47 



clear powerplants and thermal discharge, and I expressed the qnestion 

 I thought there were things ^Ye should look into immediately. 



I think Secretary Hickel, in the broad outline that he gave before 

 the committee, was recognizing things just like this are real problems. 



Immediately, the local community who was looking to a $2 million 

 facility and seeing what that would mean to their tax base, reacted 

 because they didn't want anyone, certainly not their Congressman, to 

 raise any question about the desirability of a project that would mean 

 what this would mean economically. Yet, I foresee the demand for 

 sites for this type of facility alone in my district, endowed as it is with 

 cold water and in a country whose electrical energy requirements 

 double every decade; we are going to be faced with a tremendous 

 demand. 



I had the very enlightening experience of being with the gentleman 

 from South Carolina, Mr. Dorn, in liis district and seeing a develop- 

 ment by the power company on the upper reaches of the Savannah 

 Kiver and its tributaries, and I was impressed with the fact that they 

 said this project costing $500 million wasn't going to produce enough 

 hydroelectric energy to justify the investment; that a large part of the 

 benefit they were looking to was the creating of a great impounding 

 of cool water near the headwaters of that river, in order to accommo- 

 date both the thermal discharge of nuclear generating facilities and 

 fossil fuel plants. 



So, I can see the demand in this one area alone is going to be placed 

 on areas that are endowed with a natural abundance of cool water, and 

 I can see the problem of just how you established the land use as to 

 where those facilities will be located. 



Now, having pointed out my concern about some of the problems 

 I see down the road in this legislation, let me hasten to add that I 

 think it is needed — and needed as a first step, and as the Secretary said, 

 it is a little like Apollo 1 had to come before Apollo 2 and before Apollo 

 3. It is a point of beginning. But I can see real problems to the States 

 in working this out with their communities, because, as the Secretary 

 pointed out, zoning has traditionally — zoning of any kind has been 

 a local function. This may require some substantial changes in State 

 law. It may even in some of the constitutions of our States on this 

 subject — on that point. 



Mr. Train, has there been any study of exactly what authority the 

 States have in this area of acting ? 



Mr. Train. Well, it is my understanding that the States possess the 

 residual authority to zone but have, I think, in practically all cases, 

 if not all cases, delegated that authority, either by statute, or perhaps 

 by State constitution, to local governments. And in some cases it is 

 going to be necessary for the States to amend their legislation, and in 

 some cases, conceivably, to amend their constitutions, if they wish. 



Now, I think that this aspect of the legislation is the most — I hesi- 

 tate to say revolutionary — but certainly it is the one that is going to 

 give rise to the most public comment, and yet it is very likely the most 

 important aspect of the legislation. 



It is a very big step forward and I don't think that we should down- 

 grade the first step provided by this bill as being an insignificant first 

 step. I think it is a very significant one and T would hope that there 

 would be a great deal of public discussion of this and some of the other 

 problems to which you have just referred, because I think a great deal 



