[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 60 (Friday, May 3, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4686-S4688]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     THE WATER DESALINIZATION RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT ACT OF 1996

  The Senate proceeded to consider the bill (S. 811) to authorize 
research into the desalinization and reclamation of water and authorize 
a program for States, cities, or qualifying agencies desiring to own 
and operate a water desalinization or reclamation facility to develop 
such facilities, and for other

[[Page S4687]]

purposes, which had been reported from the Committee on Environment and 
Public Works, with an amendment to strike all after the enacting clause 
and inserting in lieu thereof the following:

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Water Desalinization 
     Research and Development Act of 1996''.

     SEC. 2. DECLARATION OF POLICY.

       In view of the increasing shortage of usable surface and 
     ground water in many parts of the United States and the 
     world, it is the policy of the United States to--
       (1) perform research to develop low-cost alternatives for 
     desalinization of saline water and reclamation of nonusable 
     nonsaline water to provide water of a quality suitable for 
     environmental enhancement, agricultural, industrial, 
     municipal, and other beneficial consumptive or nonconsumptive 
     uses; and
       (2) provide, through cooperative activities with local 
     sponsors, desalinization and water reclamation processes and 
     facilities that provide proof-of-concept demonstrations of 
     advanced technologies for the purpose of developing and 
     conserving the water resources of this Nation and the world.

     SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act:
       (1) Desalinization.--The term ``desalinization'' means the 
     use of any process or technique (by itself or in conjunction 
     with other processes or techniques) for the removal and, when 
     feasible, adaptation to beneficial use, of organic and 
     inorganic elements and compounds from saline water.
       (2) Nonusable nonsaline water.--The term ``nonusable 
     nonsaline water'' means water that is not saline water but, 
     because it contains biological or other impurities, is not 
     usable water.
       (3) Reclamation.--The term ``reclamation'' means the use of 
     any process or technique (by itself or in conjunction with 
     other processes or techniques) for the removal and, when 
     feasible, adaptation to beneficial use, of organic and 
     inorganic elements and compounds from nonusable nonsaline 
     water.
       (4) Saline water.--The term ``saline water'' means sea 
     water, brackish water, and other mineralized or chemically 
     impaired water.
       (5) Sponsor.--The term ``sponsor'' means a local, State, or 
     qualifying agency responsible for the sale and delivery of 
     usable water that has the legal authority and financial 
     capability to provide the financial and real property 
     requirements needed for a desalinization or reclamation 
     facility.
       (6) United states.--The term ``United States'' means the 
     States of the United States, the District of Columbia, the 
     Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the territories and 
     possessions of the United States.
       (7) Usable water.--The term ``usable water'' means water of 
     a high quality suitable for environmental enhancement, 
     agricultural, industrial, municipal, and other beneficial 
     consumptive or nonconsumptive uses.

     SEC. 4. RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.

       (a) In General.--In order to gain basic knowledge 
     concerning the most efficient means by which usable water can 
     be produced from saline or nonusable nonsaline water, the 
     Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the Secretary 
     of the Army, shall conduct a basic research and development 
     program under this section.
       (b) Contents of Program.--For the basic research and 
     development program, the Secretary of the Interior shall--
       (1) conduct, encourage, and promote fundamental scientific 
     research and basic studies to develop the best and most 
     economical processes and methods for converting saline water 
     and nonusable nonsaline water into usable water through 
     research grants and contracts--
       (A) to conduct research and technical development work;
       (B) to make studies in order to ascertain the optimum mix 
     of investment and operating costs;
       (C) to determine the best designs for different conditions 
     of operation; and
       (D) to investigate increasing the economic efficiency of 
     desalinization or reclamation processes by using the 
     processes as dual-purpose co-facilities with other processes 
     involving the use of water;
       (2) study methods for the recovery of byproducts resulting 
     from the desalinization or reclamation of water to offset the 
     costs of treatment and to reduce the environmental impact 
     from those byproducts; and
       (3) prepare a management plan for conduct of the research 
     and development program established under this section.
       (c) Coordination With Other Agencies.--
       (1) In general.--The Secretary of the Interior shall 
     conduct activities under this section in coordination with--
       (A) the Department of Commerce, specifically with respect 
     to marketing and international competition; and
       (B)(i) the Departments of Defense, Agriculture, State, 
     Health and Human Services, and Energy;
       (ii) the Environmental Protection Agency;
       (iii) the Agency for International Development; and
       (iv) other concerned public and private entities.
       (2) Other agencies.--In addition to the agencies identified 
     in paragraph (1), other interested agencies may furnish 
     appropriate resources to the Secretary of the Interior to 
     further the activities in which such other agencies are 
     interested.
       (d) Availability of Research.--All research sponsored or 
     funded under this section shall be carried out in such a 
     manner that information, products, processes, and other 
     developments resulting from Federal expenditures or 
     authorities shall (with exceptions necessary for national 
     defense and the protection of patent rights) be available to 
     the general public.
       (e) Relationship to Antitrust Laws.--Section 10 of the 
     Federal Nonnuclear Energy Research and Development Act of 
     1974 (42 U.S.C. 5909) shall apply to the activities of 
     persons in connection with grants and contracts made by the 
     Secretary of the Interior under this section.

