Court Opinion

ID: 9640362
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 17:04:27.460248+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:10:29.277773
License: Public Domain

PARKER, Circuit Judge
(dissenting).
This suit was instituted by the United States, under the provisions of the Rivers and Harbors Act and the Federal Power Act, to enjoin the erection and operation of a power dam in New River near Rad-ford, Virginia, otherwise than under a license from the Federal Power Commission. The defendant is constructing at the site mentioned one of the thirty water power plants in this country of exceeding-100,000 horse power. In 1925, the New River Development Co., the predecessor of defendant, filed with the Commission “declaration o'f intention” to construct the dam, pursuant to sec. 23 of the Federal Water Power Act, 16 U.S.C.A. § 817. In 1926, defendant, having acquired the property of. the New River Development Company and taken an assignment of the “declaration of *799intention”, applied to the Commission for a license under the act authorizing the construction of the project. In 1927, the Commission, having made an investigation, found that New River in the part involved was not “navigable waters” within the definition of the Water Power Act, but that “the interests of interstate or foreign commerce” would be affected by the construction, and thereupon tendered defendant a standard or major form license in accordance with the provisions of the act, 16 U.S.C.A. § 803. This license defendant refused to accept. In 1930, defendant requested the Commission to reconsider its action taken in 1927 and to disclaim jurisdiction over the proposed development or, alternatively, to issue a “minor part” license pursuant to sec. 10 (i) of the act. In 1931, this request of defendant was denied, a standard form license was tendered and it was ordered that defendant not proceed with construction until it should have received and accepted such license. In 1932, the Commission re-examined the question of the navigability of New River and found it to be navigable from Wilson’s Creek north, which includes the site of the proposed dam.
Defendant sued the members of the Commission to enjoin the enforcement of the provisions of the Water Power Act with respect to the project, but we held that the District Court was without jurisdiction to entertain that suit. Appalachian Electric Power Co. v. Smith, 4 Cir., 67 F.2d 451. Defendant then began the construction of the dam and this suit was instituted by the United States to enjoin its construction or operation without the acceptance of the license which the Power Commission had tendered. The court below held that the New River was not navigable; that the erection and operation of the dam would not impair the navigable capacity of other waters; and that, even if the latter were not the case, no license is required under the act for the erection of a dam in waters which are not navigable. The bill of complaint was accordingly dismissed; and the United States has appealed.
There has been much argument as to the proper interpretation of the Federal Power Act as to construction of this character; but I think that the meaning of the act is clear. Prior to the passage of the act, the Rivers and Harbors Acts of 1890 and 1899, 26 Stat. 454 and 30 Stat. 1151, 33 U.S.C.A. § 401 et seq., forbade the construction, without the consent of Congress, of any bridge, dam etc. in any navigable water of the United States or the creation of any obstruction to the navigable capacity of the waters of the United States. In United States v. Rio Grande Dam & Irrigation Company, 174 U.S. 690, 19 S.Ct. 770, 43 L.Ed. 1136, it was held that the construction of a dam in a non-navigable. portion of a river which would interfere with the navigable capacity of the navigable portion was forbidden by this legislation and that for that reason the construction of such a dam would be enjoined in a suit by the United States. One of the purposes of the Federal Water Power Act of 1920, as amended by the Federal Power Act of 1935, was to clothe the Federal Power Commission with authority to grant licenses for the construction of dams which could not be constructed under existing law without the. authority of Congress. As to dams in navigable waters, authority was granted by sec. 4(d) of the act. There still remained, however, the obstruction to navigable capacity which might arise from construction in non-navigable streams, and which was forbidden by sec. 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act; and to take care of this situation the following provision was inserted in sec. 23 of the Act of 1920, viz.:
“That any person, association, corporation, State, or municipality intending to construct a dam or other project works across, along, over, or in any stream or part thereof, other than those defined herein [in this chapter] as navigable waters, and over which Congress has jurisdiction under its authority to regulate commerce between foreign nations and among the several States, may in their discretion file declaration of such intention with the commission, whereupon the commission shall' cause immediate investigation of such proposed construction to be made, and if upon investigation it shall find that the interests of interstate or foreign commerce would be affected by such proposed construction, such person, association, corporation, State, or municipality shall not proceed with such construction until it shall have applied for and shall have received a license under the provisions of this Act [chapter]. If the commission shall not so find, and if no public lands or reservations are affected, permission is hereby granted to construct such dam or other project works in such stream upon compliance with State laws.”
*800The purpose of this was to give any person about to construct a dam or other project in a non-navigable stream opportunity to have determined, in advance of construction, the question as to whether such project would affect the interests of interstate or foreign commerce. If so, a license would be granted, as in the case of a project constructed in navigable waters. If not, the project might be constructed without license. As the power of the United States to forbid such construction in any case arises from the power to prevent the obstruction of navigable waters which are highways of commerce, the finding that the interests of interstate or foreign commerce will or will not be affected necessarily means that the structure will or will not impair the navigable capacity of any navigable waters in such way as to affect such commerce. The impairment of a theoretical navigable capacity would not constitute a basis for requiring a license if the interests of commerce were not affected; but the interests of commerce would be affected within the meaning of the act if there were an impairment of navigable capacity which would affect commerce. The amendment of this section made by the Act of 1935, instead of leaving the declaration of intention optional, requires that it be filed in all cases where the construction, while in a non-navigable stream, will affect the interests of interstate or foreign commerce by its effect on the navigability of other waters. One proposing a construction which will have no such effect does not, of course, come within the provisions of the act.
