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<br />(.::l <br />--l <br />--l <br />W <br /> <br />1996 ANNUAL REPORT <br /> <br />program. The Council is concerned that by including the USDA's salinity control program in <br />the much broader Environmental Quality Incentives Program, USDA's commitment to its <br />Colorado River salinity control efforts will be diluted, Because of this concern and the <br />importance of the salinity control program to the entire Colorado River Basin, the Council <br />strongly recommends that the Colorado River Basin be designated a national priority area and <br />that as a national priority area sufficient funding be provided to maintain USDA's efforts in <br />the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Program as described in the 1996 Review. Because <br />technical assistance, education, and monitoring and evaluation are critical to the success of <br />USDA's program, the Council recommends that funding for these activities be provided in <br />addition to the funds for cost sharing made available under the EQrp, <br /> <br />The Council is also concerned with the organizational structure USDA has created for <br />administering EQIP. The Council fears that lack of coordination within USDA regional, state <br />and local offices could lead to expenditures of funds for the implementation of less cost effective <br />projects because the distribution of funds is likely to be based on local priorities within each <br />state rather than basin-wide priorities. The necessary coordination could be achieved by the <br />designation of a national priority area and then assigning one regional or state office primacy <br />in determining the priority of projects basin-wide. That designated regional or state office could <br />then be the focal point for coordination and consultation with the Council and the Forum. The <br />Council believes that this approach is essential to maintaining a large-scale salinity control <br />program that bases implementation decisions on cost effectiveness. <br /> <br />COLORADO RIVER BASIN SAUNITY CONTROL ADVISORY COUNCIL <br /> <br />5 <br /> <br />'",;i <br />