7204 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

1 INTRODUCTION The White River is a tributary to the Green River in the Upper Colorado River Basin (Figure 1). The river drains over 5000 mil (13,000 km2) of Utah and Colorado. Sixty-six miles (106 km) of the river drain arid pinion-juniper, sagebrush, and barren land habitat of Uintah County in Northeast Utah. Most tributaries to the river in Utah are intermittent. The lower 24 mi (39 km) of the river flow through the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation; the remaining 42 mi (67 km) of river in Utah are managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) or are privately owned. The White River basin lies within a 17,000 mi2 (442,000 km2) area of Utah, Colorado and Wyoming where the richest oil shale deposits in the coun- try are found. Recoverable shale oil deposits are estimated to be 731 billion barrels (Ishinger, 1977). In 1965, the Utah Division of Water Resources, proposed construction of a dam on the White River to provide water needs for oil shale development in the region (Utah Div. Water Resources, 1977). Secon- dary objectives of the project were, 1) to provide irrigation water for the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation (UOIR), 2) to provide a lake for recreational boating and fishing, and 3) to possibly provide hydroelectric power. The proposed site is located 51 mi (82 km) upstream of the river mouth. This is about 8.5 mi (13.7 km) southwest of Bonanza, Utah in the center of Section 17, T10S, R24E. Approximately 12 mi (19.3 km) of the White River would be impounded by the 1,810 acre (724 ha) reservoir (Figure 2). Future development of Federal oil shale tracts leased to private concerns and the construction of the proposed impoundment on the White River will have environmental impacts, especially on the aquatic fauna of the river. However the magnitude of these impacts is unknown. The possible occurrence of endangered fish in the White River, particularly the Colorado squawfish