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<br />o <br />I-" <br />-J <br />....' <br /> <br />From all of the testimonies given, there were four issues that the Forum believes should be <br />addressed in this supplemental report. The issues are: 1) salinity control program implementation <br />needs to be accelerated; 2) salinity control in the Big Sandy Unit has not been accomplished as <br />projected; 3) salinity and selenium control efforts should be advanced jointly as a part of the <br />program's plan; and 4) the numeric criteria should be reviewed to determine whether the criteria <br />should be lowered. The following is the Forum response to each of these issues. <br /> <br />Forum Response <br /> <br />Acceleration of the Program <br /> <br />Many comments were received that stated support of the program outlined in the 1999 <br />Review. Several also commented that the implementation of the program should be accelerated. <br />The Forum agrees. Three years ago, while conducting the 1996 Review, the Forum found that the <br />rate of implementation of the program had fallen behind the rate of needed implementation which <br />had been projected in 1993. In 1999, the Forum again finds this to be true. The greatest lack of the <br />needed level of support is in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) program, while the U.S. <br />Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) program comes closer to the needed level and the U.S. Bureau <br />of Land Management (BLM) program cost effectiveness will be judged in the near future as it <br />implements a separate cost code for salinity control. The Basin states' cost sharing dollars are <br />available to match the needed federal appropriation and local water users stand ready with their cost <br />sharing funds for projects requiring local cost sharing. The Forum will continue to review the BLM <br />program to ensure that BLM funding expended to control salinity is obtaining cost effective results. <br /> <br />On page 2-9 of the 1999 Review, the Forum found that there is a shortfall of384,000 tons <br />of salt control which was to have been in place by 1998. The Forum went on to find that the <br />shortfall "should be eliminated as soon as possible and at least within the next six years." The <br />Review states that 87,000 tons/year should be controlled through 2005, with 64,000 tons/year of this <br />control addressing elimination of the shortfall. On page 4-2 of the Review, the Forum found that <br />to fund this accelerated program, there needs to be appropriated each year $17.5 million for <br />Reclamation, $12 million for USDA and $5.2 million for BLM. <br /> <br />On page 1-5 of the Review, the actual funding is reported. Historic federal funding levels <br />are also shown graphically in Figure 1-2 on that same page. The Forum has consistently found the <br />need for a funding level of$17.5 million for Reclamation's program and $12 million for the USDA <br />program over the last several years and has reported this need to the Administration and to Congress. <br />In 1999, Congress only appropriated $12 million to Reclamation and the USDA Environmental <br />Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) administrators only allocated $5.1 million to the program. <br /> <br />7 <br />