Rivers and Harbors Act
Encyclopedia
Rivers and Harbors Act may refer to one of many pieces of legislation and appropriations passed by the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....

 since the first such legislation in 1824. At that time congress appropriated $75,000 to improve navigation on the Ohio
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...

 and Mississippi
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...

 rivers by removing sandbars, snags, and other obstacles. Like when first passed, the legislation was to be administered by the United States Army Corps of Engineers
United States Army Corps of Engineers
The United States Army Corps of Engineers is a federal agency and a major Army command made up of some 38,000 civilian and military personnel, making it the world's largest public engineering, design and construction management agency...

 (USACE), under its Chief Engineer
Chief of Engineers
The Chief of Engineers commands the US Army Corps of Engineers. As a staff officer at The Pentagon, the Chief advises the Army on engineering matters and serves as the Army's topographer and the proponent for real estate and other related engineering programs....

 and the Secretary of War (more recently the Secretary of the Army).

In a landmark case, the Supreme Court ruled in Gibbons v. Ogden
Gibbons v. Ogden
Gibbons v. Ogden, 22 U.S. 1 , was a landmark decision in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that the power to regulate interstate commerce was granted to Congress by the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution. The case was argued by some of America's most admired and...

 that federal authority covered interstate commerce including riverine navigation, under the Commerce Clause
Commerce Clause
The Commerce Clause is an enumerated power listed in the United States Constitution . The clause states that the United States Congress shall have power "To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes." Courts and commentators have tended to...

 of the Constitution. This ruling in large part ended considerable divisiveness regarding transportation improvements
Internal improvements
Internal improvements is the term used historically in the United States for public works from the end of the American Revolution through much of the 19th century, mainly for the creation of a transportation infrastructure: roads, turnpikes, canals, harbors and navigation improvements...

 between those supporting Federalism versus States rights advocates. Shortly thereafter (April, 1824), the General Survey Act
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, or necessary for the transportation of public mail." ...

 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, 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
Erie Canal
The Erie Canal is a waterway in New York that runs about from Albany, New York, on the Hudson River to Buffalo, New York, at Lake Erie, completing a navigable water route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes. The canal contains 36 locks and encompasses a total elevation differential of...

, financed solely by the state of New York.

In 1828 the Corps conducted an initial survey of Tennessee River, and in 1829 the first steam-powered snagboat was launched at New Albany, Indiana on the Ohio River. The Cumberland River in Tennessee and Kentucky were authorized for development in 1832, and the Hudson River in New York was authorized in 1834. While other works were being implemented by the individual states, the panic of 1837
Panic of 1837
The Panic of 1837 was a financial crisis or market correction in the United States built on a speculative fever. The end of the Second Bank of the United States had produced a period of runaway inflation, but on May 10, 1837 in New York City, every bank began to accept payment only in specie ,...

 led to a near collapse of federal waterway improvement program. In 1852 the Tennessee River was authorized for development, as was the Illinois Waterway,downstream of the state-constructed Illinois and Michigan Canal
Illinois and Michigan Canal
The Illinois and Michigan Canal ran from the Bridgeport neighborhood in Chicago on the Chicago River to LaSalle-Peru, Illinois, on the Illinois River. It was finished in 1848 when Chicago Mayor James Hutchinson Woodworth presided over its opening; and it allowed boat transportation from the Great...

. The Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

 ended civil works on rivers and harbors from 1861.

Later legislation

Following the Civil war railroads became recipients of federal funding; funding for river and harbor improvements increased sharply. The 1869 appropriations for rivers and horbors 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.

Gifford Pinchot
Gifford Pinchot
Gifford Pinchot was the first Chief of the United States Forest Service and the 28th Governor of Pennsylvania...

