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c, c:) ~ 00 remove dissolved salts from the Colorado River system. ..... CJi In addition to these power plants that are now in operation or under con- struction, there are plans for substantial increases in coal-fired thermal- electric power plant capacity within the Upper Colorado River Basin. There may be some difficulty in implementing all of the planned capacity because of air pollution regulations restrictive to coal-fired plants; however, it is still expected that these plants will constitute a major user of water in the Upper Colorado River Basin. Even with the anticipated disposal of .power plant blow- down "ater away from the river and the accompanying reduction in dissolved salts in the river, the river's salinity will increase due to the consumptive use of the 'i.ratero Other Industrial Uses Nassive coal gasification plants are also being planned for construcUon, in New Nexico on the Navajo Indian Reservation. Indications are that these plants ,'!ill require about 60,000 acre-feet of, water a year, and \1e understand that none of this \1ater \1ould be returned to the river system. Thus, as with the thermal electric plants, even though dissolved salts would be removed there would be some increase in salinity dO'i'Jnstream due to use of ....later in the gasification plants. The nation's increasing demands for oil has caused both industry and government to proceed with plans for the mining of the tremendous oil shale reserves of the Upper Colorado River Basin and the extraction of oil from the shales. The final Environmental Impact Statement on the Government's oil shale leasing program was recently completed. The statement recognizes that the unrestrained discharge of effluents from the mining and extraction could have a deleterlo\lR imp,q("t: on dowustream salinity, and recommends several measures that ~"ould keep dissolved salts in \-rater used in the industry 011t of the ri.ver sy,q1::.~t!l" It,