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<br />(4) the operation of the Big Sandy and Eden Reservoirs by the <br />Eden Valley Irrigation and Drainage District (improvement <br />of existing fish and wildlife habitats), <br /> <br />(5) the voluntary implementation of waterfowl development <br />potentials in the area by the Wyoming Game and Fish <br />Department (WGFD), Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and <br />private wildlife organizations (new and improved wildlife <br />habitats). Cost sharing will be available to nonfederal <br />entities. <br /> <br />, i <br />" <br />, <br /> <br />Environmental Costs <br /> <br />A mandatory replacement of fish and wildlife habitat values is outside <br />the authority of USDA and P.L. 93-320. P.L. 93-320 did not authorize <br />funds for replacing wetlands or other fish and wildlife habitat. <br />However, the "1984 Amendment to Title II of P.L. 93-320" did provide the <br />authority and funds for the voluntary replacement of fish and wildlife <br />habitat values foregone at a maximum cost-shared rate of 70 percent <br />federal and 30 percent local. <br /> <br />The Big Sandy River Unit Selected Plan includes measures to replace fish, <br />and wildlife habitat values. Based on this improved funding authority <br />granted by the "1984 Amendment to P.L. 93-320" and the higher total <br />federal cost-share limit allowed for individual and group contracts, the <br />SCS believes that the potential for voluntary replacement of fish and <br />wildlife habitat values in this project are greater than those in the <br />other ongoing salinity control projects in the Colorado River Basin. <br /> <br />Projects of Other Agencies <br /> <br />The USBR has also conducted investigations for salinity reduction for <br />the Big Sandy River Unit. Their work has consisted of identifying the <br />saline aquifers that contribute the bulk of the salt load to the Big <br />Sandy River and determining the mechanisms by which these aquifers are <br />recharged. The potential of intercepting these aquifers and use of the <br />saline waters for industrial purposes prior to their discharge into the <br />Big Sandy River has been examined and an experiment in desalting by <br />natural freezing was conducted. <br /> <br />,I <br />I <br /> <br />II <br /> <br />The USBR drilled a total of 100 test wells between 1975 and 1978 to <br />locate and characterize the various saline aquifers. These holes range <br />in depth from 30 to 300 feet and cover an area that extends from the Big <br />Sandy Reservoir to the Gasson Bridge on the Big Sandy River, which is a <br />distance of about 25 miles. The wells have been monitored for water <br />level and quality. All the test wells have been pump tested to <br />determine the extent and transmissibility of the aquifer. The ground <br />water levels in the project area respond quickly to irrigation. The <br />water table rises when water is turned into the Eden Valley irrigation <br />project in the spring and recedes in the fall. The magnitude of rise <br />and fall depends on ,climatic conditions and water supply delivered to <br />irrigation project in any given year. <br /> <br />F-5 <br /> <br />OuCfJ5:J <br />