 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 water power
Hydropower
Hydropower, hydraulic power, hydrokinetic power or water power is power that is derived from the force or energy of falling water, which may be harnessed for useful purposes. Since ancient times, hydropower has been used for irrigation and the operation of various mechanical devices, such as...

 entirely to the states. Federal stream legislation at its beginning had to do chiefly with preventing or removing obstructions to navigation. This changed over the later periods, with the construction of dams and locks for greater navigation improvement. With the advent of Edison
Thomas Edison
Thomas Alva Edison was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world, including the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and a long-lasting, practical electric light bulb. In addition, he created the world’s first industrial...

's DC
Direct current
Direct current is the unidirectional flow of electric charge. Direct current is produced by such sources as batteries, thermocouples, solar cells, and commutator-type electric machines of the dynamo type. Direct current may flow in a conductor such as a wire, but can also flow through...

 light bulb the early 1880s, and Tesla
Nikola Tesla
Nikola Tesla was a Serbian-American inventor, mechanical engineer, and electrical engineer...

's later use of AC
Alternating current
In alternating current the movement of electric charge periodically reverses direction. In direct current , the flow of electric charge is only in one direction....

, 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
Hydroelectricity is the term referring to electricity generated by hydropower; the production of electrical power through the use of the gravitational force of falling or flowing water. It is the most widely used form of renewable energy...

 and other competing modern multipurpose improvements.

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
    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 to the Tombigbee River, of which the Black Warrior is the primary tributary...

    -Tombigbee River
    Tombigbee River
    The Tombigbee River is a tributary of the Mobile River, approximately 200 mi long, in the U.S. states of Mississippi and Alabama. It is one of two major rivers, along with the Alabama River, that unite to form the short Mobile River before it empties into Mobile Bay on the Gulf of Mexico...

     in Alabama is authorized for development; in 1872 the Monongahela River
    Monongahela River
    The Monongahela River is a river on the Allegheny Plateau in north-central West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania in the United States...

     in Pennsylvania, the Houston Ship Channel
    Houston Ship Channel
    The Houston Ship Channel, located in Houston, Texas, is part of the Port of Houston—one of the United States's busiest seaports. The channel is the conduit for ocean-going vessels between the Houston-area shipyards and the Gulf of Mexico.-Overview:...

    , and the Delaware River
    Delaware River
    The Delaware River is a major river on the Atlantic coast of the United States.A Dutch expedition led by Henry Hudson in 1609 first mapped the river. The river was christened the South River in the New Netherland colony that followed, in contrast to the North River, as the Hudson River was then...

     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
    Kanawha River
    The Kanawha River is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately 97 mi long, in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The largest inland waterway in West Virginia, it has formed a significant industrial region of the state since the middle of the 19th century.It is formed at the town of Gauley...

     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
    Head of Passes
    Head of Passes is where the main stem of the Mississippi River branches off into three distinct directions at its mouth in the Gulf of Mexico: Southwest Pass , Pass A Loutre and South Pass...

    /Eads
    James Buchanan Eads
    Captain James Buchanan Eads was a world-renowned American civil engineer and inventor, holding more than fifty patents.-Early life and education:...

    ), as well as the authorization for development of the Missouri River
    Missouri River
    The Missouri River flows through the central United States, and is a tributary of the Mississippi River. It is the longest river in North America and drains the third largest area, though only the thirteenth largest by discharge. The Missouri's watershed encompasses most of the American Great...

    , and the San Joaquin River
    San Joaquin River
    The San Joaquin River is the largest river of Central California in the United States. At over long, the river starts in the high Sierra Nevada, and flows through a rich agricultural region known as the San Joaquin Valley before reaching Suisun Bay, San Francisco Bay, and the Pacific Ocean...

     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
    Northwest Ordinance
    The Northwest Ordinance was an act of the Congress of the Confederation of the United States, passed July 13, 1787...

