Saint Francis Dam Disaster National Memorial and Castaic Wilderness Act
A BILL
To authorize a national memorial to commemorate those killed by the collapse of the Saint Francis Dam on March 12, 1928, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Findings and purposes
Findings— Congress finds the following:
On March 12, 1928, the Saint Francis Dam located in the northern portion of Los Angeles County, California, breached, resulting in a devastating flood that caused the death of approximately 425 individuals.
The residents of the Santa Clarita Valley, San Francisquito Canyon, Castaic Junction, Santa Clara River Valley, Piru, Fillmore, Bardsdale, Saticoy, and Santa Paula were directly impacted and suffered greatly from the worst flood in the history of the State of California.
The disaster resulted in a tremendous loss of human life, property, and the livelihood of local residents, and was surpassed in the 20th century only by the great San Francisco earthquake of 1906.
The dam’s collapse may represent America’s worst civil engineering failure in the 20th century.
The site is subject to the theft of historic artifacts, as well as graffiti and other vandalism.
The surrounding area has important historic and environmental significance.
It is right to pay homage to the citizens who perished, were injured, or were dislocated in the flood, and to bring to light and educate the general public about this important historical event.
It is appropriate that the site of the Saint Francis Dam and surrounding areas be designated a unit of the National Park System to commemorate this tragic event.
Purposes— The purposes of this Act are as follows:
To establish a national memorial to honor the victims of the Saint Francis Dam disaster of March 12, 1928.
To establish the Saint Francis Dam Advisory Commission to assist with consideration and formulation of plans for a permanent memorial to the victims of that disaster, including its nature, design, and construction.
To permanently protect the site and surrounding area of the Saint Francis Dam and educate the general public about this tragic and historic event.
To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to coordinate and facilitate the activities of the Saint Francis Dam Advisory Commission, provide technical and financial assistance to the Saint Francis Dam Task Force, and to administer a Saint Francis Dam memorial.
To designate the Saint Francis Dam National Monument.
To designate certain Federal lands administered by the United States Forest Service within Los Angeles County as wilderness.