Three questions, therefore, arise for our consideration upon the appeal: (1) Whether New River at the site of the proposed construction is a navigable stream; (2) if not, whether the proposed construction will affect the navigability of waters of the United States which are navigable; and (3) whether, in either case, the requirement of the license tendered the defendant is within the power of Congress. I think that all of these questions should be answered in the affirmative.
The Navigability of New River.
In considering the navigability of New River, we may disregard the portions above Allisonia, Virginia, and below Hinton, W. Va.; and, as to these portions, it may be assumed that the stream is non-navigable. I think, however, that the 110 mile stretch extending across the Appalachian Plateau from Allisonia to Hinton is clearly shown to be navigable. The 26 mile stretch above Hinton to Wylie’s Falls, Va., and the 25 mile stretch above Radford are unquestionably navigable and were so found by the court below. They were improved for purposes of navigation by the federal government in the 1880s; and the evidence shows that they were used for purposes of navigation before as well as after these improvements were made. The intervening stretch between Wylie’s Falls and Radford was not used to the same extent; but the evidence shows that substantial use was made of it and the conclusion is justified that it was not used to a greater extent because it was paralleled by a railway which furnished a more desirable means of transportation. The stretches above Hinton and above Radford were used as means of transportation to the railways at those points; but after the Cripple Creek branch of the N. & W. Railway was built in the 80s paralleling the river above Radford, it took the traffic from the river, and even this stretch, which had been improved by the government, was used but little.
The river throughout this 110 mile stretch has an abundance of water. The average stream flow at the site of defendant’s project a few miles above Radford is 3211 cubic feet per second and the drainage area of the river at this point is 2400 square miles. River vessels can navigate in water having a rate of flow of 5 or 6 miles per hour, whereas the rate of flow of this river is one mile per hour in the pool water and not exceeding a maximum of 4.4 miles per hour in the channels of the falls or rapids. It is true of the unimproved portion of the river between Radford and Wylie’s Shoals, as it is of the improved portions, that 85 per cent of the distance consists of pools of a navigable depth of several feet, whereas the rapids or shoals which account for the remainder of the distance are traversed by natural channels, having a minimum depth of approximately two feet even in low water. These channels have been deepened and widened in the stretches above Hinton and Radford to which we have referred. The average slope of the river is approximately four feet per mile throughout this entire distance and is no greater in the unimproved portion than in the portions that have been improved. There are a number of shoals; but the percentage of shoal water is no greater and the obstruction no more formidable between Radford and Wylie’s Shoals than in the portions of the riv*801er which were improved and which were held navigable by the court below. So far as the natural condition of the river is concerned, therefore, I can see no difference in navigability between the portion between Radford and Wylie’s Shoals and the stretches above Hinton and Radford.
There can be no question as to the substantial character of the commerce which was carried down the river over the stretches above Radford and Hinton. The boats used in this commerce were bateaux or keel boats having an average length of 60 feet, a width of 6 to 8 feet and a draft of two feet, and capable of carrying a load of 20,000 to 27,000 pounds. There were 17 of these keel boats operating at one time above Hinton and eight above Radford. Lumber and staves in large quantities were carried down the river for shipment by rail at Hinton and pig iron for shipment at Radford. Operation of steamboats was attempted, but was not successful. As to the intervening stretch, there is abundant evidence of operation of keel boats on it before the building of the railroad from Glen Lyn to Radford. The witness Anderson testified (469)* to moving his father’s household goods down the river from Eggleston Springs to True in 1879. The witness Collins testified (321-6) to trips with his father down the river from Radford to Hinton and of stops on the trips at the Narrows and at Crump’s Bottom, also that he had seen cross ties and staves brought by boat from the Narrows to Hinton, and that he had rafted timber and logs down the river. The witness Dickenson (420-25) testified as to supplies being carried up the river by boat from Hinton to Shumate’s Falls and thence by wagon to Glen Lyn. The witness Flannagan testified that the keel boats plied up and down the river from Hinton to Allisonia (303-6). The witness Helvey testified to grain being carried by boat up the river from the horseshoe to Radford and of the use of boats in the river (458-460). The witness Hoover testified to shipping supplies by boat from Hinton to the camp of the railroad contractors at East River or Glen Lyn (447). The witness Linkous, when a boy and living at Pepper Tunnel below Radford, had seen boats going up and down the river operated by former slaves whose names he remembered. He remembered also selling eggs to the boatmen and their custom of blowing a bugle as they passed, (311). The witness Martin who lived at Eggleston testified to working in a boat on the river and carrying it up the river to Radford and selling it (465). The witness Price who lived near Tom’s Creek when a boy saw boats going up and down the river loaded with coal, corn, wheat, crated chickens, hogs and produce of all sorts (401-405). The witness Skeen, a Confederate veteran, testified that while camped at the Narrows he saw boats going up and down the river, bringing provisions to the commissary at the Narrows (399). The witness Snidow who lived at Pembroke six miles below Eggleston testified to seeing the boats operating on the river during the Civil War, and of the management of the boats by a Captain Burke, and of how the boats, 4 or 6 in number, were loaded with grain and sent down the river (364-6). The witness Snodgrass who lived at Eggleston saw boats operated in the river and saw them bring supplies down the river to the railroad contractors (370-3). The witness Snyder saw boats