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.... ~ ~ ~ 2000 ANNUAL REPORT u. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) The Council appreciates the fact that USDA has identified the Colorado River Basin as a National Priority Area. The Council has, for the last several years, indicated that it feels that this designation was needed if the salinity control program is to receive adequate funding through EQIP. While the designation is a step in the right direction, the Council is still concerned that the current funding level is inadequate to fully fund USDA's portion of the plan of implementation. The Council is extremely concerned that at the current funding level USDA's participation with the USBR in the joint-agency integrated projects will continue to lag behind. It is important that USDA fund those projects so that their full cost effectiveness can be realized. The Basin states have used their parallel program to help this situation in the short-term, but without adequate funding from USDA this problem will just get worse. The Council is again recommending a $12 million funding level (see Table 1). This funding recommendation is necessary to move forward with the agreed to plan of implementation contained in the 1999 Review, Water Quality Standards for Salinity, Colorado River System, June 1999. The Council, in order to assist in USDA getting this additional funding, recommends that Congress not only restore the EQIP program funding nationwide to the original $200 million amount, but that the Congress support the President's request if it is greater than $200 million per year. The Council remains concerned with the ranking process used to allocate EQIP funds. The Council believes that more weight should be given to salinity control as measured by cost effectiveness. If the benefit for salinity control were adequately recognized, then there might be opportunity to make additional funds available through the general EQIP process. The Council is also concerned that when funds are made available they are not spent because the contracting process is lagging behind. It is the Council's understanding that the Basin states provide funding in the form of technical assistance dollars to help with this situation. The USDA now allows for 19 percent of funds to be spent for technical assistance. The Basin states have temporarily allowed for 40 percent of its funds to be spent for technical assistance. This higher level of technical assistance is, in part, to cover the shortfall of USDA designated technical assistance funds necessary to implement the on-farm salinity program. The Council hopes that the USDA recognizes these extra technical assistance funds are 'made available, in part, to ensure that contracts with producers for salinity control are processed in a timely manner. The Council appreciates the USDA employing a westem Salinity Coordinator. The Council has already seen results from this action as better coordination is occurring within USDA, with other COLORADO RIVER BASIN SALINITY CONTROL ADVISORY COUNCIL 7