|
1794
November 11
|
Canandaigua (also known as
Pickering) Treaty between the United States and the Six Nations (7
Stat. 44)
This Treaty between the United States and the Seneca Nation recognized
the Seneca Nation’s power over its original lands and waters along the
Allegheny River (and other lands along waterways) and maintained the
Nation’s free use and enjoyment of its territory and the free-flowing
stretch of the Allegheny River through these lands, without
disturbance. Through this and other treaties with the United States in
the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the Seneca Nation maintained
its sovereign rights to its territory, which enshrines a specific piece
of the Allegheny River so that the Nation could continue its economic,
social and cultural connections with the Allegheny River. |
|
1902
March
1
|
Flood
of 1902 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Allegheny River gage in Pittsburgh reaches 35.5 ft, which is 10.5 ft
above
flood stage. |
|
1907
March
15 |
Flood
of 1907 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Allegheny River gage in
Pittsburgh reaches
38.7 ft, which
is 12.7 ft above flood stage. |
|
1912
April 16 |
Release
of the Report
of the Flood Commission of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
The
Flood Commission of Pittsburgh proposes a system of 17 reservoirs to
abate flooding in Pittsburgh including mainstream
Allegheny River dams. |
|
1913
January 9
|
Flood
of 1913 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Allegheny River gage in
Pittsburgh reaches 34.5 ft, which is 9.5 ft
above flood
stage. |
|
1913
January 21 |
House
Document 1289: Reservoirs at the Headwaters of the Allegheny,
Ohio, and Monongahela Rivers.
The House of Representatives releases House
Document 1289, which includes a response by the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers
("Corps of Engineers") to the 1912 Report of the Flood Commission of
Pittsburgh in
which the Corps strongly disagrees with building reservoirs for flood
protection. |
|
1924
to 1928 |
The
Corps of Engineers conducts surveys of the upper Ohio River Basin.
The Corps of Engineers conducts surveys the
upper Ohio
River basin in search of potential flood control and power generation
opportunities. |
|
1926
April 13
|
House
Document No. 308: Estimate of Cost of Examinations, Etc., of
Streams where Power Development Appears Feasible.
The U.S. House of Representatives release
House Document 308.
House Document 308 estimated the cost of and called for surveys of the
navigable waters (including Allegheny River) of the
U.S., primarily for power development, but also focused on navigation,
flood control, etc. |
|
1928
Unknown |
Corps
of Engineers Report of Flood Control Survey,
Allegheny and Monongahela
Rivers (unpublished).
Corps of Engineers completes a report which
examines flood
control solutions for Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, considers headwater
reservoirs including the Allegheny Reservoir, and examines hydropower
generation via diversion to Lake Erie. The report was never published,
although it was referred to in numerous instances in future years. |
|
1933
Sept. 13 |
Letter
from Chief of Army Engineers to Representative Ramsay (W.V.).
The Chief of Army Engineers (Lytle Brown)
concludes that
proposed flood control reservoirs upstream from Pittsburgh do not
warrant construction wholly at federal expense. Chief Brown wrote
several letters conveying this message in response to calls for
publicly funded flood control works. He added that construction would
be feasible if “beneficiaries will undertake to pay . . . a
substantial
part of the cost.” |
|
1935
August 29 |
Release
of House Document No. 306: Ohio River.
The U.S. House of Representatives releases
House Document 306, which proposes a system of reservoirs on upper Ohio
River Basin tributaries for the purpose of flood control and
navigation, including the Allegheny Reservoir. |
|
1936
March 18 |
St.
Patrick's Day Flood of 1936 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
River stage reaches 46.0 ft, which
is 21 ft above flood stage. The flood results in numerous
deaths and hundreds of injuries. |
|
1936
June 22 |
Congress
signs into law the Flood Control Act of 1936.
This act of Congress authorizes the
construction
of reservoirs for flood control and allied purposes in the Ohio River
Basin, including the Allegheny Reservoir. |
|
1936
December 22 |
Federal and state
officials meet to discuss potential impacts from Kinzua Dam on Seneca
Nation.
At a meeting involving no representatives of
the Seneca Nation, the Department of the Interior’s Indian Service
representatives confirm that the provisions of the 1794 Treaty of
Canandaigua “virtually guaranteed [the Seneca] peaceful possession of
their soil,” and thus their permission would be required before
approval of any project impacting their Territory. The Interior
officials predict that, “getting the consent of the Indians would not
prove to be an easy matter and that probably their final answer would
be ‘no.’” |
|
1938
June 28 |
Congress
signs into law the Flood Control Act of 1938.
