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. .. " Intercepted Groundwater* Policy for Implementation of the Colorado River Salinity Standards Through the NPDES Permit Program o ~ W 0') Adopted by The Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Forum October 20, 1982 The States of the Colorado River Basin in 1977 agreed to the "Policy for Implementation of Colorado River Salinity Standards through the NPDES Permit Program" with the objective for industrial discharge being "no~salt return" whenever practicable. That policy required the submittal of information by the applicant on alternatives, water rights, quantity, quality and costs to eliminate or minimize the salt discharge. The information is for use by the NPDES permit issuing agency in evaluating the practicability of achieving no-salt discharge. There are mines and wells in the Basin which discharge intercepted groundwaters. The factors involved in those situations differ somewhat from those encountered in other industrial discharges. Continued development will undoubted- ly result in additional instances in which permit conditions must deal with intercepted groundwater. The discharge of intercepted groundwater needs to be evaluated in a manner consistent with the overall objective of "no-salt return" whenever practicable. The following provides more detailed guidance for those situations where groundwaters are intercepted with resultant changes in groundwater flow regime. 1. The "no-salt" discharge requirement may be waived ~t the option of the permitting authority in those cases where the discharge salt load reaching the main stem of the Colorado River is less than one ton per day or 350 tons per year, I~hichever is less. Evaluation will be made on a case-by-case basis. *The term intercepted groundwater means all groundwater encountered during mining or other industrial operations.