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<br />1 <br /> <br />INTRODUCTION <br /> <br />BACKGROUND <br /> <br />, <br />~ <br />~ <br />~ <br />~ <br /> <br />Section l3(a) of the Federal Nonnuclear Energy Research and <br />Development Act of 1974 (42 U,S,C, 5912, 9(e), as amended) states that <br />the U,S, Water Resources Council (WRC) shall, at the request of the <br />U.S, Department of Energy (DOE), <br /> <br />undertake assessments of water resources requirements <br />and water supply availability for any nonnuclear energy <br />technology and any probable combination of technologies <br />which are the subject of Federal research and develop- <br />ment efforts authorized by this Act, and the commercial <br />development of which could have significant impacts on <br />water resources. <br /> <br />In 1977, the DOE made such a request of the WRC, whereupon two <br />section 13(a) assessments were initiated, one in the Upper Colorado <br />River Region and another in the Upper Missouri River Region, This <br />document reports, in part, on the findings and conclusions of the <br />former of these t~o assessments. <br /> <br />.. Funds for the 13(a) assessments were allocated to the DOE by the <br />U.S, Congress, The DOE, in turn, entered into a memorandum of agreement <br />with the WRC whereby monies were transferred to the WRC, and the respon- <br />sibility for conducting the assessments was lodged with the ~~C, <br /> <br />SCOPE .~\~ OBJECTIVE OF THE ASSESSM&~T <br /> <br />The geographic scope of section 13(a) assessments is regional in <br />nature. This particular assessment is addressed to WRC Region 14, the <br />Upper Colorado River Region, Because of the regional nature of the <br />assessment, findings are presented at a river subbasin (Water Accounting <br />Unit) level, Details as to the disaggregation of the Region into various <br />subdivisions are presented in chapter 2, <br /> <br />The nonnuclear energy technologies to which this assessment is <br />addressed include oil shale and coal gasification development in the <br />Upper Colorado River Region. The study is not specifically concerned <br />with other energy conversion processes and their development, although <br />the assessment of water availability for the two specified emerging <br />energy technologies (EET) is presented against a background of <br />projected conventional energy development, <br /> <br />.. <br /> <br />1-1 <br />