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<br />MR. SPARKS: It is getting to the point where Colorado will have some <br />tough decisions to make as.to whether or not it will encourage or dis- <br />courage future energy production in this state., The way it appears now, <br />the energy industry will be in the near future the, largest consumer of <br />water in the state; that is, consumptive use. <br /> <br />MR. BUGAS: Of course, you know, with the exception -- well, you can I <br />almost say that all of the energy produced in western Colorado now, <br />though, is for coal plants. I think that will continue in the future. <br />I think that one of the strongest deterents is the very tough air pollu- <br />tion regulations that we have, and there is such a limited number of <br />locations that you can build a power plant. Colorado ute, included, <br />will resist large stations being built here to export energy, because <br />what they are going to do'is use up our air increments; and we won't <br />be able to serve our own people. So from that point of view, we are <br />not going to encourage large energy complexes in western Colorado. <br />There. are just a few places that you can 'build a power plant and do it <br />and meet all of the standards. <br /> <br />MR. SPARKS: <br />we got from <br />still a net <br /> <br />In the studies we made two years ago <br />the Public utilities Commission -- at <br />importer of power. <br /> <br />and the information <br />that time Colorado was <br /> <br />MR. BUGAS: Yes. <br /> <br />MR. SPARKS: Are we still in that stage? <br /> <br />MR. BUGAS: We are still in that st~ge right now. <br /> <br />MR. SPARKS: We are not producing enough for our own people? <br />MR. BUGAS: At this time, this is correct. <br /> <br />MR. SIEK: One thing that I think is interesting is the 1978 Clean Air <br />Act has almost eliminated the use of low sulphur:coal, which we are <br />blessed with in Colorado, ,for control purposes of S02 effluent and pretty <br />much require you to go to the scrubber route, which I think really <br />impacts a state like the state of Colorado, which has a water problem. <br /> <br />If we were able to blame coal, which I think you have addressed in the <br />Hayden plant, those coals with low sulphur contents, you could possibly <br />eliminate the requirement for 'the scrubber system. <br /> <br />MR. BUGAS: And not meet Colorado standards. <br />standards very easily, but we cannot meet the <br />all future power plants, if the standards are <br />are going to have to put scrubbers on them. <br /> <br />We can meet the federal <br />COlorado standards. So <br />as they are today,. we <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />MR. SIEK: As I remember, the plant in Eaton, Colorado, the public <br />service plant, they could meet the Colorado standards with coal and <br />demonstrated that if they could run the coal with a certain percentage <br />of -- at any rate, it is a possibility for some plants, depending upon <br />the size of the plant, to meet the Colorado standards with blending the <br />coal, but the Clean Air Amendment eliminated that possibility. <br /> <br />-8- <br />