APPENDIX ZZ. ANNUAL REPORT OF THE CALIFORNIA DÉBRIS COMMISSION FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 1898. CALIFORNIA DEBRIS COMMISSION, San Francisco, Cal., July 1, 1898. GENERAL: The California Débris Commission has the honor to submit the following annual report for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1898. Previous reports of the Commission may be found, as follows: 1894, Report of Chief of Engineers, United States Army, pp. 3169 to 317" 1895, Report of Chief of Engineers, United States Army, pp. 4049 to 4075. 1896, Report of Chief of Engineers, United States Army, pp. 3861 to 3874. 1897, Report of Chief of Engineers, United States Army, pp. 3961 to 3980. The commission was created by act of Congress approved March 1, 1893. During the past year its members have been the following officers of the Corps of Engineers, viz: Col. Charles R. Suter, for the entire year, Maj. W. H. Heuer, from November 19, 1897, to June 30, 1898, Maj. Charles E. L. B. Davis, from July 1, 1897, to November 19, 1897, and Lieut. Herbert Deakyne for the entire year. Colonel Suter was president of the commission during the entire year; Major Davis was secretary from July 1 to July 19, 1897, and Lieutenant Deakyne from July 19, 1897, to June 30, 1898. The State Débris Commissioner, the Hon. John F. Kidder, has been present at most of the sessions of the commission held during the year. Mr. Hubert Vischer, civil engineer, has been in the employ of the commission throughout the year, inspecting the operations of mines working under permits from the commission, looking after illegal mining in the district under the commission's jurisdiction, and conducting the investigation of a site for a restraining dam in the Yuba River. The jurisdiction of the commission extends to hydraulic mining in that portion of the State of California drained by the Sacramento and San Joaquin River systems. The duties of the commission may be briefly stated to be: First, the prevention of such hydraulic mining as may be deemed injurious to the navigable waters within the commission's jurisdiction, permitting, under proper regulation, such mining in cases where it can be carried on without such injury; second, to mature general plans for the improvement of the rivers whose navigability has been injured by hydraulic mining, and, if practicable, to devise general methods whereby such mining may be carried on without damage to the navigable waters. PREVENTION OF ILLEGAL MINING. In accordance with the opinion of the Attorney-General of the United States (Appendix A, House Ex. Doc. No. 11, Fifty-third Congress, third session), the commission has, since the date of its last annual report (July 1, 1897), called the attention of the owners and operators of four mines, which were being worked illegally, to the requirements of the law and the duties of the commission in the matter. These mines are all small, and, so far as known, have been closed. On June 8, 1897, the commission received notice from the United States district attorney that the injunction suit requested by the commission on December 4, 1894, against the North Bloomfield Mining Company, had been decided by Judge Ross, of the United States circuit court, in favor of the United States, and that the injunction had been issued. On June 22, 1897, the commission was informed that an appeal had been taken by the North Bloomfield Mining Company and that their motion to vacate the injunction pending the appeal had been granted. No further official information concerning the case has been received, but a report was published some months ago by the newspapers, stating that the appeal had been decided in favor of the United States. APPLICATIONS AND PERMITS. The commission has, since it organized, received 390 applications to mine; 304 permits have been granted. A table showing a synopsis of the applications received and the action taken is appended and marked A. Thirteen permits have been canceled and 30 permits have been at different times temporarily suspended, generally on account of the neglect of the owners to comply with instructions concerning the impounding works, or from accidents to those works. No considerable failure of impounding barriers has come to the notice of the commission during the year. The total amount of material mined under permits during the year is estimated at 512,022 cubic yards. Owing to the slight rainfall of the past winter the amount of hydraulic mining done during the past fiscal year has been very small. The available storage provided at present and partially or wholly completed for future operations is estimated at 7,842,000 cubic yards. The requirements in respect to storage of detritus exacted by the commission during the past year have been the same as those during the previous year. No dam for impounding detritus in the larger streams has as yet been authorized by the commission. The investigation of a site for such a dam is being made at the Narrows of the Yuba River. Numerous borings have been made to ascertain the depth of the bed rock below the bed of the river, and open pits have been sunk to determine the nature of the banks. A full report of this investigation and its results will be made when it is completed. IMPROVEMENT OF RIVERS. The duty of devising plans for the improvement of the rivers concerned devolves upon the Commission by section 4 of the act. A board has since been appointed, in accordance with the act of Congress approved June 3, 1896, and charged with the duty of preparing plans for the improvement of Sacramento and Feather rivers. The act of Congress approved June 3, 1896, also appropriated $250,000 for the construction of restraining barriers for the protection of the Sacramento and Feather rivers, and provided that the Treasurer of the United States should be authorized to receive from the State of California any and all sums appropriated or to be appropriated by the State for the same purpose, such sums to be expended with the Federal appropriation. The legislature of the State of California, on March 17, 1897, passed an act appropriating $250,000 to be used in conjunction with the above appropriation of the United States. Owing to legal obstacles in the way of payment of any money by the State treasurer of California to the Treasurer of the United States, this money can not be received by the Treasurer of the United States, but must be paid from time to time by the State officers to some person or persons designated by the California Débris Commission, presumably to the person or persons who have actually performed work on restraining barriers. The sundry civil bill approved July 1, 1898, is believed to contain a provision that will render this money of the State of California available. Money statement. June 30, 1898, amount unexpended of appropriation for "Expenses of Cali- Balance July 1, 1898, amount appropriated by act of July 1, 1898, for "Expenses Brig. Gen. JOHN M. WILSON, Chief of Engineers, U. S. A. CHAS. R. SUTER, $4, 362.48 1,600.00 2,762. 48 15,000.00 15, 000. 00 Colonel, Corps of Engineers. Major, Corps of Engineers. First Lieut., Corps of Engineers. |