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<br />I <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />The other factor about the railroads is.that it takes. a lot of energy' <br />to haul the energy, to Houston or wherever: it. may be.. . It takes <br />millions of barrels of oil a year to haul coal throughout the United <br />States. By pipeline, much of it can be done by.gravity.: Energy:also <br />has to be used for the pipeline in some cases, with booster stations <br />and pumps. But a gravity type pipeline, even with booster and pumping <br />stations, consumes considerably less energy than the railroads. <br /> <br />Another factor, which is very important, is that this potential project <br />would create great. improvement in the economy in the Walsenburg and <br />Trinidad areas, areas which have been chronically depressed. Many of <br />the coal mines in past years have shut down. There are a number of <br />unemployed people. in those areas, a great many people on welfare and. <br />many drawing bare subsistence in the way of miners' pensions, supple- <br />mented in some cases by the old age pension. There are very few. jobs <br />for the younger people. So there would be a very strong plus economic. <br />impact as a result of this proposed project. That is something we <br />have to balance out. We just can't assume blindly that this is bad, <br />because in fact it appears to be good for the people in the Walsenburg <br />and Trinidad areas. This is where we get into a delicate balancing <br />act to try to determine what damage this diversion might cause in: <br />relationship to what good it might. bring to the other side of the <br />Sangre de Cristo Range. <br /> <br />At this point, we refuse to draw conclusions as far as our staff is <br />concerned. I think the same is true in the State Engineer's office. <br />We do. hope to study the matter very thoroughly. <br /> <br />MR. KROEGER: One other question, Larry. Frank indicated that the <br />exchange of. that well water would divert some good quality water to the <br />river. Can I conclude from this, then, that you are going to use a. <br />brackish or a poor quality water for transmitting the coal? <br /> <br />MR. SPARKS: If they. take it. from the deep formations, it is bound to <br />be poor quality water. As.a matter of fact, if you go deep enough, you <br />get into very saline water. <br /> <br />The other factor is that if we develop the: Closed Basin.project to its <br />complete potential, we might have exchange water which could be pur- <br />chased from the project. We will have some 30,000 acre-feet of water <br />from the project which. is available for sale. Frankly, I don't know <br />how we are going to sell it unless somebody, like the San Marcos, <br />picks it up, because it comes into. the river below Alamosa where there <br />are very few irrigation uses. There are potentials for this 10,000 <br />acre-feet of water without harming anyone. <br /> <br />MR. KROEGER: Does anybody on the board want to comment? <br /> <br />.-47- <br />