To evaluate and test the effectiveness of the "Procedures Manual for Assisting the Socioeconomic Impact of the Construction and Operation of Coal Utilization Facilities in the Old West Region," an impact study of a proposed electric generating station on the Laramie River near Wheatland, Wyoming, identifies difficulties encountered in the application of the "Procedures Manual" and recommends necessary remedial action. Major weaknesses are: the nonavailability of imput data from the listed sources; application of formulae, especially in the area of determining base and nonbase employment; technical misstatements of formulae; and limitations of the quantitative results. Data indicate the power plant and its 2500 new construction employees are likely to affect all phases of the rural community and place intense pressures upon the units of government for additional facilities and services, resulting in temporary city and school district deficits until increased property tax revenues upon completion of the power plant can off set them. Knowledge of the relative magnitude of the power plant impacts provides local officials with a valuable planning tool. It is in this area that the "Procedures Manual" fulfills a necessary objective. (NEC)