pursuant to its terms. I believe that our interest in good relations with a neighbor Nation far transcends the cost of the programs. I am well aware, through my service on interparliamentary delegations, of the seriousness with which our Mexican counterparts view the salinity question and just how crucial this issue is in Mexican-American relations. In like manner, I have no trouble with Mr. Brownell's proposed solution. I believe it is vastly to be preferred that we not undertake to resolve quality of water by wasting a quantity of it. Dilution by releases of water from storage, as some observers may advocate, was renounced by Mr. Brownell and I applaud his perceptiveness in so doing. Likewise, I do not view abandonment of the Wellton-Mohawk development as a viable solution. We did not build a strong economy by abandoning wealthproducing programs based on the use of our renewable resources. Thus, while I support the goals of the Administration program for dealing with the Mexican problem, I cannot support them unless something is done on behalf of our own water users. This is my principal reason for selecting H.R. 12165. My second reason for preferring my bill to the Administration bill is found in the question of jurisdiction. I believe that these essential water resources programs must be kept within the control of the Secretary of the Interior and under the overview of the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs. To further fragment administrative and legislative responsibility on the Colorado River, as would be the case with H.R. 12834, would serve no useful purpose. Lastly, I fell that the Administration bill is deficient in not coming to grips with the boundary pumping problem. H.R. 12165 provides the means by which the vital interests of the Colorado River Basin States can be protected from the adverse effects of excessive groundwater pumping by Mexican interests along the Arizona-Sonora border. The Administration bill is silent on this vital point, apparently contemplating that the problem can be resolved by further.negotiation. I believe it is clear that when the salinity problem is solved to the satisfaction of the Mexican government that the United States has no longer a bargaining position from which to negotiate a satisfactory end to this problem. Hence, there is every logical justification for proceeding with the protective measures contemplated by H.R. 12165. STATEMENT OF HON. FRANK E. EVANS, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF COLORADO Mr. Chairman: I appreciate the opportunity to introduce my statement for the record in support of H. R. 12165, a bill similar to one which I co-sponsored with you and other Representatives from the Colorado River Basin States. It is my understanding the Basin States have agreed upon the merits of this measure as a means of solving problems related to salinity in the Colorado River. Mr. Chairman, we in Colorado, are deeply concerned over the future. History in the West indicates strongly that the very lifeblood of our economy, even our existence depends upon our opportunity to make use of the waters which originate in or flow through our states. With some frequency, as witness both the Rio Grande and Colorado Rivers, our Federal Government completes international treaties without any seeming regard to the consequences for the comparitively few states which must supply the water. Just recently our government completed minutes to implement the Water Treaty of 1944 with the United Mexican States. Salinity which amounts to no more than 980 parts per million was guaranteed at the border delivery point. There is considerable natural salinity on the Colorado River and much of this originates on the public lands. Additionally, almost all use by man increases salinity through imposition or by draining off more pure water which might dilute salinity. Even more recently EPA, possibly to begin making certain salinity is held down so that the treaty obligation may be met, has issued regulations which would in effect hold salinity to 865 parts per million at the Colorado line. The real effect of this regulation, if carried out under current conditions, will be to stop all further development of the river and its tributaries in Colorado and even make inoperable such projects as the Fryingpan-Arkansas. The financial burden to carry out these projects would be impossible for project sponsors to assume if they must each build a salinity control facility. 31-174-74- -6 It is interesting to note, in light of the 980 parts per million guarantee to Mexico, that farmers up and down the Arkansas Valley in Colorado, have been prospering for years on irrigation water containing an average of 3,000 parts per million and as much as 4,000 in some places. All of this is by way of emphasizing the imperative need for enactment of the bill your committee has under consideration. Certainly all states cannot supply the water which flows down the Colorado River. This is a burden to be carried in perpetuity by the Basin States, but under this bill the obligation of all states to implement this treaty with Mexico would be recognized through provision for equitable and reasonable funding of salinity solutions. I am aware that in my district, engineering and plans are being reworked on