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CHAPTER I GENERAL DISCUSSIONS Oil shale The oil shale deposits in the Piceance Creek Basin just south of the project area offer vast opportunities for development. These deposits are the richest, thickest, and most accessible of the deposits underlying much of Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming. The deposits in this three-State area:areunique in the Nation and are the largest known in the world. The strata of oil shale in the Piceance Creek Basin are close to the surface, as much as 2,000 feet in thickness, and contain some 1,480 billion bar- rels of equivalent oil. Numerous zones of the shale will yield an aver- age of more than 25 gallons of oil per ton and some will produce as much as 90 gallons per ton. Dawsonit~ and nahcolite are intermingled with the oil shale in cer- tain zones. Dawsonite is particularly significant as a potential source of aluminum, a metal which is now produced mostly from imported ores. Nahcolite is significant in'view of its potential use to control sulfur dioxide and nitrous oxide sta~k emissions. Timing of the development of oil shale and accompanying resources is indefinite, but extensive research efforts toward development are underway. Interest is heightened by the prototype oil shale leasing program now be- ing administered by the United States Department of the Interior. Under the prototype program, two leases were made available in 1974 for private development in each of the three oil shale States. Leases were taken only in Colorado and Utah, however. The program was initiated to stimulate the development of commercial oil shale technology and ensure a domestic oil supply when needed. Under terms of the leases, the lessees are to develop 'a prototype production of 50,000 barrels of oil a day at each tract. Tract C-a in Colorado lies in the Yellow Creek drainage and was leased by the Rio Blanco Oil Shale Project, a partnership endeavor by two oil com- panies. Colorado tract C-b lies in the Piceance Creek drainage and was leased by a consortium of several companies. The companies are presently trying to complete an acceptable plan of development for each tract. Studies are proceeding on economics, legal and environmental considerations, and other matters including water supply. Construction of the oil extrac- tion process plants has llot yet begun. The number of new resident. in the project area as a result of oil shale development has so far been V2ry slight. In addition to the above' activity, Superior Oil Company is working toward a prototype oil shale d~velopment on private land near the mouth of Piceance Creek. Other oil shale developments in western Colorado, out- side the project area, are considerably further advanced. Coal Reserves of bituminous coal in the Danforth Hills north of Meeker are estimated at more than 7.8 billion tons. Production from these 5