California Debris Commission

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The California Debris Commission was created by Congress in 1893 (27 Stat. 507) to mitigate the damage caused to the environment by hydraulic mining in the Sierra Nevada of California and was codified in 33 U.S.C. 661. The commission was composed of three Army officers of the Corps of Engineers appointed by the President.

The effects of hydraulic mining was the mass erosion that clogged the Yuba River, Sacramento River, and others with tons of sediment, which eventually made its way to the San Francisco Bay. The Yuba River was also subject to floods that threatened towns such as Marysville.

To address this damage, the Congress created the California Debris Commission to mitigate this damage. The commission built debris basins, and dredged the Yuba River, piling its banks with mountains of sediment.

The commission was eliminated by Congress in 1986.

Among the members of the commission were Douglas MacArthur in the early 1900s and Ulysses S. Grant III in the early 1920s.