WSP05766

• File Number: 8040.200
• Description: Section D General Studies-Energy
• Date: 2/1/1974
• Title: Energy-Oil Shale-Executive West-Benchmark Edition-Oil Shale Now-A Documentary by the Editors
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Publication

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It is a semi-arid area of ridges and vallev<' with sleep
cliff!'> of rock and a population of anlv 3 persons per
square mile. Wildernes<, animal.. still roam the area and
the mountain vegetation provides \\inter bn)\\se ior
the largest herd of mule deer in the world. This is
Colorado's Piceance Creek Basin. an important open
range in a countr\' oi spreadin~ concrete and subdivi-
sions. It is also the site of the rithest oil-shale deposit
in the world and energy-crisis traumas are pu<,hing il
closer to development every day.
Many of the stale's citizens fear that the national
scramble iar energy re"OUfees will ruin the region~
"New Appalachia" is a commonh-applied epithet. And
it is clear that oil-shale development u<,ing abon.'.
ground technologit.s do(>~ involn' sl'veral trt-'mpn-
dously complex environmenlal problems.
In the past 5 years, these problems have been the
focus. of a serie~ of environmt'nlaJ "ludie~. The mo..l
notable have been carried out by the Co 10m' Develop-
ment Operation, the oil-..hale group that is probablv
closest to commercial development. Since 1%9, Col-
ony has generated more than 100 environmental stud-
ies, performed both bv Colony and outside research
groups, at a tolal (Q<,t approaching SJ million.
The Inlerior Dept. used Colony inrormation exten-
sively in preparing its final Environmental Impact Slalc'-
ment (EIS) on lhc' oil-shale It.a..ing program. Somc'
environmentalists say that the Colony studies were
done on too small a scale to solve, or iully predict, the
problems of a full-scale commercial plant. Colonv'..
experts, while .1dmitting thai solutions lor larg('-scalc'
problems are not proven, point out thaI rt'<'earch i..
done by ..tarting on a ..mall scale and moving up\\ard
and say thaI an aclu.11 c.ommercial-sized plant i<;
needed 10 move upward.
But the real problt'm i.. not one or IWO (omnlt'rcial
oil-<;hale lacilittl's. ,\10<;t source<; agrpe that a le\\ plant..
are needed bOlh tor further environmenlal studv and
to refine, and perhaps imprO\l'. (urrtmttechnologie...
The real problem is tod,n"" be..t-l.nO\\n hogeyman:
the energy ui...i". The pro."pect. and the increasing
realit\", oj (Old home... and lo..t job... i... "ppc'ding up all
energv-resource development-and oil "hale i.. amon,g
the iront runner....
The rolce ior dt'velopmenl, manv ob..eners "'.1), not
only poses large pollution h.llard<;, it .11"0 mav requin'
a loo..ening oi environmc>ntal rp..triction... ior oil-...hale
rlanb. just a" rpstriction.. ha\t> alrt'adv bt'en 100\f"rpd

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The largest herd of mute deer m the world today winters m
Colorado's shale-nch Piceance Creek Basm.

Air-monitoring stations prOVide an importanr startmg pomt
to test atr quality in oil-shale country,

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