operated between Rad-ford, Eggleston and the Narrows during the Civil War loaded with supplies for the soldiers. He testified also that after the War his father operated a boat, going as far down the river as Hinton (346-50). The witness Webb who lived at the Horse Shoe on New River saw boats going up and down the river and heard the boatmen say that they went as far as Hinton (327). He testified that for several years after the Civil War the barges were operated by hired hands and hauled wheat and lumber (328). The witness Coleman operated a steamboat for six or seven months from Pepper’s Ferry to Pepper’s Tunnel (306). The witness Jones testified to bringing logs by raft or loose down the river from Narrows to Hinton (378). The witness Medley testified to working in bateaux in the river from Hinton to Mercer’s salt works and from there to Radford, of bringing fertilizer from Glen Lyn to the salt works, of bringing staves from Wylie’s Island, and of moving a man’s household goods up the river to Radford (412-13). The witness Owen testified to carrying the government boats which had been engaged in the river work above Radford down the river to Hinton where they were sold (337). The witness Peters testified to hauling tobacco by boat from Glen Lyn to Hinton for shipment by rail (390). He also testified that he worked on the river in boats *802for 16 or 18 years, that in the Spring he would go up the river to Glen Lyn to get fertilizer, and that while the N. & W. R. R. was in process of construction he went up nearly every week (385). The witness E. M. Smith testified to working on river boats for 9 years and carrying groceries and other merchandise to Glen Lyn and carrying lumber, staves, tobacco and tanbark down stream (428). The witness Weiss testified to the operation of one of the keel bottom boats by his brother and of his hauling staves and other things from Glen Lyn to Hinton (331).
The foregoing testimony is not contradicted nor discredited, and I do not understand that the District Judge rejected it. On the contrary he accepted it but failed to appraise it properly, saying: “It is not meant to say that continuous movement of such boats between Hinton and the vicinity of Radford was impossible or did not occur. There is evidence which indicates that it did occur, but there is a vagueness about the extent to which it occurred and indications that such trips were irregular, were attended with difficulty and formed no appreciable part of any commercial transportation which took place on the river.” To my mind this testimony establishes beyond question not only the navigable capacity of the river for the purposes of useful commerce, but also that it was in fact navigated and used as a highway of commerce. That a considerable portion of the commerce was interstate in character does not admit of doubt; but, even if this were not true, the use made of the stream shows conclusively that it was capable of serving as a highway for such commerce between Allisonia and Hinton for river boats of light draft, such as were undoubtedly in regular use on the river prior to the coming of the railroads.
The fact that Congress has dealt with this portion of New River as a navigable water of the United States, while not conclusive, is a circumstance of great weight to be considered by the court. U. S. v. Brewer-Elliott Oil & Gas Co., D.C., 249 F. 609, 618. And contemporaneous reports made to Congress show unquestionably the navigable character of the stream. Thus the report of Colonel, then Major, Craighill attached to the report of the Secretary of War in 1873 quotes the following from a report made in 1819 by Moore and Briggs who made a survey of the river for 54 miles above Hinton under the auspices of the Board of Public Works of the State of Virginia:
“This is truly a noble river. Notwithstanding it was represented to us as being remarkably low, yet it afforded (July 1819) a superabundance of water for every purpose of internal navigation. The fall in this part of the river, considering the mountainous country it passes through, is comparatively moderate. The principal falls are the Bull Falls, McCaniel’s, Anderson’s, Wiley’s, Neilley’s, and Peter’s Mountain Falls—none of which have been improved in the least degree, yet we ascended them all with our boat, though in two or three instances with considerable difficulty, after taking out our baggage, stores, &c.”
Col. Craighill’s report shows that keel boat traffic existed on the river at that time and recommended improvement of the channel for navigation particularly with reference to connection with the intersecting interstate railroads. He states :
“But little has been done in the way of improving the river since the time of Moore and Briggs, though an effort is said to have been made in that direction by the confederate góvernment during the late war. Mr. Hutton states that the keel boats now used draw about 12 inches when two-thirds loaded. By the construction of slight deflectors or dams of rock and brush, both of which materials abound, the volume of the water may be concentrated and the depth over the shoals increased from the present average of about 12 inches to about 2 feet, without too much increase of velocity of current. Some of the falls, which are almost always vertical and of an average height of about 4 feet, could be greatly improved by blasting sluices through them, about 30 feet in width, and of an average length of 50 feet. It is to be observed that the falls have in .many cases natural chutes or sluices- through them, susceptible, also, of such improvement as that just indicated.
“What has been said above refers to a keel boat navigation, but the pressure for the improvement of this river is increased by the development of the railroads which intersect it and afford the means of rapid transport east and west for the commodities to be procured along and near the stream. There is a demand for the steam navigation.”
*803The Hutton report attached to the report of Col. Craighill contains a mile by-mile description of the character of the stream from the Lead Mines to Hinton, a distance of 128 miles, and refers in the following terms to the commerce on the river and the extent of the improvement contemplated:
“The present system of transportation on this portion of the river is by keel boats which carry from two to three tons, and are rowed or floated down the river and poled up. An expenditure of $100,000 would greatly ameliorate the condition of the river for this trade, and enable the trips to be made with so much more certainty as to induce a considerable increase of trade.”
