Pennsylvania Act 1929-456 — PYMATUNING SWAMP RESERVOIR PROJECT LAW

Act text

PYMATUNING SWAMP RESERVOIR PROJECT LAW
                  Act of May 2, 1929, P.L. 1530, No. 456              Cl. 32
                                  AN ACT

     Relating to the erection of a dam at the outlet of Pymatuning
        Swamp, and the establishment of a reservoir for the flood
        control of the Shenango and Beaver Rivers; conferring and
        continuing certain powers and duties on the Department of
        Forests and Waters in relation to the establishment and
        maintenance of such reservoir; providing for the acquisition
        of necessary lands therefor, and the necessary agreements and
        releases relating thereto, and the disposition of surplus
        land and materials.

        Compiler's Note:  Section 303(b) of Act 18 of 1995, which
            created the Department of Conservation and Natural
            Resources and renamed the Department of Environmental
            Resouces as the Department of Environmental Protection,
            provided that the Department of Conservation and Natural
            Resources shall exercise the powers and duties conferred
            upon the Department of Forests and Waters and the Water
            and Power Resources Board by Act 456 of 1929.
        Section 1.  Be it enacted, &c., That the word "department,"
     as used in this act, shall mean the Department of Forests and
     Waters, and the word "board" shall mean the Water and Power
     Resources Board of the Department of Forests and Waters.
        Section 2.  The department, through the board, is hereby
     authorized and directed to complete the work begun and continued
     under an act, approved the twenty-fifth day of July, one
     thousand nine hundred and thirteen (Pamphlet Laws, twelve
     hundred seventy), entitled "An act providing for the erection of
     a dam at the outlet of Pymatuning Swamp, and the establishment
     of a reservoir to conserve the waters thereof; providing for the
     taking of land and materials necessary thereto; vesting certain
     powers and duties in the Water Supply Commission; and making an
     appropriation," and its amendments and supplements.
        Section 3.  The department, through the board, is hereby
     authorized and directed to cause a dam to be constructed and/or
     completed across the outlet of Pymatuning Swamp in Crawford
     County, for the purpose of establishing a reservoir and
     conserving the water entering said swamp, and for the purpose of
     regulating the flow of water in the Shenango and Beaver Rivers.
     The dam shall be constructed, and the reservoir established, in
     accordance with plans and specifications which have been or
     which shall be prepared by or under the direction of the
     department, and shall be so constructed and established as to
     conserve said waters in a safe and practical manner, and to
     regulate the flow therefrom so as to maintain throughout the
     year as regular a flow of water as possible in said rivers. The
     reservoir and land surrounding it acquired by the Commonwealth
     in connection with the project, or portions of such reservoir
     and lands, may be developed and used for fishing, hunting, game
     refuges, recreation park, or other purposes; provided, such use
     or uses will not, in the opinion of the Water and Power
     Resources Board, materially interfere with the primary purpose
     of the reservoir for conserving the water entering Pymatuning
     Swamp and regulating the flow in the Shenango and Beaver Rivers.
     The Water and Power Resources Board is vested with complete and
     final authority concerning the use and development of the land
     and water comprised within the Pymatuning Reservoir project, and
     the maintenance and operation of said project, and shall have
     authority to adopt and establish rules and regulations for the
     control, management, protection, development, and utilization of
     such land and water.
        The Water and Power Resources Board shall have authority to
     fix and collect charges for the permissive use of the land and
     water by private individuals for any purpose or purposes
     approved by the board. Any moneys so collected by the board
     shall be paid into the Forests and Waters Fund.
        (3 amended July 9, 1935, P.L.619, No.218)
        Section 4.  In carrying out said plans, the department may
     acquire, in the name of this Commonwealth, by purchase,
     condemnation or otherwise, such lands and materials within this
     Commonwealth as may be needed in carrying out the provisions of
     this act.
        Section 5.  (5 repealed June 3, 1971, P.L.118, No.6)
        Section 6.  The department is hereby authorized to obtain
     from the owners of the lands which will be submerged or injured
     in the State of Ohio by reason of the construction and operation
     of the said dam and reservoir a release or releases of damages
     which shall result to such land by reason of the construction
     and operation of the said dam and reservoir.
        All contracts, options and releases shall be in such form as
     shall be approved by the Attorney General. The department shall
     proceed to the acquisition of the lands necessary for the
     construction and operation of the said dam and reservoir within
     the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, by purchase or condemnation,
     in the manner hereinbefore provided which lands in the
     Commonwealth of Pennsylvania may be acquired when and as deemed
     advisable by said department, and the work of constructing said
     dam and reservoir may be started and/or proceeded with as soon
     as the department shall deem advisable.
        All proceedings whereby the proper agency of this
     Commonwealth, under authority of former laws, has secured such
     releases to lands in the State of Ohio, or title or releases to
     lands in this Commonwealth are hereby validated.
        Section 7.  The department may agree with the State of Ohio,
     or any agency of such State, or with any person, partnership,
     association or municipal or private corporation, for the
     removal, relocation, elevating, lowering or otherwise changing
     of any railroad, railway, telegraph line, telephone line,
     electric light, heat or power line, gas line, road, highway,
     street or bridge, or any part thereof, situate within this
     Commonwealth or the State of Ohio, and to expend moneys
     appropriated in the State of Pennsylvania or the State of Ohio
     for such purposes. If such agreement cannot be made, then such
     removal, relocation, elevation, lowering or changing within this
     Commonwealth, may be done by the department, and the damages, if
     any sustained thereby, shall be fixed as in said condemnation
     proceedings.
        Section 8.  No land shall be purchased by the department
     until the titles thereto have been approved by the Attorney
     General.
        Section 9.  The department may, in its discretion, sell at
     public or private sale, and convey title thereto in the name of
     the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, any lands or buildings, or
     both, acquired by it in the name of this Commonwealth by the
     authority of this or former acts and which are outside the basin
     of the Pymatuning Reservoir. All deeds for such property shall
     be approved by the Attorney General, and shall be executed in
     the name of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania by the Secretary of
     Forests and Waters. The department may also, on such terms and
     subject to such conditions as it deems most advantageous to the
     Commonwealth, (a) cut timber on any of the lands so acquired and
     sell the same; (b) sell any improvements on any of such lands;
     (c) rent or lease any part or parts of said lands for farming or
     other purposes; (d) rent or lease any houses or buildings on
     said land for dwelling or other purposes; and (e) grant
     easements, rights of way, or other interests in or over said
     lands for highway or railroad reconstruction and relocation or
     for any other purpose.
        The department, with the approval of the Water and Power
     Resources Board, may enter into agreements with other
     departments, boards or commissions of the Commonwealth of
     Pennsylvania and the State of Ohio, relative to the use of the
     reservoir and surrounding lands acquired in connection
     therewith, or portions thereof, for fishing, hunting, game
     refuges, or other purposes.
        All moneys derived from any of the sources authorized by this
     act shall be paid into the General Fund of the State Treasury.
        (9 amended May 5, 1931, P.L.84, No.61)
        Section 10.  When the said dam is completed, and said
     reservoir established, it shall be maintained and operated at
     the expense of this Commonwealth under the direction of the
     department.