Table No. 3.—Electric power per capita-Continued The activities of the headquarters staff of this division have been conducted under somewhat heavier pressure than in past years in the endeavor to carry out the commission's policy of clearing up all pending applications with a minimum of delay. The field investigations of and reports on applications for preliminary permits and licenses and the inspection of construction work and other field duties pertaining to the administration of the provisions of licenses were made and performed by the Departments of War, Interior, and Agriculture in accordance with the provisions of section 2 of the act. This work has been done within the three departments by the 50 or more district engineer offices of the Corps of Engineers, United States Army; the United States Forest Service; the United States Geological Survey; and the United States Bureau of Reclamation. The approximate cost of the field administration, as reported by these four organizations, amounted to $60,363. Of this amount $8,032 for travel and other nonpersonal expenses was reimbursed from the commission's appropriations. The balance, $52,331, represents salaries of employees prorated in proportion to the time devoted to the work of the commission, for which reimbursement from the commission's funds is not required. Applications Filed. During the 10 years of the life of the commission a total of 1,104 applications for preliminary permits or licenses had been received at the close of the fiscal year. Of the 102 new applications filed during the year, 22 were for preliminary permit and 80 were for license. The 22 applications for preliminary permit represent a total installation capacity estimated at 694,500 horsepower. Of the 80 applications for license, 76 were for minor projects (not more than 100 horsepower) or minor parts of complete projects and 4 were for major projects. In addition to the new cases, applications for major licenses were received from 9 permittees in active standing. The 13 applications for license for major projects represent proposed initial installations of 566,210 horsepower and possible ultimate installations aggregating 1,407,240 horsepower. The number and character of applications received followed quite closely those of previous years, the proportion of projects of a major type being slightly less than in the preceding fiscal year, with a further recession in the total capacity of new applications following the trend which has been in evidence ever since 1926. Among the larger projects for which applications for preliminary permits were filed are that of the United Verde Copper Co. on Little Colorado River in Arizona, having a proposed installation capacity of 82,000 horsepower; that of a municipality, city of Vancouver, Wash., on North Fork of Lewis River, with an estimated installation capacity of 80,000 horsepower; that of Madera irrigation district on San Joaquin River in Fresno and Madera Counties, Calif., with an installed capacity of approximately 100,000 horsepower; and that of Mountain Power Co., on Tellico River in Tennessee, having an estimated installed capacity of 55,000 horsepower. Several noteworthy applications for license were filed. The Safe Harbor Water Power Corporation made application for a license for a development on Susquehanna River in York and Lancaster Counties, Pa., having an initial installed capacity of 231,000 horsepower and an estimated ultimate installation of 539,000 horsepower. Authorization was sought by Virginia-Carolina Power Co. for a development on Roanoke River, Va., in the vicinity of Roanoke Rapids, with a proposed installation capacity of 55,500 horsepower for public-utility purposes. Inland Power & Light Co. applied for a license for a project on Lewis River in Washington, involving the initial installation of 55,000 horsepower with some possibility of ultimate increase to 210,000 horsepower. White River Power Co. måde application for a license for a project on White River and tributaries, Missouri, in which an initial installation of approximately 247,000 horsepower is proposed, later to be enlarged to 370,000 horsepower. Two applications for licenses to partially develop the water resources of Alaska were filed; one by George T. Cameron, who proposes to install approximately 87,000 horsepower on the shores of Speel and Taku Inlets, and one by I. and J. D. Zellerbach for a project of approximately 80,000 horsepower installed capacity. Both of these enterprises contemplate the utilization of power in the production of newsprint paper to be made from timber in the Tongass National Forest under a long-term award from the Forest Service. Status of Applications. Of the 1,104 cases in which applications have been filed with the commission, 143 were awaiting final action at the end of the year, exclusive of 27 applications for license from permittees in good standing. These figures compare with 167 and 25, respectively, in like status at the end of the preceding fiscal year. Four hundred and forty-five licenses and 51 preliminary permits were in effect at the end of the year. These include 4 cases partly under license and partly under preliminary permit. In addition 4 licenses have been authorized by the commission but not issued. The total number of active cases carried separately in the commission's records was 636 at the end of the year. The number of cases definitely closed was 468, including 29 licenses surrendered, 14 licenses terminated by the commission, 83 preliminary permits expired, and 342 applications rejected, withdrawn, or combined with other projects. The license authorizations now outstanding as compared with those a year ago are shown by the following summary: Of the cases awaiting action at the end of the year, 25 were in suspended status, mostly because they involve State and international matters beyond the control of the commission. Forty-three additional cases involving the Colorado River or its tributaries remained in the same state of suspension as reported last year, although progress has been made in determining the policy that is to be pursued with respect to them, and it is anticipated that definite action will be taken in the near future looking toward their final disposition. Action in 35 cases in an active status was being deferred pending receipt of further information from the applicants, recommendations by other Federal agencies, and for various similar reasons. Sixty-seven cases upon which the commission was free to act were under investigation in the field or study by the commission's staff at the end of the year. This number compared with 123 such cases at the end of the preceding fiscal year. The following tabulation summarizes the progress in disposing of applications during the past two years. The figures include both new applications and those made for license pursuant to preliminary permit. The value of the work performed for the commission by the field offices of the Corps of Engineers, the Forest Service, and the Geological Survey has been again demonstrated by the effective manner in which applications were handled during the year. The number of cases remaining to be acted upon has been reduced practically to a minimum. The period required for the routine of consideration-advertising, field investigation, public hearing, study by the commission's staff, authorization by the commission, and issuance and acceptance of instruments-has averaged approximately seven months, so that the accumulation is somewhat less than the rate at which applications are being received. The diagrams on page 24 show the status of original applications at the end of each fiscal year of the commission's existence and portray the progress made in the consideration of such cases. The table following shows the distribution of the active applications by States. The figures represent gross horsepower; that is, no deductions have been made for duplications in conflicting applications. It will be observed that a large proportion of the total is accounted for by suspended applications which relate to the Colorado and St. Lawrence Rivers. |