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<br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />(. <br /> <br />WATER QUALITY <br /> <br />Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Forum <br /> <br />Adoption of Water Quality Standards <br /> <br />On April 30, 2003, the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) approved the 2002 <br />Review, Water Quality Standards for Salinity, Colorado River Basin (2002 Triennial Review). This <br />Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Forum document includes numeric criteria for salinity below <br />Hoover and Parker Dams and at Imperial Dam, and a plan of implementation for controlling the salinity <br />of Colorado River water, <br /> <br />On May 22nd, the SWRCB requested the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to approve the <br />2002 Triennial Review pursuant to the Clean Water Act Section 303. <br /> <br />Salinity Control Forum Meeting, Midway, Utah <br /> <br />On May 21, 2003, the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Forum (Forum) held its Spring <br />meeting in Midway, Utah. Kathleen Clarke, Director of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), <br />informed the Forum that BLM understands how important its upcoming report to Congress is on the <br />Title I Salinity Control Program and that she would review the draft report prior to transmitting it to the <br />Department of the Interior. John Keys, Commissioner of Reclamation, informed the Forum ofthe Bush <br />Administration's support of the Salinity Control Program. Reclamation will issue a Request for <br />Proposals for new salinity control projects this summer. This fiscal year, $8.7 million has been <br />appropriated to Reclamation for the Basinwide salinity control program. A representative ofthe Natural <br />Resources Conservation Service reported that $\3.7 million in Environmental Quality Incentives <br />Program monies will be available for Colorado River salinity control this year. <br /> <br />The Chairman of the Forum's Selenium Committee, Mr. GaI)' Beach (WY), reported that the <br />selenium contribution to the Colorado River originates from the Grand Valley and Lower Gunnison <br />region of Colorado (62%), the Green River in Utah (20%), and the San Juan River (8%). Over 70% of <br />the selenium concentration in the river results from irrigation practices in geologic formations of <br />Mancos Shale. Actual selenium concentration below Lake Powell is about 2.4 Ilglml, which with <br />farming becomes concentrated in lID's drains to about 8-12 Ilglml. In order to better understand the <br />mechanics of selenium entering the River, the Forum and Reclamation have been requested to research <br />their records to determine if the seleni urn concentration has remained constant or decreased since the <br />commencement of the salinity control program. <br /> <br />With regard to the question, "Should the Forum consider modifying its cost-effectiveness criteria <br />to encourage selenium control?", the Forum decided that additional research by the Policy <br />Subcommittee was required. Historically, the Forum has focused on downstream economic damages <br />caused by the concentration oftotal dissolved solids. Since the Forum would begin dealing with a toxic <br />substance, i.e., selenium, Committee members questioned whether this could result in a change in the <br /> <br />10 <br />