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<br />OJ3187 <br /> <br />the Colorado River constitutes a national obligation which shall be the first obligation of any <br />water augmentation project planned pursuant to Section 201 of this Act and authorized by <br />the Congress." <br /> <br />During the discussions leading to the passage of the Act in 1968, weather modification was <br />considered a viable alternative augmentation source, and water yields from cloud seeding <br />would constitute additional water to meet the Act's requirements. In the Statement of the <br />Managers on the part of the House, contained in Conference Report (S. 1004) House, <br />September 4,1968, they indicated that ". . , all possible sources of water must be considered, <br />including water conservation and salvage, weather modification, desalination and <br />importation from areas of surplus." <br /> <br />Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act of 1974. - The Colorado River Basin Salinity <br />Control Act of 1974 (Public Law 93-320) authorized and directed the Secretary of the Interior <br />to proceed with a program of works of improvement for the enhancement and protection of <br />the quality of water in the Colorado River. Section 101(c) states that replacement of the reject <br />stream from the Yuma desalting plant and of bypassed Welton-Mohawk drainage water is <br />"recognized as a national obligation as provided in Section 202 of the Colorado River Basin <br />Project Act." Augmented streamflows resulting from cloud seeding would result in decreased <br />salinity concentrations in the Colorado River Basin, and could provide a source of <br />replacement for the Yuma desalting plant reject stream. <br /> <br />I <br />> <br /> <br />~ <br /> <br />Reclamation States Emer~encv Drou~ht Relief Act of 1991. - Reclamation States Emergency <br />Drought Relief Act of 1991 (Public Law 102-250) authorized the Secretary of the Interior "to <br />conduct a Precipitation Management Technology Transfer Program to help alleviate <br />problems caused by precipitation variability and droughts in the West, as part of a balanced <br />long-term water resources development and management program." Section 206(b) states <br />that "in consultation with State, Tribal, and local water, hydropower, water quality and <br />instream flow interests, areas shall be selected for conducting field studies. . . to validate and <br />quantifY the potential for appropriate precipitation management technology to augment <br />stream flows." Upon successful completion of such a program, validated technologies will be <br />"transferred to nonFederal interests for operational implementation." <br /> <br />2. BACKGROUND <br /> <br />This section discusses recent weather modification policy statements and presents a historical <br />overview of winter orographic cloud seeding experimentation. Several factors are explored <br />which now make it possible to scientifically demonstrate that cloud seeding can enhance <br />mountain snowfall and subsequent runoff in the Colorado River. <br /> <br />2.1 Weather Modification Policy Statements <br /> <br />Since 1957, several weather modification panel reports have stated that some winter orographic <br />cloud seeding projects appeared to augment precipitation (Advisory Committee on Weather <br />Control, 1957; National Academy of Sciences-National Research Council, 1966; National <br />Academy of Sciences, 1973; Weather Modification Advisory Board, 1978). Two recent policy <br />statements provide current scientific views on the status of cloud seeding technology. <br /> <br />4 <br />