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<br />('") <br />C<', <br />'-1 <br />.-l <br />(..~") <br />r..~ <br /> <br />." , <br /> <br />AQUATRAIN <br />April 1983 <br /> <br />Section 1. <br /> <br />Introduction <br /> <br />Additionally, AQUATRAIN would help protect the quality of Colorado River <br />water delivered to Mexico under the U.S.-Mexico Water Treaty of 1944, as <br />stipulated in Minute No. 242 to the Treaty. Finally, AQUATRAIN will help <br />maintain water quality standards established by the Colorado River Basin <br />States and the Environmental Protection Agency. <br /> <br />A Cooperative Agreement dated November 11, 1982, providing for joint investi- <br />gation of the project was signed between the u.S. Department of the Interior's <br />Bureau of Reclamation and Aquatrain, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of <br />W. R. Grace & Co. <br /> <br />The foremost purpose for Federal and State government participation in <br />AQUATRAIN is to reduce sa1inity in the Colorado River at the lowest cost <br />and, where possible, to beneficially use the water . <br /> <br />The foremost interest of Aquatrain Inc., is to provide an economically <br />COBpetitive long-term~thod of transpocting coal from coal-rich regions <br />of Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah to domestic markets in the southwest u.S. <br />and possibly export markets. <br /> <br />AQUATRAIN would minimize the cost of energy produced from new coal-fired <br />electric utility powerplants by making low-cost, high-quality coal and/or <br />coal products readily available and by using otherwise unwanted saline <br />water to cool powerplants. AQUATRAIN would also help reduce the amount <br />of oil and gas currently being burned in powerplants, conserving it for <br />other, more beneficial uses. For example, the AQUATRAIN Project could <br />annually replace the equivalent of 100 million barrels of petroleum-based <br />fuels now being burned for power generation. Freeing up that petroleum <br />reserve through use of coal in coal-fired powerplants would be cheaper <br />than building new synfuel plants, resulting in further savings to utilities, <br />consumers, and the Nation. <br /> <br />Savings in commodity transport revenues would be used to effectively "subsidize" <br />AQUATRAIN's transportation of saline water. It is envisioned that shippers <br />would use a part of transportation savings to cover salinity control costs. <br />Private industry would bear project construction costs. If necessary for <br />project financial integrity, the Federal Government's salinity control <br />program would pay a negotiated share of operation and maintenance costs. <br />The Colorado River Basin States' 2S-percent share of any Federal salinity <br />control expenditure would be provided through a surcharge on public power <br />sold in the Basin, as now provided by law. <br /> <br />2 <br />