January 15, 1965
PAGE 713
INTRODUCTION OF S.515, THE PASSAMAQUODDY TIDAL POWER PROJECT
Mr. MUSKIE. Mr. President I introduce, on behalf of myself and my senior colleague from Maine [Mrs. SMITH], a bill to authorize the construction of the Passamaquoddy-St. John hydroelectric project, subject to appropriate agreements between the United States and Canada.
This bill, which would authorize harnessing of the vast tidal energy of Passamaquoddy and Cobscook Bays in Maine and New Brunswick, and developing of the resources of the upper St. John River, is significant to the economy of the Northeast region of our country, while at the same time serving the interests of the country as a whole. The bill is being cosponsored also by Mr. AIKEN, Mr. KENNEDY of Massachusetts, Mr. MCINTYRE, Mr. PELL, and Mr. PROUTY, and it has the backing of members of both parties, in and out of Maine.
Sound and imaginative engineering studies have demonstrated the Quoddy project to be economically feasible.
Congressional hearings last August on technical studies by the Department of the Interior and by the U.S. Corps of Engineers reaffirmed Quoddy's economic feasibility.
In addition, the Quoddy-St. John project would be a pertinent and important step toward the protection and the development of the Allagash region of Maine, one of the most beautiful sections of our country.
Those of us who are concerned with the future of the Northeastern corner of our country see the Quoddy-St. John project as a vital link in the long-term expansion of the economy there and of the country as a whole.
To those of us with a desire to restore an area beset by adversity, where the unemployment rate ranges as high as 25 percent, Quoddy makes sense as resource utilization. We see Quoddy as essential to the revitalization of a sagging economy, and we see Quoddy opening the door to the integration of a natural economic unit, including the New England States and the Canadian Maritime Provinces.
And I repeat, Mr. President, that professional engineering surveys show that the Passamaquoddy-St. John project is economically feasible.
In addition to the many other advantages of this undertaking, Quoddy would provide electrical power for the northeast region at prices 25 percent below prevailing rates.
This legislation would authorize construction of the necessary civil works and power plants by the Corps of Engineers, construction of high voltage transmission lines by the Department of the Interior, and the marketing of the power developed by the project by the Secretary of the Interior.
This legislation opens the way to the development of a million kilowatts of peaking power, 250,000 kilowatts of firm energy and a billion kilowatt hours of dependable off-peak energy annually for the northeast region.
Each day, more than a million kilowatts of power surge in and out of Passamaquody Bay. As President Kennedy said when he endorsed Quoddy:
Man needs only to exercise his engineering ingenuity to convert the ocean's surge into a national asset.
President Kennedy said Quoddy meets the national interest test because it strengthens the economy of the whole Nation and enables America to better compete in the marketplaces of the world.
We hope our Government, and that of Canada, will negotiate an agreement on an equitable sharing of the benefits from this combined project. With this accomplished we will be able to move ahead on Quoddy-St. John, and transform a potential asset into a national asset.
We want to take this opportunity to express our appreciation to Secretary Udall, the members of his Interior Department, to the Corps of Engineers and to the Department of State for their cooperation and the technical advice they have given us.
Since President Kennedy referred the 1961 International Joint Commission Report on the Quoddy project to Secretary Udall, we have enjoyed the closest cooperation and assistance as we have worked to make our dream a reality. The help we have received has given us great optimism in the pursuit of our goal of new opportunities from Quoddy for our region and our Nation.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The bill will be received and appropriately referred.
The bill (S. 515) to authorize the international Passamaquoddy tidal power project, including hydroelectric power development of the upper Saint John River, and for other purposes, introduced by Mr. MUSKIE (for himself and other Senators), was received, read twice by its title, and referred to the Committee on Public Works.