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<br />o <br />l\) <br />N <br />--.1 <br /> <br />Nothing in this report shall be construed to alter, amend, repeal, interpret, modify, or be in <br />conflict with the provisions of the Boulder Canyon Project Act (45 Stat. 1057), the Boulder Canyon <br />Project Adjustment Act (54 Stat. 774), the Colorado River Basin Project Act (82 Stat. 885), the <br />Colorado River Compact, the Colorado River Storage Project Act (70 Stat. 105), the Upper Colorado <br />River Basin Compact, or the Treaty with the United Mexican States (Treaty Series 994). <br /> <br />History and Background <br /> <br />. In the 1960's and early 1970's, the seven Colorado River Basin states7 and representatives of <br />the Federal Government discussed the problem of salinity levels increasing in the lower reaches of <br />the Colorado River. In 1972, the Federal Government enacted the Clean Water Act which mandated <br />efforts to maintain water quality standards in the United States. At the same time, Mexico and the <br />United States were discussing the increasing salinity of Colorado River water being delivered to <br />Mexico. <br /> <br />The Basin states established the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Forum in 1973. The <br />Forum is' composed of representatives from each of the seven Basin states appointed by the <br />governors of the respective states. The Forum was created for interstate cooperation and to provide <br />the states with the information necessary to comply with Section 303(a) and (b) of the Clean Water <br />Act. <br /> <br />Congress enacted the Colorado River BasinSalinity Control Act (public Law (p.L. 93-320) <br />(the Act) in June of 1974 with the Forum's support (see Appendix A). Title I of the Act addresses <br />the United States' commitment to Mexico and provided the means for the United States to comply <br />with the provisions of Minute No. 242. Title II of the Act created a water quality program for <br />salinity control in the United States. Primary responsibility for the federal program was given to the <br />Secretary of the Interior, with the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) being instructed to <br />investigate and build several salinity control units. The Secretary of Agriculture was instructed to <br />support the effort within existing authorities (see Chapter 4 for more detail regarding these <br />authorities). <br /> <br />The EPA promulgated a regulation in December 1974 (see Appendix A), which set forth a <br />basinwide salinity control policy for the Colorado River Basin. The regulation specifically stated <br />that salinity control was to be implemented while the Basin states continue to develop their compact- <br />apportioned water. This regulation also established a standards procedure, and required the <br />Colorado River Basin states to adopt and submit for approval to the EP A water quality standards for <br />salinity, including numeric criteria and a Plan of Implementation, consistent with the policy stated <br />in the regulation. <br /> <br />7The seven Colorado River Basin states (Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and <br />Wyoming) are referred herein as the "Basin states." <br /> <br />1-2 <br />