     SEC. 5. DESALINIZATION DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM.

       (a) In General.--The Secretary of the Interior and the 
     Secretary of the Army shall jointly--
       (1) conduct a desalinization development program; and
       (2) in connection with the program, design and construct 
     desalinization facilities.
       (b) Selection of Desalinization Development Facilities.--
       (1) Application.--A sponsor shall submit to the Secretary 
     of the Interior and Secretary of the Army an application for 
     the design and construction of a desalinization facility and 
     certification that the sponsor will provide the required cost 
     sharing.
       (2) Selection.--Facilities shall be selected subject to 
     availability of Federal funds.
       (c) Cost Sharing.--
       (1) Initial cost.--The initial cost of a facility shall 
     include--
       (A) design costs;
       (B) construction costs;
       (C) lands, easements, and rights-of-way costs; and
       (D) relocation costs.
       (2) Minimum sponsor share.--The sponsor for a facility 
     under the desalinization development program shall pay, 
     during construction, at least 25 percent of the initial cost 
     of the facility, including providing all lands, easements, 
     and rights-of-way and performing all related necessary 
     relocations.
       (3) Maximum federal share.--The Secretary of the Interior 
     and Secretary of the Army shall pay not more than $10,000,000 
     of the initial cost of a facility.
       (d) Operation and Maintenance.--Operation, maintenance, 
     repair, and rehabilitation of a desalinization facility shall 
     be the responsibility of the sponsor of the facility.
       (e) Revenue.--All revenue generated from the sale of usable 
     water from a desalinization facility shall be retained by the 
     sponsor of the facility.

     SEC. 6. MISCELLANEOUS AUTHORITIES.

       In carrying out sections 4 and 5, the Secretary of the 
     Interior and the Secretary of the Army may--
       (1) accept technical and administrative assistance from a 
     State or other public entities and from private persons in 
     connection with research and development activities relating 
     to desalinization and reclamation of water;
       (2) enter into contracts or agreements stating the purpose 
     for which the assistance is contributed and, in appropriate 
     circumstances, providing for the sharing of costs between the 
     Secretary and such entities or persons;
       (3) make grants to educational and scientific institutions;
       (4) contract with educational and scientific institutions 
     and engineering and industrial firms;
       (5) by competition or noncompetitive contract or any other 
     means, engage the services of necessary personnel, industrial 
     and engineering firms, and educational institutions;
       (6) use the facilities and personnel of Federal, State, 
     municipal, and private scientific laboratories;
       (7) contract for or establish and operate facilities and 
     tests to conduct research, testing, and development necessary 
     for the purposes of this Act;
       (8) acquire processes, data, inventions, patent 
     applications, patents, licenses, lands, interests in land and 
     water, facilities, and other property by purchase, license, 
     lease, or donation;
       (9) assemble and maintain domestic and foreign scientific 
     literature and issue pertinent bibliographical data;
       (10) conduct inspections and evaluations of domestic and 
     foreign facilities and cooperate and participate in their 
     development;
       (11) conduct and participate in regional, national, and 
     international conferences relating to the desalinization of 
     water;
       (12) coordinate, correlate, and publish information that 
     will advance the development of the desalinization of water; 
     and
       (13) cooperate with Federal, State, and municipal 
     departments, agencies, and instrumentalities, and with 
     private persons, firms, educational institutions, and other 
     organizations, including foreign governments, departments, 
     agencies, companies, and instrumentalities, in effectuating 
     the purposes of this Act.