projects in an effort to reduce the salinity problem. Project sponsors recognize their responsibilities on this matter and are taking steps to willingly meet these to the extent economically feasible. I believe the Federal Government, through H.R. 12165, should also recognize its responsibilities and take steps willingly to meet these. The consequences to many water districts, towns, cities and entire regions of the basin states will be disastrous if we fail. Mr. JOHNSON. At this time I am going to ask leave for all of the U.S. Senators from the basin States to submit their statements. Senator Tunney is not here this morning. He has made a request to the committee that he may submit a statement for the record. Without objection these statements will be placed in the record. [The joint statement of 12 Senators contained in a letter signed by all of them dated March 25, 1974, and addressed to Chairman Harold T. Johnson, plus a letter from Senator Paul J. Fannin, and a statement of Senator John V. Tunney follow:] Hon. HAROLD T. JOHNSON, UNITED STATES SENATE, Washington, D.C. March 25, 1974. Chairman, Subcommittee on Water and Power Resources, House Interior and Insular Affairs Committee, House of Representatives, Washington, D.C. DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: We are pleased to submit a joint statement to you in support of a program to control the salinity levels in the Colorado River. We co-authored legislation, S. 1807, in the first session of the 93rd Congress which would authorize a program, including physical works and accelerated studies, to reduce the salts entering or concentrating in the river. In the intervening months, the State Department, acting through the International Boundary and Water Commission, has negotiated an agreement with the Government of Mexico. This agreement is to assure, among other things, that the Colorado River water which enters Mexico will have "an annual average salinity of no more than 115 ppm ± 30 ppm over the annual average salinity of Colorado River water which arrives at Imperial Dam." The effort by the State Department to maintain friendly relations with our Mexican neighbors is laudable. While the agreement is designed to resolve a long-standing dispute between the two nations, it does nothing whatsoever to clean up the waters used in the United States or to reduce the salts entering the river above Imperial Dam. It is, in this latter respect, an incomplete agreement. The problem of salinity must be handled on a basin-wide basis. It has been stated by Special Ambassador Brownell, "that unless the United States does control this threatened and almost certain increase of salinity above Imperial Dam, the water we deliver to Mexico may become unacceptable, and we shall, in the future, have a new salinity problem with that country." It was also recognized by Foreign Minister Rabasa of Mexico that salinity control works are needed above Imperial Dam in order to achieve the intent of Minute 242 (the Brownell agreement) as "a permanent and definitive solution". We would respectfully submit that we should take the long view. We should endeavor to solve the immediate problem with Mexico. We should at the same time undertake a comprehensive program of salinity control that will be of longrange benefit to water users in both countries. Therefore, we urge your favorable consideration of legislation that would authorize and establish a program of water quality improvement throughout the Colorado River Basin. With kind regards, JOSEPH M. MONTOYA, U.S. Senator; CLIFFORD P. HANSEN, U.S. U. S. SENATE, COMMITTEE ON INTERIOR AND INSULAR AFFAIRS, Hon. HAROLD T. JOHNSON, Chairman, Subcommittee on Water and Power Resources, House Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, Washington, D.C. DEAR BIZZ: As a co-author of legislation introduced in the first session of the 93rd Congress to authorize a program, including physical works and accelerated studies, to reduce the salts entering or concentrating in the Colorado River, I am pleased to submit a joint statement to you in support of a program to control the salinity levels in the River. In the months intervening introduction of S. 1807 and the present, the State Department, acting through the International Boundary and Water Commission, has negotiated an agreement with the Government of Mexico. This agreement is to assure, among other things, that the Colorado River water which enters Mexico will have "an annual average salinity of no more than 115 ppm ±30 ppm over the annual average salinity of Colorado River water which arrives at Imperial Dam." While the effort by the State Department to maintain friendly relations with our Mexican neighbors and resolve a long-standing dispute is laudable, the agreement does nothing whatsoever to clean up the waters used in the United States or to reduce the salts entering the river above Imperial Dam. It is, in this latter respect, an incomplete agreement. The problem of salinity must be handled on a basin-wide basis. It has been stated by Special Ambassador Brownell, "that unless the United States does control this threatened and almost certain increase of salinity above Imperial Dam, the water we deliver to Mexico may become unacceptable, and we shall, in the future, have a new salinity