This act of Congress amends the Flood Control
Act of 1936. |
|
1939
July 23 |
House
Document No. 300: Allegheny River, NY and PA - Allegheny Reservoir.
It is recommended within House Document No.
300 that
the size of the proposed Allegheny Reservoir be increased for the
purpose of pollution abatement, recommended hydropower generation, and
alternative dam sites. The iexpanded size would result in a 10 ft
increase in the maximum reservoir pool stage and approximately 2,000
acres of additional Seneca Nation lands which would be required for the
project. |
|
| 1939 |
U.S.
involvement in World War II begins.
Construction of Kinzua Dam loses
priority.
|
|
1940
May 2 |
Secretary of the
Interior cautions Secretary of War about treaty rights.
Sec. Burlew cautions that “No breach of the
foregoing treaty stipulation should now be brought about, of course,
without the consent of the Indians and certainly they should not be
deprived of their property without full, adequate, and even generous
compensation being made to them, for the loss of such a valuable part
of their original patrimony.” |
|
1941
August 18 |
Congress
signs into law the Flood Control Act of 1941.
This act of Congress amended the 1938 Flood
Control Act and authorized the
enlargement of the Allegheny Reservoir for pollution abatement purposes. |
|
1945
June 6 |
Department of the
Interior cautions Secretary of War about treaty rights.
Asst. Sec. Chapman reiterates need to honor
treaty obligations, stating that special congressional legislation is
necessary to abrogate rights: “Necessarily . . . any proposed
legislation dealing with the acquisition of Indian lands within the
Allegheny Reservoir would require painstaking consideration.” |
|
1945
June 23 |
Seneca
Nation sends letter to President Truman.
The Seneca Council formally protests the
proposed dam (Kinzua Dam), “which would violate the Treaty Rights of
the people of the Seneca Nation of Indians.” |
|
1945
|
Pittsburgh
business leaders lead renewed campaign for flood control.
See Dam Building and Treaty Breaking by P.C.
Rosier for more information. |
|
1954
August 9 |
House
Document No. 491: Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers and Tributaries.
This report investigates the
Allegheny and
Monongahela Rivers for potential reservoir sites for
navigation,
flood control, hydroelectric power development, and low-flow
augmentation. |
|
1956
|
The
Corps of Engineers move forward with Allegheny Reservoir.
The Corps of Engineers present completed plans
for Kinzua
Dam to the Seneca Nation. The Corps of Engineers go on
to file
a condemnation suit for acquisition of one-year leasehold to conduct
surveys and appraisals for "river and harbor flood control." |
|
1956
|
The
Seneca Nation hire Dr. Arthur Morgan.
Dr.
Arthur Morgan,an engineer well known for his role as Chairman of the
Tennessee Valley Authority, would help the Seneca Nation in an attempt
to show that there were superior alternatives to Allegheny Reservoir
which would not require the inundation of (federally reserved) Seneca
Nation lands. |
|
1957
March
- November
|
Seneca Nation
communicates with White House, requesting meeting with Pres. Eisenhower
about Kinzua Dam and alternative methods of flood control.
Despite recommendation to do so from
Department of the Interior, Pres. Eisenhower does not agree to meet
with the Seneca Nation. |
|
1957
May 10 - June 21 |
1958
Public Works Appropriations hearings.
Proponents
and opponents of Kinzua Dam, including Morgan, the Seneca Nation, and
the Corps of Engineers testify to the Congress. Dr. Morgan
issues
Conewango-Cattaraugus alternatives to Kinzua Dam, which includes
diversion from the Allegheny River Basin to the Conewango Basin and
Lake Erie.
Rep. Robert Corbett (Penn.) justifies Kinzua Dam as a means to dilute
water pollution downstream of Seneca Territory: “[A]ll the way down
that [Allegheny] river in the summer months the pollution is
deplorable…the raw sewage that is there on the mud flats in July and
August is something that should not happen in a civilized nation…we
need this [Allegheny Reservoir] water for sewage disposal purposes and
we need it very badly.” |
|
1957
June 3 |
Seneca Nation adopts
resolution refusing to enter into any settlement negotiations with the
U.S. government regarding land or easement acquisitions.
|
|
1957
|
Seneca Nation Pres.
Cornelius Seneca issues statement on Kinzua Dam.
Secretary of the Interior forwards a statement
to the Secretary of War on June 21, 1957, in which Pres. Seneca says,
"My people have steadily maintained the position that if the
construction of the proposed Kinzua Dam was the only economic and
engineering solution for the prevention of floods to downstream
Allegheny, we would not oppose the taking of our lands."
|
|
1957
July 22 |
Pres. Eisenhower
acknowledges importance of treaty rights.
