Laserfiche WebLink
<br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />208 Plan, which has been remanded by the Court in Denver <br />v. Lamm for new hearing procedures within the bounds of <br />theMministrative Procedures Act. Prior to the completion <br />of these procedures, the Northwest Colorado Council of <br />Governments has no operative 208 Plan. <br /> <br />The plan of implementation adopted should reflect that <br />208 plans may not regulate salinity control except within <br />the confines of state law. The federal district court has <br />ruled in Denver v. Lamm, United States District Court for <br />the District of colorado, Civil Action No. 79K1l50, that <br />208 agencies are not administrative arms of the federal <br />government by virtue of the Clean Water Act. Any plan of <br />implementation should reflect that 208 management policies <br />regarding salinity control must reflect economic and tech- <br />nical feasibility and may not infringe upon the beneficial <br />use of waters guaranteed by the Colorado Constitution and <br />statutes. . <br /> <br />To this end, any attempt by ,a 208 agency to control <br />diversions in basin, diversions for transmountain use or <br />to require minimum stream flows is unlawful. Further, any <br />attempt by the 208 agencies to control salinity on a project <br />by project or use by use basis is unnecessary since the <br />basin-wide program established by Congress and the Forum, <br />and the plan of implementation for that program, have al- <br />ready taken into account the future development of upper <br />Basin compact allocated water. A use-specific mitigation <br />program is also unnecessary since salinity does not affect <br />the beneficial uses of water within the state of Colorado <br />and since impaired water quality due to salinity is a pro- <br />blem, if at all, only in the Lower Basin states. Therefore, <br />salinity control in Colorado should be limited to only that <br />which is appropriate under the narrative standards reflecting <br />the basin-wide approach. <br /> <br />Summary <br /> <br />In summary, Chevron Shale Oil Company supports the <br />Commission in following the basin-wide approach for salinity <br />control adopted by the Forum in 1975 and again in the 1978 <br />revisions. The salinity standards set should be narrative <br />only and should not include any numeric standards for the <br />Colorado River or its tributaries in the state of Colorado. <br />In reviewing these standards and the plan of implementation, <br />the Commission should also be aw&re that the most recent <br />studies indicate that salinity levels in the Colorado River <br />are in fact dropping. The plan of implementation for this <br />narrative standard should reflect the factual reality of <br />salinity contribution to the Colorado River by not placing <br /> <br />-8- <br />