    . 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
    James River
    The James River may refer to:Rivers in the United States and their namesakes* James River * James River , North Dakota, South Dakota* James River * James River * James River...

     in Virginia for development, and made the first appropriation for improving Black Warrior River. 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
    Allegheny River
    The Allegheny River is a principal tributary of the Ohio River; it is located in the Eastern United States. The Allegheny River joins with the Monongahela River to form the Ohio River at the "Point" of Point State Park in Downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...

     in Pennsylvania for development. A year earlier the Corps of Engineers completed their first lock built at Davis Island
    Davis Island (Pennsylvania)
    Davis Island is a small island located on the Ohio River in Stowe Township, just upstream of Neville Island near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA....

     near Pittsburgh.
  • River and Harbor Act of 1888, (25 Stat. 400), passed August 11, 1888, authorized the Green
    Green River (Kentucky)
    The Green River is a tributary of the Ohio River that rises in Lincoln County in south-central Kentucky. Tributaries of the Green River include the Barren River, the Nolin River, the Pond River and the Rough River...

     and Barren River
    Barren River
    The Barren River is a river in western Kentucky, USA. It is the largest tributary of the Green River, which drains more of Kentucky than any other river. The Barren River rises in Monroe County and flows into the Green in northeast Warren County....

    s in Kentucky for development; in 1889 the Columbia River
    Columbia River
    The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...

     on the Washington-Oregon border is similarly authorized.
  • River and Harbor Act of 1890 (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 Secretary of War
    United States Secretary of War
    The Secretary of War was a member of the United States President's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War," was appointed to serve the Congress of the Confederation under the Articles of Confederation...

     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
    Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899
    The Rivers and Harbors Appropriation Act of 1899 is the oldest federal environmental law in the United States. The Act makes it a misdemeanor to discharge refuse matter of any kind into the navigable waters, or tributaries thereof, of the United States without a permit; this specific provision is...

    , Mar. 3, 1899, ch. 425, 30 Stat. 1121, the oldest federal environmental law in the United States
  • 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.
  • River and Harbor Act of 1910, June 25, 1910, ch. 382, 36 Stat. 630
  • 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
    Rivers and Harbors Act of 1913
    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....

    , 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.
  • 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 Dam
    Grand Coulee Dam is a gravity dam on the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington built to produce hydroelectric power and provide irrigation. It was constructed between 1933 and 1942, originally with two power plants. A third power station was completed in 1974 to increase its energy...

     and Parker Dam
    Parker Dam
    Parker Dam is a concrete arch-gravity dam that crosses the Colorado River downstream of Hoover Dam. Built between 1934 and 1938 by the Bureau of Reclamation, it is high, of which are below the riverbed, making it "the deepest dam in the world". The dam's primary functions are to create a...

    s. 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
    Flood Control Act of 1936
    The Flood Control Act of 1936, , was an Act of the United States Congress signed into law by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt on 22 June 1936. It authorized civil engineering projects such as dams, levees, dikes, and other flood control measures through the United States Army Corps of...

    , established a nation-wide 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 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, Oregon, in the Columbia River Gorge. The primary functions of...

     in the Columbia River
    Columbia River
    The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...

    .
  • 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
    Beach nourishment
    Beach nourishment— also referred to as beach replenishment—describes a process by which sediment lost through longshore drift or erosion is replaced from sources outside of the eroding beach...

    . Title 2 of PL 83-780 was the Flood Control Act of 1954.
  • River and Harbor Act of 1958, , 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
    Rivers and Harbors Act of 1965
    The Rivers and Harbors Act of 1965, Title III of , was enacted on October 27, 1965, by the 89th United States Congress. The act authorized the U.S...

    , , 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 and Missouri for a commission for the Jefferson-Monroe Bridge and an Interstate Compact between Kansas and Oklahoma on the Arkansas River. 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
Act of Congress
An Act of Congress is a statute enacted by government with a legislature named "Congress," such as the United States Congress or the Congress of the Philippines....

 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
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...

.

See also

  • Flood Control Act (disambiguation)
  • Water Resources Development Act (disambiguation)
  • Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act
    Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act
    The United States Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act of 1954 is a United States statute. It has been amended several times.Under this Act, the Soil Conservation Service at the Department of Agriculture provides planning assistance and construction funding for projects constructed by...

    of 1954
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