protection project would therefore amount to $625,000. This straightforward, illustrative 

 case shows how increasingly complex Federal funding of shore protection projects became 

 once it was decided to allow the inclusion of privately owned property. 



g. Proposed Mergers and Relocations of the BEB. The postwar 1940's were years of 

 readjustment and change. It was during this period that there first began to be discussions of 

 possible organizational and locational alterations involving the BEB and its staff.^^^ These 

 discussions were usually in connection with the Board of Engineers for Rivers and Harbors, 

 another agency within the U.S. Army, Corps of Engineers. The BERH was, at that time, 

 witliout a permanent office location. 



In the late 1940's it was suggested that tliere be a consolidation of the staffs of the BEB 

 and the BERH. Discussion on the matter continued into tlie early 1950's. One of the 

 purposes of the proposed merger was to better coordinate the work of the two Boards, as 

 well as to strive for more economical use of administrative personnel. It was recognized, 

 however, that the BEB, with its research-oriented staff, and the BERH were both unique 

 unto themselves. The matter was resolved in the spring of 1955 when a decision was made 

 to keep the BEB and the BERH as two separate entities.^ ^^ Two alternative proposals, to 

 construct on the Dalecarlia Reservation a new, larger office buUding to house the two 

 Boards and their staffs, and to construct on the BEB's office building an addition for the 

 BERH, were also set aside at different times, largely because of building restrictions in that 

 area. 



In keeping with the Corps of Engineers' efforts to maximize the efficiency of its various 

 groups, it was also suggested at one time tliat the research functions of the BEB be 

 consolidated with the U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station in Vicksburg, 

 Mississippi. After a thorough investigation of this proposal, it was concluded that the 

 interests of the public could best be served if tlie research activities of the BEB were 

 retained by that agency.^ ^^ 



In 1957, the first serious consideration was given to relocating the entire installation of 

 tlie BEB at Fort Belvoir, Virginia.^ ^^ At that time, a parcel of land adjoining the acreage 

 where the BEB office and laboratory were located was being discussed as a possible site for a 

 new hospital. These discussions brought attention to the fact that the BEB was situated on 

 lands bordering the Dalecarlia Reservoir, the main source of water supply for the District of 

 Columbia.2 4 



The matter was carefully evaluated from many points of view, with the decision being 

 that the BEB should remain at its location on Little Falls Road, N.W. 



7. Events of the Final 4 years of the BEB. 



One of the factors that had been discussed in regard to various proposed changes in BEB 

 office facihties was the fact that the agency's library needed more space. The BEB was, by 

 this time, an internationally known organization. Yet, its library did not have room to 



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