The report of the Chief of Engineers for the year 1877 showed the existence of keel boat traffic, and that its improvement above Radford (New River Bridge) was for the purpose of facilitating traffic connecting with the interstate railroad which crossed the river at that point. The report states:
“The first appropriation for the work was $15,000, August 14, 1876; but it was not made available until May 1877. As this appropriation was insufficient for a general improvement, it seemed necessary to confine what should be done at present to a limited portion of the river, and to that scheme which involved the least expense, viz, for the keel boats now in use, it being the understanding that what is first done in the smaller improvement should be arranged with a view to its utilization and adaptation some future day, when the means provided shall suffice to enter upon the improvement of the river for light steamboats!
“It seemed also expedient that the first portions of the river treated should be in the vicinity of New River Bridge, in order to facilitate communication of at least a portion of the country through which the river flows with an existing outlet east and west—the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad—which is itself in connection with the whole system of rail and water intercommunication of the country.” (Italics supplied.)
The report of the Chief of Engineers for the year 1880 contains the following statement:
“In August, 1878, it was decided to commence work at once on the section of the river immediately above the mouth of Greenbrier, at Hinton, in West Virginia, as the indications of immediate usefulness of the improved river in that section seemed greater than in the section worked over by Captain Cuyler. The operations near Hinton were placed under the supervision of Mr. A. M. Scott, and vigorously continued until near the end of November, 1878. The work was resumed in June, 1879, under Col. William Proctor Smith. The reports of Mr. Scott and Colonel Smith in the annual report for 1879, and hereto appended, give the detailed history of the progress made up to June 30, 1880. A steamboat has been built at Hinton and runs on the river, taking advantage of the improvement as high as it has been carried • above that point, about 15 miles. The bateaux have much greater ease in navigation and can carry larger loads.”
Thé work done by the government was in three divisions: the Lower or Green-brier division, extending 86% miles from Hinton to Radford, the Middle or New River Bridge division extending 43 miles above Radford, and the Upper or Lead Mines division, extending for 62 miles. The last named division was far above the section of the river with which we are dealing and was the section referred to in the Craighill report recommending abandonment of the work and quoted by the court below. The reports show that on the lower and middle divisions there was substantial traffic, which was increased as a result of the work done. The following statement is contained in a report of 1881:
“On the lower division there are thirteen keel boats and a small side-wheel steamboat, 75 feet long, 10 feet wide, and 3 feet deep, with another 100 feet long and 15 feet wide being built. Four of the keel boats run up to Shumate’s Falls, 28 miles, carrying supplies to the New and East River Railroads.
“On the middle division there are eight keel boats and parties are about to build a small tugboat and a light-draught steamboat to carry ores down to New River Bridge.
“The tables following show that of the freight shipped from the stations on the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway, which are outlets to the river on the lower division, 70 per cent is from New River, an increase over 1880 of 36% percent.
“The shipments from the various stations on the Norfolk and Western Railroad show an increase of 33 per cent. The *804shipments by river to New River Bridge Station began too late in December for any freight to be sent by rail.”
The following is in a report of 1883:
“It has hardly been practicable to accomplish at any one of the very many points needing improvement all that has been desirable, but the worst places have been worked upon to the greatest extent, and efforts thus been made to increase the available navigability of the river over as long stretches as possible, and to increase the facilities for access of the greatest number to the railroads touching the river, and thus connecting with the eastern and western markets districts otherwise much isolated and hitherto dependent on teaming to railroad stations over long and bad roads.
“Should work be resumed, it will be found difficult to collect and organize as efficient a force as that which has been disbanded and necessarily scattered. To replace such a machine takes time and money.
“The number of large boats on the river for carrying freight has increased to twenty-five. The following important facts are taken from the report of the superintending engineer:
“Of the freight sent, from Hinton in 1882, 95 per cent came from New River, an increase over 1881 of 46 per cent.
“Of the freight received at Hinton in 1882, 43 percent went up the river; 24% percent increase on shipments from Hinton in 1882 over 1881; 9 per cent increase on freight received at Hinton in 1882 over 1881.
* * *
“The navigation of the river not being continuous as yet, it is practically a feeder to the railroads which cross it and run along portions of it. It has also been of much use in carrying materials and supplies to the railroads while in process of construction near it. It is probable that when the river is fully improved boats will transport one-third of the products of the fine agricultural country through which it flows, and seven-eighths of those of the mines, exclusive of coal.”
To the report of the Secretary of War made in 1913 is appended a report of the District Engineer who investigated the feasibility of further improvement of the river, containing the following statement:
“Above Glen Lyn the river is paralleled most of the way by two railroads, and there is no river commerce. From Hinton to Glen Lyn, a distance of 30 miles, there is some commerce, consisting of lumber, staves, sand, gravel, and also some grain, hay, farm products, and miscellaneous merchandise. No statistics are on hand, but I am informed that the commerce at Hinton amounts to about two railroad carloads per day, and, as Hinton is the only town on this 30-mile section, this is some measure of its amount. This estimate of two carloads a day is thought to be excessive and is believed to be true only at times. In 1883 there were about 17 keel boats in this traffic, and there are said to be 10 or 12 such boats now on the river. These keel boats, as they are called, are the popular boats for this traffic, having an average length of 60 feet, width of 6 to 8 feet, and carrying 20,000 to 27,000 pounds. Their draft is generally about 2 feet. The commerce is altogether local. During the winter season, from December 1 to April 1, the roads are in poor condition, and the inhabitants experience difficulty in transportation of supplies. The section from Glen Lyn to Hinton lies almost entirely in Summers County and only traverses about one-half of it. Summers County had a population, at the last census, of 18,420. Probably no more than 2,000 or 3,000 people at most are in any way dependent upon this section of the river. The improvement of the river would probably cause a small increase in commerce, but not a very large one, as there is nothing to move.”
