Common use of PROGRAM AUTHORITY Clause in Contracts

PROGRAM AUTHORITY. In June 1974, Congress enacted the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act, Public Law (P.L.) 93-320 (Salinity Control Act), 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 1975, the Environmental Protection Agency approved water quality standards developed by the seven Colorado River Basin States in response to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1972. The standards included numeric criteria for three stations on the main stem of the lower Colorado River - below ▇▇▇▇▇▇ Dam, below ▇▇▇▇▇▇ Dam, and at Imperial Dam - and a Plan of Implementation to control salinity increases. The 1984 amendments to the Salinity Control Act authorized the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) – National Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to participate in the Program. Although integrated with Reclamation's work, both agencies have their own authorities to implement their respective programs. For example, the NRCS Salinity Control Program is responsible for on-farm irrigation improvements and rangeland improvements on private lands. BLM is responsible for salinity control on BLM lands. P.L. 104-20 of July 28, 1995, amended the Salinity Control Act, and authorized the Secretary, acting through Reclamation, to implement a Colorado River Basinwide Salinity Control Program (Basinwide 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. P.L. 110-246 (2008), amended the Salinity Control Act and authorized the Basin States Program (BSP), and authorized Reclamation, through the BSP, to take advantage of new, cost-effective opportunities to control salinity anywhere in the Basin. Moneys collected into the Lower Colorado River Basin Development Fund and the Upper Colorado (UC) River Basin Fund (Basin Funds) from a surcharge on power produced at Reclamation facilities are used to control salt by providing grants, grant commitments, or advance funds to Federal or non-Federal entities under such terms and conditions as the Secretary may require. The moneys are used to fund cost effective measures and associated works to reduce salinity from saline springs, leaking ▇▇▇▇▇, irrigation sources, industrial sources, erosion of public and private land, and other sources.