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<br />\ <br />,.., <br /> <br />II <br />I <br /> <br />~~rP~[?f2Y8Jl]re:~v 01 tHilC2 nrM1Tc;~B<OJl:m ill <br /> <br />new 5 rei e a 5 e :-1 <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY <br /> <br />DRAFT <br /> <br />, For Release Upon Transmittal of FES to the Council on Environmental Duality <br /> <br />FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL STATEMEh~ ON PROPOSED <br />PROTOTYPE OIL SHALE LEASING <br />PROGRAM ANNOUNCED <br /> <br />, <br />,. <br />I <br />;.1 <br /> <br />The Department of the Interior today made public its Final Environmental <br /> <br />Statement on a proposed Prototype Oil. Shale Leasing Program to make available <br /> <br />six tracts--two each in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming--for commercial oil pro- <br /> <br />duction. <br /> <br />"Completion of this statement is in accord with President Nixon I s energy <br /> <br />policies outlined to Congress and the Nation in June 1971 and April 1973," <br /> <br />Secretary of the Interior Rogers C. B. Morton said. <br /> <br />j <br />I <br /> <br />Interior officials emphasized that the Final Statement does not contain <br />any decision on program implementation and that any such decision will not be <br />announced by Secretary Morton for at least GO days. <br /> <br />Publication of the massive, 3,200-page, G-volume report represents over <br />three years of intensive work by a multidiscipline Task Force which made a de- t <br />tailed study of environmental and other factors related to production of oil <br />from shale in the concerned areas. Along with Interior, nine other Federal <br />departments and independent agencies,. numerous State, local, private <br />organization~ and representatives of private industry participated in the prep- <br />aration or review of the Final Environmental Statement. <br /> <br />Interior released to the public in June 1971 a Preliminary Draft Environ- <br />mental Statement and program Statement for a Prototype Oil Sh'ale Leasing <br />Program along with reports prepared by oil shale committees of the three <br />Governors of the States of Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming. Some 15 months later, <br />in September 1972, following consideration of comments received and the results <br />obtained by informational core drilling, a Draft Environmental Statement in 3 <br />volumes was made public. <br /> <br />Public hearings on the proposed program were held in October 1972 in <br />Denver and Grand Junction, Colorado; Salt Lake City and Vernal, Utah; and <br />Cheyenne and Rock Springs, Wyoming. The GO-day public review period ended <br />November 7, 19/2. Extensive information was developed during the review <br />. (nearly 3,000 pages of comments, oral testimony, and exhibits), which were <br />used as the basis for preparing the Final Environmental Statement, which re- <br />quired 9 months. <br /> <br />I <br />I <br /> <br />0<1.[ <br /> <br />I <br />, <br />, <br /> <br />1, <br />