WSP01083

• File Number: 8272.300.50
• Description: Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Advisory Council
• Basin: Colorado Mainstem
• Water Division: 5
• Date: 12/31/2001
• Title: 2001 Annual Report on the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Program
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Annual Report

~D.. 1 :! 200\

USDA
H

Umted Stales
Departmenl ot
:"'gncullure

Natural
Resources
Conservation
SeNlce

PO 30x 2690
'Nasnlng!::ln. DC
20013

o
.....
.."

APR 1 ~ 1001

k.

Mr Larry R Dozier
Chairman, Colorado River Basin
Salinity Control Advisory Council
Central Arizona Water Conservancy District
Post Office Box 43020
Phoenix, Arizona 85080-3020

Dear ~1r Dozier:

Thank you for your letter of March 5, 2001, to Secretary Veneman, regarding a copy of
the Advisory Council's 2000 Annual Report on the Colorado River Basin Salinity
Control (CRBSe) Program. Your letter has been referred to the Natural Resources
Conservation Service (NRCS) for response.

As the Council has requested. NRCS v.rill provide the names of the new Departmental
contacts responsible for salinity control when they are announced Currently, within
NRCS, the contacts responsible for salinity control remain the same. Those contacts are
as follows:
Thomas A. Weber, Deputy Chief for Programs, Mark W Berkland, Director,
Conservation Operations Division (COD); Dave M3son. Salinity Program f\lanager,
COD, Washington, 0 C , and Travis James. Western Salinity Coordinator, Salt Lake
City, Utah

In deference to the $1:2 million CRBSC funding request recommended by the Council,
.!1e Department of Agriculture (USDA) funding for these activities increased in 2000
over the 1999 levels :"<'RCS did allocate approximately $5.8 million to the CRBSC
program in tiscal year (FY) 2001 from the 5200 million EQIP budget. This is an increase
of approximately $650,000 from the FY 2000 EQIP funding of salinity control activities.
Approximately $620.000 of the $5 8 million were non-salinity EQIP funds redirected into
salinity project areas at the discretion of State Conservationists. Although the FY 2001
national demand for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQrP) is 3 1
(funding requests to actual funds available), NRCS v.'as able to increase funding for
addressing priority salinity natural resource concerns above that for other competing
natural resource concerns We anticipate being able to maintain the FY 2001 level of
fund in"! ifEQfp is funded at $200 million in FY ::002

-ne ....n.o-aJ ;:'esources C~S~"'i.:1OI'1 ~~-...ce
'orml!'lVme5oolc.:.r.s_ioonSl!~
s.ani<;enevOltl'l!
:';Me<l5li:l!S:~i.~O''''<;f'OlllU'l!

AN ECUAL CPPCRTU:-..tITI EMPLOYER