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<br />n02M5 <br /> <br />3. D.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) <br /> <br />The USBR also is a project operator and developer outside of its role in the salinity <br />program. . It has programs to improve irrigation efficiency even where salinity is not a <br />problem. While tbe federal subsidies are smaller, programs such as Rehabilitation and <br />Betterment Loans are attractive to users of federally developed water and can result in <br />water savings or salvage. USBR also has a statutorily mandated duty to require <br />development of water conservation plans under tbe Reclamation Reform Act of 1982. <br />While USBR is requiring such plans from all users taking water from their projects, they do <br />not yet require implementation of those plans. Still the plans themselves may lead users to <br />take steps which result in water salvage, and in the future may become the basis for <br />mandatory efficiency improvement efforts. As a project operator USBR is subject to the <br />same environmental laws that all water users face, and bas been required to modify project <br />operations to mitigate environmental effects. Mitigation could result in water salvage which <br />might be claimed by either'"USBR or local water users, depending on who held the project <br />water rights or paid for the project modifications. <br /> <br />The USBR is involved in efforts to extend the useful life of non-tributary aquifers, such <br />as the Ogallala in eastern Colorado, by making well irrigators more efficient. The USBR's <br />Closed Basin Project adjacent to the Rio Grande could be viewed as a Federal salvage <br />project already being implemented. This project salvages groundwater by pumping it out <br />of the Closed Basin into the Rio Grande and making it available for water users there <br />according to their existing priorities and the Rio Grande Compact. <br /> <br />4. U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) <br /> <br />Uke USBR the USDA currently has a variety of irrigation management programs not <br />necessarily related to nonpoint pollution or salinity. These programs provide a mix of <br />financial and technical assistance designed to encourage. improved water efficiency and <br /> <br />18 <br />