In the light of this evidence I do not think that a finding of navigability can be avoided. The question is not whether modern steamboats are using or can use the river, but whether it is susceptible of use by any sort of craft used for commercial purposes. As said by the Supreme Court in The Montello, 20 Wall. 430, 441, 22 L.Ed. 391:
“It would be a narrow rule to hold that in this country, unless a river was capable of being navigated by steam or sail vessels, it could not be treated as a public highway. The capability of use by the public for purposes of transportation and commerce affords the true criterion of the navigability of a river, rather than the extent and manner of that use. If it be capable in its natural state of being used for purposes of commerce, no matter in what mode the commerce may be conducted, it is navigable in fact, and becomes in law a public river or highway. Vessels of any *805kind that can float upon the water, whether propelled by animal power, by the wind, or by the agency of steam, are, or may become, the mode by which a vast commerce can be conducted, and it would be a mischievous rule that would exclude either in determining the navigability of a river. It is not, however, as Chief Justice Shaw said (Rowe v. Granite Bridge Corp., 21 Pick. [Mass.] 344), ‘every small creek in which a fishing skiff or gunning canoe can be made to float at high water which is deemed navigable, but, in order to give it the character of a navigable stream, it must be generally and commonly useful to some purpose of trade or agriculture.’ ”
The fact that shoals and rapids in the river made navigation difficult and prevented the adoption of modern agencies of navigation is not conclusive of non-navigability. The same situation confronted the court in The Montello, supra, where the court said:
“The learned judge of the court below rested his decision against the navigability of the Fox River below the De Pere Rapids chiefly on the ground that there were, before'the river was improved, obstructions to an unbroken navigation. This is true, and these obstructions rendered the navigation difficult, and prevented the adoption of the modern agencies by which commerce is conducted. But, with these difficulties in the way, commerce was successfully carried on, for it is in proof that the products of other States and countries were taken up the river in its natural state from Green Bay'to Fort Winnebago, and return cargoes of lead and furs obtained. And the customary means by which this was done, was Durham boats. As early as May, 1838, a regular line of these boats [was] advertised to run from Green Bay to the Wisconsin portage. Doty v. Strong, 1 Pin. (Wis.) [313] 316 [40 Am.Dec. 773]. But there were difficulties in the way of rapid navigation even with Durham boats, and these difficulties are recognized in the Ordinance of 1787, for not only were the ‘navigable waters’ declared free, but also the ‘carrying places’ between them, that is, places where boats must be partially or wholly unloaded and their cargoes carried on land to a greater or less distance. Apart from this, however, the rule laid down by the district judge as a test of navigability can not be adopted, for it would exclude manj of the great rivers of the country which were so interrupted by rapids as to require artificial means to enable them to be navigated without break. Indeed, there are but few of our fresh water rivers which did not originally present serious obstructions to an uninterrupted navigation. In some cases, like the Fox River, they may be so great while they last as to prevent the use of the best instrumentalities for carrying on commerce, but the vital and essential point is whether the natural navigation of the river is such that it affords a channel for useful commerce. If this be so, the river is navigable in fact, although its navigation may be encompassed with difficulties by reason of natural barriers, such as rapids and sand-bars.”
And the fact that the river has been used for purposes of commerce establishes its navigability, even though its use may have been discontinued as a result of more improved methods of transportation. What was said by the Supreme Court in Economy Light & Power Co. v. United States, 256 U.S. 113, 123, 41 S.Ct. 409, 413, 65 L.Ed. 847, is conclusive of this point. The Court said:
“We concur in the opinion of the Circuit Court of Appeals that a river having actual navigable capacity in its natural state and capable of carrying commerce among the states is within the power of Congress to preserve for purposes of future transportation, even though it be not at present used for such commerce, and be incapable of such use according to present methods, either by reason of changed conditions or because of artificial obstructions. And we agree that the provisions of section 9 of the Act of 1899 (30 Stat. 1151) apply to such a stream. The act in terms applies to ‘any * * * navigable river, or other navigable water of the United States’; and, without doing violence to its manifest purpose, we cannot limit its prohibition to such navigable waters as were, at the time of its passage, or now are, actually open for use. The Desplaines river, after being of practical service as a highway of commerce for a century and a half, fell into disuse, partly through changes in the course of trade or methods of navigation, or changes in its own condition, partly as the result of artificial obstructions. In consequence, it has been out of use for a hundred years; but a hundred years is a brief space in the life of a nation. Improvements in the methods of water transportation or increased cost in other methods of transportation may restore the usefulness of this stream; since it is a natural *806interstate waterway, it is within the power of Congress to improve it at the public expense; and it is not difficult to believe that many other streams are in like condition and require only the exertion of federal control to make them again important avenues of commerce among the states. If they are to be abandoned, it' is for Congress, not the courts, so to declare. The policy of Congress is clearly evidenced in the act of 1899, and, in the present case at least, nothing remains but to give effect to it.”
