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<br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />August 14,2002. Following the public meetings, the Forum will issue a revised Review Report <br />this fall and submit it to the individual states for approval under state water quality procedures. <br /> <br />· EQIP Funding Increase. The USDA delivers its role in t1te CRBSCP through the Environmental <br />Quality Incentives Program [EQIP] administered by the Natural Resources Conservation <br />Service [NRCS]. The 2002 Farm Bill reauthorized EQIP and significantly increased the <br />authorized funding for the program. These increases begin in the current federal fiscal year, and <br />NRCS will have a difficult time moving this money out to participating agricultural producers <br />by September 30, 2002. Staff and the Colorado Soil Conservation Board will be looking for <br />ways to maximize the use of these funds for effective salinity control. After October I, 2002 it <br />will be necessary to identify new opportunities for agricultural salinity control in Colorado and <br />to also develop means of administering a program 2-4 times a large as the current EQIP. One <br />potential new project is already being investigated in the Mancos, Colorado area. <br /> <br />· Selenium. While the CRBSCP does not address the individual constituents that collectively <br />result in salinity measured as total dissolved solids [TDS], there is increasing interest and <br />perhaps potential to have the program consider the issue of selenium contamination in the <br />Colorado River Basin. While salinity pollution is generally an economic issue, selenium at <br />elevated levels is toxic to certain wildlife species. It also appears that selenium originates from <br />the same marine derived geology, including the Mancos shales of the Grand and Uncompahgre <br />Valleys, that contributes basic salt to the basin, and is mobilized in large part by irrigation <br />activities. This would indicate that existing salinity control strategies could b6 effective at <br />controlling selenium loads in the basin. One of Colorado's Forum members, David Robbins, <br />has proposed that the Forum, or some other Forum like organization, begin addressing the <br />Basin's selenium problem on a watershed wide basis. <br /> <br />Endangered Fish Study: Prior to the end of the last fiscal year we granted $5,000 to the Colorado <br />River Water Conservation District. The District is undertaking an $80,000 study of whether the peak <br />flows proposed by the USFWS will really help the four endangered fish. We will investigate the <br />possibility of continued funding for this study. <br /> <br />Management Committee Meeting: The Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program <br />Management Committee met on June 27 in Salt Lake City. A copy of the meeting summary is attached. <br /> <br />Colorado River Annual Operating Plan: The next meeting to continue development of the Annual <br />Operating Plan for Colorado River Reservoirs is set for August 5 in Las Vegas. The major topic will be <br />a progress report on the Quantification Settlement Agreement (QSA) from California. California's <br />progress on the QSA will be critical in determining whether or not the Interim Operating Criteria <br />continue to guide the AOP process in 2003 or are temporarily suspended pending completion ofthe <br />QSA. <br /> <br />Colorado River Delta -Technical Group: The Technical Workgroup established by the Seven Basin <br />States last met on April 30 in Phoenix. The next meeting is scheduled for Aug. 2 in Las Vegas. The <br />Workgroup has undertaken two tasks. The first is to summarize, as best possible, the surface water and <br />groundwater resources available to Mexico in an effort to develop a water budget and help understand <br />and identify possible independent steps that Mexico could take to improve conditions for the Colorado <br />River Delta. The second task is to develop a "Broad Brush Concept Document" that identifies possible <br />water supplies available to meet the identified needs of the Colorado River Delta. The next step will be <br />to categorize the various alternatives into groups and identify the pros and cons of each alternative. This <br />information will then be discussed among the seven basin states before any recommendations are <br />offered to the International Boundary and Water Commission. In addition, the Technical Group will <br /> <br />15 <br />