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003162 ~ CHAPTER II GENERAL DISCUSSIONS The South San Juan project arn the Indian Ship rock project in the first stage of development could meet the need for flood control. The need is particularly great at Farmington and Shiprock. The Navajo Dam as planned would remove a serious flood hazard in those areas. It would permit the storage of water for irrigation and abate pollution. Undeveloped Resources Although some progress has been rrade in the development of the many natural resources of the San Juan River Valley and the San Juan Basin, it is only a "drop in the bucket" compared to future possibili- ties. .. In or nea r the project area and throughout most of the San Juan Basin are tremendous undeveloped bodies of coal. Some of these depos- its are reported to be of excellent coking quality While others are valuable for the potential production of synthetic gas and oil and related products. Because of the lack of suitable rail transportation, most of the coal mining in the basin bas been for local use. The proj- ect area is sitmted roughly in the center of a natural gas field reputed to: be the largest undeveloped field in the United States. A pipeline to carry a pa.rt of the gas produced to centers in Arizona and California. is now under construction. Gas to meet the demnds' of the central portion of New Mexico is also supplied from this field. Large deposits of uranium minerals on the Navajo Reservation near "Four Corners Area" have been discovered, and intensive prospecting of the reservation and areas adjacent to it is in progress. Large-scale mining and processing of this ore have nb~ been started. North of the project area, in the Colorado portion of the basin,are huge stands of timber, particularlY pine and spruce, Which are only partially utilized at pres- ent. Undeveloped or partially developed mineral resources in the Colorado area include tungsten, vanadium, uranium, gold, silver, lead, and zinc. Many undeveloped resources center around potential irrigation proj- ects in the San Juan River Valley and the development of the valley's waters for the production of hydroelectric power. Fertile valleys, terraces, and mesas contain thousands of acres of new land that, with irrigation, will support. productive farmsteads and be the means of livelihood for hundreds of new farm families. Economic Conditions . General economic conditions in the region and in communities border- ing the project area have been favorable in recent years. These conditions have resulted from several factors, the most important being good farm prices. Other factors contributing to the improved conditions are the 19