WSP08620

• File Number: 8272.100.60
• Description: Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Forum
• Basin: Colorado Mainstem
• Water Division: 5
• Date: 6/1/1999
• Author: CRBSCF
• Title: 1999 Review - Water Quality Standards for Salinity - Colorado River System
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Report/Study

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CHAPTER 4 - PLAN OF IMPLEMENTATION

Overview

The purpose of the plan of implementation is to offset the effects of water resource
development in the Colorado River Basin after 1972, The plan of implementation is not intended
to address the salinity ofthe river caused by human activity prior to 1972, nor salinity caused by
natural variations in river flows.

The Forum believes it should assess whether the plan of implementation maintains salinity
at or below the numeric criteria through an interim point in time as the Basin states develop their
compact-apportioned waters, Historically, the Forum designed the plan of implementation to
maintain the numeric criteria for a period of 15-20 years (e,g" the 1990 Review contained a plan of
implementation through the year 2010), For this Review, the plan of implementation has been
designed to maintain the salinities of the Colorado River at or below the numeric criteria below
Hoover Dam through the year 2015, The Hoover Dam station was chosen because this point
requires the most salinity control to accommodate the numeric criteria through this time period,

The Forum determined that 1,477,700 tons of salt must be removed or prevented from
entering the system annually to maintain the numeric criteria through 2015, The plan of
implementation includes projects which remove the required salt tonnage, This will principally be
accomplished by reducing the salt contributions to the River from existing sources and minimizing
future increases in salt load caused by human activities.

The plan of implementation is composed of many actions contemplated by the federal
govemment (and cost shared by the Basin states) and many of its agencies, and by each of the seven
Basin states and many of their agencies, For this Review, the plan of implementation can be briefly
summarized as follows;

1.

Completion of Reclamation, BLM, and USDA salinity control measures to the extent
that the measures remain viable and appropriately cost effective with the acceleration
of the Reclamation and the USDA efforts by the Basin states' cost sharing),

2,

Implementation of the following Forum recommended and adopted policies (text
included in Appendix B of this Review).

Imposition of effluent limitations, principally under the National Pollutant
Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program provided for in
Section 402 of the Cle~ Water Act of 1977, on industrial and municipal
discharges, based on the Forum's 1977 "Policy for Implementation of
Colorado River Salinity Standards Through the NPDES Permit Program;"

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