Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Program

The Colorado River and its tributaries provide municipal and industrial water to about 40 million people and irrigation water to 5.5 million acres of land in the United States. The river also serves about 2.3 million people and 500,000 acres in Mexico. The threat of salinity is a major concern in both the United States and Mexico. Salinity affects agricultural, municipal, and industrial water users.

In June 1974, Congress enacted the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act, Public Law 93-320, which directed the Secretary of the Interior to proceed with a program to enhance and protect the quality of water available in the Colorado River for use in the United States and Republic of Mexico. In October 1984, Congress amended the original act by passing Public Law 98-569.

Public Law 104-20 of July 28, 1995, authorizes the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Bureau of Reclamation, to implement a basinwide salinity control program. The Secretary may carry out the purposes of this legislation directly, or make grants, enter into contracts, memoranda of agreement, commitments for grants, cooperative agreements, or advances of funds to non-federal entities under such terms and conditions as the Secretary may require.

Significant salinity control results from the implementation of measures on private agricultural lands. Reclamation's Basin States Program and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Environmental Quality Incentives Program provide cost share assistance to landowners who install salinity control measures. See chapter 1 and chapter 5 of the Quality of Water Reports in the Related Information tab below.

Salinity Control Program In-Depth

Related Projects & Facilities

Related Links

2022 Notice of Funding Opportunity

The 2022 NOFO has been postponed until 2023, due to funding issues. Please continue working on proposals for the NOFO posting approximately June of 2023.

For reference you can view the 2019 FOA here https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=316619 .

For questions about preparing for and submitting in the next NOFO, please contact the following appropriate Contact

Contacts

Reclamation Regional Office Coordinators

Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Program Manager:
Clarence Fullard
125 South State Street, Room 8100
Salt Lake City, UT 84138
303-253-1042
cfullard@usbr.gov

Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Program Coordinator:
Melynda Roberts
125 South State Street, Room 8100
Salt Lake City, UT 84138
801-524-3747
mroberts@usbr.gov

Reclamation Technical Contacts and Area Office Coordinators

Technical Representatives by State

Western Colorado & Southwest Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona
Mr. Joshua Dunahm
Bureau of Reclamation
445 West Gunnison Ave Suite 221
Grand Junction CO 81501-5711
970-248-0613
jdunham@usbr.gov

Eastern Utah and Western Wyoming
Mr. Jay Kalafatis
Bureau of Reclamation
302 East 1860 South
Provo, UT 84606-7317
801-379-1135
jkalafatis@usbr.gov

San Juan River and Dolores River Basins
Mr. Andrew Limbach (Provides Salt Load Calculations)
Bureau of Reclamation
445 West Gunnison Ave Suite 221
Grand Junction CO 81501-5711
970-248-0644
alimbach@usbr.gov

COLORADO RIVER BASIN SALINITY CONTROL ADVISORY COUNCIL

Title II of the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act (Public Law 93-320) created the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Program, and Section 204 of the Act created the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Advisory Council. The Council consists of up to three members from each of the seven Colorado River Basin States. Governors of their respective states appoint the Council members. The Council:

  1. Acts as liaison between both the Secretaries of Interior and Agriculture and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and the States in accomplishing the purposes of the Act;
  2. receives reports from the Secretary on the progress of the salinity control program and review and comment on said reports;
  3. recommends to both the Secretary and the Administrator of the EPA appropriate studies of further projects, techniques, or methods for accomplishing the purposes of the Act; and
  4. provides to the Secretary of the Interior advice and consultation regarding implementation of the Basin States Program to carry out salinity control activities.

This is accomplished by the Council meeting with the Federal agencies two times a year and providing an Annual Report to the Secretaries of Interior and Agriculture and the Administrator of the EPA.

Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Advisory Council Public Meeting – June 6, 2023

The in-person meeting will be held at the Hotel Terra Jackson Hole, 3335 West Village Drive, Teton Village WY, 83025. To access the meeting virtually, please contact Melynda Roberts, 801-524-3747 or mroberts@usbr.gov.

Date Time Meeting Location
June 6, 2023 1:30 - 5 p.m. MDT Hotel Terra Jackson Hole
3335 West Village Drive
Teton Village WY, 83025

Council Meeting Minutes

Council Annual Reports

Can be found in our Document Library

National Environmental Policy Act & Habitat Replacement

Please review the NEPA Guidance document provided on this webpage for preliminary information regarding NEPA and habitat replacement requirements for salinity projects. Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact Reclamation for additional information regarding the NEPA process and the habitat replacement component of salinity control projects. Below are the primary points of contact for each Reclamation Area Office.

Western Colorado Area Office

NEPA and Habitat Replacement: Jenny Ward
jward@usbr.gov
970-248-0651

Provo Area Office

(For projects in Utah)

NEPA: Peter Crookston
pcrookston@usbr.gov
801-379-1152

Habitat Replacement: Tom Davidowicz
tdavidowicz@usbr.gov
801-379-1062

Last Updated: 5/23/23