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r-, . NVIRONMENTAL DRAWBACKS - - - - - - - -- ADMITTED - - - -- - :D.:;.~.t .hf,~- -- - J Development orado River would be increased by an es- quality, noise levels, fish and WlldJifel timated H per cent. on the recreational and cultural \'alu~ "Other salinity innUCl'lCeS." the report the vast shale area of the three states.J said, "could OCcur from accidental In a summary statement on "envil releaSE's. surface water runoff and water mental impact and adverse eO\'iromn~ lable depression." effects,'. tht> report said: Not only would the shale industry devel. "Oil shale development would pc .. opment affet't water supplies in the upper both direct and indirect changes in th Colorado River basin. the report said, it vironrnent of the oil shale region me would .J" hove ".dv,,,,, ,",,~ wlticl1 of Ih, Ihm 'tal., wh're comm'l cannot be 8\'oided" on the lood i!sell, air Continued on page 4. --- --- u. s.: Need By LEO~ARD LARSES Chitt', Ofnv.,. Put WlShi~9'''' DurNil WASHI~GTON, D.C. - De\'clopmE'nt of tOil shale industry in the shale area! of iorado, Utah and Wyoming will ha\'e a nfound environmental im~ct. the U.S. ~parllncnt of Interior said-Thursday. t.he impact, however, can be accepted rview of the need ior an industrial po- nlial of one million barrels of oil a day l which could be produced by 1985, the department Sl.lgg('sted. The findings were COntained in a mas- sive three-vol.ume. !,lSO.page draft emi. ronmental statement issued by interior on the proposed prototype oil shale leasing prOgram announced by Interior Secretary fulgers C. B. Morton June 29, 1971. Under the leaSe program on public lands, six sites-three in i'ach of the oll shale slates-will be leased under compete Dictates Oil Shale ith'e bids by private firms lor eventual development of shale oil production, In a principal area of the draft em'iron. mental statern{'fJ!, the Interior Depart. ment reporle<l that in full production, an oil shale industry would COllsume up to 164,000 acre.feet of water annually. -n-msure such a dependable supply of water, the report said, dams and reser- voirs must be built on the Colorado River or its tributaries or water would have to be purchased from eJdsting reservoirs. The report wamed that "the water di\'l~rted for all uses would have an un. avoidable impact on regional water supplies because of storage. diversion and net consumption of existing water re- sources would deplete natural stream flow." In addition to depletion of surface and ground water supplies. the report said, the salinity concentration of the lower Col. - 0>') = .... <=> <=> CO