★
Executive Orders Historical Archive
Cite
Executive Order 10913 🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority Constitutional Fidelity (+0.50) 📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority

Executive Order 10913—Amending Executive Order 10584 of December 18, 1954, Prescribing Rules and Regulations Relating to the Administration of the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act

•
Wednesday, January 18, 1961
•
10 min read (2,038 words)

Executive Brief • At a Glance

⏱️ 10 min read (2,038 words) • ● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate

Executive Order No. 10584 of December 18, 1954, be, and it is hereby, amended by deleting sections 1, 2, 3, and 4 thereof, by renumbering sections 5 and 6 thereof as sections 6 and 7, respectively, and by substituting the following new sections: "SECTION 1.

⚖️ Constitutional Footing
🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority
Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Armed Forces & Military Establishments Sovereign State Governments & Localities Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants Private Citizens & Property Owners

Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis

Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.

Signed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower on January 18, 1961, this order concerns Amending Executive Order 10584 of December 18, 1954, Prescribing Rules and Regulations Relating to the Administration of the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act. Executive Order No. 10584 of December 18, 1954, be, and it is hereby, amended by deleting sections 1, 2, 3, and 4 thereof, by renumbering sections 5 and 6 thereof as sections 6 and 7, respectively, and by substituting the following new sections: "SECTION 1. Scope of order.

Constitutional Assessment: Scrutinized through Article II, Section 2, this action exercises the President's constitutional role as Commander in Chief. Early Framers recognized broad executive discretion in commanding military forces during conflict, provided it remains bounded by congressional declarations and respects civilian domestic courts.

Key Directives & Operative Actions

▪

Executive Order No. 10584 of December 18, 1954, be, and it is hereby, amended by deleting sections 1, 2, 3, and 4 thereof, by renumbering sections 5 and 6 thereof as sections 6 and 7, respectively, and by substituting the following new sections: "SECTION 1.

▪

This order shall apply (a) to the planning, construction, operation, and maintenance of all works of improvement under the authority of the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act (Public Law 566, approved August 4, 1954, as amended; 16 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.), hereinafter referred to as the Act, and (b) to other programs and projects of the Department of Agriculture, and to programs and projects of the Department of the Interior, the Department of the Army, and other Federal agencies to the extent that such programs or projects affect, or are affected significantly by, works of improvement provided for in the Act.

▪

The Secretary of Agriculture shall have the following-described responsibilities under the Act: "(a) Approval or disapproval of applications for Federal assistance in preparing plans for works of improvement, and the assignment of priorities for the provision of such assistance.

▪

"(b) Establishing criteria for the formulation and justification of plans for works of improvement and criteria for the sharing of the cost of both structural and land-treatment measures which conform with the provisions of the Act and with policies established by or at the direction of the President for watershed protection, flood prevention, irrigation, drainage, water supply, and related water-resources development purposes.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments 🏛️ Sovereign State Governments & Localities 🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants 🏛️ Private Citizens & Property Owners
🏛️

The Framers' Constitutional Council

1787 Prism

Evaluating this order against the constitutional debates of 1787 and the limits of Article II executive power.

🏛️✅ Zone 1 (Maximum Authority)
§

"When the President acts pursuant to an express or implied authorization of Congress, his authority is at its maximum, for it includes all that he possesses in his own right plus all that Congress can delegate."

— Justice Robert H. Jackson, Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer (1952) Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
JM

James Madison

Separation of Powers & Legislative Primacy

"The constitutional magistracy was designed not to invent policy, but to be the faithful instrument of the laws passed by the people's representatives." — Speech in the First Congress (1789)

Madison would approve the structural posture of this order. The President acts strictly in subordination to statutory authority granted under Article II, Section 3 ("take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed"). The checks and balances hold firm because the policy origin remains with the legislature.

Madisonian Stance: Concurring (Statutory)
AH

Alexander Hamilton

The Energetic Executive & Unified Command

"The direction of war implies the direction of the common strength; and the power of directing and employing the common strength must be under the direction of the single hand of the Executive." — Federalist No. 74 (1788)

Hamilton would forcefully champion executive discretion here. For foreign entanglements, commerce defense, and national security, deliberative assemblies are too slow and faction-ridden. A unified, energetic Executive exercising swift command is precisely what the Philadelphia Convention intended for national preservation.

