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 In the 1996 farm bill, Public Law 104-127, they were repealed and replaced by a new cost-sharing program, the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP).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).
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.
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.
The SCA has been amended five times:
PL98-569 authorized the Secretary of Agriculture to develop and implement a voluntary on-farm program by:
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.
Public Law 98-569 amendments included:
The Colorado River dispute is a long-running dispute between the United States and Mexico.
The United States Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act of 1954 is a United States statute. It has been amended several times.
The Flood Control Act of 1965, Title II of Pub.L. 89–298, was enacted on October 27, 1965, by the 89th Congress and authorized the United States Army Corps of Engineers to design and construct numerous flood control projects including the Lake Pontchartrain and Vicinity, Louisiana Hurricane Protection Project in the New Orleans region of south Louisiana.
The Central Utah Project Completion Act (CUPCA) enacted on October 30, 1992, removed responsibility for completing the Central Utah Project, a federal water project, from the United States Bureau of Reclamation. The Central Utah Project Completion Act then distributed responsibility for the project:
Water resources and irrigation infrastructure in Peru vary throughout the country. The coastal region, an arid but fertile land, has about two-thirds of Peru’s irrigation infrastructure due to private and public investment aimed at increasing agricultural exports. The Highlands and Amazon regions, with abundant water resources but rudimentary irrigation systems, are home to the majority of Peru's poor, many of whom rely on subsistence or small-scale farming.
Mexico, a classified arid and semi-arid country, has a total land area of 2 million square kilometres, 23% of which is equipped for irrigated agriculture. The agricultural sector plays an important role in the economic development of the country accounting for 8.4 of agricultural gross domestic product (GDP) and employing 23% of the economically active population. Irrigated agriculture contributes about 50% of the total value of agricultural production and accounts for about 70% of agriculture exports. Mexico’s government initiated a number of structural reforms in the water sector aimed to introduce modern water management and irrigation.
The Water Resource Development Act of 1974, is part of Pub.L. 93–251 enacted on March 7, 1974, enacted by Congress, which also included the Streambank Erosion Control Evaluation and Demonstration Act and the River Basin Monetary Authorization Act.
The Water Resources Development Act of 1986 is part of Pub.L. 99–662, a series of acts enacted by Congress of the United States on November 17, 1986.
The Water Resources Development Act of 1990, Pub.L. 101–640, was enacted by Congress of the United States on November 12, 1990. Most of the provisions of WRDA 1990 are administered by the United States Army Corps of Engineers.
The Water Resources Development Act of 1996 is part of Pub.L. 104–303, was enacted by Congress of the United States on October 12, 1996. Most of the provisions of WRDA 1996 are administered by the United States Army Corps of Engineers.
Irrigation in Brazil has been developed through the use of different models. Public involvement in irrigation is relatively new while private investment has traditionally been responsible for irrigation development. Private irrigation predominates in the populated South, Southeast, and Center-West regions with most of the country’s agricultural and industrial development. In the Northeast region, investments made by the public sector seek to stimulate regional development in an area prone to droughts and with serious social problems. These different approaches have resulted in diverse outcomes. Of the 120 million hectares (ha) that are potentially available for agriculture, only about 3.5 million ha are under irrigation, although estimates show that 29 million ha are suitable for this practice.
Water Resources Development Act of 1988, Pub.L. 100–676, is a public law passed by Congress on November 17, 1988 concerning water resources in the United States in the areas of flood control, navigation, dredging, environment, recreation, water supply, beach nourishment and erosion.
The Water Resources Development Act of 1992, Pub.L. 102–580, was enacted by Congress of the United States on October 31, 1992. Most of the provisions of WRDA 1992 are administered by the United States Army Corps of Engineers.
The Water Resources Development Act of 1999, Pub.L. 106–53, was enacted by Congress of the United States on August 17, 1999. Most of the provisions of WRDA 1999 are administered by the United States Army Corps of Engineers.
The Water Resources Development Act of 2000, Pub.L. 106–541, was enacted by Congress of the United States on December 11, 2000. Most of the provisions of WRDA 2000 are administered by the United States Army Corps of Engineers.
The Cooperative Funds Act is a United States law, or series of laws, which authorized the United States Forest Service (FS) to collect donations from private partners to perform FS work. Contributions had to be voluntary, and by cash, check, or money order only. It was also stipulated that there could be no conflict of interest between the donor and the FS.
The Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008 was an act passed in the 110th United States Congress and enacted on May 8, 2008.
Water resources management in modern Egypt is a complex process that involves multiple stakeholders who use water for irrigation, municipal and industrial water supply, hydropower generation and navigation. In addition, the waters of the Nile support aquatic ecosystems that are threatened by abstraction and pollution. Egypt also has substantial fossil groundwater resources in the Western Desert.
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.