"The idea of producing clean fuels from oil shales of the Eastern United States, specifically from oil shales known to geologists as Devonian s hales, is not new. During and after the Civil War, oil was produced commercially in southern Ohio and Northeastern Kentucky from Devonian oil shale, although no trace of these operations can be found today. Researchers at the Institute of Gas Technology, a Chicago-based, not for profit energy research and education center, are once more contemplating development of this resource to provide a vast new source of synthetic crude oil and substitute natural gas near the most populous part of our nation. The area underlying the Devonian shale deposits is rich in a variety of natural resources that include scenic beauty, mineral deposits, forests and other vegetation, and abundant supplies of fresh water and clean air. These factors, coupled with the invigorating climate, contribute to the attractiveness of this region for residential and year-round recreational use. In the past, development of such regions was sometimes accompanied by detrimental effects on the environment. Today, however, advanced technology offers a variety of control measures to permit development of Eastern Devonian oil shale in these regions within the limit , of acceptable environmental impact."