Hamiltonian Stance: Strong Prerogative Support
GM

George Mason

Bill of Rights, Due Process & 10th Amendment

"The president will be surrounded by flatterers and sycophants... and the great powers of the executive will gradually absorb the liberties of the people." — Cato IV (Anti-Federalist, 1787)

The Anti-Federalist prism advises continuous democratic vigilance. Even routine administrative directives aggregate centralized federal power away from town halls and state assemblies toward a distant executive apparatus.

Anti-Federalist Stance: Eternal Vigilance Required
📐

Five Measurable "Constitutional Friction" Dimensions

An objective audit measuring potential separation-of-powers tension against the United States Constitution and established Supreme Court doctrine.

⚖️ Discretionary Twilight Zone
31 / 100 friction index
Dimension 1 • Art. I, §1 & §8

Legislative Encroachment & Purse

Moderate Friction

Administers commerce or fiscal programs requiring ongoing statutory delegation and legislative oversight.

Benchmark: Power of the purse, taxes/tariffs, and rule of law reserved to Congress.
Dimension 2 • Art. II, §1 & §3

Executive Scope & Faithfulness

Low Friction

Exercises standard supervisory executive authority to faithfully execute existing statutes.

Benchmark: Faithfully execute laws enacted by Congress vs. unilateral decree.
Dimension 3 • 10th Amendment

Federalism & State Sovereignty

Moderate Friction

Engages state and local partners in cooperative federalism programs.

Benchmark: Police powers and un-delegated responsibilities reserved to the States.
Dimension 4 • 5th & 14th Amendments

Due Process & Individual Rights

Low Friction

Focuses on internal governmental operations with no direct impairment of private rights or property.

Benchmark: Protection of private property, contracts, liberty, and procedural justice.
Dimension 5 • Separation of Powers

Youngstown Jacksonian Tier

Low Friction

The President operates strictly as the constitutional Chief Executive, carrying out policy established by Congress with strong statutory backing.

Benchmark: Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
⚖️ Audit Synthesis

This order operates within Justice Jackson’s Zone of Twilight, resting upon concurrent presidential authority or congressional silence.

Weighted composite: Art. I (25%), Art. II (25%), Federalism (15%), Due Process (15%), Youngstown (20%).
ℹ️
How to read these dimensions: Executive power expands whenever an administration acts without explicit statutory authorization from Congress (Article I), touches upon police powers historically reserved to the states (Tenth Amendment), or limits private rights and property without judicial process. A low friction score indicates strict concordance with enacted law; a high friction score highlights orders testing the limits of presidential discretion.
Total Words
2,038
13,145 characters
Estimated Read Time
10 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
22.3
Post-Graduate Legal
Language Tone Score
+0.50
Constitutional Fidelity
How is this scored?
Text size:

