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<br />002885 <br /> <br />Hydrologic, as well as demographic, economic, and land-use data, wIll be util- <br />ized for a comprehensIve assessment of interactions between resource develop- <br />ment and envIronmental quality (Environment Canada, 1975). Forecasting method- <br />ologies couple available data inputs with quantitative techniques, or utilize <br />descriptive or empirical methods (Rickert and others, 1975). For modeling <br />applicatIons, current techniques will be revIewed. The method selected will <br />reflect a balance of data requirements and other resource needs (Hines and <br />others, 1975). Methodologies developed by the residuals-management analysis <br />will assist the basin-assessment project staff in generating the residual <br />loadings resulting from energy-resource development plans identified for the <br />basin. Phase I of the basin assessment (see p. 2 and table 1) will provIde <br />much of the background information for use in the second or assessment phase. <br /> <br />The project staff of the basin assessment seeks to coordinate closely <br />several work activities with other units of the U.S. Geological Survey and <br />Federal, State, and local planning agencies. Related ongoing studies by the <br />U.S. Geological Survey include the residuals-management analysis and land-use <br />mapping of part of the Yampa River basIn, Personnel assigned to projects of <br />the U.S, Geological Survey funded by the U,S. Bureau of Land Management, U.S. <br />Environmental Protection Agency, and Colorado Department of Natural Resources <br />are obtaining hydrologic data for the Yampa River basin. Two waste-management <br />planning studies funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to fulfill <br />requirements of Section 208 of P.L. 92-500 include the Colorado part of the <br />Yampa River basin, and assessment work tasks of mutual interest to the U.S. <br />Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Geological Survey are being car- <br />ried out by direct collaboration. The recently completed draft environmental <br />impact statement on northwest Colorado coal development also contains much <br />pertinent hydrol09ic and coal-resource information (U.S. Bureau of Land Man- <br />agement and U.S. Geological Survey, written commun., 1976). One topic area <br />requiring technical expertise and knowledge not held wIthin the U.S, Geologi- <br />cal Survey involves legal and institutional aspects of the Yampa River basin's <br />water resources. This study component is being carried out, in part, with the <br />Colorado State Engineer's office. <br /> <br />Itemized Phase-I I coordinated work tasks for the Yampa River basin assess- <br />ment and the regional residuals-management analysis are indicated in table 2. <br />Six primary work activities have been identified (codes I I-A through II-F, <br />table 2), with secondary breakdowns shown for the first three activitIes. The <br />first four work activities identify a sequence in carrying out the basin as- <br />sessment: (1) Energy-development proposal identification (work task II-A), <br />(2) residual generatIon and loadings (work task I I-B), (3) selection and adap- <br />tation of various environmental assessment techniques (work task I I-C), and <br />finally, (4) evaluation of feasibil ity and various consequences with respect <br />to environmental policies and economic considerations of each energy-develop- <br />ment proposal (work task I I-D). This sequence conforms to the components for <br />regIonal assessments (fig. 2), Data-gathering activities (work task I I-E) are <br />included within each of the four work tasks. The final work task (I I-F) con- <br />sists of documentation of the basin-assessment methodological applications and <br />results. <br /> <br />For each identified component of the work task in table 2, a tentative <br />preliminary breakdown of efforts of the Yampa River basin-assessment project <br />staff, the regional residuals-management analysis staff, and other entities is <br />given. As indicated by the work-task components, the minimum basin-assessment <br /> <br />7 <br />