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<br />OG2155 <br /> <br />-'-...... <br /> <br />Myron Holburt, a member of the Committee of Fourteen <br />(representatives of the governors of the seven Basin <br />states), explained the reasoning behind the equivalent salt <br />balance concept as follows: "(1) water users in the United <br />States have a right to irrigate lands below Imperial Dam, <br />(2) Mexico has to receive drainage water under the Treaty, <br />(3) creating a situation of ideal return flow conditions <br />below Imperial Dam with respect to salinity would be the <br />best Mexico could expect, (4) the total deliveries should be <br />water [sic] of a quality that would be usable for irrigation <br />of the type of crops grown by Mexico, considering its soil <br />conditions.,,2 <br /> <br />In the last days of the Diaz Ordaz administration, the U.S., <br />with the support of the Colorado Basin states, offered to <br />negotiate a new Minute based on salt balance equivalence. <br />The Mexican government called the proposal constructive, but <br />chose not to enter negotiations on a long-term agreement <br />until a new president, Luis Echeverria Alvarez, took office <br />in December 1970. <br /> <br />.. <br /> <br />The Search for a "Permanent, Definitive and Just Solution" <br /> <br />During 1971, the U.S. and the new Mexican administration <br />discussed a settlement based on the equivalent salt balance <br />concept. By November, U.S negotiators believed that they <br />were close to reaching an agreement,3 but in early 1972 <br />Mexico rejected the salt balance concept. In June 1972 <br />President Echeverria arrived in Washington with a stronger <br />demand: parity. Mexicali Valley farmers should receive <br />water of the same quality as American water users served by <br />Imperial Dam, then about 870 ppm. <br /> <br />President Nixon responded in a joint communique issued June <br />17, in which he promised to: 1) take action immediately to <br /> <br />4 <br />