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. . .'V ~.. (// ,,;, W 6 Recommendations: The review team recommends option C. The implementation of this option would allow the Service to balance its obligations to the taxpayer with its responsibilities to implement the salinity control program. Therefore, it is recommended that the CRWQO draft a briefing document defining cost- effectiveness, how it is measured, and rationale for setting reasonable limits for all salinity control units for consideration by the Overview Committee. The document should also discuss opportunities for cost sharing with Rehabilitation and Betterment (R&B), Irrigation Management Serive' (IMS) , and water conservation programs. The Overview Committee should then establish cost limits for sa~inity control. This limit should be clearly defined SO it can be provided to all Service personnel in specific terms which are clear to all. It could take the form of a set dollar value, which would require periodic updating, or could take the form of a percentage of current salinity benefits, such as 150 or 200 percent. The recommended limits should be reviewed by the Commissioner's office and promptly transmitted to the Forum. After confering with the Forum, the cost limit should be transmitted to the E&R Center and the Upper and Lower Colorado Regions with instructions to concentrate efforts on projects or portions of projects whose cost are within the limits. Option D should be pursued concurrently with option C to obtain the necessary reading from the Administration and the Congress, but option C should not be dropped, since congressional action may be time consuming, and guidance is needed in the near future. Option G would be backup if a decision would not be forthcomin.g from either C or D. Action Entity: CRWQO, Overview Committee PLANNING: PRINCIPLES AND STANDARDS (P&S) Priority: High P&S evaluations are currently being conducted on all salinity control unit feasibility studies. The P&S and attendant planning requirements result in significant additional planning efforts on salinity control units. The P&S are directed toward the evaluation of alternatives for multipurpose projects. Since the salinity control program is essentially a single purpose, congressionally directed program, it may be possible to limit the extent of P&S evaluation for the salinity program, or exempt the program entirely, resulting in significant reductions in the time and effort required for planning. It is widely held, both within and outside the Service, that the salinity control program should be exempted from the requirements of the P&S as a meanS of expediting ~he planning process.