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Implementation Plan ~ ;,II;l., C;Q', ~ replaced, Replacement costs for these facilities need not be included if they are accounted for by amortizing over the facility's useful life, For example, if a canal is lined and has a useful life of 50 years, the project should be amortized over the project's 50-year life. Interest During Construction (IDC).-This is interest that accrues between the time funds are expended and the project comes online (begins to control salinity), Most improvements reduce salinity in about the same year they are constructed and need not consider IDC, If the proposal requires the program to pay IDC, the costs should be included in the cost- effectiveness computation, Cost Sharing.-If cost sharing reduces the program's cost, then it directly improves the project's cost effectiveness (the measure of the program's effectiveness), Cost sharing by other entities reflects the value they place on the incidental benefit they may derive from the program, For example, a farmer may choose to cost share in irrigation efficiency improvements if it improves the,fann's productivity, The competitive nature of the RFP rank- ing process should reward those willing to buy down the program's cost, Thresholds Considering the magnitude of salinity control needed and the availability of staff to administer the basinwide program, review proposals, and validate the results, a minimum project size of 1,000 tons per year is recommended, The recommended minimum project duration is 10 years, These minimums may be adjusted in future RFP's as Reclamation gains experience in implementing the new basinwide program, Reclamation's salt load reduction goals, budget, and authorized appropriation ceiling anticipate that salinity control can be implemented at an average cost to the program of $50 per ton, Future projects will be implemented on a competetive basis and it is expected that a significant reduction in salt loading can be accomplished for less than $50 per ton, Based on Reclamation's current understanding of salinity control opportunities, we believe that proposals more than $100 per ton are not likely to be very competitive, Performance Risks The Salinity Control Act of 1974 directs that cost effectiveness (least cost per ton of salinity control) be a prime criteria for ranking and selecting projects, However, it is rare that the actual performance of a project can be estimated precisely, Some methods of salinity control are more variable than others in their implementation, Under certain circumstances, accepting some risk may reduce the program's costs, The ranking needs to 14