[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 21 (Thursday, February 2, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H1147-H1148]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                       CLEAN WATER ACT AMENDMENT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from California [Mr. Filner] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, today my colleagues and I from San Diego 
introduced a bill to amend the Clean Water Act to allow San Diego to 
treat it sewage in a cost-effective and environmentally sensitive 
manner.
  This has been a long fight for many of us. I have been fighting 
against nonsensical Fed requirements for more than 6 years.
  These efforts began when I was a member of the San Diego City 
Council. During this time, I often found myself on the losing end of 7 
to 2 votes--because a majority of my city council did not want to 
challenge the Environmental Protection Agency. But I was convinced--by 
my own research and the testimony of scientists from the 
[[Page H1148]] prestigious Scripps Institution of Oceanography--that 
San Diego was already doing the right thing for our environment.
  By 1992, my colleagues on the San Diego City Council came around and 
agreed with my position--that the requirement to upgrade the Point Loma 
treatment plant to secondary standards was ridiculous.
  When I first ran for Congress, I promised to solve this sewage 
problem. And one of the first bills I introduced as a freshman in the 
103d Congress was H.R. 3190, which is very similar to the bill that 
five of us introduced today.
  But, unfortunately, here in Congress, I also met with resistance. I 
was told other cities were required to meet the secondary treatment 
standards, why should San Diego be treated differently?
  I made it clear that my bill would in no way compromise the integrity 
of the Clean Water Act. In fact, by amending the law with common sense 
changes based on science, my legislation would ensure that the Clean 
Water Act had the flexibility needed to deal with unique situations and 
at the same time protect America's waters.
  Mr. Speaker, let me explain. Existing law requires every city--
regardless of environmental conditions and circumstances--to treat 
sewage at the secondary level. Yet scientific studies have proven that 
sewage treated at the chemically enhanced advanced primary level of 
treatment used by the city of San Diego, which removes over 80 percent 
of suspended solids in the sewage and discharges the treated effluent 
more than 4 miles out to sea at depths greater than 300 feet, does no 
environmental harm. In fact, eliminating power-consuming secondary 
treatment and the additional sludge it would produce would spare the 
environment from pollutants associated with wastewater treatment.
  The city of San Diego is blessed with unique environmental 
conditions. The Continental Shelf drops off very sharply from the 
California coast. There is a very active ocean current. It also has an 
ocean outfall that is specifically engineered to maintain its 
surrounding waters so that our citizens can swim, fish, or boat with 
total confidence in our water quality.
  By the end of the last session, my colleagues in the Congress agreed 
with my position and unanimously passed my bill to allow San Diego to 
apply for a waiver from the requirements of the Clean Water Act. And I 
have every confidence that this Environmental Protection Agency will 
approve San Diego's application for a waiver.
  So why introduce another bill? Because this new legislation will 
ensure that San Diego will not have to jump though any more regulatory 
hoops.
  Mr. Speaker, it costs more than $1 million to prepare an application 
for a waiver--and these waivers are temporary. The waivers are only 
good for a 5-year period. What is to prevent another administration 
from reversing its position and unilaterally trying to force San Diego 
to spend billions of dollars in unnecessary upgrades to its sewage 
treatment system? After all, history shows that the two previous 
administrations vigorously pursued such a lawsuit against San Diego.
  There is scientific proof that this legislation is good environmental 
policy. Scientists from the highly respected Scripps Institution of 
Oceanography have concluded that upgrading from advanced primary to 
secondary treatment--the treatment required by current law--would have 
virtually no positive impact on our ocean's ecology.
  In other words, the incredible costs for a small incremental increase 
in the purity of wastewater discharged into the ocean could not be 
justified by any measurable environmental gain.
  I have led the fight against this unnecessary requirement since the 
time I served as a member of the San Diego City Council--that's over 6 
years now. Today's action is the first time that the entire San Diego 
congressional delegation has united in this effort. And I applaud my 
colleagues for making this amendment a priority.
  I hope that all of my colleagues in the 104th Congress will agree 
with us.
  As this regulatory dance comes to its grand finale, the big winner 
will be the ratepayers of San Diego.


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