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<br />~ <br />..c:. <br />...;J <br />N <br /> <br />July 18, 1999 <br /> <br />The Honorable Gordon H. Smith <br />Chairman, Subcommittee on WaleI' and Power <br />Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources <br />364 Dirksen Senate Office Building <br />Washington, D.C. 20510 <br /> <br />Dear Senator Smith: <br /> <br />Th'1I1k you for the opportunily 10 provide testimony on S. ] 211, introduced by Senator <br />Bennetl, to increase the funding ceiling for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation's participation in the <br />Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Program. The Colorado Water Conservation Board fully <br />supports the passage of this legislation to raise the funding ceiling to 175 million dollars. <br /> <br />The Colorado WaleI' Conservation Board is an agency of the State of Colorado, and <br />represents the state on the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Forum. The Board's mission is <br />to promote the proteclion, conservation, and development of Colorado's water resources in order to <br />secure the greatest utilization of those resources for the benefit of present and future inhabilants of <br />the stale and to minimize the risk of flood damage and related economic loss. One of the major <br />objectives within this mission is the protection of Colorado's inter5tate compact allocations, <br />including those on Ihe Colorado River. The Colorado River Basin provides water for more than 23 <br />million people and irrigation for more than 4 million acres of land in the United States, and is also <br />heavily used hy the Republic of Mexico. The Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Program has <br />been and continues to be a highly effective element in maintaining the water quality on the Colorado <br />River and preventing increases in salinity related damages in lower portions of the basin, and has <br />greatly aided in protecting the Colorado River Basin States' ability to utilize their compact <br />apportioned water. <br /> <br />]n 1995, Congress authorized Reclamation to implement a 75 million dollar competitive <br />"Basinwide Program" for salinity control. This voluntary and flexible approach has incorporated <br />addilional cost,share partners and cut the federal cost of 5alinity control significantly. Another <br />advantage is that salinity conlrol projects are owned by the project proponent who is responsible for <br />implementing and maintaining Ihe project, and Reclamation's costs are thus limited to caps <br />established by negotiated cost-share agreements. <br />