Laserfiche WebLink
E TI NONE <br />Backgroundand Introduction <br />In addition to the water demand estimates, this needs assessment also begins the process of <br />addressing the legal parameter through compilation of conditional water rights within the study <br />area that may be applied to additional energy production. Although further technical analysis is <br />necessary to fully address the legal water supply parameter, the other aforementioned issues are <br />beyond the scope of this study and warrant thoughtful and thorough consideration in subsequent <br />investigations. <br />1.1.1 Recent Documentation <br />Several documents, articles, and research studies have been written/conducted to assess various <br />individual components for identifying the water needs for energy production development; <br />however, none have attempted to put scenarios into a usable tool for planning purposes. <br />Important recent and concurrent studies related to this project are briefly described below. <br />• The Statewide ~Uater Supply Initiative (SWSI) Phase I and Phase II reports quanti~ed the <br />demands and allocations for water in Colorado. While the SWSI identified future energy- <br />related water demands in the basins, estimates to provide strong substantiation under various <br />demand scenarios are not available, and SWSI did not examine in detail the water needed to <br />produce and eXtract energy resources. Phase II recognized that the development of energy <br />resources in Colorado has increased over the last several years and is likely to increase <br />further if fuel costs remain high. This activity may result in water quality issues and other <br />impacts that will need to be addressed through water quality programs such as the Colorado <br />River Salinity Control Program (CWCB 2004, CWCB 2007). <br />• The U.S. Department of Interior (DOI), U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Draft <br />Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) proposes to amend 12 land use plans <br />to describe the most geologically prospective areas administered by the BLM where oil shale <br />and tar sands resources are present, and to designate which of these areas will be open for <br />application for commercial leasing, eXploration, and development. There are approximately <br />2.3 million acres of BLM-administered lands within this area that are the subject of the Draft <br />PEIS. The Draft PEIS considered three alternatives and selected Alternative B as the <br />Preferred Alternative. The Preferred Alternative would make approximately 2 million acres <br />of lands containing oil shale resources available for application for commercial leasing and <br />approximately 430,000 acres available for tar sands. Alternative A, the No Action <br />~ 1-3 <br />