WSP12337

• File Number: 8272.300.50
• Description: Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Advisory Council
• Basin: Colorado Mainstem
• Water Division: 5
• Date: 12/31/1998
• Author: CRBSC Advisory Counc
• Title: 1998 Annual Report on the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Program
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Annual Report

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1998 ANNUAL REPORT

their status. The Council appreciates the assistance each of the federal agencies provided to the
Forum during the preparation of the 1996 Review. The Council notes that the 1999 Review effort
is under way as required under the Clean Water Act and the Council looks forward to cooperation
with and assistance from the federal agencies.

The transition of the involved federal agencies' Colorado River Basin salinity control programs
continues with mixed results. Reclamation is implementing its new basin-wide program authorized
in 1995 by P.L. 104-20. The Department of Agriculture's on-farm program was incorporated into
the new and much larger Environmental Quality Incentives Program by the Federal Agriculture
Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 (F AIRA) enacted by Congress. The Bureau of Land
Management continues to develop methods for quantifying salinity reduction benefits within its
existing land management programs. The Council urges the federal agencies to more closely and
faithfully consult and coordinate with the Forum and Work Group with regard to program changes,
program evaluations, and program implementation schedules. The Council also requests that as
organizational changes occur within the agencies, each agency identify where the responsibility for
salinity control lies, and that this information be made available to the Forum's Executive Director
at the earliest possible date.

The Council subscribes to the implementation plan described in the 1996 Review. The Council is
concerned that insufficient funding is being requested by the federal agencies and being provided
by the Congress for the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Program. This has caused delays in
the implementation of salinity control reduction measures as described in the 1996 Review thereby
increasing the risk of exceeding the numeric criteria in the future. It is imperative that the federal
agencies vigorously pursue adequate funding for salinity control projects, including appropriate
funding for the operation and maintenance of completed projects, in the Administration's budget

COLORADO RIVER BASIN SALINITY CONTROL ADVISORY COUNCIL

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