Message to Congress on St. Lawrence River Electrical Power Development.

To the Congress:

The surveys of the Federal Power Commission and the National Power Policy Committee have convinced me that the development of the International Rapids Section of the St. Lawrence River should be undertaken at the earliest possible date as a part of adequate provision to meet the continuing power requirements of the defense program in certain essential centers of war material production in the northeastern States.

The potential power of this site is best adapted to meet the requirements of expansion in certain essential defense industries, including aluminum, magnesium, ferro-alloys, chemicals, etc. Actually, the Aluminum Company of America has recently arranged for the import of 30,000 kilowatts of additional power from Canada to meet the pressing requirements of its existing plant located at the very site of the proposed St. Lawrence project and, I am reliably informed, is seeking additional supplies from across the border. Such imported supplies are, in effect, on an annual basis, subject to being withdrawn if required by the Canadian power market.

It is urgent that this project be undertaken at the present time, not only from the point of view of our own defense but also in terms of that of our neighbor, Canada. The Province of Ontario needs to be able to count upon the early availability of this power to meet its growing load. The project may, therefore, be considered as an essential part of the program of continental defense which is being actively worked out by representatives of the two peoples.

I am informed that if the potential power of the International Rapids is to be available to carry the peak load of 1945, preliminary investigations, particularly engineering surveys of the site, including core borings, test pits, soil analyses, etc., must be undertaken immediately. I have, therefore, allocated $1,000,000 of the special defense fund to the Federal Power Commission and Corps of Engineers, United States Army, for this preliminary work and have appointed a committee of four to advise me in planning the work and to cooperate with appropriate agencies of the Canadian Government. The members of this committee are Leland Olds, Chairman of the Federal Power Commission, as chairman; A. A. Berle, Assistant Secretary of State; Brigadier General Thomas M. Robins of the Board of Engineers for Rivers and Harbors, Corps of Engineers, United States Army; and Gerald V. Cruise, representative of the Trustees of the Power Authority of the State of New York. I have directed the U.S. Corps of Engineers to begin the necessary investigations immediately.

The preliminary investigations which I have authorized involve no actual construction or commitment to construct. In taking this means of advising Congress of the surveys I am having made, I wish to make it clear that Congress will be kept advised of such further steps as may be necessary.