711.42157 Detroit/79

The Minister in Canada (Robbins) to the Secretary of State

No. 544

Sir: I have the honor to refer to the Department’s instruction No. 257 of March 13, 1934, (file No. 711.42157 Detroit/67) and to my despatch No. 543 of today’s date, and to enclose herewith copy of a note received this morning from the Secretary of State for External Affairs setting forth certain observations with regard to the dredging operations being carried out by the United States Government in the St. Clair River.

Respectfully yours,

Warren D. Robbins
[Enclosure]

The Canadian Secretary of State for External Affairs (Bennett) to the American Minister (Robbins)

No. 34

Sir: I have the honour to refer to your note No. 193, dated the 15th March, 1934, and to make further reference to my note No. 27, dated the 21st March, 1933,95a concerning the operations which the War Department is conducting in Canadian waters, in connection with the dredging of certain shoal areas in the St. Clair River.

The first two conditions set forth in my note, to which reference has been made, required that your Government, having decided upon the extent of the proposed improvement, should, before proceeding with the dredging and disposal of spoil material, submit the results of their further studies to the engineers of the Department of Public Works, and secure the concurrence of the Canadian Government engineers therein, in order that the maximum beneficial effect from the disposal of the waste material should be obtained. They also provided that the Canadian Government should be informed, in advance, of the method to be followed in carrying out the work, and should be provided with a programme of operations.

This course has been followed with respect to the proposed methods submitted for the improvement of that section of the St. Clair River Channel from the head of St. Clair Flats Canal up-stream as far as Algonac, Michigan, which was approved by my note No. 68, dated the 10th June, 1933.95b The section of the improvement from Algonac, Michigan to Marysville, Michigan, was dealt with in the same manner, [Page 991] and was approved by my notes No. 4 of the 10th January, 1934,95c and No. 9 of the 2nd February, 1934.96

I understand that, pursuant to the conditions in the first of my notes, to which reference has been made, the United States Government engineers have submitted to District Engineer Harcourt of the Canadian Department of Public Works, the method and plans which are to be followed in carrying out the third section of the work, which will be the final section in so far as dredging improvements are concerned. This is the section from up-stream of Marysville to opposite Port Huron, Michigan and Sarnia, Ontario.

These methods and plans have been examined by Canadian engineers, who have brought to the attention of the Government two points that require special consideration. The Canadian engineers have reported that the disposition of the material to be dredged within the limits of the River, will fill the only remaining deep holes, and they point out that the Canadian Department of Public Works has on its programme for the coming year the restoration of depth in the channel in Sarnia Bay leading to the Sarnia Salt Company’s plant. It is estimated that the removal of 55,000 cubic yards, scow measurement, of material is involved in this improvement, and it is suggested that a reservation be made of sufficient space in the proposed disposal area, on the Canadian side of the boundary, to receive this quantity of material.

The Canadian engineers have also reported that, on the Canadian side of the River, opposite Monument No. 50—where the River Road turns, as indicated on Plan D. S. C. 17/69—there is a shoal water area projecting into the channel beyond the general trend of the river bank, and that the scheme of improvement which has been submitted by the United States engineers does not contemplate the entire removal of this projection. A similar case occurs further up-stream, in front of the Imperial Oil Company’s plant, and immediately above the upper disposal area, shown on Plan D. S. C. 17/69. The Canadian engineers consider that it is essential that the scheme of improvement should be extended to include the removal of these submerged points.

Accordingly, I have been requested by the Minister of Public Works to ask you to notify the United States authorities that the work may be proceeded with in accordance with the scheme submitted in Major Crawford’s letter to Mr. Harcourt, dated the 15th January, 1934, in so far as the section of the river improvement under this portion of the proposal is concerned, and in accordance with the conditions in my first note, to which reference has been made; provided, however, that a reservation be made to provide for the disposition of the 55,000 cubic [Page 992] yards of material proposed to be excavated this season at Sarnia, and provided, also, that the work be extended by the slight amount which is necessary further to improve the channel at the two points specifically mentioned above. It is understood, of course, that, on completion of the work, the United States Engineer Officer in charge will furnish to the District Engineers of the Department of Public Works, at London, a statement with any necessary illustrative plans indicating the condition of the work on completion.

Accept [etc.]

R. B. Bennett