Orders of Approval for Regulation of Lake Ontario

The 1956 Orders approved the construction and operation of the components of the international hydropower project at Massena, New York and Cornwall, Ontario, which affect water levels and flows in Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River. These components include channel enlargements that increased the capacity to release water from Lake Ontario, as well as works that regulate the flows. The Orders reaffirm the priorities for water use set by the Boundary Waters Treaty, require that the works be operated to provide no less protection to riparian and navigation interests downstream, and state that the IJC will indicate the interrelationships among the requirements of the Orders when needed.