     SEC. 7. DESALINIZATION CONFERENCE.

       (a) Establishment.--The President is requested to instruct 
     the Administrator of the Agency for International Development 
     to sponsor an international desalinization conference within 
     1 year after the date of enactment of this Act.
       (b) Participants.--Participants in the conference under 
     subsection (a) should include scientists, private industry 
     experts, desalinization experts and operators, government 
     officials from the nations that use and conduct research on 
     desalinization, and government officials from nations that 
     could benefit from low-cost desalinization technology 
     (particularly nations in the developing world), and 
     international financial institutions.
       (c) Purpose.--The conference under subsection (a) shall--
       (1) explore promising new technologies and methods to make 
     affordable desalinization a reality in the near term; and
       (2) propose a research agenda and a plan of action to guide 
     longer-term development of practical desalinization 
     applications.

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       (d) Funding.--
       (1) AID funds.--Funding for the conference under subsection 
     (a) may come from operating or program funds of the Agency 
     for International Development.
       (2) Other nations.--The Agency for International 
     Development shall encourage financial and other support from 
     other nations, including those that have desalinization 
     technology and those that might benefit from such technology.

     SEC. 8. REPORTS.

       (a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary 
     of the Interior, in consultation with the Secretary of the 
     Army, shall prepare a report to the President and Congress 
     concerning the administration of this Act.
       (b) Contents.--A report under subsection (a) shall 
     describe--
       (1) the actions taken by the Secretary of the Interior and 
     the Secretary of the Army during the calendar year preceding 
     the year in which the report is submitted; and
       (2) the actions planned for the following calendar year.

     SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       (a) Research and Development.--There are authorized to be 
     appropriated to carry out section 4--
       (1) $5,000,000 for fiscal year 1997; and
       (2) $7,500,000 for each of fiscal years 1998 through 2001.
       (b) Desalinization Development Program.--There are 
     authorized to be appropriated to carry out section 5 such 
     sums as are necessary, up to a total of $40,000,000 for the 
     period consisting of fiscal years 1997 through 2001, of which 
     50 percent shall be made available to the Department of the 
     Interior and 50 percent shall be made available to the civil 
     works program of the Army Corps of Engineers.

  The committee amendment was agreed to.
  The bill (S. 811) was deemed read the third time and passed.
  Mr. CHAFEE. Mr. President, today the Senate has passed S. 811, the 
Water Desalinization and Research and Development Act. This 
legislation, which was approved by the full Senate in both 1992 and 
1994, is sponsored by Senators Simon, Reid, Mack, and others.
  Very briefly, Mr. President, S. 811 authorizes an expanded U.S. 
research and development program with the goal of producing lower cost 
desalinization technologies. The bill assigns primary program 
responsibility to the Department of the Interior, in coordination with 
the Army Corps of Engineers.
  In addition to the basic research and development program, S. 811 
authorizes the development of experimental desalination facilities and 
requires the Agency for International Development to host a conference 
for countries either currently using or planning to use desalinization 
technologies.
  Mr. President, in the face of growing domestic water shortages, as 
well as strategic international concerns, this legislation is designed 
to increase the U.S. commitment to developing more economical 
desalinization technology.
  S. 811, as reported, authorizes $5 million in fiscal year 1997 for 
the basic research and development at the Interior Department; $7.5 
million is authorized for this purpose in each of fiscal years 1998 
through 2001, for a 5-year total of $35 million.
  For the facility development program, $40 million is authorized for 
fiscal years 1997 through 2001. I note that the total authorization for 
appropriations in this bill is $20 million less than the $95 million 
provided in the bill as introduced.
  I thank Senator Simon and the others who support this bill for 
working with us to reduce the authorization levels. Based upon the very 
limited amount of discretionary funding that will be available over the 
next 5 to 7 years, we have no choice but to do more with less in this 
area.

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