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<br />a soil like spent ~hale. At the EPA, however, Hardawa\'
<br />!:oays: "Certain areas fin the region) are in truth
<br />wealhered shale. but you certainly couldn't character-
<br />ize the whole area this way."
<br />So the question still remains: whether or not the
<br />spent shale can be revegetated on a long term basis. "It
<br />is all guess\\'ork," says Vim Wrighl. president of COSe.
<br />"In the final environmental impact statement all
<br />they're talking about is three species ol grass," And the
<br />leasing EtS states: "The reliability of establishing and
<br />maintaining an enecti\'e plant cover over the long term
<br />is uncertain. , ," At the EPA, Hardaway says: "You
<br />must keep y,,'atering thelie plots through dry years to
<br />sustain vegetation."
<br />At the Colony 'e~t plOls, 'ioome of which were begun
<br />in 1%7, there is OOl' plot that was abandoned nearly 5
<br />year~ ago. "We have three gras'io species growing on
<br />Ihis plot:' Kilburn says, "Some very vigorous wheat
<br />grasses have roots 3.5 feet deep and are almost 5 feel
<br />tall when they flower. They have been growing and
<br />reproducing without water or fertilizer, and ..orne new
<br />grasse'io and weeds, e\'en 'ioagebru'ioh, are now invading
<br />the plot." Kilburn adds that a 1q71 plot-"which was
<br />onlv watered lightlv this V€'ar"-has 10 grass species,
<br />
<br />rJ,!:!~
<br />...
<br />
<br />lwo n,ltin' ...hruh... and one eH'rgrl'en on II ,md .111 but
<br />nOt' .HI' d(}in~ \\("11. "e\erlhele<,<', all ...nune... agree Ihal
<br />d{'''pite the 1.HJ..:t" number ot ..tudi{'<' conductt'd on
<br />rp\t'~t'rr!llon. more <,Iudit.... and more timt' art' nel'dt'd
<br />tlJ ,In...Wt>r ..p\pral {ruci.11 '1ut....tion<,: {.In the plot...
<br />...urvi\e dn \I'<Ih wIlhout irfl~alion? HO\\ mam planl
<br />'P{'( ip... \\ ill gro\\ on "'rwnl ...hale~ And \\ ill ,In\' or thl'...e
<br />bl' Iht. \\nod\ ...pl'( il.... ll",('d .1' bro\\.." b\ c!('pr}
<br />The question 01 browse specie~ is a crucial one tor
<br />environmentalists-and wildlife. But it will probably be
<br />'ioeveral vears before the answer is known. "\Ve haven't
<br />really tried to grow browse species until this year,"
<br />explains Kilburn. "We are trving to get ,\\ountain
<br />Mahogany /the best bro\\<,el to grow, but that won't be
<br />easy until .....'e really reduce the surface- ",alinity, which
<br />willtak{> about 2 years. I don't sce why we can't do very
<br />well with thp",e (browse) .;pedes," he adds. "but we
<br />haven't proven it vet."
<br />Another challengt>: where to get the seeds, "You
<br />must ~et seed.; from the site (that i'io being reyegetatedl
<br /><;0 tha.t the ",{'eds are adapted to thE' site and can grow
<br />there," S.1\'<' FletchN of RO!\1COE. "Also, the guaran-
<br />tee of ger~ina'ion with native seeds is \'ery low. so lots
<br />oi seeds will be needed, WhNe are they going to get
<br />
<br />Oil Shale and Russ Cameron
<br />
<br />For the p.ISI 25 }e.Irs, RU5.~el1 J, C.Imeron, chairman,
<br />C.Imeron Engineers, has been a very persistenl oil-sh.Ile
<br />advociJle. 80th through his \lorA on various oi/-sh.lle
<br />technologies .Ind through his numerous resean:h paper.~
<br />.Ind speeches on the vast energy potential of Mountain
<br />U'est ,~hale deposits, CJmeron, a chemiCilf engineer, hilS
<br />helped pJre Ihe wa.v to commerC;dl de~'e'opment. With
<br />such developmenl nou in the opening stages, Cilmeron's
<br />status as a \\ide/~..rf'Cognized od-shale N,pen h.I5 been
<br />reinforced-and he remil;ns one 0'- its mo.st optimistic
<br />advocate.s. The follO\ling inten'iell f'\cerpt.s prewmt C.Im.
<br />eron's viell"S on some of the most auciaf od-.shale ques-
<br />tions,
<br />Water limitations: Unlile many olhers, CdmNon does
<br />not believE" thdt water use will limit the size
<br />of Ihe oil-shale industr)'. "Anyone \'\'ho says
<br />we'll b(> Iimilt'd forever because we don't
<br />have enough watN iuSI doesn'l understand
<br />the situalion," he- claims. "Ii .....ater do~
<br />become a limit, then we'll start \\iorking on
<br />modifying our technologies so \H' don', USf'
<br />much water." Or, he says, water can al\\ays
<br />be imported tram the nation's north.....est.
<br />and thNt" are several proiects no..... studying
<br />this possibililV.
<br />"Water will bE" brou~ht inlO this pdrt of the
<br />
<br />.....orld tor reasons other than oil shale," h(> adds. "And an
<br />oil-shale industry, if it supplies an esse-nlial rommodily-
<br />energy-will receive all the Woller il needs."
<br />Salinit'f: likE" many oil.shale ddvocales, Cameron points
<br />10 dmvnstredm irrigation projects as the maior con-
<br />Iributors to the Colorado River salinity problem. And, he
<br />belipves, political jealousies have set off most of the
<br />sdlinit.,. criticisms aimed at the oil.shale induslry.
<br />"Whal it rNlly comes down to:' he claims, "is Ihat the
<br />lower basin stdles, !ouch as Arizona and California, want to
<br />prevent any more watN irom being used in the upper
<br />basin states, such as Colorado. This is simple inter!otate
<br />rivalry,"
<br />Revegetation: In Cameron's "ie-....., spent shale certainl)'
<br />can bt, revegelaled. but if for some reason it
<br />can'" there are good alternatives. For exam.
<br />pie. he sa~'s thai thE" overburden from shdle
<br />mining could be u..ed to cover spent.shale
<br />landt'ills and "provide the growth situation
<br />you're looking for." Or, "if all else fails. the
<br />sill thdl'S choking the river now:' could be
<br />dredged oul dnd used for the top COVN,
<br />"All ot Ihis type of thing takes imagina-
<br />,,) lion." he says. "But if.....e sel ourobjpctive to
<br />do it right, then we have all sorts of lools to
<br />~ do it with, dnd it can be done."
<br />
<br />
<br />E\fCUTI\! \\[S1 fll"'CH\\AR.. l01110... f..t>.ua.... 1974 17
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