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<br /> <br />",." <br />'.0."-'- <br /> <br />United States Department of the <br /> <br />GEOLOGICAL SURVEY <br />Box 25046 <br />Denver Federal Center <br />Denver,' Colorado 80225 <br /> <br />Interior <br /> <br />Water Resources Division <br />Colorado District <br />Mail Stop 415 <br /> <br />April 30, 1976 <br /> <br />INFORMATION FOR THE PRESS <br /> <br />SUBJECT: <br /> <br />Work-plan reports for assessing impacts of coal develop- <br />ment on water resources of the Yampa River basin released <br /> <br />j~ REI~EASE DATE: Inrrnedia.tely <br /> <br />~: <br /> <br />"'''0'.'.'., <br /> <br />'FOR ADDITIONAL INFOID1ATION CONTACT: <br /> <br />.r'" <br /> <br />..,j" <br /> <br />., <br />~,' , <br /> <br />..;> \.' <br /> <br />'1 <br /> <br />J. E. Biesecker, District Chief <br />Water Resources Division <br />U.S. Geological Survey <br />Building 53, Mail Stop 415 <br />Box 25046, Denver Federal Center <br />Lakewood, Colorado 80225 <br />Telephone: 234-3815 <br /> <br />../F ,,~, <br />~;;' ,. . ,.". , :',"1 \<.; <br />~ ,".j J\l~ l:~' \:llU .... <br /> <br /> <br />'\... . . "".. ~:.~., _ ._..~ ~nn"."".. ~ .' "'J.<_f' <br /> <br />~~. <br /> <br />~;.w."... <br /> <br />Two reports describing a work plan for an' investigation of the potential <br />environmental effects of developing energy resources in the Yampa River <br />basin in northwestern Colorado and south-central Wyoming have been <br />released by the U.S. Geological Survey, Department of the Interior. <br />This investigation could aid studies in other energy-rich areas in the <br />West, according to Dr. Timothy D. Steele; project chief and senior <br />author of the reports. <br /> <br />Designed primarily to assess the availability and quality of the basin's <br />water resources, the 2l;;-'year U.S. Geological Survey project ",ill also <br />evaluate potential environmental and selected social and economic im- <br />pacts of various energy-resource development plans proposed by mining <br />and power companies. Most of the basin's mineral rights are federally <br />controlled, and principal impending development involves extraction of <br />strippable coal reserves in the basin, estimated by the U.S. Bureau of <br />Mines to exceed 950 million tons. Annual.coal-mining production in the <br />basin was 4.4 million tons in 1975, and this is estimated to exceed 20 <br />million tons by 1990. As a result, the present population in the basin <br />(estimated at 18,000) may increase as much as three-fold. <br /> <br />~~>lO\..LlTIOtv ~0 <br />~ ~ <br />i3 '" <br />_ m <br />>to << <br />~ ~ <br />p.. ,,"" <br />'''76_191'' @ <br /> <br />~-~-""-,,-,,,,:,""-"""'+~"-~"""";'-----'" <br /> <br />~~.-,., <br /> <br />JUL ! & 1976 <br />