BOARD01567

• Board Meeting Date: 5/1/1975
• Description: Agenda or Table of Contents, Minutes, Memos
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Meeting

1

The report on "Alternative Sources of Water for J.Prototype Oil Shale'
Development, Colorado and Utah", dated September 1974, was prepared by
the Bureau of Reclamation to identify specific alternative sources of
water for use in prototype oil shale development on Tracts C-a and C-b in
west central Colorado and Tracts U-a and U-b in east central Utah.

This slide outlines the area of oil shale development in Colorado, Utah
and Wyoming. The lighter color outlining the overall area, the darker
color indicating the richer sources of twenty-five gallons per ton or
greater.

This slide shows the location of Tracts C-a and C-b, being located in
the Piceance area in Colorado adjacent to the White River, and Tracts
U-a and U-b adjacent to the White River, just near the Utah-Colorado
border. Because of the time deadline imposed, we received this instruc-
tion on August 2, with the direction to have this data to the panel on
September 9, to be considered at this meeting. This gave us less than
two weeks, then to do whatever engineering studies that had to be accom-
plished in compiling available data, submitting it into this report,
getting it edited and published in just over one month's time. Because
of this deadline, there was no extensive involvement of other federal
agencies, the states or the public. However, the Geological Survey and
the Fish and Wildlife Service were contacted and did provide input
relative to ground water resources in the area and recommended flows for
fish within the area.

The information contained in the September report was based on supple-
mental information presented in the July, 1974 report on water for
energy in the Upper Colorado River Basin prepared by the Water for Energy
Management Team in Denver, Colorado, and a Final Environmental Impact
Statement of September, 1973 on the Prototype Oil Shale Leasing Program,
which was prepared by the Oil Shale Task Force.

The July, 1974 report on Water for Energy estimated future water needs
of the Upper Colorado River Basin to the year 2000, including the needs
for oil shale Tracts C-a, C-b, U-a and U-b. It gave reasonable assurance
that water would be available within the Upper Colorado River Basin's
entitlement under the Colorado River Compact of 1922 for planned and
projected energy developments, provided certain state and federal actions
were taken. The estimates of water available for use in Colorado and
Utah, based on the assumptions made in the July report are:

(Slide 4 - Availability of Water)
1 (Thousand acre-feet)
Colorado Utah
Usable supply 2,976 1,322
1974 depletions 2,124 825
Unused supply 852 497
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