Official Archival Text

View Source Document

By virtue of the authority vested in me by the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.), and as President of the United States, it is ordered that Executive Order No. 10584 of December 18, 1954, be, and it is hereby, amended by deleting sections 1, 2, 3, and 4 thereof, by renumbering sections 5 and 6 thereof as sections 6 and 7, respectively, and by substituting the following new sections: "SECTION 1. Scope of order. This order shall apply (a) to the planning, construction, operation, and maintenance of all works of improvement under the authority of the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act (Public Law 566, approved August 4, 1954, as amended; 16 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.), hereinafter referred to as the Act, and (b) to other programs and projects of the Department of Agriculture, and to programs and projects of the Department of the Interior, the Department of the Army, and other Federal agencies to the extent that such programs or projects affect, or are affected significantly by, works of improvement provided for in the Act. "SEC. 2. General administration. The Secretary of Agriculture shall have the following-described responsibilities under the Act: "(a) Approval or disapproval of applications for Federal assistance in preparing plans for works of improvement, and the assignment of priorities for the provision of such assistance. "(b) Establishing criteria for the formulation and justification of plans for works of improvement and criteria for the sharing of the cost of both structural and land-treatment measures which conform with the provisions of the Act and with policies established by or at the direction of the President for watershed protection, flood prevention, irrigation, drainage, water supply, and related water-resources development purposes. "(c) Establishing engineering and economic standards and objectives, including standards as to degrees of flood protection, for works of improvement planned and carried out under the authority of the Act. "(d) Determination and definition of (1) those land-treatment measures and structural improvements for flood prevention and measures for the agricultural phases of conservation, development, use and disposal of water or for fish and wildlife development which are eligible for assistance under the Act, and (2) the nature and extent of such assistance and the conditions under which such assistance shall be rendered. "(e) Planning and installing works of improvement on lands under his jurisdiction, and arranging for the participation of other Federal agencies in the planning and installation of works of improvement on lands under their jurisdiction. Recommendations of the heads of other Federal agencies for necessary works of improvement on lands under their jurisdiction shall be submitted as an integral part of the plans of the Department of Agriculture for works of improvement. Arrangements for construction, operation, and maintenance of works of improvement on such lands shall be mutually satisfactory to the Secretary of Agriculture and the head of the Federal agency concerned. "(f) Submitting plans for works of improvement to the State Governor or Governors concerned and to the Federal agencies concerned for review and comment when the Secretary and the interested local organization have agreed on such plans; and, when and as required by the Act, submitting such plans to the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of the Army for their review and comment prior to transmission of the plans to the Congress through the President. "(g) Giving full consideration to the recommendations concerning the conservation and development of fish and wildlife resources contained in any report of the Secretary of the Interior which is submitted to him, in accordance with section 12 of the Act and section 5 of this order, prior to the time he and the local organization have agreed on a plan for works of improvement, and including in the plan such works of improvement for fish and wildlife purposes recommended in the report as are acceptable to him and the local organization. "(h) Holding public hearings at suitable times and places when he determines that such action will further the purposes of the Act. "SEC. 3. Notification. (a) The Secretary of Agriculture shall: "(1) Notify in writing the State Governor or Governors concerned, the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of the Army, and other Federal agencies concerned of his decision to initiate any survey or field investigation involving water-resources development work, and furnish them with appropriate information regarding the scope, nature, status, and results of such survey or investigation. "(2) Notify the following, severally, in writing of all approvals or disapprovals of applications for planning assistance: the sponsoring organization, the State Governor or Governors concerned, the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of the Army, and other Federal agencies concerned. "(b) The Secretary of the Interior shall notify in writing the State Governor or Governors concerned, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of the Army, and other Federal agencies concerned of his decision to initiate any survey or field investigation involving water-resources development work, and furnish them with appropriate information regarding the scope, nature, status, and results of such survey or investigation. "(c) The Secretary of the Army shall notify in writing the State Governor or Governors concerned, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of the Interior, and other Federal agencies concerned of his decision to initiate any survey or field investigation involving water-resources development work, and furnish them with appropriate information regarding the scope, nature, status, and results of such survey or investigation. "SEC. 4. Coordination. In order to assure the coordination of work authorized under the Act and the related work of other agencies, so that the proper use, conservation, and development of water and related land resources through Federal programs and financial assistance may be achieved in the most orderly, economical, and effective manner, "(a) The Secretary of Agriculture, before authorizing planning assistance in response to an application from a local organization for assistance under the Act, shall: "(1) When an application applies to a watershed located in one of the seventeen western reclamation States or Hawaii and it appears that a major objective is the agricultural phases of the conservation, development, utilization, and disposal of water