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<br />Informatio~ <br />Public Affairs Center <br />r:::. <br /> <br />. j ~ <br /> <br />..8. Department <br />of the Interior <br />Bureau of. <br />Reclamation <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />,~.~ <br /> <br />. t~ ,l <br /> <br />.-; <br />c.. ; <br />1-" <br />For'.'Immediate Release <br /> <br />" <br /> <br />Aquatrain <br /> <br />Holloway: (303) 234-4695 <br />Gillespie: (303) 234-4180 <br /> <br />Issue date: April 26, 1982 <br /> <br />The Department of the Interior said today it will help W. R. Grace & Comoany and <br /> <br /> <br />other interests determine the possibility of using unwanted salty waters from the Upper <br /> <br />Colorado River Basin to transport plastic containers of coal to the West Coast. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Donald P. Hodel, under secretary of Interior, said a proposal from W. R. Grace <br />to explore the feasibility of an aquatrain -- a saline water pipeline carrying plastic <br />capsules of dry, clean coal. -- "appears to offer significant potential." <br /> <br />"If a technology using these concepts could be proven economically sound, it <br />would help control the damaging salt content of the Colorado River, benefit the <br />Nation and the 15 million users of the Colorado's water, and put an unwanted product <br />saline water -- to good use," Hodel said. <br /> <br />Robert N. Broadbent, commissioner of Reclamation, said the proposal evolved from <br />a Reclamation report last September that suggested alternative uses of the Colorado <br />River Basin's saline waters. <br /> <br />"The proposed aquatrain, using saline water as a medium, looks promising," <br />Broadbent said. "It's the type of project -- a cooperative program among federal, <br />state; and industrial interests --we look for." <br /> <br />In a letter to Ira E. McKeever, Jr., president of Grace's Western Mining <br />Division, Hodel said Recla:-'1ation will take the lead Interior role in preparing <br />for a feasibility study and will work with the Bureau of Land Management, Interior's <br />legal staff, and with other federal, state, and industrial interests. Reclamation's <br />Upper Colorado Region, headquartered in Salt Lake City, will establish an office in <br />Denver, where the aquatrain project will be managed and implemented on a day-~o-day <br />basi~. Regional Director Cl ifford Barrett said, "We are now in the process of seeking <br />a project manager and necessary support staff for the project." <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />(more) <br /> <br />Code 140 NR1382 <br />P.O. Box 25007 <br />Denver Federal Center . <br />. Denver, CO S0225 <br /> <br />~ <br />~J <br />":0 <br />-\. <br />~ <br />