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..... ~ ... ~ researched by the Alberta Research Institute a few years ago. The capsules that were used to carry the coal after emptying could be incinerated at the final destination point and their hydrocarbon heat content recovered. Since the coal is cleaned, crushed. and dried before shipment, a more uniform and higher grade coal could be delivered direct to the power plant than through existing transportation means. Moisture, sulphur, and ash content would be reduced prior to encapsulation and the coal would be stabilized in the capsule so that spontaneous combustion could not occur during transport and storage. Significant savings could be realized in the design of new power plants versus the use of coal transported in a saline water slurry. In addition, the benefits of removing highly saline water from the Colorado River basin could be substantial. The seven Colorado River Basin States will need to review existing water laws for such a project to be possible. One reason this analysis has been delayed is because no viable means of transporting coal and water containing high amounts of dissolved solids has been available. Now, with a market for U.S. coal emerging in the Pacific Rim countries of Japan, Korea, and Taiwan for 10 to 20 million tons of coal per year by 1990, a pipeline transport of Colorado and Utah coal seems feasible. Since the number of coal capsules can be varied from time to time, this particular concept allows for the gradual buildup of coal shipments and for market fluctuations in the future. Also. it avoids problems associated with coal/saline water slurries that have not been resolved to date. The problems of the saline water leaching undesirable minerals out of the coal during transport (and thus adding to a water disposal problem) and saline materials being added to the coal, which cannot be entirely removed before burning thus causing corrosion, slagging, and fouling during the combustion process, are resolved with this process. Research is continuing within W.R. Grace & Co., and with outside consultants. The financing of the pipeline is being discussed with Lazard Freres and Co. of New York. Prepared by Ira E. McKeever, Jr., President, Western Mining Operations, W.R. Grace & .. Co., Natural Resources Group, Stapleton Plaza, 3333 Quebec Street, Suite 8800, Denver, Colorado, 80207, (303) 399-0779. Paradox Valley Public Meeting A public meeting and tour were held in Paradox Valley, Colorado, on November 13 and 14, 1981, for people interested in the Paradox Valley Unit of the Colorado River Water Quality Improvement Program. Bureau of Reclamation personnel and Mr. Ray Amstutz, a representative of Williams Brothers Engineering of Tulsa, Oklahoma, were on hand both days to present the results of last year's testing, to introduce the brine- disposal plan using deep-well injection, and to answer any questions on the unit. Seventeen people attended the public meeting on Friday evening, November 13, in the Paradox Grad.e School. On Saturday, November 14, five people toured the well- field testing facilities. At the public meeting Rege Leach and Errol Jensen from the Durango Projects Office highlighted the results of the well-field testing and monitoring program begun in March 1980 along the Dolores River in Paradox Valley. These results showed that by pumping brine at a rate of 1.2 cubic feet per second (540 gallons per minute) approximately 60 percent of the past 8-year's average brine inflow could have been controlled. Originally, a 5 cubic feet per second (cfs) rate was anticipated as' being necessary to control brine inflow to the Dolores River. The audience was informed that by installing a few more pumping wells in strategic locations and by pumping at a rate of 2 cfs (900 gallons per minute), the originally estimated 180,000 tons of salt per year still could be removed. Many area residents, concerned about their domestic water supplies, viewed profiles of water-table levels that showed well-field pumping did not significantly affect their wells. Bureau personnel and Mr. Amstutz also informed the audience that last year's findings concerning a pumping rate of 2 cfs, sufficient to control brine inflow, changed the criteria for evaluating disposal methods and made another alternative, deep-well :.~ ; . ~ , . . .~ c.., injection, more attractive from the technical, economic, and environmental standpoint. Basically, the idea consists of conveying the brine from well field in a pipeline and disposing of it in a permeable geologic formation deep under Paradox Valley at a depth of approximately 14,000 feet. Mr. Amstutz explained the technical details involved with deep-well injection of brine and, in response to one concern, stated, "If any potential for fresh-water contamination existed, we would not recommend it as a means of disposal." By December 1981, detailed designs and cost estimates will be available. Afterwards, a permit application for underground injection will be obtained from the State of Colorado, and an injection well will be built and tested for several months before making a final decision. While touring the well field. residents, even those who've lived in the valley for years. expressed surprise at the extensive areas of the brine inflow and the obnoxious odor of hydrogen- sulfide gas. The participants were told well- field testing and verification will continue and studies on evaporation pond disposal have been suspended until more information is available on deep-well injection. Many of the area residents commented favorably on the presentations and on the direction of the unit study. eRSS Executive Summary Available The Colorado River Simulation System, An Executive Summary, published in October 1981, is available by writing Bureau of Reclamation, 0-752 (CRSS) P.O. Box25007, Denver Federal Center, Denver CO 80225 or Telephone (303) 234-2027. The CRSS (Colorado River Simulation System) is a deterministic digital computerized simulation model that has been developed by the Bureau of Reclamation in accordance with all of the "Laws of the River." With CRSS, proposed changes to the operation or altemative development schemes of the river system can be modeled and their effect on the future quantity and quality of water in the river may be evaluated.