for irrigation purposes, request the views of the Secretary of the Interior concerning the feasibility of achieving equivalent irrigation benefits by means of works of improvement constructed pursuant to the Reclamation Act of June 17, 1902 (43 U.S.C. 391), and acts amendatory or supplementary thereto, or by means of assistance furnished pursuant to the Small Reclamation Projects Act of 1956, as amended (43 U.S.C. 422a-422k), and authorize planning assistance under the Act only after carefully considering whether works of improvement under the Act would be a more appropriate method of achieving that objective. "(2) When it appears that a major objective of an application is the reduction of flood damages in urban areas (as defined in the most recent census), request the views of the Secretary of the Army concerning the feasibility of achieving equivalent urban flood protection benefits by means of works of improvement constructed pursuant to the Flood Control Act of March 1, 1917 (39 Stat. 948), the Flood Control Act of May 15, 1928 (45 Stat. 534), the Flood Control Act of June 22, 1936 (49 Stat. 1570), or acts amendatory or supplementary thereto, and authorize planning assistance under the Act only after carefully considering whether works of improvement under the Act would be a more appropriate method of achieving that objective. "(3) When an application applies to a watershed located in the Tennessee River drainage basin, request the views of the Board of Directors of the Tennessee Valley Authority concerning the feasibility of achieving the objectives of the application by means of works of improvement for flood control or watershed protection constructed under the Tennessee Valley Authority Act of 1933, as amended (16 U.S.C. 831 et seq.), and authorize planning assistance under the Act only after carefully considering whether works of improvement under the Act would be a more appropriate method of achieving such objectives; and when such planning assistance is authorized, consult with the Tennessee Valley Authority throughout all phases of project development concerning the relationship of works of improvement under the Act to the unified development and regulation of the Tennessee River system. "(b) The Secretary of the Interior shall, prior to undertaking any survey or field investigation under the Reclamation Act of June 17, 1902 (43 U.S.C. 391), and acts amendatory or supplementary thereto, or prior to initiating investigations after receipt of a Notice of Intent to apply for a loan under the Small Reclamation Projects Act of 1956, as amended (43 U.S.C. 422a-422k), relating to works of improvement wholly within a watershed or subwatershed area of not more than 250,000 acres, request the views of the Secretary of Agriculture concerning the feasibility of achieving the major objectives of the project proposal by means of Federal assistance furnished pursuant to the Act, and submit a report on such a survey or field investigation or approve such application for assistance only after carefully considering whether works of improvement under his authorities would be a more appropriate method of achieving such objectives. "(c) The Secretary of the Army shall, prior to undertaking any survey or field investigation pursuant to the Flood Control Act of March 1, 1917 (39 Stat. 948), the Flood Control Act of May 15, 1928 (45 Stat. 534), the Flood Control Act of June 22, 1936 (49 Stat. 1570), and acts amendatory or supplementary thereto, relating to works of improvement wholly within a watershed or subwatershed area of not more than 250,000 acres, request the views of the Secretary of Agriculture concerning the feasibility of achieving the major objectives of the project proposal by means of Federal assistance furnished pursuant to the Act, and submit a report on such survey or field investigation only after carefully considering whether works of improvement under his authorities would be a more appropriate method of achieving such objectives. "(d) The Board of Directors of the Tennessee Valley Authority shall, prior to undertaking any survey or field investigation under the Tennessee Valley Authority Act of 1933, as amended (16 II.S.C. 831 et seq.), relating to works of improvement for flood control or watershed protection to be installed wholly within a watershed or subwatershed area of not more than 250,000 acres, request the views of the Secretary of Agriculture concerning the feasibility of achieving the major objectives of the works of improvement for flood control or watershed protection by means of works of improvement constructed under the Act, and proceed with such survey or investigation only after carefully considering whether works of improvement under the Tennessee Valley Authority Act would be a more appropriate method of achieving such objectives. "(e) Whenever the foregoing provisions of this section require an agency head to request the views of another agency head, such request shall be effected prior to the making of any commitment to local interests, and local interests shall be informed at the outset of negotiations that any plan resulting therefrom is subject to coordination as required by this section. "(f) When any agency having responsibilities for water resources development is considering the initiation of surveys or field investigations in a watershed or subwatershed area of not more than 250,000 acres and it appears that the purposes to be served by the project under investigation could more advantageously be met by means of a combination of works of improvement under the statutory authority available to that and other agencies, the appropriate agency head shall consider with the other agency heads concerned and the cooperating local interests the feasibility of preparing a jointly developed plan for coordinated action under available statutory authority. "SEC. 5. Fish and wildlife development. Upon receipt of the notice required by section 12 of the Act and section 3(a) (1) of this order, the Secretary of the Interior, as he desires, may make surveys and investigations and prepare a report with recommendations concerning the conservation and development of fish and wildlife resources and participate, under arrangements satisfactory to the Secretary of Agriculture, in the preparation of a plan for works of improvement which will be acceptable to the local organization and the Secretary of Agriculture." DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER

THE WHITE HOUSE, #signature

January 18, 1961.

📜

Scholarly & Legal Citations

Exec. Order No. 10,913 (Jan. 18, 1961), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-10913-amending-executive-order-10584-december-18-1954-prescribing-rules.