Memo written by Maj. John S.D. Eisenhower
summarizes Pres. Eisenhower’s position: "The President's position is
that the construction of this dam would be wrong if the Indians do not
desire it, unless it is essential rather than merely desirable."
|
|
1957
August 26 |
Congress
passes Public Law 85-167: Public Works Appropriations Act for
Fiscal Year 1958.
This is the bill which ultimately funds the
construction
of Kinzua Dam and Allegheny Reservoir.
|
|
1957
October 22 |
Tippetts-Abbett-McCarthy-Stratton
(TAMS) is contracted to evaluate alternatives.
The Corps of Engineers contract TAMS (a
civilian
engineering firm) to evaluate
alternatives to Allegheny Reservoir. |
|
1958
January |
The
Corps of
Engineers recommend against inclusion of hydropower at Kinzua
Dam in the Allegheny Reservoir General Design
Memorandum 3: Appendix IX Hydropower.
"It is
recommended that (a) no hydropower facilities be included in the
initial design of the reservoir project, and (b) that no provision be
made in design of the reservoir structure for future power facilities."
(p.15).
|
|
1958
March 24 |
Seneca
Nation
of Indians v. Brucker, Corps of Engineers. US District Court of D.C.
In this
court case, the Seneca Nation sought to prohibit construction of Kinzua
Dam on the grounds that Congress did not expressly authorize the breach
of the 1794 Pickering Treaty. The court ruled in favor of the
Corps of Engineers. |
|
1958
April
|
TAMS
issues "A
Review of Authorized Plan and Alternatives."
TAMS
reviewed
Dr. Morgan's Conewango-Cattaraugus Alternatives to Kinzua Dam, and
issued this report discussing their findings. |
|
1958
June 18 |
Internal
memo
from F.D. Peterson to General Bragdon.
Peterson
concludes
that alternatives analysis favors Kinzua Dam site. Discusses value of
water supply to downstream users. Notes that "the problems of water
rights and diversions out of the watershed have not been fully
discussed and might even become a governing factor should serious
consideration be given to any alternative plan." |
|
1958
October 31 -
November 25 |
Seneca
Nation
of Indians v. Brucker, Corps of Engineers. US Court of Appeals, D.C.
District.
The Seneca
Nation appeal the decision of Seneca Nation v. Brucker in this case,
and argue
against the right of the Federal Government to take their
land. Court again rules in favor of the Corps of Engineers. |
|
| 1958 |
U.S.
Fish & Wildlife Service assesses impacts of Kinzua Dam on
fisheries and aquatic resources.
Concludes that, “construction of the project will cause major losses to
the existing fishery resource” and “there will develop a substantial
and well-utilized fishery in the new reservoir, but the proportion of
the more highly-prized game fishes will probably be of a
low-to-moderate order.” |
|
| 1958 |
Seneca
Nation
files petition for
injunction to halt Kinzua Dam.
The D.C.
District Court dismisses the injunction suit (Seneca Nation v.
Brucker).
The court holds
that Congress authorized the project in the Appropriation Act of August
26, 1957. |
|
| 1958 |
Allegheny
Electric Cooperative
urges support of Kinzua Dam for flood control, stream regulation, and
hydroelectric power
production. |
|
| 1959 |
Planning
began for pumped storage
project associated with Kinzua Dam (Seneca Project) .
Referenced
in 1964 letter from Penelec to the Federal Power Commission
(FPC). |
|
1959
to 1962 |
Pennsylvania
Electric Company (Penelec) actively pursues hydropower license at
Kinzua Dam. |
|
1959
August 24 |
Memo
from
General Bragdon to President Eisenhower.
Updated
information on the project, including congressional budget
appropriation for $1.4 million for construction. Predicts that Seneca
Nation will not accept substitute lands, and that payment of
compensation is more likely. Declares the matter closed for
Presidential concern. |
|
1960
January |
U.S.
condemns
Seneca Nation land
Land is
condemned in order to begin survey work for construction of Kinzua Dam. |
|
1960
January 28 |
Complaint
in
Condemnation, Civil No. 8575.
The
complaint identifies the public uses for which the land is being taken:
"The said land is necessary adequately to provide a project
for flood control and pollution abatement and for other uses incident
thereto." |
|
1960
May
|
Morgan
testifies to Congress on Conewango Alternatives to Kinzua Dam.
Morgan
presents a summary of the Conewango-Cattaraugus Alternatives to the
Kinzua Dam. |
|
1960
June 21
|
Statement
of
Governor Lawrence.
