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Secretary Hickel. That is true. 



Mr. Cramer. That is all I have. 



Mr. Howard. The Chair is very happy to recognize the chairman 

 of the Subcommittee on Rivers and Harbors, the gentleman from 

 Minnesota, the Honorable John Blatnik. 



Representative Blatnik is one of the great leaders in the field of 

 natural resources development and the conservation of our resources. 

 He was the co-author and leader in the fight for the Saint Lawrence 

 Seaway project which opened the sea lanes of the world to the heart 

 of the North American Continent. He has been the leader in the im- 

 provement of the Great Lakes Navigation System of canals, locks, and 

 connecting channels to accommodate safe passage of large vessels. He 

 has secured legislation for investigation by the Corps of Engineers of 

 means of extending the navigation season of the Great Lakes and Saint 

 Lawrence Seaway, and it is my understanding that he intends to do 

 even more on this subject later this year. 



In addition to all of the foregoing. Representative Blatnik is the 

 "Father of the Water Pollution Control Program", and was the first 

 Member of Congress to recognize the importance of this type of legis- 

 lation. He is a conservationist's conservationist and is tremendously 

 interested in preserving this Nation's natural resources, 



Mr. Blatnik. Thank you very much. 



Mr. Secretary, I welcome you to this hearing this morning. I am 

 sorry I was held up earlier. 



Mr. Secretary, if I may proceed for a minute or two in more general 

 terms in trying to get a better idea of what is going to happen in this 

 area of estuaries, planning, and water area, which are so extremely 

 important. I must confess that after reading your statement, and only 

 skipping through parts of your conclusions on the comprehensive 

 national program, I really don't see any program. This is no criticism. 

 This is trying to underscore how complicated this problem is and to 

 double underline how urgent it is that we really work out, you know 

 what. 



You outline quite well what is to be done, but do not reveal how it 

 is going to be done. 



"What I am driving at, you have just about touched the periphery. 

 You talk about the population growth in the Coastal States of the 

 United States, including the Great Lakes States, which comprise 

 approximately 75 percent of the country's population. You stated : 



Over the last 30 years the population of the coastal counties has increased by 

 78 percent compared with a national growth rate of 46 percent. This is twice as 

 fast, and it is going to increase, not at a uniform rate but at an increasingly 

 accelerated speed. The population in this area will again more than double by the 

 year 2020. 



I am sure it will quadruple because the total population of the coun- 

 try will also double. 



Wiat I am getting at, is not the incredible population growth, but 

 the lopsided way in which it grows. 



We are just going to continue to have a population compressed 

 closer and closer together in these large areas. You call them mega- 

 lopolis. 



Do we really know how to go about having a balanced program? 

 You talk about having the Str<ites cooperate in resource use and pres- 

 ervation ; how are you going to achieve that, due to the fact that there 



