<br />lU'-'j..
<br />
<br />per each mgll increase in salinity, and
<br />that damages increase to $450,000 per
<br />mgll at a river salinity level of 1,400
<br />mgll. The conclusion that damages
<br />vary with the level of salinity
<br />represents a significant change from
<br />interim results of the Consortium
<br />study, of uniform damage values,
<br />Also, these latest unit damage values
<br />are substantially lower than earlier
<br />Bureau of Reclamation analyses of
<br />damage values derived from the
<br />Consortium study of $425,000 per
<br />mgll.
<br />
<br />Regional Developments
<br />Basin Developments
<br />
<br />The Board's staff continued to
<br />review plans for water and energy
<br />development projects in the Colorado
<br />River Basin to determine their effect
<br />on California's Colorado River water
<br />rights and interests, and, if necessary,
<br />to attempt to obtain changes in the
<br />projects, A trend that appeared during
<br />1975 and continued through 1976 and
<br />1977 was a slowdown in earlier plans
<br />for the development of the Colorado
<br />River Basin's coal and oil shale
<br />resources, which reduces projections
<br />of future water use,
<br />With respect to other water
<br />development projects, on February 21,
<br />1977, the President ordered an
<br />analysis of the possible deletion of
<br />appropriations for all federal water
<br />resources projects, including many
<br />Colorado River Basin projects. The
<br />projects were to be screened on one
<br />or more of the following grounds:
<br />1. No additional adverse
<br />environmental impacts would result
<br />from completion.
<br />2. The ratio of remaining benefits to
<br />remaining costs must exceed one
<br />using the current discount rate of 6%
<br />percent.
<br />3, No major safety questions of
<br />projects must be involved.
<br />The Secretary of the Interior
<br />organized a Departmental Water
<br />Projects Review Team which held
<br />public hearings March 21-25, 1977, in
<br />Washington, D. c., and various
<br />locations in western states on the
<br />Bureau of Reclamation projects
<br />deleted from the fiscal year 1978
<br />
<br />12
<br />
<br />Presidential budget request and on all
<br />other on-going water development
<br />projects, to evaluate whether or not
<br />any additional projects should be
<br />deleted. Within the Colorado River
<br />Basin, the Central Arizona, Dolores,
<br />Fruitland Mesa, and Savery-Pot Hook
<br />Projects, and the Bonneville Unit of
<br />the Central Utah Project (CU P) were
<br />all deleted. The additional projects
<br />reviewed were the Southern Nevada
<br />Water Supply, the Jensen Unit of the
<br />CUP, Dallas Creek, Lyman, San
<br />juan-Chama, and the
<br />Fryingpan-Arkansas.
<br />During the last week of March,
<br />1977, the House Budget Committee
<br />voted to restore to the budget most of
<br />the water project funds that had been
<br />deleted earlier by the same
<br />committee, After the hearings, in late
<br />April, the President recommended no
<br />funding for the Fruitland Mesa and
<br />Savery-Pot Hook Projects in
<br />Colorado. Only partial funding was
<br />recommended for the Bonneville Unit
<br />of the CUP. The Central Arizona
<br />Project was reinstated with, however,
<br />Orme and Hooker Dams deleted. The
<br />Dallas Creek, Dolores, and Lyman
<br />Projects were recommended for full
<br />funding. The Congress subsequently
<br />followed the President's
<br />recommendations on these projects
<br />except for the Bonneville Unit, which
<br />received nearly full funding,
<br />
<br />Upper Basin Developments
<br />
<br />Environmental Impact statements
<br />(EIS) on several Upper Basin projects
<br />were drafted by the federal
<br />government during 1977, and the
<br />Board's staff reviewed and
<br />commented on these statements, The
<br />projects and some highlights of the
<br />Board's comments are presented in
<br />the following paragraphs:
<br />1. The Dolores Project was
<br />commented upon in the 1976 Annual
<br />Report, and the Board's comments
<br />were incorporated into the final EIS
<br />released in 1977,
<br />2, The final EIS of the Navajo-EI
<br />Paso/Consolidation Coal Lease and
<br />Mining Plan was found to produce no
<br />adverse effects in the Lower Colorado
<br />mainstem.
<br />3. The final EIS for the EI Paso Coal
<br />Gasification Project was reviewed,
<br />
<br />and the Board's comments on the
<br />draft report were incorporated in the
<br />final report. The size of the project
<br />was reduced with a resultant
<br />reduction in potential salinity effects
<br />in the Lower Basin.
<br />4, The final EIS on the Colorado
<br />River Water Quality Improvement
<br />Program was reviewed and the errors
<br />of fact that had been pointed out
<br />were found to be corrected.
<br />5, The final EIS for the Proposed
<br />Expansion of the San Juan Power
<br />Plant, New Mexico, was reviewed, All
<br />the Board's comments on the draft
<br />EIS were acted upon and incorporated
<br />in the final EIS.
<br />6, The final EIS for the Colony Oil
<br />Shale Development in Colorado was
<br />reviewed and the Board's comments
<br />on the draft report were found to
<br />have been acted upon and
<br />incorporated in the final report.
<br />Colony has announced that it does
<br />not intend to proceed with the project
<br />until a more favorable economic
<br />situation develops.
<br />The Detailed Development Plan
<br />submitted by the Occidental Oil
<br />Shale, Inc., and Ashland Oil, Inc.,
<br />lessees of the 5,000 acre oil shale
<br />tract C-b, located in the Piceance
<br />Creek Basin in Colorado, was
<br />approved by the Secretary of the
<br />Interior, The Detailed Development
<br />Plan is subject to revision following
<br />review and analysis of the
<br />environmental baseline data and the
<br />final baseline data report. Work on
<br />roads and five underground shafts
<br />began in September 1977. The 57,000
<br />barrel-per-day in-situ facility will
<br />consume about 4,000 acre-feet per
<br />year.
<br />The Secretary of the Interior has
<br />approved the plan of development for
<br />the second Colorado oil shale tract
<br />C-a. The lessees, Gulf Oil Company
<br />and Standard of Indiana, plan to use
<br />an in-situ process and should begin
<br />production about the same time as
<br />the C-b tract, sometime in the early
<br />1980's.
<br />A contract for $3.7 million has been
<br />awarded by the Navy Department to
<br />Paraho Development Company to
<br />retort 100,000 barrels of shale oil. The
<br />oil will be retorted at the federal Anvil
<br />Points Oil Shale facility near Rifle,
<br />Colorado.
<br />The new Department of Energy has
<br />budgeted $28 million for oil shale
<br />
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