Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act

Last updated March 21, 2019

The Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act, Public Law 93-320, and the laws authorizing three other conservation cost-sharing programs were begun June 24, 1974. In the 1996 farm bill, Public Law 104-127, they were repealed and replaced by a new cost-sharing program, the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP).

The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) is a program created by the 1996 farm bill to provide primarily cost-sharing assistance, but also technical and educational assistance, aimed at promoting production and environmental quality, and optimizing environmental benefits. The program replaces the Agricultural Conservation Program, the Water Quality Incentives Program, the Great Plains Conservation Program, and the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Program. EQIP is reauthorized in the 2002 farm bill at $0.4 billion in mandatory spending in FY2002 and rising to $1.3 billion in FY2007. The funding each year is to be divided, with 60% targeted to environmental concerns associated with livestock production and the remainder to crop production. Producers enter into contracts of 1 to 10 years. Participants can receive no more than $450,000 between FY2002 and FY2007. Two new sub programs were created; one provides matching grants for innovative conservation efforts, such as using market systems to reduce pollution and promoting carbon sequestration in soil; and, the second is the Ground and Surface Water Conservation Program (GSWP).

Program - Public Law 93-320

The Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act (SCA), Public Law 93-320, was enacted 24 June 1974. The SCA was an Act to authorize the construction, operation, and maintenance of certain works in the Colorado River Basin to control the salinity of water delivered to users in the United States and Mexico.

The law was administered by the Farm Service Agency until FY1996, when management was transferred to the Natural Resources Conservation Service.

Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), formerly known as the Soil Conservation Service (SCS), is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) that provides technical assistance to farmers and other private landowners and managers.

Participation

Until it was replaced, the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Program provided cost-sharing assistance to producers to install on-farm irrigation system improvements to prevent irrigation water heavily charged with salts and minerals from reentering the Colorado River. Participating farmers received up to 70% of total project costs and technical assistance. Participation was concentrated at sites where problems existed. This program was available to producers in the seven states of the Colorado River watershed.

The Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Program was authorized in the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act and was repealed and replaced by the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) in the 1996 farm bill. Administered by the Natural Resources Conservation Service, it was used to implement salinity control measures, primarily to manage irrigation water using financial and technical assistance to landowners. This program supported U.S. efforts to meet international treaty obligations for downstream water quality in Mexico. The Department of the Interior's Bureau of Reclamation administers its own Colorado River Salinity control Program.

Amendments - Public Law 93-320

The SCA has been amended five times:

Public Law 98-569, "An Act to Amend the Salinity Control Act, enacted 30 October 1984;
Public Law 104-20, "An Act to Amend the Salinity Control Act, enacted 28 July 1995;
Public Law 104-127. "Federal Agricultural Improvement and Reform Act of 1996, enacted 4 April 1996;
Public Law 106-459, "An Act to Amend the Salinity Control Act, " enacted 7 November 2000;
Public Law 110-234, "Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008" enacted 22 May 2008.

Program - Public Law 98-569

PL98-569 authorized the Secretary of Agriculture to develop and implement a voluntary on-farm program by:

(1) identifying irrigation salt source areas,
(2) developing and implementing salinity control plans,
(3) providing technical and financial assistance to individuals, group, and irrigation districts or canal companies for implementing on-farm and related lateral improvements,
(4) conducting education, research, and demonstration activities,
(5) provide on-farm irrigation water management assistance,
(6) conduct monitoring and evaluation activities to determine program effectiveness,
(7) require 30 percent local cost sharing from implementation of on-farm improvements with 30 percent of the balance of the funds repaid in the same manner as the Interior Department's program from the Upper and Lower Basin funds.

PL98-569 also authorized the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to proceed with planning for the Sinbad Valley Unit and to develop a program to minimize salt contributions to the Colorado River from lands administered by the BLM.

Amendments - Public Law 98-569

Public Law 98-569 amendments included:

(1) authorization of construction of two new salinity control units, Stage 1 of the Lower Gunnison Basin Unit and the McElmo Creek Unit as a part of the Dolores Project,
(2) the use of cost-effectiveness as a decision-making criteria,
(3) new authority for the Secretary of the Interior to contract with non-Federal entities for organization, construction, operation, maintenance, and replacement of authorized salinity control facilities,
(4) requiring the replacing of incidental fish and wildlife values foregone as salinity control units are constructed,
(5) requiring thirty percent cost sharing from the Upper and Lower Basin funds on the newly authorized units to be repaid during the year the expenditures are made or over time with interest and
(6) deauthorized the Crystal Geyser Unit.

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References

This article incorporates public domain material from the Congressional Research Service document "Report for Congress: Agriculture: A Glossary of Terms, Programs, and Laws, 2005 Edition" by Jasper Womach.

The Congressional Research Service (CRS), known as Congress's think tank, is a public policy research arm of the United States Congress. As a legislative branch agency within the Library of Congress, CRS works primarily and directly for Members of Congress, their Committees and staff on a confidential, nonpartisan basis.

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