THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS 

 EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT 



STATE HOUSE, BOSTON 



December 13, 1956 



Brigadier General Robert J, Fleming, Jr. 

 Corps of Engineers 

 150 Causeway btreet 

 Boston 14, Massachusetts 



Subject: Narragansett Bay Hurricane 

 Protection Study 



Dear General Fleming: 



Massachusetts state officials have been reviewing, 

 after a cooperative meeting with members of your Hurri- 

 cane Study Section, the proposals for protection in Nar- 

 ragansett Bay. 



As a result of these studies it is our general 

 opinion that the principles involved in the Narragansett 

 program are sound but that detailed studies of several 

 matters will have to be carried out before several ad- 

 ministrative agencies in the state can give their un- 

 qualified support. Of particular interest are the 

 matters of pollution and fisheries. Our Department of 

 Public Health is disturbed as to the impact of a reduc- 

 tion in salinity in Narragansett Bay and feels that this 

 and the reduced changes in water require further careful 

 analysis. In the same general vein the Department of 

 Natural Resources, through its Division of Marine Fish- 

 eries, is worried about the extent of the damage which 

 might be done to various aspects under their jurisdic- 

 tion. On the basis of these hesitancies I would like to 

 endorse the principle of the Narragansett Bay Hurricane 

 Project but urge that more extensive and more detailed 

 studies in the directions above noted be made. If ad- 

 ditional funds will be required for these further studies, 

 I would appreciate the opportunity of knowing about it so 

 that I might have the chance to express my endorsement of 

 such studies. 



G-21; 