problem with that country." It was also recognized by Foreign Minister Rabasa of Mexico that salinity control works are needed above Imperial Dam in order to achieve the intent of Minute 242 (the Brownell agreement) as "a permanent and definitive solution." I would respectfully submit that we should take the long view. We should endeavor to solve the immediate problem with Mexico, at the same time undertaking a comprehensive program of salinity control that will be of long-range benefit to waters users in both countries. Therefore, I urge your favorable consideration of legislation that would authorize and establish a program of water quality improvement through the Colorado River Basin. With kindest personal regards. PAUL FANNIN, U.S. Senator. STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN V. TUNNEY, A U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA I appreciate the opportunity to appear before your committee to urge your favorable consideration of the Colorado River salinity control program. Together with many of you and other of our colleagues from the seven Colorado River Basin States of Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming, I have sponsored legislation for the past year and one-half which would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to implement a program for the control of the salinity in the waters of the Colorado River system. It is only within the past few years that we have recognized the disastrous potential of our failure to keep our rivers, streams and lakes unpolluted. Congress two years ago put new teeth into our pollution laws and today those laws are being enforced by the Environmental Protection Agency, one of whose most important jobs is to carry out this Congressional mandate. The Colorado is a river that is important to the entire southwestern part of the United States. It is of great importance to my state of California. For close to a century farmers in California have been growing crops with its water. For more than thirty years its waters have been supplying millions of people in the south coastal plain of California. For many years now I have represented agricultural and residential areas which have suffered most severely from the impact of Colorado River salinity. The Imperial and Coachella Valleys are two of the nation's most productive farming areas only because irrigation water is available from the Colorado River. Further, more than 10 million people living throughout the Southern California area are dependent upon water from the Colorado River. The Bureau of Reclamation in early 1972 estimated that the salinity at Imperial Dam could increase from its present level of under 900 parts per million of salt to over 1300 parts per million. Under some conditions the Bureau estimated even higher concentrations of salts. Today the farmers in the Imperial Valley must contend with 1.3 tons of salt per acre-foot of water. If we fail to act, the situation could worsen and spell disaster for agriculture in Southern California. The foodproducing capacity of America is of overwhelming importance and the winter crops available from these farms dependent upon Colorado River water are important throughout the country. In April of 1972 the Environmental Protection Agency and the states of the Colorado River Basin met and agreed on a program to begin the resolution of the problem of salinity in the Colorado. Let me quickly summarize the results of that Conference: 1. The members agreed that the salinity policy for the Colorado River should have as its objective the maintenance of salinity levels at or below the present levels found in the Lower Basin. 2. The salinity control program described by the Bureau of Reclamation in their 1972 report, "Colorado River Water Quality Improvement Program," offers the best prospect for implementing the objective in No. 1. 3. To achieve the policy, the long-range program of the Bureau of Reclamation shall be directed toward achieving reduction of salinity concentrations that would otherwise exist at Imperial Dam to meet present-day levels. I am attaching the conclusions and recommendations of the Conference to my statement. The conferees also agreed that this should be an open-ended and flexible program and that further work must be undertaken to improve the quality in addition to the attempt to maintain present levels. In June of 1972 President Luis Echeverria met with President Nixon and the United States agreed at that time to attack specifically the problem of water quality at the United States-Mexico Border. President Nixon thereupon appointed the Honorable Herbert Brownell as his special ambassador to develop a plan to resolve this international problem. I am pleased to see that Ambassador Brownell will appear before your committee this morning to discuss it in detail. The legislation in which I have joined includes the necessary provisions which would implement this program. I am afraid that unless we undertake an effective program to halt further deterioration of the waters of the Colorado, the impact will be felt throughout our nation. Not only will those who live in this area suffer but the economic effects will be felt in every state in the nation. Further, the effect of Minute 242 will become meaningless and our friends in