Certainly the New River between Aliisonia, Va., and Hinton, W. Va., is as clearly navigable as was the Fox River held navigable in The Montello, supra, or the Desplaines River held navigable in Economy Light and Power Co. v. United States, supra, or the sections of the Green, Grand and Colorado Rivers, held navigable in United States v. Utah, 283 U.S. 64, 51 S.Ct. 438, 75 L.Ed. 844, or the Tennessee River at the site of the Wilson dam, held navigable in Ashwander v. Tennessee Valley Authority, 297 U.S. 288, 328, 56 S.Ct. 466, 80 L.Ed. 688. In the case last cited the court adverted to obstructions at various points because of “shoals, reefs and rapids” and to the fact that in its present ■condition the river was not adequately improved for commercial navigation and the traffic on it was small, but held it navigable nevertheless. Little light is thrown on the case by the decisions in Leovy v. United States, 177 U.S. 621, 20 S.Ct. 797, 44 L.Ed. 914, or United States v. Doughton, 4 Cir., 62 F.2d 936. In the first of these cases, the Supreme Court dealt with Red Pass, a crevasse caused by the overflow of water from the Mississippi, upon which no commerce of any sort had ever been conducted. In the second, this court dealt with Wilkerson’s Creek as to which the same situation existed.
But there is another and equally valid reason why the New River must be held a navigable water of the United States at the site of the proposed dam. Whatever may be found as to other portions of the river, there can be no question that the dam is located on a portion which is navigable, which has been improved for navigation by the federal government, and which has been used as a highway for interstate commerce through connection with the interstate railway which crosses the river at Radford. Whether this navigable stretch of the river extends into another state or not, therefore, it furnishes in connection with the railroad a highway of interstate commerce, has been used for that purpose and is a water of the United States subject to the control of Congress for that reason. In the Daniel Ball, 10 Wall. 55, 565, 19 L.Ed. 999, the navigation laws were applied to a steamboat operating on the Grand River entirely within the State of Michigan. It was contended that the vessel was not subject to the navigation laws even though operated upon a navigable fiver of the United States, because she did not carry merchandise beyond the boundaries of the state and was not operated in connection with any line of vessels or railway. It was held, however, that the vessel was subject to the control of Congress, because the articles that she carried were moving in an interstate journey. The court said:
“In this case it is admitted that the steamer was engaged in shipping and transporting, down Grand River, goods destined and marked for other States than Michigan, and in receiving and transporting up the river goods brought within the State from without its limits; but- inasmuch as her agency in the transportation was entirely within the limits of the State, and she did not run in connection with, or in continuation of, any line of vessels or railway leading to other States, it is contended that she was engaged entirely in domestic commerce. But this conclusion does not follow. So far as she was employed in transporting goods destined for other States, or goods brought from without the limits of Michigan and destined to places within that State, she was engaged in commerce between the States, and however limited that commerce may have been, she was, so far as it went, subject to the legislation of Congress. She was employed as an instrument of that commerce; for whenever a commodity has begun to move as an article of trade from one State to another, commerce in that commodity between the States has commenced. The fact that several different and independent agencies are employed in transporting the commodity, some acting entirely in one- State, and some acting through two or more States, does in no respect affect the character of the transaction. To the extent in which each agency acts in that transportation, it is subject to the regulation of Congress.”
It is the movement of commerce interstate which makes the commerce clause of *807the Constitution applicable. Any instrumentality of such commerce is subject to the control of Congress; and a body of water, even though entirely within the limits of a state, falls within the principle if interstate commerce moves over. it. Here the stretch of the river for 25 miles above Radford furnished a highway for such commerce. Congress recognized the fact and expended money in its improvement. And Congress has done nothing to surrender the control which it thus saw fit to exercise.
I am familiar with the statement of the rule as to navigability which contains the expression that “they constitute navigable waters of the United States * * * when they form in their ordinary condition by themselves, or by uniting with other waters, a continued highway over which commerce is or may be carried on with other states or foreign countries in the customary modes in which such commerce is conducted by water.” I do not think, however; that this statement was intended to limit the power of Congress over a stream which is in fact a highway of interstate commerce moving partly by rail. There can be no question as to the power of Congress over an intrastate railroad over which interstate commerce moves. Colorado v. United States, 271 U.S. 153, 46 S.Ct. 452, 70 L.Ed. 878. And there can be' no difference in principle with respect to . a stretch of water wholly within a state which serves as a highway for interstate commerce. A different question would be presented if an intrastate stretch of water capable of use in interstate commerce had never been used for that purpose. Here, however, the waterway has been used in connection with a railway as a highway of interstate commerce and- to that end has been improved by Congress through expenditure of moneys of the- United States.
The Effect on Navigation.
