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<br />Federal Register I Vol. 52. No, 86 I Tuesday, May 5. 1987 I Rules and Regulations
<br />
<br />16739
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<br />income. High salinity levels increase
<br />operating costs. suppress crop growth.
<br />and adversely affect crop yields,
<br />Salinity levels above 1000 mg/L cause
<br />severe crop production problems
<br />because of the need for specialized and'
<br />costly Irriga tion management practices.
<br />The 'rec-omrnended safe-drinking
<br />s'tandard for salinity concentration is
<br />500 mg/I.. Concentrations above 500 mg/
<br />L; therefore. add to treatment costs for
<br />municipal, industrial and residential
<br />homeowners. add to the waste
<br />. tr~almimt costs, and reduce or preclude
<br />the reuse of the water supply.
<br />The long term average annual saJini~y
<br />co'ncentration of the-Colorado River
<br />varies from about 50 mg/L in the
<br />headwaters to about 850 mL/gat
<br />Imperial Darn in Arizona. If no
<br />correcfive action is taken; the USDI
<br />estimates that future salinity levels in .
<br />the Colorado River will reach about 963
<br />mg/L at Imperial Dam in the year 2010 .
<br />as additional upstream industrial
<br />residential and agricuJtural development
<br />takes place. It has been estimated by
<br />USDI that irrigated agriculture
<br />contributes about 37 percent of the t:>tal
<br />salt load to the Color-ado River above
<br />the [mperial Dam. Generally. on-farm
<br />irrigation and water distril;lution
<br />systems. especially in the Upper Basin. .
<br />"are not efficient and. therefore. have a
<br />high level of surfa-ce runoff. excessive
<br />deep percolation. and high amounts of
<br />seepage from irrigation canals. and
<br />laterals. Excessive deep percolation
<br />from over.irrigation and seepage from.
<br />distribu.tion systems leaches salts. from
<br />the soil and underlyiQg geologic
<br />, formations into the river.
<br />There aM {lpproxi_rriatelY,1.:miUion
<br />acres, or irrigated cropland in 17
<br />identified ,salt SQurce" uni ts In the
<br />Colorado Basin: Teil onhese units
<br />- presently are, considered feasible .
<br />sa,linHy control project areas from a
<br />cost-effective standpoint for inclusion in
<br />. the CRSC Program. These ten units
<br />could require conservation treatment on
<br />as_ much as 700.000 acres of irrigated
<br />cropland. .
<br />
<br />Statutory Requirements
<br />
<br />The Colorado River Basin Salinity
<br />Control Act, as amended (43 U,S,C, 1571
<br />et seg.), {hereinafter referred to as the
<br />"Act") addresses certain salinity control
<br />i.sues. Title I of tho Act relates 10: (1)
<br />the maintenance of the water 'Quality
<br />(salinity concentrations) standard under
<br />the agreement of August 30. 1973.
<br />(?v1inute 242 of the- IntF-mationa!
<br />Boundary and Water Commission.
<br />United State. and Mexico) concluded
<br />pursuant to the Water Treaty of
<br />February 3, 1944 (59 Stat. 1219), with
<br />respect to water delivered to Mexico.
<br />
<br />. and (2) a program for improving
<br />irrigation efficiences and redui::ing
<br />highly saline irrigation drainage return
<br />flows from the Wellton.Mohawk
<br />Irrigation and Drainage District. Title'I
<br />of the Act al.o autborizes the USDI to
<br />design and construct a large
<br />desalinization plant to treat excess _
<br />irrigation drainage return flows from the
<br />Wellton-Mohawk area,
<br />Title II of the Act (43 U,S.C. 1592)
<br />deals specifically witb the salinity
<br />concentrations in the Colorado Ri....er
<br />above Irnperial Dam and _provides the
<br />controls necessary to meet United
<br />States water quality (salinity
<br />concentration) standards for salinity
<br />established and adopted by the seven
<br />basin States and approved by the
<br />Environmental Protection Agency [EPA).
<br />The Secretary of the Interior is
<br />au'thorized to undertake various
<br />investigations and studies to determine
<br />the nature of salt loading problems.
<br />potential-saHnity control solutions. and.
<br />costs. The Secretary of Interior also is
<br />authorized to construct certain salinity
<br />control projects. USDI investigations or
<br />construction projects. however. do not
<br />address on-farrn salinity control. Title II
<br />of the Act directed the Secretary of tbe .
