PROJ00223 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

units and authorized corrective work on several major sources of salinity. In October 1984, the President signed Public Law 98-569, the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Amendment, which amended Public Law 93-320, This authorized the U.S. Department of Agriculture to establish voluntary on-farm cooperative salinity control projects with up to 70% cost sharing. It also expanded the scope of work of the Department of Interior into additional major salinity control projects. The amended law included several important items directly affecting OMID. The law enabled U,S,D,A, to provide technical and financial assistance to irrigation companies and other entities that were not authorized under the original act (P,L. 93-320), which limited U.S.D,A, assistance to on-farm work only. The law also authorized replacement of incidental fish and wildlife values foregone during salinity control projects. A number of Federal agencies are involved in the program, including NRCS, Bureau of Reclamation, Fish and Wildlife Service, Geological Survey, Bureau of Land Management, and EPA, The two agencies which coordinate and administer the majority of construction projects are the Bureau of Reclamation and NRCS. The Bureau of Reclamation is primarily involved in point source salinity control projects or larger canal and pipeline projects, NRCS is primarily involved in smaller projects, including more efficient on-farm irrigation systems and lining of small canals and ditches, The primary purpose of the salinity control program is to reduce salinity in the Colorado River downstream from the sources, The salinity control projects also have the side effect of upgrading irrigation systems to provide a more efficient and updated facility for the owners of the system, All projects funded through the program must meet a cost-effective criteria. The criteria used by the Bureau of Reclamation is different than that used by NRCS. Under the NRCS program, it has been determined that each ton of salinity removed from the river has a downstream benefit of $55.50/ton. An analysis is made to determine how much salinity will be removed by each project. The cost of constructing the facility to remove salinity must have a lower cost per ton than the benefit received. 3, Colorado Water Conservation Board The Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) Water Project Construction Loan Program provides low interest loans from the CWCB Construction Fund for the construction and rehabilitation of water resources projects. The program is administered by a technical staff located in Denver within the Department of Natural Resources. A citizen's board appointed by the Governor, oversees and reviews staff recommendations, The CWCB Construction Fund has been available since 1971 when the Colorado General Assembly decided that the State should assist financially in the development and maintenance of water projects, As of 1993, a total of II-14 I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I