The power project of defendant is one of the larger projects of the country. The dam is 110 feet high, with a draw down of 27 feet, and the machinery has capacity for utilizing a flow of 9,000 cubic feet of water per second, or approximately three times the average flow of the stream. Peak load or near peak load operation is contemplated, i. e. the water will be permitted to flow through the turbines for only a part of each twenty-four hours to take care of the higher demand for electricity which exists for only part of the day. This necessarily means that the flow of the stream will be almost entirely shut off for a portion of the day and the volume of water released will be greatly in excess of normal stream flow while the turbines are operating. This will cause waves in the stream below the dam which will persist far down the river and will even cause the rise and fall of the Kanawha at the head of navigation on that river. In dry weather when the flow is low, it will be possible to shut off the stream flow for long periods and affect the navigability to a marked degree.
The question as to whether the operation of the dam will affect the navigable capacity of an interstate stream, disregarding the navigable capacity at the dam site, is easily disposed of if regard be had to the interstate stretch of the river between Glen Lyn, Va., or Wylie’s Falls, Va., and Hinton, W. Va. That this stretch of the river is navigable does not seem to me to admit of doubt. Millions of feet of lumber and staves were transported over it, and it was improved by the federal government. The improvement extended from Hinton, W. Va., to beyond the Virginia line at Wylie’s Falls. That there was commerce on the river as far up as Glen Lyn is proven beyond all reasonable doubt and is referred to in the government reports. Whatever may be the effect of the operation of the dam on the Kanawha, there can be no question but that it will affect the navigability of New River from Glen Lyn to Hinton. Counsel for defendant admit this but contend that the stretch of the river is not navigable. As stated, however, I think that the showing as to its navigability is beyond question.
And I think that we must consider the effect which the operation of the dam might have upon the navigability of the Kanawha. It is said that this need not be considered because of the rectifying effects of the dams farther down stream and of the Bluestone flood control project, the construction of which is virtually assured. The power of Congress to control the construction of a dam which may affect the navigation of a stream is not affected by the existence of dams lower down stream, for these might be removed. The servitude in the interest of navigation must be determined by consideration of the stream in its natural condition. United *808States v. Cress, 243 U.S. 316, 37 S.Ct. 380, 61 L.Ed. 746. A corollary of this is that the power of Congress to control stream flow of navigable streams is not impaired as the result of construction which may render the exercise of the power unnecessary. It is argued, also, that it would not be wise from the standpoint of its own interests for defendant to operate its dam in' such way as to interfere with the navigable capacity of the streams below; but the fact that the structure is of such character that it is capable of being operated so as to affect navigation brings it within the regulatory power of Congress. It is clear that, in such case, the government need not depend upon the wisdom or public spirit of private persons to protect the interests of navigation but may itself take action which will guarantee their protection.
But more important than any of the other effects which the construction and operation of the dam will have on the navigability of navigable waters is the effect that it will have upon navigation in the Ohio River as a result of effecting means of controlling flood waters in the Kanawha. One of the most important enterprises of the federal government is flood control in the Ohio. While this is important from the standpoint of protecting navigation in the Ohio, and while federal power in the premises is based upon this consideration, its importance to the people of the United States far transcends the mere matter of navigation in view of the tremendous loss of life and property which these floods ’ entail. To adequately control the floods, the federal government must provide for flood control in the various tributaries of the Ohio; and control is nowhere more important than in the New and Kanawha Rivers, which pour into the Ohio waters from a large portion of the mountainous section of Virginia and West Virginia. It appears from the record that the New River furnishes at ordinary times nearly one-fourth of the stream flow of the Ohio below the mouth of the Kanawha; and in rainy season flood waters from the mountains pour down New River through the Kanawha and into the Ohio in tremendous volume. To aid in the control of these flood waters, dams in the New River are imperative; and the Bluestone project near Hinton is being undertaken primarily as a means of flood control. Other dams above Bluestone, if properly constructed and operated, will aid in flood control and will affect navigation in the Ohio in that way.
It is argued that the dam of defendant can be of aid in flood control, and this is no doubt true; but the argument concedes that the construction and operation of the dam will affect navigation since it will affect flood control. Whether the effect will be favorable or not depends upon how the dam is operated. In the operation of flood control dams, the object is to keep the pond as low as possible at all times so as to provide readily available storage for flood waters when they come. In the operation of power dams, the object is to keep the pond as nearly full as possible at all times so as to have maximum power available. It is clear, therefore, that the construction and operation of power dams can vitally affect flood control in the river; and that, when the construction of such dams is permitted in a river where flood control is as important as it is in New River, they should be subject to the control of the federal government so that they can be operated in connection with the purely flood control dams, as a unitary system.
The Power of Congress to Require the License.
In the Power Act, Congress substituted administrative for direct legislative and judicial control, i. e. instead of forbidding absolutely the construction of dams in navigable waters or dams which would affect the navigable capacity of navigable waters, it set up an administrative tribunal and authorized it to license the construction of such dams when found to be in the public interest. There can be no question as to the power of Congress to prohibit absolutely the construction or operation of dams which will interfere with navigation in a navigable stream whether the dam itself be located in a stream which is navigable or non-navigable. United States v. Rio Grande Dam & Irrigation Co., 174 U.S. 690, 19 S.Ct. 770, 775, 43 L.Ed. 1136. The existence of private rights is no more an impediment to the exercise of federal power in the one case than in the other; for, in either case, private rights are held subject to the paramount power of Congress to protect the public interest in interstate commerce, by forbidding any construction that would interfere therewith. Nor does this involve infringement of the rights of the states protected by the Tenth *809Amendment to the Constitution, U.S.C.A. As said by the Supreme Court in the Rio Grande case, where rights were asserted under a law of New Mexico to divert waters of the Rio Grande in the non-navigable section of the river:
“Although this power of changing the common-law rule as to streams within its dominion undoubtedly belongs to each state, yet two limitations must be recognized: * * * second, that it is limited by the superior power of the general government to secure the uninterrupted navigability of all navigable streams within the limits of the United States. In other words, the jurisdiction of the general government over interstate commerce and its natural highways vests in that government the right to take all needed measures to preserve the navigability of the navigable water courses of the country, even against any state action.
