The United States has pursued a policy of providing regulated common carriers to meet most transportation needs. One glaring exception is that there is no way that one can transmit electrical energy in the United States via a common carrier. Either one builds his own transmission line or he must meet whatever demands are made by an existing owner of a transmission line. In the same manner as natural gas, electricity is captive to the entity that controls the transmission lines; however, there are no common carriers for electricity as there are for natural gas.

The impact of the absence of common carriers for electricity may make it difficult for new and relatively small-size energy suppliers to enter the market, develop potential energy sources such as geothermal energy, convert them to electricity, and transmit the power to a distant market.

Because of the diverse nature of power transmission infrastructure associated with both the Federal and State regulatory functions and the complexities related to physical and economic limitations placed on utilities, a thorough study of the impact and implications of implementing provisions for transmission of geothermal-generated electrical power is necessary. Another aspect worthy of study is the feasibility of empowering a Federal agency (Bureau of Reclamation) to develop a program of participating in the development of common carrier electrical transmission corridors and lines. The impact of this would be to minimize the environmental impact of electrical transmission line construction and to encourage the development of alternative energy sources such as geothermal and solar energy for electricity generation.

Powerplant siting-Federal lands

In the near future it is expected that several applications for siting of powerplants on Federal land will ensue. Currently, Shell Oil Co. has expressed a desire to site a plant at the Geysers; San Diego Gas & Electric Co. (in cooperation with ERDA) will seek a 10 MWe research facility at Niland, Calif., and at least three (3) other plants are anticipated in the Imperal Valley with sitings proposed on both Federal and State lands. The recently enacted BLM Organic Act of 1976, specifically deals with right-of-way and siting permit (licenses) associated with powerplants, but is not clear where the authority lies in the Federal Government for leasing lands and licensing powerplant siting. Integrated into the law is also a "consistency provision" which requires State and local review of Federal decisions regarding land use. Some States, such as California, are interpreting this to mean they have jurisdictional rights over powerplant siting both on State and Federal lands if the impact is sufficient to warrant such authority.

The Panel, in the forthcoming months, will investigate this issue for impact on geothermal development and assist in whatever ways possible to alleviate concerns over the nonspecificity of the law and proposed regulations.

C. OIL SHALE RESOURCES OF THE UNITED STATES

The deposits of oil bearing shales in the United States extend almost all of the way across the country. In the East and the Midwest, the outline of the shale deposits roughly parallel the outline of the coal leposits in the Appalachian States and across the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Texas (see figure 1). In the Western United States, the deposits re located in the tristate area of Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah. A more detailed map of these deposits has been provided as an overlay n the large accompanying surface ownership map. Although the deosits of shale are extensive in the United States, by far the richest eposits are those located in the Western areas just mentioned. It has een estimated that these deposits alone contain the equivalent of 600 illion barrels of oil, an amount that approximates the current known orld reserves of oil.

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Known

TABLE 1-7.-SHALE OIL RESOURCES OF THE UNITED STATES

[In billions of barrels]

850

2,400 3,800

550

22,000 134,000

2,000

26,000

140,000

Like western coal, the western deposits of oil shale are located in an area of fragile environment, which complicates the problems of re-laiming the land and of disposing of spent (or processed) oil shale. A more detailed description of the shale deposits is contained in table I-7. Even though the deposits in the eastern United States appear extensive n the map in figure 1, the oil that can be recovered from the shales in The eastern United States under present conditions is comparatively nsignificant. Less than 10 percent of the known resources of oil shale re located in the eastern United States and those resources are classied as yielding no more than 25 gallons of oil per ton of shale.

FIGURE 2.-Oil shale deposits of the United States.

In the Green River formation located in the tristate area previsly mentioned, approximately 80 billion barrels of oil could be recovd using current technology. The known resources of shale in this a are extremely large, possibly containing as much as 3,920 billion rels of oil equivalent, though not all of this would be economically overable at current prices. In all categories of shale that could be sidered as economically feasible sources of energy, the western posits far outweigh those in the eastern United States and in other ations in the country. Not until the more speculative categories of le are considered do the other deposits in the country such as those the Midwest and Appalachian areas constitute a significant pertage of the total oil resource, though their potential for the protion of gas may be more significant.

FEDERAL OWNERSHIP OF OIL SHALE LANDS

'he largest owner of western shale deposits whose development is nomically feasible is the Federal Government. The deposits located he southwestern corner of Wyoming are located on lands which are o 100 percent controlled by the Bureau of Land Management. Al

though the BLM has control over the greatest percentage of the resources in this area of Wyoming, there are a number of other agencies that could be involved in any development. For instance on or near the major deposit are two public land-use areas the Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge which is controlled by the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife, and the Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area which is controlled by the National Park Service. Although the areas under the jurisdiction of these two other agencies are relatively small in comparison to the total resource area, any extensive development of the shale in the general area may have to receive their approval if the mining of the shale involves significant offsite disturbance. The southern major deposit of oil shale is located in the east-central Utah and northwestern Colorado area.

In Utah, the western terminus of the deposit is in the Uinta National Forest. Eastward from that point, the deposit crosses the Ashley National Forest, the north and south portions of the Uinta and Ouray Indian Reservations, and the naval petroleum reserve. With these exceptions, the deposit is located on land under the control of the Bureau of Land Management. In Colorado, the same deposit extends eastward across BLM land and terminates near another naval petroleum reserve and the westernmost point of the White River National Forest. The southeast corner of the deposit has been incised by the Colorado River and has created an outlier deposit of oil shale located in the Grand Mesa National Forest. All of the portions of the southern deposits which are located on Indian Reservations and BLM lands would be under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Interior. Those portions of the deposits located in the National Forest areas would be controlled by the Department of Agriculture while those located on the petroleum reserves would be under the control of the Department of Defense. A committee print which was prepared for the Subcommittee on Energy of the Committee on Science and Astronautics in 1973 indicated that the Federal Government owns or controls approximately 80 percent of the oil shale deposits located in the Western United States.

This particular committee print contains a significant amount of technical information on the subject of oil shale development and has therefore been included as an appendix to this section.