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1 0 co co ,..... 1 ';1 , 1 ] 1 , I ] '] I I J ~ .1 \~ i J J J 'l I .... SUMMARY Section 303 of the Clean Water Act requires that water quality standards be reviewed from time to time, but at least once during each three-year period. Accordingly, the seven-state Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Forum (Forum) has reviewed the existing state-adopted and Environmental p:rotection Agency (EP A)-approved water quality standards for salinity consisti)lg of numeric criteria and a plan of implementation for salinity control for the Colorado River System. Since the issuance of the 1996 Review, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) has initiated development of a new model to analyze the Colorado River System, including salinity. The model development is not yet completed, and new salinity projections are not available for this Review. Projections developed for the 1996 Review are used in this Review. This 1999 Review updates funding imd salinity control component implementation requirements following 1999. Also, since the 1996 Review, federal legislation has been implemented which allows the Basin states to cost share up-front in;both Reclamation's Basinwide Program and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's EQI:e program. This has brought a new and important source of funding to the program and has accelerated the rate of implementation of salinity control measures. Federal authorization given by Congress in 199(i has already allowed for the addition of $6,476,000 to the effort. The Forum's recommendations are to be submitted to each of the Basin states for consideration at a public hearing prior to adoption. The Fonlm recommends no change in the numeric salinity criteria at the three stations located on the lower mainstem of the Colorado River. The numeric criteria at these stations will remain: ,.< ,;', ",'4. Station Salinity in mg/V Below Hoover Dam Below Parker Dam At Imperial Dam 723- 747 879 The plan of implementation as set forth in this Review is designed to meet the objective of maintaining the' salinity concentrations at or below the numeric criteria while the Basin states continue to develpp their compact-apportioned waters. The plan is based on maintaining the numeric criteria under a long-term mean water supply of 15 million acre-feet armually at Lee Ferry, the Compact Point. The Forum recommends that the plan of implementation described in this report be carried out. The plan of implementation includes: 1. Completion of Reclamation, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) salinity control measures to the extent that each umt remains viable and appropriately cost-effective. IF!ow-weighted average annual salinity. v L , :~ ~ .,ooL _ , ,,~~~',~;ll _ _ \~, _ ~, ~~",W:"~ :: ,;::; ~_!!! . .~ , ...-