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<br />o <br />tv <br />--.::! <br />00 <br /> <br />is composed of technical representatives from each of the seven Basin states, and the Executive <br />Director of the Forum. Federal agency representatives, however, attend meetings of the Work Group <br />and informally exchange information, ideas and viewpoints. The Work Group coordinates the <br />efforts of the Basin states and reports back to the Forum any actions which the Work Group believes <br />the Forum should consider. <br /> <br />Positions have been taken on many issues, such as the need for appropriation offunds by the <br />Congress. Federal agencies have also prepared numerous reports in the three-year period. The <br />Forum has compiled a library of many reports relating to Colorado River salinity. The Work Group <br />and the Forum have had the opportunity to review and comment on these reports in draft form. <br />Notable among the reports done since the last triennial review is a report which is prepared by the <br />Bureau o( Reclamation and submitted to Congress every two years. The last of these publications <br />is Quality of Water. Colorado River Basin. Prowess Report No. 20. January 2001. U.S. Department <br />of the Interior. In addition, the Forum and the Work Group have, over the last three years, assisted <br />the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Advisory Council in the preparation of three annual <br />reports. <br /> <br />Financing Salinity Control Activities <br /> <br />By enacting the 1974 Act, Congress recognized the federal role and responsibility for <br />controlling the salinity of the Colorado River, and adopted a cost-sharing formula which provided <br />that 75 percent of the costs of the four originally authorized Department of the Interior salinity <br />control projects under Title II of the Act are non:reitnbursable. The remaining 25 percent of the <br />costs are to be repaid from the Upper and Lower Basin funds over a 50-year period without interest. <br />The maximum allocation to the Upper Basin fund is not to exceed 15 percent of the total costs to be <br />repaid from the two funds, with the remainder to be repaid by the Lower Basin fund. <br /> <br />The 1984 amendments to the 1974 Act changed the cost-sharing formula. For the <br />Department of the Interior program, the non-reimbursable portion was reduced to 70 percent, with <br />the remaining 30 percent to come from Upper and Lower Basin funds in the same proportionate <br />share as under the 1974 Act. However, the Upper Basin fund could repay its share over 50 years <br />with interest, and the Lower Basin could reimburse its share of the annual expenditure during the <br />year that costs are incurred. <br /> <br />The USDA Salinity Control Program, as amended in 1996, requires at least a 25 percent <br />non-federal cost-share for participation. In addition, the legislation allows for the Basin Funds to <br />cost-share up to 30 percent. Money is available in the Basin Funds for this purpose. <br /> <br />Table 5-1 provides a compilation of the amount offunding provided to Reclamation, USDA, <br />and BLM for the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Program from FY 1988 to the present. <br /> <br />5-4 <br />