<br />Interior. the Administrator of EPA. and
<br />. the Secretary of Agriculture to cooperate
<br />and coordinate their activities to carry
<br />out the objectives of Title II,
<br />The major -program areas that- have
<br />beeri addressed by USDA agencies are:
<br />{ll Irrigation salt source area studies
<br />. [Soil Conservation Service (SCS)J; (2)
<br />. implementation technical assistance
<br />(SCS): (3) implementation co.t-.haring .
<br />assistance_-[Agricultural Stabilization
<br />and Conservation Service (ASCS)]: (4)
<br />.extension education [Extension Service
<br />. [ES)], (5) research and demonstration
<br />[Agricultural Researcb Service (ARS),
<br />Cooperative State Research Service
<br />(CSRSJ]; and (6) monitoring and
<br />evaluation (SCS). SCS has conducted
<br />irrigation salt source area studies in
<br />accordance with the provision of Pub, L.
<br />83--566, .ection 6, 88 Stat, 668 (16 U,S,C,
<br />1008), Some of tbesestudies have
<br />resulted in published USDA Salinity
<br />Control Reports identifying salt source
<br />areas-and salt load estimates and
<br />evaluating treatment alternatives with
<br />respect to the benefits of .aIt load
<br />'reduction. These studies recommended
<br />implementation plans and projected
<br />their costs. ASCS provides cost-share
<br />assistance under the Agricultural
<br />Conservation.Program (ACP) to assist
<br />producers to improve on-farm irrigation
<br />practices. These USDA agency programs
<br />have been effective in assisting with 01'.-
<br />farm salinity control but have been
<br />limited in scope, The ACP annual
<br />
<br />paymentlimitatiori of $3,500 to
<br />indiviqual program participants has
<br />been 8. major obstacle to the
<br />repfacel!1ent or reorganization of costly
<br />irrigation structures and practices. The
<br />eligibility re'quirements for participants.
<br />land. and 'irrigation districts under ACP
<br />l)as also presented limitations to
<br />effective' on.farm salinity control efforts,'
<br />To ~)Vercome these problems. section
<br />202(c) of the Act was added by Pub, L,
<br />9a.;..S69 to authorizes the SecretarY of
<br />Agriculture to establish a voluntary
<br />cooperative on-,farm salinity control
<br />program to improve on.farm water
<br />management and reduce watershed
<br />erosion on non.Federallands and lands
<br />under.the control of the USDA. In
<br />implementing the CRSC Program, the
<br />Act provides that the Secretary shall
<br />give preference to those cost-effective
<br />projects' or s~lf~contained portions of
<br />. projects which redu!=es salinity at the
<br />least Federal cost per unit of salinity
<br />reduction',
<br />This interim rule sets forth the terms
<br />and conditions of such program.
<br />
<br />Discussion
<br />
<br />General. This interim rule sets forth
<br />the terms and conditions of the
<br />Colorade> River Salini\}'i:ontrol (CRSC) .
<br />Program. Undet: the int~nm rule. county
<br />ASC ,committliles (COe) may enter into
<br />CRSC Contracts with individuals or .
<br />entities that have control of land
<br />identified. in USDA Salinity Control
<br />Reports as land t,hat is cQptributing to
<br />the .alt loading of the Colorado River,
<br />Under ,these contracts. ASeS will agree
<br />to share the cost with the participant of
<br />establishing necessary salinity reduction
<br />practices on eligible land controlled by
<br />. the _participant. In return for the c08t- '
<br />share payme'nts; a 'participant must
<br />agree to carryout a cost-eff,ective
<br />salinity control plan developed for the
<br />pl:l.rticipant's-land. The salinity control
<br />plan includes the salinity reduction
<br />practicers] that must be installed on the
<br />participant's land,as well as a schedule
<br />of completion dates for the installation
<br />of such practices. An individual or entity
<br />that participates in the CRSC program
<br />may also be required to enter into
<br />Operation and Maintenance agreements
<br />with COC,.
<br />Operation and l-.1ainter.ance
<br />agreements shall be designed to ensure
<br />that the participant rnaintains
<br />established salinity reduction practices
<br />for a specified period of time determined
<br />to be necessary to achieve the desired
<br />level of salinity control.
<br />USDA salinity cantral reparts, The
<br />Soil Conservation Service (SCS), on
<br />behalf of the Secretary and in
<br />consultation wilh the Department of
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