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Exxon has been conducting research and testing on the processed shale produced by our proprietary Exxon Shale Retort (ESR) process since 1984. During the past four years, several small shipments of raw shale have been made by the Colony Shale Oil Project to the Baytown, Texas ESR facilities. The ESR processed shale produced from the raw Colorado shale is now stored in warehouses at the Colony Shale Oil Project. In 1985, Exxon retained Water, Waste, and Land, Inc. (WWL), a Fort Collins, Colorado firm, as our primary consultant for characterizing ESR processed shale. In addition, WWL is responsible for directing all greenhouse/ reclamation research associated with Exxon's goal of designing and constructing successful field demonstration plots during 1988. Assisting Exxon and WWL with this research effort are several Colorado State University and University of Colorado faculty members (Drs. Dave McWhorter, John Nelson, Dirk Van Zyl, and Ed Redente and Don Runnels), Dr. Rick Horner with Horner and Associates, Dr. Warren Keammerer with Stoecker- Keammerer and Associates, and Drs. Cy McKell and Kent Ostler with NPI, Inc. The amount of processed shale available from the ESR project is limited to only a few hundred tons. For this reason, greenhouse and lab facilities have ~`~ been utilized in an effort to minimize the number of variables which need to ~~~~ be tested in field demonstration plots. The majority of the lab and green- house testing is being performed on processed shale derived from a particular r' test run of the ESR facility, referred to as "Yield Period 8130". The pro- cessed shale from this particular test run is known as YP-130 shale. The overall research effort is divided into two basic tasks; 1) charac- terization of the ESR processed shale from a geotechnical, chemical and hydrologic standpoint, and 2) assessment of the ESR processed shale's po- tential as a plant growth medium and determination of practical amendment/ treatment techniques. The characterization work is nearing completion and will provide information needed to design the field demonstration plot. Examples of the type of data resulting from the laboratory characterization work are included as attachments kl through H5. Exxon's anticipated schedule for the next two years is included as Attachment i16. The first of two sequential greenhouse studies is complete and the second 1 greenhouse study is progressing on schedule. The primary objective of the first greenhouse study was to screen twenty forb, shrub, and tree species for use in the second greenhouse study and for use in the field demonstration plot. In addition to growing all twenty species in 5 gallon pots containing topsoil only (control) and topsoil overlying YP-t"~0 shale (treatment), four of the species were grown in 5 gallon pots containing topsoil overlying YP-130 shale treated with sulfuric acid (treatment). Attachment M7 is a list of the twenty species tested, the variety (if appropriate), and the plant material type and source. I m (.I 1 _ ~Q ~,ZL,1~'~ i 3r~o 1