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<br />.. <br /> <br />'., <br /> <br />,.... <br />W <br />l\.:. <br />o <br /> <br />.' <br /> <br />.1 <br /> <br />Testimony <br /> <br />Following the passage of the Fede~al Wate~ Pollution Control <br />Act Amendments of 1972 (P.L. 92-500), the seven states of the <br />Colorado Rive~ Basin o~ganized the Colorado River aasin Salinity <br />~~~t~c: ~ar~~ (h~r.~i~~ft~~ ~~f~rr~~ to as the Forum) for the <br />purpose of fostering a coordinated, basin-'..ide approach to che <br />salinity p~oblem in the Colocado Ri'/e~ syste'11. '!'he objectiv-e of <br />this coordinated, basin-wide approach is the maintenance of <br />salinity in the lower mainstem of the Colorado Rive~ at the <br />concent~ations occurring in 1972 (expressed as numecic crite~ia) <br />'.,hile the states continue to develop their compact appo~tioned <br />'Nat~r3. In or:..jf2C to mai~ltain th~ i1umeric salinity (:~ite!:"ia i!1 <br />~he lower ~3insten which have ~e~~ ~1309ted by t~e sta~2S an~ <br />appro'Je'~ ='l t.he Snv i raf'!~ental Protect ion Agency,. it has been <br />esti~ate~ that about 2.3 million tons of the app~oximately 10 <br />million tons of salt '.hich now enter the river on an ave~aqe <br />annu31 basis will need to be removed by che tu~n of the century. <br /> <br />In ~ecoqnition of the fede~al ~ole in and responsibility for <br />a water quality o~ob1em which has both inte~state and inte~- <br />n3tional dimensions. Cong~ess passed the Colorado Rive~ Basin <br />Salinity Control A("T IP r. 'll-,JO\ in 1Q74. That Act consists of <br />t'.o titles. Title I addresses the '..ater quality pcocll::ams which <br />3ce needed to fulfil.l agreements bet'.een the United States and <br />Mexico. Title II of the Act deals with those measures upst~aam <br />of Impe~ial Dam which will redu~~ salt loading to the river. <br /> <br />Since the passage of the Act in 1974, eight years of <br />experience has been gained with the completion of sever.31 <br />planning studies, the acquisition of considerable base-line data, <br />and the initiation of two of the salinity control projects <br />originally authorized by the Act. Based upon this expe~ience, it <br />has become evident that Title II of the Act needs to be updated- <br />an ex a ect t e newer 1n ormat1on and reater <br />unde~standing which we now have. 202 does just that. <br /> <br />s. 2202_would make fou~ main amendments to Title II of the <br /> <br />Act: <br /> <br />(1) Six new salinity control projects would be authorized <br />for construction by the Department of the Interior, <br />including joint ventures with non-federal entities to <br />demonstrate saline water use technologies, <br /> <br />(2) The Department of AgriCUlture would be authorized to <br />implement a voluntary coope~ative program of technical <br />and cost-sharing assistance for private land owners in <br />order to imp~ove on-farm water management practices, <br /> <br />(3) The Bureau of Land Management, Department of the <br />Interior, would be authorized to develop a program to <br />minimize salt loading from lands which it manages, and <br /> <br />I <br />l <br /> <br />-2- <br />