Book Description

This document consists of Department of Energy replies to public comments made on the Department's Oil Shale RD and D Program and the RD and D Program Management Plan during an oil shale workshop held in December 1979 in Denver, Colorado, and incorporates responses from a number of Department offices and divisions currently associated with the Oil Shale Program. Workshop participants expressed concern in a number of areas associated with oil shale development impacts. Comments addressed effects on water quality and availability; air quality and solid waste impacts; impacts on terrestrial ecosystems; the pace of oil shale development; health, safety, and socioeconomic concerns; coordination among Federal, State, and local agencies during development of the shale resource; legislative and regulatory issues; financing of oil shale development; continued public education and involvement; and technology considerations (e.g., comments relating to shale oil upgrading, refining, product composition, and stability). Replies made by RD and D Program staff to the comments of workshop participants provide an overview of Department of Energy oil shale activities, both planned and ongoing, in the areas of concern addressed by the workshop. Although the responses focus on Department efforts to resolve these concerns, the research activities and responsibilities of other Federal agencies are also outlined. To supplement the RD and D Program response, recently published sources of information on oil shale development are identified that offer the public a more thorough description of Departmental research programs.