; SP- IWR° CONTRACT REPORT 78-4... , UNDER ... - IWR - U.S. Army

Process and Impacts
The following short sections are intended to summarize some important
points and present a more in-depth analysis of some aspects of
the relocation process. These sections will highlight the important
points learned from the Hill experience. Included are scenarios
which illustrate:
1) "The involvement of various governmental levels".
2) Leadership during the relocation process.
3) Those events which might make the Hill relocation different
from others and which point to important factors which
should be considered in any future relocation.
4) Was Hill 'an anomaly? Could it happen again?
5) Overall costs and benefits on the regional, local, and
individual levels.
6) The financial aspects of the relocation which not 'only
allowed the citizens to build a new town, but also placed .
them in an advantageous tax structure which has kept their
taxes down to this day.
The Involvement of Various Governmental Levels
The relocation of Hill illustrates a format for possible roles
which might be effective in future community relocations. In
this specific case study, the Corps of Engineers played a nominal •
'part; however, under more recent federal legislation (The Uniform
Relocation Assistance and - Real Property Acquisition Policies Act
of 1970, P.L. 91-646), they could become more active In initiating
Many of the relationships which provided for the comparatively
successful relocation of Hill. (See Figure 3).
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The actual decision togo ahead with the flood protection project
along the Merrimack was a combined state and federal decision.
Assistance from Washington was solicited by the affected states.
Permission to begin a comprehensive plan of study was approved by
Congress, to be carried out by the War Department - the Corps of
Engineers. Approval of the completed study rested in the hands . ,
of the state legislators, governors and the appointed commission.
The final appropriation for construction of the projects was
allocated by Congress (under the Flood Control Act of 1936).
To this point the procedure outlined above would be approximately
parallel' to the procedure of today. The strategies which were
perhaps unique to this case involved the relation between the
state, the town government, and the individual citizens of Hill.
The only parts played by the federal government were principally
to build the dams, to hold public hearings informing residents in
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