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<br />002868 <br /> <br />AN ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT OF IMPACTS OF COAL DEVELOPMENT <br />ON THE WATER RESOURCES OF THE YAMPA RIVER BASIN, <br />COLORADO AND WYOMING--PHASE-I WORK PLAN <br /> <br />By Timothy Doak Steele, Daniel P. Bauer, <br />Dennis A. Wentz, and James W. Warner <br /> <br />ABSTRACT <br /> <br />Coal resources of the western United States are being developed at ever- <br />increasing rates, causing concerns of the effects of mining and associated <br />activities on the environment. The Yampa River basin in northwestern Colorado <br />and south-central Wyoming is undergoing economic development of its coal, oil <br />and gas, and uranium resources. <br /> <br />The Yampa River basin assessment is a 2t-year program of the U'.S. Geolog- <br />ical Survey. It is designed primarily to assess the availability and quality <br />of the basin's water resources. The basin assessment also will evaluate po- <br />tential environmental and selected socioeconomic impacts of energy~resource <br />development plans proposed by mining and power companies. This report serves <br />as a project work plan for the basin assessment's first-phase work activities.. <br /> <br />Economic development in the Yampa River basin will result in higher lev- <br />els of residuals (noneconomic byproducts) being discharged into the environ- <br />ment. Residuals-management encompasses the technological and economic inter- <br />relationships that should be considered in order to comply with Federal and <br />State environmental-control regulations regarding air quality, water quality, <br />and disposal of solid wastes. The basin assessment, the first phase that is <br />described by this report, is designed to provide Federal, State, and local <br />decision-makers with the basic environmental information needed to formulate <br />and to evaluate policies for the development of energy resources. The tech- <br />niques applied and conclusions reached in the Yampa River basin assessment <br />should aid similar studies of other energy-rich basins in the western United <br />States. . <br /> <br />INTRODUCTION <br /> <br />The Yampa River basin encompasses an area of approximately 8,000 square <br />miles (21,000 km2) and includes the watershed catchments drained by the Yampa <br />River and the Little Snake River subbasins above Dinosaur National Monument <br />(fig. 1). Current year-round population in the basin is estimated at 18,000; <br />however, due to large seasonal influ~es of people for recreation during winter <br />and summer, seasonal populations are substantially higher. Major population <br />centers are Craig and Steamboat Springs (fig. 1), which together account for <br />