Aside from providing significant amounts of renewable power, the dam regulates the St. Lawrence River and affords passage for the navigation of large vessels.

Despite the enormous economic advantages to the dam, it required the relocation of 6,500 people and caused harm to the surrounding environment.

The early St. Lawrence Seaway was proposed but railway companies in the United States stopped its construction because they felt it would reduce their profits.

The Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909 further solidified cooperation between the U.S. and Canada on the river, allowing "free and open" navigation and establishing the International Joint Commission (IJC) to resolve disputes.

Despite the cooperation, the U.S. Federal Government was unable to open up the river for increased navigation and development due to political issues.

Upset with this, Canada unilaterally passed two acts in 1951 which allowed projects on the St. Lawrence for power and navigation purposes.

As Daniel Macfarlane's book Negotiating a River shows, Canada attempted to build the Seaway alone, with Ontario and New York constructing the power dam.

[7] Because of political stalemate and the railway companies, construction did not begin until August 19, 1954, when the entire seaway project began with a groundbreaking ceremony at the dam site.

He died on January 16, 1955, from injuries and shock from the previous evening when his ice-covered aircraft crashed near an airstrip in London, Ontario.

He and four others were returning to Toronto from Windsor; Saunders had reportedly just delivered a speech in Detroit on the St. Lawrence Power Project.

On July 1, 1958, Dr. Otto Holden, chief engineer of Hydro-electric Power Commission of Ontario, and J. Burch McMorran, Chief Engineer of the New York Power Authority, detonated 27 tonnes of explosives to demolish the cofferdam that had diverted St. Lawrence River water away from the powerhouse construction site.

The group was not consulted or compensated in any way for the flooding of ten islands belonging to Akwesasne for the creation of the head pond.

In 2008, a 15 year effort to address the past wrongs resulted in a proposed settlement between Ontario Power Generation and The Mohawk Council of Akwesasne.

[15] Power produced by the dam was the primary reason that General Motors, Reynolds Metals and the Aluminum Company of America opened factories in the area.

[4][17][18] R.H. Saunders Generating Station controls its environmental initiative by conducting studies, improving habitats, and coordinating electricity production during spawning seasons.

The power station's concrete was cracking and deteriorating while the generator stators and throat ring linings were deformed.