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<br /> <br />17 \VIIIRIIONO\V? <br /> <br />presently being fundolci by the <br />Agricultural Researcli SerVice, <br />, <br />Additional research sl'pport is being <br />provided by the CSR~ through <br />several Western Statel'gricultural <br />experiment stations. ~rogress is <br />being made through rjlsearch efforts <br />and demonstration sit~s within the <br />Grand Valley and Uinla Basin <br />N implementation projedts, <br />C)t <br />00 <br />0) MonitorIng and EValuatIon <br />; <br />SCS is responsible for developing <br />and implementing a mpnitOring and <br />evaluation (M&E) plal1lin each of <br />the USDA salinity pro*,ts, The <br />primary objectives of tllese plans are <br />to: . <br /> <br />. Assess the effectivilness of <br />program implemmltati6n on <br />reducing salt loadillg to the <br />Colorado River, ' <br /> <br />. Monitor the impacti; of <br />implementation oniwetlands <br />and' wildlife habita6 values; and <br /> <br />. Determine the costs'and <br />economic effects of ~rogram <br />implementation. <br /> <br />SCS, with assistance ~m others, <br />carries out Its M&E resp nsibilities <br />as an integral part of the RSC <br />program, <br /> <br />Monitoring and evalujttion <br />activities have been und<tway in <br />the Grand Valley and Ui4ta Basin <br />for several years, Valuab/e infor- <br />mation is being obtained jn these <br />projects on the costs, lm~cts, and <br /> <br />effectiveness of the salinity control <br />practices being applied, In the Big <br />Sandy, Lower Gunnison, McElmo, <br />and Moapa Valley projects, M&E <br />plans have been prepared and are in <br />the early phases of implementation, <br /> <br />WHERE TO NOW? <br /> <br />The Evaluation Process <br /> <br />USDA and Interior will continue <br />to use the annual joint evaluation <br />process, Using a budget and least <br />cost investment computer model, <br />the evaluation process will deter- <br />mine the optimal combination of <br />projectsandconsttuctlontlmlng <br />necessary to meet salt load <br />reduction goals at minimum costs. <br />This process provides a program <br />management tool to support <br />accomplishment of salinity control <br />objectives at overall maximum cost <br />effectiveness, This approach to <br />long-term, program-wide analysis is <br />helpful to Federal program <br />managers when weighing the many <br />budget choices each year, <br /> <br />Based on the analysis, it appears <br />that total remaining construction <br />costs for the program to meet the <br />numeric criteria and required salt <br />load reduction are now projected to <br />be about $530 million (1988 price <br />level), <br /> <br />A repayment analysis model has <br />also been developed to evaluate the <br />ability of the Lower Colorado River <br />Basin Fund to repay its share of the <br />total program costs" For the <br />