Letter from Representatives Burdick and Lemke to Congressional Colleagues Regarding the Height of the Pool Lever for the Garrison Dam, July 20, 1949

Authors

Usher L. Burdick

Files

Description

This letter dated July 20, 1949, from United States (US) Representatives Usher L. Burdick and William Lemke to colleagues in the United States Congress makes reference to letters North Dakota Governor Fred G. Aandahl has written to some members of US Congress regarding their votes on legislation to limit the pool height of the Garrison Dam Reservoir to1830 feet above sea level. In these letters, Aandahl expresses his support for a higher pool height of 1850 feet and urges the recipients to do so as well.

In this letter, Burdick and Lemke explain that neither Aandahl nor the United State Army Engineers “have any authority to acquire land or to construct or operate a pool level higher than 1830 feet. That agreement was signed by both the Army Engineers and the Bureau of Reclamation. No further agreement has since been entered into.” They go on to argue that Aandahl is raising a “false issue,” as the controversy the letter addresses is not the “foot level” the Garrison Dam is being constructed to, but the height of the pool level operation, and they go on to refute the various grounds that Aandahl cites in his for supporting the higher pool level.

Burdick and Lemke write in closing that the members of Congress who voted for limiting the pool height had "voted right," and that more members should have voted likewise, adding, "We are still governed by law and not the whims of Governors and Army Engineers."

The letter is marked with a handwritten annotation “Garrison dam.”

Date of Work

7-20-1949

Keywords

Mandan Hidatsa and Arikara Nation, the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation, Mandan, Nueta, Hidatsa, Arikara, Sahnish, Garrison Dam, Garrison Reservoir, Garrison Diversion, inundate, inundation, flooding, pool level, pool height, water height, water level, flood height, flood level

Organizations Referenced

Mandan Hidatsa and Arikara Nation, the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation, Mandan, Nueta, Hidatsa, Arikara, Sahnish, United States Army Corps of Engineers, US Army Engineer

People Referenced

Usher Burdick, William Lemke

Recommended Citation

Burdick, Usher L., "Letter from Representatives Burdick and Lemke to Congressional Colleagues Regarding the Height of the Pool Lever for the Garrison Dam, July 20, 1949" (1949). Usher Burdick Papers. 469.
https://commons.und.edu/burdick-papers/469