Argues
against new investigations of alternatives. |
|
1960
September 28 |
Penelec
files
preliminary permit application with FPC for Kinzua Pumped
Storage Project, Project 2280.
Referenced
in 1962 letter from FPC to Senator Clark.
|
|
1960
October 27
|
Letter
from FPC
to Chief of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
FPC informs
Corps of Engineers of Penelec's preliminary permit application, with
request that Corps of Engineers comment within 60 days. |
|
1960
October 31 |
Federal
Register records notice of application for preliminary permit.
Public is
notified of Project 2280, Kinzua Pumped Storage Project, and of the
deadline for public comment on the project by December 16, 1960. |
|
1960
December 23 |
Corps
of
Engineers notifies Bureau of Indian Affairs that the
construction of Kinzua Dam has
begun. |
|
1961
January 5
|
Letter
from
Corps of Engineers to the FPC.
Corps of
Engineers respond to FPC notice of hydroelectric project, noting that
Penelec would need to reimburse government for higher costs of
operating dam related to hydropower production and pay "reasonable
charge for use of the government dam." Corps of Engineers recommend
that the permit condition that would protect "the authorized functions
of flood control and low flow regulation of the Corps' Allegheny
project." No
mention of Seneca Nation or water rights. |
|
1961
February 22 |
Seneca
Nation requests Pres. Kennedy’s intervention to prevent construction of
Kinzua Dam.
|
|
1961
May 3 |
FPC
issues
preliminary 12 month permit for Project 2280.
According
to the order, an Assistant Secretary of the Interior reviewed the
application and commented on impacts to wildlife habitat, but not on
impacts to the Seneca Nation. |
|
1961
May 13 |
Senate
Public
Works Committee adopts resolution favoring investigation of
hydroelectric facilities at Allegheny Reservoir. |
|
1961
May 31 |
Senate
Committee on Public Works requests Corps of Engineers feasibility
report regarding government installation of public power generating
facilities at Allegheny
Reservoir. |
|
1961
August 9 |
Pres.
Kennedy writes to Seneca Pres. Basil Williams to explain decision not
to intercede on behalf of Seneca Nation.
Despite
campaign promise to uphold and strengthen treaty obligations, Kennedy
states it is not possible to halt construction of the Kinzua Dam, and
instead directs federal agencies to investigate: (1) lieu lands; (2)
shared benefits from recreation potential; (3) determination of special
damages; and (4) attention to socioeconomic impacts. |
|
1961
July 18 |
Memo
from
Assistant Secretary Holum to Secretary of the Interior.
Members
of 13 rural electric cooperatives from Pennsylvania meet with
administrators of Corps of Engineers and Department of Interior to
advocate for installation of power facilities at Kinzua Dam. |
|
1961
October 3 |
Letter
from
Penelec to FPC.
Reports
work accomplished in previous 6 months in pursuit of permit, including:
field studies, preparation of application for license, and meetings
with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Pittsburgh District, U.S. Forest
Service, and museum personnel concerning archaeological salvage. No
mention is made of the Seneca Nation or relation of project to Seneca
homelands. |
|
1962
to 1965 |
Allegheny
Electrical Cooperative intervenes in licensing process for Seneca
Project.
Argues that
public power should be considered. |
|
1962
February 14
|
Penelec
files
application for license for project 2280, expanded from
original application to include generating facilities at dam as well as
pumped storage facility.
Referenced
in 1962 letter from FPC to Senator Clark. |
|
1962
February 26
|
Seneca
Nation learns of Penelec’s application from an FPC press release.
|
|
1962
March 2 |
Memo
sent from
from DOI engineer to Assistant Secretary Holum.
Memo
mentions that a Senate Public Works Committee had adopted a resolution
favoring investigation of hydroelectric facilities at Allegheny
Reservoir on May 13, 1961. |
|
1962
March 6 |
Penelec
creates
Kinzua Water Power Co.
Kinzua
Water Power Co. is created "to acquire necessary water and related
corporate rights under Pennsylvania law" (Penelec merged with Kinzua
Water Company in 1966). Referenced in 1964 letter from
Penelec to FPC. |
|
1962
June 1 |
Corps
of
Engineers "General Information"
document mentions only flood control and water supply purposes of
Allegheny Reservoir project. |
|
1962
August 20 |
Corps
of
Engineers conclude that conventional power installation is not
feasible. |
|
1963
March |
BIA
releases
report entitled: "Seneca Indians Who Will be Affected by the Kinzua Dam
Project."
