[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 82 (Thursday, June 10, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Page S6868]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. BENNETT:
  S. 1211. A bill to amend the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control 
Act to authorize additional measures to carry out the control of 
salinity upstream of Imperial Dam in a cost-effective manner; to the 
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.


   COLORADO RIVER BASIN SALINITY CONTROL REAUTHORIZATION LEGISLATION

  Mr. BENNETT. Mr. President, I am pleased to rise today to introduce 
the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Reauthorization Act of 1999. 
This legislation will reauthorize the funding of this program to a 
level of $175 million and will permit these important projects to 
continue forward for several years.
  I do this because the Colorado River is the life link for more than 
23 million people. It provides irrigation water for more than 4 million 
acres of land in the United States. Therefore, the quality of the water 
is crucial.
  Salinity is one of the major problems affecting the quality of the 
water. Salinity damages range between $500 million and $750 million and 
could exceed $1.5 billion per year if future increases in salinity are 
not controlled. In an effort to limit future damages, the Basin States 
(Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming) 
and the Federal Government enacted the Colorado River Basin Salinity 
Control Act in 1974. Because the lengthy Congressional authorization 
process for Bureau of Reclamation projects was impeding the 
implementation of cost-effective measures, Congress authorized the 
Bureau in 1995 to implement a competitive, basin-wide approach for 
salinity control.
  Under the new approach, termed the Basinwide Program salinity control 
projects were no longer built by the Federal Government. They were, for 
the most part, to be built by the private sector and local and state 
governments. Funds would be awarded to projects on a competitive bid 
basis. Since this was a pilot program, Congress originally limited 
funds to a $75 million ceiling.
  Indeed, the Basinwide Salinity Program has far exceeded original 
expectations by proving to be both cost effective and successful. It 
has an average cost of $27 per ton of salt controlled, as compared to 
original authority program projects that averaged $76 per ton. One of 
the greatest advantages of the new program comes from the integration 
of Reclamation's program with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's 
program. By integrating the USDA's on-farm irrigation improvements with 
the Bureau's off-farm improvements, very high efficiency rates can be 
obtained.
  Because the cost sharing partners (private organizations and states 
and federal agencies) often have funds available at specific times, the 
new program allows the Bureau of Reclamation to quickly respond to 
opportunities that are time sensitive. Another significant advantage of 
the Basinwide program is that completed projects are ``owned'' by the 
local entity, and not the Bureau. The entity is responsible for 
performing under the proposal negotiated with the Bureau.
  In 1998, Bureau of Reclamation received a record number of proposals. 
While still working through the 1998 proposals, the Bureau also sought 
out 1999 proposals which are just now being received and evaluated. 
Although, not all proposals will be fully funded and constructed, 
funding requirements for even the most favorable projects surpasses the 
original $75 million funding authority. In fact, if all proposals go to 
completion and are fully funded, the Bureau might find itself in the 
position that no future requests for proposals can be considered until 
Congress raises the authorization ceiling. In an effort to prevent that 
from occurring, I am introducing this legislation today. I hope my 
colleagues will join me in this effort and I look forward to working on 
this legislation with them.
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