Laserfiche WebLink
<br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />WATER QUALITY <br /> <br />Colorado River Basin Salinitv Control Program <br /> <br />Public Hearings on the 1999 Triennial Review Report <br /> <br />Included in the Board folder is a copy of the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Forum's <br />Public Notice/Press Release announcing that it has issued, for public review, the 1999 Triennial <br />Review Report, Public hearings are scheduled to be held August 23'd at the Sheraton Hotel, adjacent <br />to the Los Angeles International Airport beginning at 1:00 p,m" and on August 24th in Lyman, <br />Wyoming, beginning at 7:00 p,m, The Forum will be taking oral comments at these hearings and <br />will issue a supplemental report, if required, based on the comments received, Once the final <br />document is prepared and approved by the Forum, each state's water quality agency will submit it <br />to the Environmental Protection Agency for approval as part of that state's water quality standards, <br /> <br />Reclamation's Basinwide Salinity Control Program <br /> <br />On June JO'", Senator Robert F, Bennett (R-UT) introduced S, 1211, the Colorado River <br />Basin Salinity Control Act ofl999, to increase the ceiling limit of Reclamation's Basinwide Salinity <br />Control Program from $75 million to $175 million, <br /> <br />In 1995 Congress passed amendments to the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act, <br />which provided a major departure from the traditional Reclamation program, The new approach has <br />been termed the Basinwide Program, New projects are no longer built by the federal government. <br />Instead, they are to be built by the private sector and local and state governments, Federal funds are <br />now awarded to projects based on competitive bids, <br /> <br />Since this was, at its inception, a promising but untried approach, Congress limited the <br />program to $75 million in federal funding during an initial period, The Basinwide Program has <br />proven to be a very successful program, with an average cost effectiveness of $27 per ton of salt <br />controlled, compared to the original program with a cost effectiveness of $76 per ton, <br /> <br />I have recently learned that S. 1211 has been set for hearing by the Senate Energy and Natural <br />Resources Committee for Wednesday, July 28'h. The Chairman is Senator Gordon Smith of Oregon. <br />I will write a letter, on behalf of California, to Senator Smith in support of the legislation, For your <br />information, I have included in the Board folder a copy of a letter I sent to Senators Boxer and <br />Feinstein asking for their support of the legislation, and also requesting that they become co-sponsors <br />of the bill. <br /> <br />Atlas Corporation"s Uranium Mill Tailings <br /> <br />Last month, the Board heard a presentation from Mr, AI McLeod, Chairman of the Grand <br />County Council, concerning Grand County's position with regard to the Atlas Corporation uranium <br />miJJ tailings. As a result ofthat discussion, the Board requested that I inform the Nuclear Regulatory <br />Commission of the Board's opposition to the current location of the uranium mill tailings, and of its <br /> <br />6 <br />