BOARD01933

• Board Meeting Date: 9/21/1998
• Description: WSP Section - Colorado River Basin Issues - Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Program
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

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September 21-22, 1998, Agenda Item 20.h.,
Page 3 of 4

B. Work Group Leadership
At the Cheyenne meeting it was learned that the states may be asked to volunteer added time and
effort to keep the Forum's Work Group functioning efficiently since Arizona will no longer be able
to play the significant role of chairing the Work Group that it has for the last several years. Before
Arizona took on this task California had provided staff time to support the Work Group. A decision
on chairing the Work Group will be made next spring, and there may be an opportunity for Colorado
to assume a leadership role if the Board is interested. The following four options for chairing the
Work Group, presented in staffs recommended order of preference, could be considered:
1. Increase Forum dues to pay additional consultant time to staff the Work Group. The CWCB
pays Colorado's share, approximately 20% or $25,700 in FY 1999.
2. Rotate the responsibility between all 7 basin states on an annual or bi-armual basis so that each
state periodically bears the increased work load. .
3. Colorado volunteers to provide Work Group chairman on a somewhat permanent basis using
CWCB staff, and committing a portion of an FTE to the task.
4. Colorado volunteers to provide Work Group chairman on a somewhat permanent basis using
personnel from the Colorado River Water Conservation District. Dave Merritt from the District
participates on the Work Group in addition to CWCB staff, and the District has indicated a
willingness to make hirn available to chair the Work Group as a new Chairman.
No decision is necessary at this time, but the Board may want to begin thinking about the future level
of effort and funding conunitment it believes is appropriate.

C. USDA EOIP
EQIP is the new program through which USDA participates in the CRBSCP. As explained at the
May 1998 Board meeting there have been serious funding limitations involved in implementation
ofEQIP so far and the Forum is actively seeking designation of the Basin as a national priority area
to improve funding. The Board endorsed such designation in May, but only if the designation was
accompanied by additional funding above the $200 million level EQIP currently receives. At the
June CRBSCP Forum meeting it was reported that additional funding above $200 million is unlikely
and EQIP may even receive a funding cut. In fact, it now appears that Administration would direct
any additional EQIP funds into its new initiative, the Clean Water Action Plan, and that Congress
is unwilling to provide additional funds for exactly that reason.

The Forum still believes that a national designation is advantageous and if funded "off-the-top", i.e.
before EQIP dollars are allocated to individual states, does not pose a disproportionate risk of
funding cuts to other EQIP participants in the Basin. Through an "off-the-top" national designation
the costs of salinity control would be shared between all 50 states, rather than born exclusively out
of the EQIP allocations to the 4 Upper Basin States. This would avoid the internal disputes between
the 60 some soil conservation districts in Colorado over what amount of EQIP funds given to
Colorado should be used for salinity control.

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