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<br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />WATER QUALITY <br /> <br />Colorado River Basin Salinitv Control Forum <br /> <br />It is that time of the year to begin submitting testimony to Congress in support of <br />appropriations for the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Program, In his budget submittal to <br />Congress, President Clinton has requested $325 million in appropriations for the Department of <br />Agriculture's Environmental Qual ity I ncentive Program (EQIP) and $ I 0,85 million for Reclamation's <br />Basinwide Salinity Control Program, <br /> <br />With regard to EQI P, President Clinton's request is $125 million above the initial authorization <br />level for EQIP, Last year, Congress reduced the spending for EQIP from the mandatory level of$2oo <br />million, to $ I 74 million, This year, the Forum is requesting that the EQIP program be restored to at <br />least the $200 million level, or more, if necessary, so as to allow the funding of national priority areas, <br />The table below shows the level of appropriations approved by the Forum and Advisory Council for <br />FY 200 I. <br /> <br />FUNDING RECOMMENDATIONS <br /> <br /> Fiscal Years <br /> 2001 2002 <br />DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR <br />Bureau of Reclamation $ I 7,500,000 $17,500,000 <br />Bureau of Land Management $5.200,000 $5,200,000 <br />DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE $12,000,000 $ I 2,000,000 <br />TOTAL FUNDS NEEDED $34,700,000 $34,700,000 <br /> <br />I have included in the Board folder, for your reference, copies of three draft letters that I will <br />be sending to Congress in support of appropriations for the Department of Agriculture, Bureau of <br />Reciamation, and the Bureau of Land Management. For those agencies that are planning to provide <br />comments, information can be extracted from these letters for inclusion in testimony, <br /> <br />Concerning the deadlines and requirements for submittal of testimony, I have included a copy <br />of Memorandum 00-11 from Jack Barnett, Executive Director of the Forum, which provides a listing <br />of the six committees to which the Forum will provide testimony along with a list of the Congressmen <br />or Senators that serve on the various subcommittees, Each subcommittee has established certain <br />deadlines for submitting testimony. and they are listed in bold under each subcommittee's name, <br /> <br />Regarding the Department of Agriculture's EQIP program, the deadline for submitting <br />testimony to the House Agriculture Subcommittee is March 22'd, and to the Senate Agriculture and <br />Rural Development Subcommittee, is March 3 I ", Testimony in support of appropriations for the <br />Bureau of Reclamation's Basinwide Salinity Control Program, is due at the House Energy & Water <br /> <br />6 <br />