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<br />CHAPTER I <br /> <br />PURPOSE AND NEED FOR THE ACTION <br /> <br />Introduction <br /> <br />The purpose of this environmental assessment is to evaluate the <br />environmental effects of constructing and testing a system to pump saline ground <br />water and dispose of it by deep-well injection. The Paradox valley Unit of the <br />Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Project (CRBSCP) is located in Montrose <br />County in southwestern Colorado (frontispiece map). <br /> <br />The testing program for the unit involves pumping brine ground water from a <br />series of wells along the D:Jlores River in Paradox Valley, transporting it <br />approximately 3.7 miles through a pipeline, and disposing of it by deep-well <br />injection in an isolated geologic formation. The imnediate area of influence <br />includes the carmunities of Naturita, Nucla, Paradox, and Bedrock. <br /> <br />A Draft Environmental Statem=nt was prepared for the unit and made public on <br />May 11, 1978. After receiving public carment and holding a public hearing, a <br />Final Environmental Statem=nt was filed with the Environmental Protection <br />Agency (EPA) on March 20, 1979, and made public. The proposed plan then <br />consisted of pumping brine from the well field at a rate of 5 cubic feet per <br />second (cfs) and piping it to a hydrogen sulfide stripping plant for the removal <br />of toxic hydrogen sulfide gas, then piping it to Radiun Evaporation Pond in Dry <br />Creek Basin, located approximately 20 miles southwest of the well field. Eight <br />relift pumping plants would have been needed to pump the brine from the well <br />field to the evaporation pond. o=ep-well injection of brine was one of the <br />alternatives to pumping and evaporation of brine discussed briefly in the <br />environmental statem=nt. In carmenting on the Draft Environmental Statem=nt on <br />July 17, 1978, the Region VIII office of the EPA stated it "believes that <br />disposal by deep well injection is the environmentally preferred solution and <br />therefore should be seriously investigated for brine disposal." <br /> <br />In september 1978, the Definite plan Report was published, also recarmending <br />pumping brine from the well field at a rate of 5 cfs and using evaporation as <br />the rreans of disposal. In that report, injection was considered as an <br />alternative but was eliminated because the proposed 5 cfs disposal rate was <br />estimated to be higher than the geologic formations could absorb. <br /> <br />Continuing investigations and testing of the brine wellfield indicated the <br />desired reduction of brine flow into the river could be rret by pumping <br />approximately 2.0 cfs of brine. Based on this new information, the Bureau of <br />Reclamation (Reclamation) initiated action to conduct a feasibility study of <br />disposal by injection in september 1978. Two separate studies were conducted by <br />consulting engineering firms, and in August 1985, the final design for the test <br />injection well was completed. To test the feasibility of the operation, this <br />well would be constructed and then tested for a period of 2 years. Supplem=nts <br />to the Final Envirorunental Statem=nt and the Definite Plan Report will be <br />written, if the testing program proves successfult to reflect the change from <br />evaporation to disposal by deep-well injection. <br /> <br />1 <br /> <br />00 <br /> <br />41 <br />