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<br />M!480 <br /> <br />., <br /> <br />including but not limited to, fish and wildlife enhancement and maintenance of cottonwood <br />habitat in accordance with approved Department of Agriculture programs for such uses. Any <br />saved water will be used only in a manner which shall not result in any material increase of <br />salinity inflow into drainages of the Montezuma Valley and the Colorado River." <br /> <br />The objective of the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Program is the maintenance of <br />salinity levels at or below levels found in the mainstem of the eolorado River as of 1972, while <br />allowing upper basin states to develop full use of their Colorado River Compact apportioned <br />water. <br /> <br />The proposed action will not materially increase salinity inflow into the Colorado River (refer to <br />response to question no. 8), and is consistent with objectives of Dolores Project contracts, the <br />Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Program, and the water laws of the State of Colorado. <br /> <br />Comment 13- While the Federal government may pay 10 percent of the salinity control costs, 90 <br />percent is paid for by water and power users in the basin. <br />Response 13- Actually, the government pays 70 percent of the salinity control costs while the <br />Basin States pay 30 percent of the costs through a surcharge on power sold from certain <br />Reclamation facilities. <br /> <br />Payment for the salinity control project is in accordance with the following statement contained <br />in the eolorado Basin Salinity Control Act of 1972: In recognition of Federal responsibility for <br />the Colorado River as an interstate stream and for international comity with Mexico, Federal ' <br />ownership of the lands of the Colorado River Basin from which most of the dissolved salts <br />originate, and policy embodied in the Federal Water Control Act Amendments of 1972 (86 Stat. <br />816), 70 per centum of the total costs of construction, operation, maintenance, and replacement <br />of each (salinity control) unit or separable feature thereof shall be non-reimbursable. The <br />remaining 30 % of the costs are allocated between the Upper Colorado River Basin Fund and <br />Lower Colorado River Basin Fund which were established by the Colorado River Storage Project <br />Act (82 Stat. 895). <br /> <br />Comment 14- The Dept. of Agriculture's EIS states conclusively that the salinity control <br />program explicitly prohibits the Dept. of Agriculture from providing assistance to farmers for <br />practices that will bring new land into production under the program. <br />Response 14- This portion of the paragraph from the Environmental Imoact Statement For On- <br />Farm Irrigation Improvements. McEImo Creek Unit Salinitv Control Studv. Colorado River <br />Basin Salinitv Control Program is taken out of context. The full paragraph reads, "Although the <br />Soil Conservation Service has no authority to control or prevent bringing new land under <br />irrigation, the salinity control program explicitly prohibits USDA from providing cost-share <br />assistance to farmers for practices that will bring new land into production under the program. <br />Ultimately, however, this issue is controlled by water rights aspects of state water law under <br />approval of the state engineer and by economic goals and opportunities of the farmer." The <br />intent of the cost-share program is that if a farmer had, for example, a 100 acre farm and only 75 <br />acres were under production, the program would not cost-share with the farmer to put the <br /> <br />25 <br />