Mexico will continue to suffer as a result. I believe that this is an expense that the Congress must be willing to accept. As a part of the program, the water and power users throughout the basin will contribute 25 percent of the cost of the program similar to the requirements we have imposed in the Water Pollution Control Act. I cannot think of a more effective use of the funds which are contributed by the water and power users in this area than to have the surplus funds from their payments to the Bureau of Reclamation go towards improving the quality of the water of the Colorado. It is once again, a pleasure to participate with my colleagues from the states throughout the Colorado River Basin in a cooperative effort to seek a solution to this pressing problem. These enormously important agricultural areas provide hundreds of millions of dollors worth of crops and livestock every year. Their survival could well be threatened by continued deterioration of the water taken from the Colorado. The added cost of salinity to housewives, our businesses, and our factories will continue to mount and an already low quality supply of water will become impossible to use if this problem is not resolved. I urge your favorable and early consideration of legislation which would establish a program of water quality improvement in the entire Colorado River Basin. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE FEDERAL-STATE CONFERENCE IN THE MATTER OF THE POLLUTION OF THE INTERSTATE WATERS OF THE COLORADO RIVER AND ITS TRIBUTARIES, DENVER, COLO., APRIL 27, 1972 The State and Federal Conferees have unanimously reached the following conclusions and recommendations. I. It is recommended that: A salinity policy be adopted for the Colorado River system that would have as its objective the maintenance of salinity concentrations at or below levels presently found in the lower main stem. In implementing the salinity policy objective for the Colorado River system, the salinity problem must be treated as a basin wide problem that needs to be solved to maintain Lower Basin water salinity at or below present levels while the Upper Basin continues to develop its compact-apportioned waters. II. The salinity control program as described by the Department of the Interior in their (sic) report entitled "Colorado River Water Quality Improvement Program," dated February 1972, offers the best prospect for implementing the salinity control objective adopted herein. Therefore, it is recommended that: (1) to minimize salinity increases in the river, a salinity control program, generally as described in the Interior Department report, be implemented on an accelerated basis; (2) the Bureau of Reclamation have the primary responsibility for investigation, planning and implementing the basinwide salinity control program in the Colorado River system; (3) to accelerate the salinity control program, the Bureau of Reclamation assign a high priority to LaVerkin Springs, Paradox Valley, and Grand Valley water quality improvement projects with the objective of achieving stabilization of salinity levels on the Lower Colorado River at the earliest possible date. The contemplated impact would be to initiate immediate action so as to achieve, by 1977, the removal of 80,000 tons of salt per year from LaVerkin Springs, 180,000 tons per year from Paradox Valley, and 140,000 tons per year from Grand Valley. This would provide a total reduction of 400,000 tons per year and would result in an estimated subsequent reduction of 33 mg/l at Imperial Dam. (4) the Office of Saline Water contribute to the program by assisting the Bureau of Reclamation as required to appraise the practicability of applying desalting techniques; and (5) the Environmental Protection Agency continue its support of the program by consulting with and advising the Bureau of Reclamation and accelerating its ongoing data collection and research efforts. III. To achieve the salinity policy described herein, the long range program of the Bureau of Reclamation shall be directed toward achieving reduction of salinity concentrations that would otherwise exist at Imperial Dam to the extent of at least 120 mg/l in 1980, 355 mg/l in 1990 and 405 mg/l in the year 2000. The conferees agree that the Bureau of Reclamation's program as submitted in its report "Colorado River Water Quality Improvement Program," dated February 1972, should be considered as an open-ended and flexible program. If alternatives not yet identified prove to be more feasible, they should be included as part of the program, and if elements now included prove not to be feasible, they should be dropped. In addition, it should be recognized that there may be other programs which could reduce the river's salinity. Since present levels are greater than desirable, an effort should be made to develop additional programs that will obtain lower salinity levels. The February 1972 report states that the Bureau of Reclamation Mathematical Simulation Model for the Colorado River system will be used to evaluate the Water Quality Improvement Program. This will be an important tool to evaluate the program's progress. The results of this evaluation along with the general program progress should be reported annually to the conferees and other interested State agencies. |