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LEGAL ASPECTS 3 Salinity Control Act of 1974 as amended, and the Clean Water Act of 1977 as amended. Also central to water quality issues are agreements with Mexico on Colorado River system waters entering that country. The Water Quality Act of 1965 (Public Law 89-234) amended the Federal Water Pollution Control Act and established a Federal Water Pollution Control Administration (now EP A). Among other provisions, it required States to adopt water quality criteria for interstate waters inside their boundaries. The seven Basin States initially developed water quality standards that did not include numeric salinity criteria for the Colorado River, primarily because of technical constraints. In 1972, the States agreed to a policy that called for the maintenance of salinity concentrations in the Lower Colorado River system at or below existing levels, while the Upper Basin States continued to develop their compact-apportioned waters. The States suggested that Reclamation should have primary responsibility for investigating, planning, and implementing the proposed Colorado River Basin salinity control program. \ The enactment of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972 affected salinity control in that the legislation was interpreted by EPA to require numerical standards for salinity in the Colorado River. In response, the Basin States founded the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Forum (Forum) to develop water quality standards including numeric salinity criteria and a basinwide plan of implementation for salinity control. The Basin States held public meetings on the proposed standards as required by the enacting legislation. The Forum recommended that the individual Basin States adopt the report, Water Quality Standards for Salinity Including Numeric Criteria and Plan of Implementation for Salinity Control, Colorado River System. The proposed water quality standard called for maintenance of flow-weighted average total dissolved solids (TDS) concentrations of 723 milligrams per liter (mgiL) below Hoover Dam, 747 mgiL below Parker Dam, and 879 mgiL at Imperial Dam. Included in the plan of implementation were four salinity control units and possibly additional units, the application of effluent limitations, the use of saline water whenever practicable, and future studies. The standards are to be reviewed at 3-year intervals. All of the Basin States adopted the 1975 Forum recommended standards. The EPA approved the standards. The Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act of 1974 (Public Law 93-320) provided the means to comply with United States obligations to Mexico which included, as a major feature, a desalting plant and brine discharge canal. These facilities will enable the United States to deliver water to Mexico having an average salinity no greater than 115 parts per million (ppm) +/- 30 ppm (United States count) over the annual average salinity of the Colorado River at Imperial Dam. The act also authorized construction of 4 salinity control units and the expedited planning of 12 other salinity control projects above Imperial Dam as part of the basinwide salinity control plan. Public Law 98-569, signed October 30, 1984, amends Public Law 93-320. The amendments to the Salinity Control Act authorized the entire U.S. Department of Agriculture program. The amendments also authorized two new units for construction under the Bureau of Reclamation program. Additional units will need to be authorized to maintain the salinity standards and have been included in the plan of implementation for the salinity control program. In 1990, the Forum reviewed the salinity standards and recommended continuing the construction of three of the four salinity control units and 10 of the 12 projects identified in the 1974 Act, the placing of effluent limitations on industrial and municipal discharges, and the reduction of the salt loading effects of irrigation return flows. The plan also called for the inclusion of water quality management plans to comply with Section 208 provisions after the adoption of the plans by the States and approval by EP A It also contemplated the use of saline water for industrial purposes and future salinity use control methods.