The
report compares anticipated damages to Seneca Nation with
impacts
of dams on Missouri River tribes and concludes that the Seneca Nation's
will be considerably more severe. |
|
1963
April |
U.S.
Dept. of
Agriculture and Allegheny
Electric Cooperative argues for public power instead of private power
in comments on Penelec's permit application.
Reported in
1965 FERC license. |
|
1963
May - December
|
Congressional
hearings on bills to compensate Seneca Nation for takings.
In
congressional hearings concerning the damages to the Seneca Nation and
provisions for their compensation, congressional representatives
repeatedly express outrage at the impacts of this project on the
Seneca Nation and the federal government’s failure to respect its
treaty obligations (all these excerpts are from the Kinzua Dam (Seneca
Indian Relocation) Hearing Report, concerning H.R. 1794, H.R. 3343, H.R
7354 (88th Congress, 1st Session).
Rep. Haley notes that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was completing
construction of the dam before the federal government had completed
negotiations with the Seneca Nation about relocation and compensation:
“I think it would be a terrible situation if we come up to the point
that the gates on this dam are closed and the Seneca people are without
some place to go. I do not want to see that happen. I hope the Army
Corps of Engineers, which has a vital responsibility here, will proceed
as rapidly as they possibly can to do things that will be necessary to
take care of this situation in the Seneca Nation.” (p. 96)
Rep. Haley characterizes the project’s relation to treaty rights:
“[T]his project violates and absolutely throws out the window a treaty
signed in 1794 with this tribe of Indians, ratified by the Senate of
the United States, and signed by the first President of this great
republic, George Washington, who in turn felt so keenly about the
treaty that he later on wrote a letter . . . saying that this land
would never be taken by the U.S. Government except by the Seneca
Nation’s willingness to sell, which of course they have never been
willing to do. . . . At a time when we are talking about people who
will not keep their commitments, I think this is one of the most
flagrant violations that has ever come to my attention.” (p. 101)
Rep. Salyer responds to testimony from the Corps with this criticism:
“Apparently you don't want to try to do anything for this Indian tribe.
Apparently you have become so calloused and so crass that the breaking
of the oldest treaty that the United States has is a matter of little
concern to you, and the testimony we have had this morning, so far as I
am concerned, just adds evidence of the fact showing that the Corps of
Engineers has never intended to do anything whatsoever with regard to
the Seneca Indians, and they have intended from very beginning to treat
this as just any other dam and leave the Indians only their recourse in
the courts.” (p. 141)
Rep. Haley notes that there were alternatives to Kinzua Dam to achieve
the purported flood control purposes: “[T]his is not a real lily-white
flood control project. If it had been, that would be one thing. If it
was a flood control project, there was an alternative . . . the
construction of a dam of even less size than the Kinzua Dam would have
given flood control protection to the extent of 100 percent . . . .”
(p. 143)
|
|
1964
September 19 |
U.S.
Commissioner of Indian Affairs addresses Seneca Nation.
In
acknowledging serious impacts on Seneca Territory, Commissioner Nash
states that, “The Senecas have . . . joined the ranks of Indian people
who, like Squanto and Sacajawea, extended the hand of fellowship and
hospitality to settlers and explorers. History now repeats itself as
the Senecas yield up their lands for the benefit of their neighbors
downstream.” |
|
1965
May 26 |
Penelec
and
Cleveland Electric sign
agreement with U.S. Forest service for operation of pumped storage
project and impacts on national forest resources.
Agreement
details road access, liability issues, and measures to reduce impacts.
No such agreement is negotiated for impacts to Seneca Nation lands and
resources. |
|
1965
December 28 |
Federal
Power
Commission issues permit for for Seneca Pumped Storage Project (FPC
Project No. 2280).
FPC
states that opposition to private development is predicated upon
Secretary of Agriculture's assumption, but because only pumped is
feasible, only private, not federal, entity has a sizable load. The
license does not preclude other installations of government hydropower
facilities and changed circumstances in the future may indicate the
feasibility of installing such facilities, hence Article 46 absolving
the U.S. from liability of damages to project if government installs
new facility. |
|
1965
|
Construction
of
Kinzua Dam is completed. |
|
1966
|
Construction
begins on Seneca Pumped Storage Project. |
|
1970
|
Seneca
Pumped
Storage Project is completed. |
|
2007
December 28 |
Water
Resources Development Act (H.R. 1495, Pub. L. 110-114).
Congress
directs the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to “review operations of and
identify modifications to the [Allegheny Reservoir] project to expand
recreational opportunities,” apparently stemming from a lessened need
for water for pollution abatement downstream. |
|
