The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1914-1938, 1925-03-05
PRIEST RAPIDS POWER PROJECT
IS GIVEN LICENSE TO GO AHEAD
Hundred Million Dollar Development to Include World s
Longest Dam and the Building of Industrial
City No Power to be Sold

power generated from the giant
plant in the manufacturing processes
referred to and to be established at
the new industrial city.
Under these plans no power what
ever will be sold on the open mar
ket. Even the secondary or high
water power will be used by the COM
pany in irrigation work and not
dumped on the market. Some years
ago the promoters of the project pur-
chased nearly 100000 acres of fertile
but arid land adjoining the power
plant and this will be irrigated by
pumping water from the Columbia
river with electric pumps in the sum-
mer season when power production is
at its peak.
This irrigation project in itself is
colossal scheme since it contem-
plates the addition to the irrigated
areas of the state a body of fertile
land larger than that now under ditch
in the famous Yai6ma valley.
The Washington Irrigation e. De-
velopment company, formed more
than ten years ago by Henry Pierce,
electrical engineer of Seattle, has
been working ever since that time on
the plans now about to come into
fruition. In various ways, including
dam site borings, engineering re-
search and purchase of lands exclu-
sive of those to be irrigated, the
company already has spent, it was
stated, about $6,000,000.
1t was the purpose of the promot-
ers of the plan to begin construction
of the great dam at Priest Rapids
last year but a protest was inter-
posed by the salmon fishing interests
of the lower Columbia who repre-
sented to the government that the
9O-foot dam would prevent salmon
from reaching their spawning
grounds in the upper reaches of the
river. Hearings were had on this
protest before Col. w. j. Barden.
United States Army engineer, in Sc
attle several months ago. Colonel
Barden sitting as representative of
the Federal Power commission.
lt was left to a commission of sci
entists and practical fishery men to
work out plan by which the fish
can be carried over the dam. The
fact that the Power Commission has
granted the license is taken by repre-
sentatives of the development COM
pany to indicate that the commission
is satisfied that the fish ELEVATOR or
escalator scheme will solve the prob
lem.
Though the representatives of the
washington Irrigation & Deyelop-
ment company have no advices to the
erect, they expect that. the General
Electric interests will begin work at
frlest Rapids at once in view of the
tact that their plans were DELAYED
almost year by the fisheries nro-
test and IN view Of the further fact
that the fifty-year period for which
the government license is granted be-
gan to run this week. Up to the pres
ent the promoters have been working
under a Federal Power commission
three-year permit.
Wnen ne was In Seattle last sum-
mer TO attend hearings on the pro-
test OF the salmon interests, Mr..
rierce, who makes his home in Now
iork, announced that as the repre-
sentative of the capitalists interests
ne nad spent nearly year in Europe
studying the latest developments in
.ne eaectro-chemical industries and
mad purchased the exclusive American
rights to use four or five of the most
valuable of these, including new and
cheap process of taking nitrates from
the air and making ammonia by a
synthetic process.
Mr. Pierce also announced that the
promoters had purchased 600 acres
OF aluminium clay in Idaho for use
In a big aluminium plant at Priest
Rapids and had procured large de-
posits of phosphates, potash and 9th.
er minerals in this and other Pacific