative recognition to recreation as a coequal among project purposes. 3) The furtherance of "creative federalism," in that increased planning, managerial, and financial responsibilities are to be devolved upon non-Federal public bodies participating in the Act. Moreover, the Act contained several provisions which could enhance the quality of the environment. The physical and institutional characteristics of Oregon are then presented as a setting for a case by case analysis of the Oregon projects within the purview of PL 89-72. This revealed that three factors impede implementation of the Act in Oregon: 1) A bountiful supply of inexpensive and high quality recreational opportunities present intervening opportuni­ties to recreation on reservoirs. 2) The Oregon Constitution prohibits incurring debt, as required by PL 89-72. 3) Influential policy makers in the state are on record for the provision of more Federal - - not state - - development of recreation. Opposition to the Act from State level agencies has relegated the responsibility for cost-sharing to the counties. The ability of the counties to participate meaningfully under provisions of the Act varies greatly. In general, the O & C counties (counties having Oregon and California revested lands from which a large part of their incomes are derived) and those on the periphery of the Portland metropolitan area appear able and willing to participate. The sparsely populated counties of eastern Oregon find participation in the Act far more onerous. The comparison between what Congress intended the Act to accom­plish with what is being accomplished in Oregon was considered next. Since the Act was passed only five years ago, few concrete conclusions could be reached. Trends were apparent, however. 1) The Corps of Engineers and Bureau of Reclamation appear to be operating under uniform policies re provision of recreation, which may well have undermined the relative desirability of the Corps1 projects to non-Federal entities. 2) Recreation may not be receiving consideration at the project planning stage commensurate with the markedly higher benefits from recreation being used in the benefit cost analyses. 3) Furtherance of creative federalism is being thwarted in Oregon because state agencies have seldom agreed to participate in PL 89-72. 4) The quality of the environment is being enhanced to a limited degree: more opportunities for water oriented recreation are being created by the Act; but the pre­occupation with numbers of recreationists and continued normal draw­downs during the recreation season may well vitiate the enhancement of quality envisioned by Congress. Moreover, recreation will be under­capitalized to the detriment of quality in those instances where counties with few funds are attempting to cost-share under the Act. In the concluding chapter it is suggested that although in Oregon there are several unusual factors which impede implementation of the Act, problems similar to those in the rest of the country are also present, giving the study wider applicability. These common problems include: 1) The inability of the participating non-Federal entities to make meaning­ful inputs at the planning stage. 2) The occasional use of the Act as a smokescreen behind which to justify otherwise infeasible projects. 3) The continued dominance during the project formulation stage of interests favoring the traditional, utilitarian uses of water. And 4) the not infrequent unwillingness of the better qualified non-Federal public bodies (state level) to participate in the Act.
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