* * *
“It is urged that the true construction of this act limits its applicability to obstructions in the navigable portion of a navigable stream, and that as it appears that, although the Rio Grande may be navigable for a certain distance above its mouth, it is not navigable in the territory of New Mexico, this statute has no applicability. The language is general, and must be given full scope. It is not a prohibition of any obstruction to the navigation, but any obstruction to the navigable capacity, and anything, wherever done or however done, within the limits of the jurisdiction of the United States, which tends to destroy the navigable capacity of one of the navigable waters of the United States, is within the terms of the prohibition. Evidently congress perceiving that the time had come when the growing interests of commerce required that the navigable waters of the United States should be subjected to the direct control of the national government, and that nothing should be done by any state tending to destroy that navigability without the explicit assent of the national government, enacted the statute in question; and it would be to improperly ignore the scope of this language to limit it to the acts done within the very limits of navigation of a navigable stream.”
But the power of Congress is not limited to prohibition of obstructions to interstate commerce. Possessing full power of control in the premises, it may intrust to an administrative agency the regulation and licensing of structures which it has the power to prohibit. And I see no objection to exacting as a condition of the licenses granted a requirement as to the rates to be charged for electric power to be manufactured by the licensees or an option on the part of the government to purchase either at cost or market va'lue. The water power of the streams of the country is one of the most valuable of the natural resources of the people. It does not belong as a matter of private right to the owners of power sites, but can be enjoyed by them only if the government consents to the obstruction or interference with the streams involved in the erection of dams. It is but fitting that the government, which holds its power for the benefit of the whole people, prescribe as a condition of its consent to the erection of such dams that the people shall derive a benefit from the concessions granted, to the extent of being accorded reasonable rates upon the product of the enterprise. And, since no one can foresee the future, or prophesy to what extent such obstructions may become undesirable from the standpoint of the public interest, it is proper that the license for their maintenance be limited and that provision be made for their purchase by the public. The exaction of the right on the part of the government to acquire the project upon the terms contained in the license is in no sense a denial of due process, but is the price exacted by the government for the granting of a permission which it has the right to withhold. Fox River Paper Co. v. Railroad Commission of Wisconsin, 274 U.S. 651, 47 S.Ct. 669, 71 L.Ed. 1279. Nor is it any objection that ownership by the government of the power project may result from such acquisition. If the government may build a power project itself in connection with regulating the navigability of streams, as held in Ashwander v. Tennessee Valley Authority, 297 U.S. 288, 56 S.Ct. 466, 80 L.Ed. 688, there can be no objection to its licensing another to build the project with a view of subsequent acquisition by the government.
If the stream at the dam site be held navigable, there can be no question as to the power of Congress to construct a dam and power project there in aid of navigation. Ashwander v. Tennessee Valley Authority, supra. And it is equally clear that, even if it be non-navigable, it may *810construct such dam and power project for purposes of flood control in streams below. United States v. West Virginia Power Co., 4 Cir., 91 F.2d 611. What the government may thus do itself, it may license a private corporation to do upon such terms and conditions as, in the opinion of Congress, the public interest may require.
Much has been said about the effect of the findings of the Federal Power Commission, but I do not think it necessary to go into this. Assuming that the questions thus raised are jurisdictional and go to the constitutional validity of the action of the Commission, so that they are subject to full review under the doctrine of Crowell v. Benson, 285 U.S. 22, 52 S.Ct. 285, 76 L.Ed. 598, I think that the record before the court below fully justifies the Commission’s action and that the injunction prayed by the government should be awarded. As a practical matter, this does not mean, of course, that the defendant will be enjoined from constructing or operating the dam, but merely that, as a condition of such construction and operation, it be required to accept the license tendered by the Commission.
There are certain facts in this case which cannot be overlooked. Defendant is constructing one of the thirty largest power dams in the United States, and is constructing it at a place where the river unquestionably has been used as a highway of interstate commerce and has been improved for that purpose by the expenditure of federal funds. The river at the site of the dam has been found a navigable water of the United States by a commission appointed by Congress to deal with such matters and acting under oath in the discharge of a public duty. Even if the river be held non-navigable at the site of the dam, there can be no question but that the operation of the dam will affect the navigability of the stream between Glen Lyn, Va. and Hinton, W. Va., which is navigable within any test which the Supreme Court has prescribed. And, in addition to all this, the construction of dams in New River will vitally affect flood control in the Ohio and thereby affect navigation in that great highway of commerce.' Under such circumstances, I cannot agree that the federal government is without power to require a license of defendant as a condition of the construction of the dam, or that the government must await actual interference with existing commerce before taking action.

Referenees are to Vol. 2 of appellant’s appendix.