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002869 more than one-half of the basin's total population. Economic activities in the basin include agriculture, timber, recreation, and mining. The Yampa River basin-assessment project (referred to in this report as the basin assessment) was started on March 31, 1975, and is one of a series of multidisciplinary studies supported by the U.S. Geological Survey. Through interactions with agencies responsible for regional planning and development, these studies will help to determine the types and forms of hydrologic, geo- logic, and other information useful to decision-making administrators in their analysis of policies affecting development and use of natural resources. Proj- ect staff members are headquartered at Lakewood, Colo. All basin-assessment studies are scheduled to be completed by the end of September 1977. The initial study phase of the assessment has concentrated on describing the environmental setting of the basin and the current and forecasted energy- development plans. The purposes of. this report are (1) to describe the program objectives of the Yampa River basin assessment, and (2) to outline the methodologies used in the Phase-I investigations. Field activities and interpretative analyses are being coordinated with related studies, both within and outside of the U.S. Geological Survey. This work-plan report serves as an information guide in implementing the proposed Phase-I work tasks of the assessment. Development of energy resources of the Yampa River basin in Colorado and Wyoming is currently accelerating. Coal is the dominant energy resource being developed, with annual production in northwestern Colorado expected to in- crease from 3.7 million tons (3.4 million t) in 1974 to more than 2D million tons (18 million t) in 1990. Other energy resources in the basin include oil and gas, oil shale, uranium, and geothermal springs. Decisions that affect policies of energy-resource development need to consider the environmental and economic impacts of this development. Energy- resource development leads to increased discharge of residuals to water, air, and land. Residuals are the noneconomic byproducts of energy-development activities and of associated economic growth (Bower and Basta, 1973). Dis- charged residuals will modify environmental quality, and attempts to modify or reduce residual discharges will affect both the quantity and quality of the basin's water resources. APPROACH During the initial 6 months of the project, considerable time has been spent determining what is known about the basin, the probable development plans, and the potential environmental impacts. This effort has been formal- ized to comprise an initial (Phase I) project-study effort. The results of the effort will be summarized in a Phase 1 study report. Five proposed work elements of Phase I are indicated in table 1, and details of the activities comprising the work elements are discussed in the following sections. The first phase of the project consists of assessing, prior to develop- ment of energy~related activities, the present environmental conditions (both 3