Executive Order 11528—Changing the Jurisdiction and Membership of the New England River Basins Commission

WHEREAS Executive Order No. 11371 of September 6, 1967, established a New England River Basins Commission in accordance with Title II of the Water Resources Planning Act, but did not include within the jurisdiction of the Commission certain portions of Long Island Sound and Long Island in the State of New York; and

WHEREAS planning for use and development of water and related resources of the Sound requires unified consideration of the Sound and of the land areas draining into the Sound; and

WHEREAS the New England River Basins Commission by resolution dated March 11, 1968, requested that the jurisdiction of the Commission be extended to include certain portions of the Sound and Long Island; and

WHEREAS the Governors of the States within the jurisdiction of the New England River Basins Commission, by letters, and the Water Resources Council, by resolution dated July 16, 1969, concurred in the proposed change in jurisdiction; and

WHEREAS the New England River Basins Commission by resolution dated October 3, 1969, requested that the Atomic Energy Commission be authorized to designate a member on the New England River Basins Commission because of the close relationship between water and related land resources and the planning and construction of electric power generating facilities, particularly those utilizing energy of nuclear reactors, and because of the urgent need for full communication and cooperation between the Atomic Energy Commission and State and Federal agencies concerned with water and related land resources; and

WHEREAS the Atomic Energy Commission by letter of November 12, 1969, requested it be authorized to designate a member on the New England River Basins Commission; and

WHEREAS the Water Resources Council, at its meeting on November 20, 1969, unanimously recommended that the Atomic Energy Commission be authorized to designate a member on the New England River Basins Commission; and

WHEREAS the Atomic Energy Commission has a substantial interest in the work of the New England River Basins Commission; and

WHEREAS it appears to be in the public interest and in keeping with the intent of Congress to make the proposed change of jurisdiction and to add a member from the Atomic Energy Commission to the New England River Basins Commission:

Now, THEREFORE, by virtue of the authority vested in me by sections 201 and 202 of the Water Resources Planning Act (42 U.S.C. 1962b; 1962b-1), and as President of the United States, sections 2 and 3 of Executive Order No. 11371 of September 6, 1967, are amended to read as follows:

"Sec. 2. Jurisdiction of Commission. (a) It is hereby determined that the jurisdiction of the New England River Basins Commission referred to in section 1 of this order (hereinafter referred to as the Commission) shall extend to an area composed as follows:

"(1) The State of Maine,

"(2) The State of New Hampshire,

"(3) The State of Vermont, excluding that portion thereof which is within the drainage area of the Hudson River and excluding also that portion thereof which is within the drainage area of Lake Champlain,

"(4) The State of Massachusetts, excluding that portion thereof which is within the drainage area of the Hudson River,

"(5) The State of Connecticut,

"(6) The State of Rhode Island,

"(7) (i) That portion of the State of New York which is within the drainage area of the Housatonic River, and (ii) that portion of Long Island (excluding New York City) in the State of New York which is within the drainage area of Long Island Sound, and

"(8) Long Island Sound except the portion thereof which lies west of a line extended from the Connecticut-New York boundary at the northern shore of the Sound to the New York City-Nassau County boundary at the southern shore of the Sound.

"(b) The determination set forth in subsection (a) of this section is made in accordance with the request of the Commission, and is concurred in by the Water Resources Council and by the Governors of the States within the jurisdiction of the Commission.

"Sec. 3. Membership of Commission. It is hereby determined, in accordance with section 202 of the Act, that the Commission shall consist of the following:

"(1) a Chairman to be appointed by the President,

"(2) one member from each of the following Federal departments and agencies: Department of Agriculture, Department of the Army, Department of Commerce, Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of the Interior, Department of Transportation, Atomic Energy Commission, and Federal Power Commission, each such member to be appointed by the head of each department or independent agency he represents,

"(3) one member from each of the following States: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New York, and

"(4) one member from each interstate agency created by an interstate compact to which the consent of Congress has been given and whose jurisdiction extends to the waters of the area specified in section 2."

RICHARD NIXON

The White House

April 24, 1970