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E <br />N <br />Is sumr ry, there world probably be no •1go1[lcsnt air quality tapacta on <br />alther Dinosaur Nac SO Val Movunen[ oc Colo[ado Ns[SOnnl Xovuwen[ if the <br />proposed action /• lwplemev[ed. Xweve r, [ha draft EIS should b• revised co <br />include dlecues ton of addi[Soaal conttol maaurea to be applied uvder cha 2 <br />500,000 [one pee year •1[erutive Sn order co assure that there would be Po <br />lnccewavl v%cadsneu or adverse tepee [a on [he •Ir gwllty related vvluea <br />for either of the Ystiotul Xovuwsvtc. <br />Ruu call Ertk e. Bau{e at cvar valet 303476-6761 1[ you love any <br />questions un our ev~snn nerd lv{ air qua licy. W app ratio [ed the <br />oppo[tuvlty to corvC w the Are!t LIS. <br />!~ / y <br />Rlclurd A. Strait <br />10 <br />r _ United States Department of the Interior <br />GEOLf%:IC,\I. SURVEY <br />-y ant ssas w.s. ^r;.- <br />o[nus. cm naAn~ wen <br />.,,,. ~~~ O/flee of Energy end Marine Geology <br />Branch of Energy Minerals <br />Septewber 23, 1986 <br />Mr. Y111Y Frank, Protect Coordinator <br />Bureau of Land 14nagesent <br />Yhite 0.1rer resource Area <br />P.O. Bps 92B <br />Meeker, Coloraoo 81611 <br />Oear Mr. Frank: <br />The Graft FIS for the Yalf 0.10ge Wrporatlon M1ne Plan Ipr a NNtcollte <br />Solutf on M1ne dated July 1986 ns rerlataed an behalf of Zhis offln. Soluelon <br />ad ning or nahcolite as outlined In tM E15 tuns the rfsk o1 causfn9 sect our <br />danage to ehe ail-shale resource and assoclaied si navels an the soditw lease <br />lands. The possibility of collapse aM fracturing o/ Lhe oil shales orerlying <br />the Boles whcol lte De0 would lessen Me value of the oil-sh{1e resource for <br />future wining because of weakened strata, 1nLro0uce cotwtfngl tray of fresh and <br />saline waters between aquifers, ana cause dlssolutlon of nahcol lte ono M11te <br />below the Olssolutlon surface. <br />the enact coot igurntion oT the dlssolutlon surface an the sodtus lease lands <br />15 still not clearly defined by core hole data, Dut araflaDie delta suggesC <br />that the surface is an undulate but fairly swooth plane, rather than a highly <br />f rregular surface. If the dissolution surface were breached by solution <br />wining of nahcolite, ft route becowe very difficult to predict the posltlon of <br />the dlssolutlon surface In the future, even by fairly closely spaced tlrf 11 <br />notes. Therefore, significant all-shale resources and nahcolite below the <br />dissolution surface say became unrecoverable because of changes in the <br />toot i9uration of the dissolution surface causeO by solution wining. <br />36, <br />56 <br />35 <br />Unfortunately, Lhe E15 treats nahcol ire and oil shale as two separate <br />commodities wh I<h they are not. Both ere part o1 one m(Itlwineral resource. <br />The maaimuw utlli:ation o/ these resources would be best echfered Oy minin9 <br />then as a single deposit. Also consider that oil-shale is a nonrenewable <br />resource o/ lassll fuel, whereas, synthetn l< nahcolite can De manure tt cared <br />f ram trona or by the Solvay process. The best interests of the United St stet 31 <br />Government and the pool is mi ghC be better served by preserving all of the oil- <br />shale deposit on the sodium lease lands !or future use, or at 1¢as[ Co <br />coproduce i[ with the nah<ol ire, in order to ova id the possible loss of some <br />o! the best oil-Shale resources to [he Piceance Creet basin. <br />