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<br />Making nearly all changes in wording which were requested, and <br /> <br />....... <br />w <br />0) <br />CD <br /> <br />Agreeing to language for an exchange on the Ilouse floor which would <br />create an expression of legislative intent with respect to the above changes <br />to the bill. <br /> <br />In short, the seven states have already gone a very long way in meeting <br />everyone's concerns. It can fairly be argued that they have done enough <br />and have certainly negotiated in good faith. <br /> <br />A DISCUSSION IHPORTANT TO AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE LEGISLATIVE INTENT AS FOLLOWS: <br /> <br />Section lea) and (b) of the bill: <br /> <br />Section 1(a) of the bill, as reported by the Committee on Interior and <br />Insular Affairs, will be deleted by the substitute amendment offered today. <br />The bill as advanced by the committee provided that the planning of salinity <br />control units would not be "governed" by the principles, standards, and <br />procedures for planning water and related land resources. This amendment to <br />the ariginal 1974 Act was not intended to prevent the Departments of the <br />Interior and Agriculture from displaying information on the economic <br />evaluation of salinity control units. Rather, it was only intended to make it <br />clear that salinity control units, as with the Nation's other water quality <br />projects, are to be evaluated and selected based on considerations other than <br />the benefit-cost analyses to which traditional water resources development <br />projects are subjected. <br /> <br />Since section l(b) of the bill (Section 1 of the substitute amendment of <br />taday) would amend the 1974 Act to make it clear that cost-effectiveness, not <br />benefit-cost analysis, would be the economic criteria used in selecting <br />salinity control units for construction, section l(a) is not necessary. By <br />deleting section lea) from the bill, it is intended that all relevant <br />information, as called for in the principles, guidelines, and standards, about <br />a salinity control unit will be displayed in the appropriate planning <br />documents. This will include information on all means for reducing salt <br />loading to the Colorado River, including structural measures such as canal and <br />lateral lining and non-structural measures such as retirement of land from <br />irrigation by purchase from willing sellers. <br /> <br />The committee believes that at times some non-structural solutions may be <br />cast-effective for controlling salinity in the Colorado ,River. In these cases <br />complete or partial alternatives to structural measures shall be considered <br />far addressing problems and opportunities pursuant to this title. The <br />committee expects that complete or partial alternative non-structural plans <br />will be fully arrayed and considered as one of the candidate plans whenever <br />structural projects are considered whenever the non-structural solutions <br />appear to be viable. <br /> <br />Even though cost effectiveness evaluations are to be used in analyzing <br />salinity control units, this is not the sole criteria by which units are to be <br />evaluated. Technical feasibility, local acceptability, and environmental <br />considerations are also to be taken into account. Section l(b) of the bill as <br />