[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 73 (Thursday, June 6, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5211-S5213]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. DOMENICI (for himself, Mr. Kyl, and Mr. Crapo):
  S. 2599. A bill to establish the Water Supply Technologies Program 
within the Office of Energy Efficiency and renewable Energy of the 
Department of Energy, and for other purposes; to the Committee on 
Environment and Public Works.
  Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, on behalf of myself, Senator Kyl, and 
Senator Crapo, I am introducing a bill with reference to water, water 
supply, and research. We have no American policy, no place that you can 
go where the basic water issues of our land can be metered and modeled, 
and where we can find out what the real situation is with reference to 
water for our growing needs in our cities and the surrounding areas.
  If you are interested in that, I think you will find the bill I am 
sending to the desk to be an intriguing one. It has been put together 
by very bright, technical people from laboratories and similar 
entities, where they clearly set forth the way we ought to go about 
establishing a water supply research center for a country as important 
as ours, and how we can provide research on an annual basis in these 
areas for very few dollars.
  Water is the lifeblood of our Southwest. We don't have an abundant 
supply and what we do have is becoming increasingly threatened. Between 
providing water for people and various endangered species, there just 
isn't enough water to go around.
  I'm sure many of my colleagues are seeing daily headlines like:

       Winds Parch Remaining Moisture Out of New Mexico Land,
       Navajos Urged To Sell Parched Livestock,
       New Mexico Going to Drought Emergency,
       Drought Watch--Skies Without Hope, and
       Trees Need Big Help To Survive Drought.

There is no larger problem facing our Southwest.
  This bill is part of my broad strategy for dealing with water quality 
and quantity issues. In earlier bills, I have sought to provide grants 
to communities struggling to meet the new EPA arsenic mandates. I 
recently introduced the National Drought Preparedness Act of 2002 to 
help communities develop drought preparedness plans in an effort to 
mitigate the effects of future droughts.
  This bill will help with short term challenges like meeting arsenic 
mandates and longer term issues like cost-effective desalination 
technologies and better modeling to enable optimum utilization of the 
water in our major river basins.
  There are good reasons for designating the Department of Energy to 
create these technologies. Energy is the second largest user of water, 
second only to agriculture. Furthermore, energy costs are a major 
component in purifying and pumping drinking water and in treating 
wastewater.
  As scarcity of water intensifies, more and more energy will be needed 
to obtain and treat it. Water will be pumped from greater depths and 
over greater distances. More treatment will be needed as we use less 
pure resources. As just one example, up to half the costs of 
desalination involve energy.
  Removal of arsenic will be one focus for this new program. In New 
Mexico, as in much of the West, arsenic occurs naturally in significant 
concentrations. This, coupled with the fact that New Mexico is not a 
wealthy State, has made the recent unfunded mandate imposed by the EPA 
insurmountable.
  This new standard is going to cost New Mexico around $400 million. 
More than 100 community water systems in the State will probably have 
to upgrade their water treatment facilities. Ratepayers are likely to 
see monthly rate increases averaging between $40 and $90, that's simply 
unacceptable. Other States have similar problems.
  Even worse, these costs may force people to shift from expensive 
treated water to cheaper domestic wells. Since these wells often 
contain even greater amounts of arsenic and pollutants, there may be 
unintended public health consequences created by this new mandate.
  I introduced S. 1299 to provide grants to States to help them comply 
with these new standards. That will help, but grant dollars alone 
aren't the answer to this issue. We also need to reduce the costs of 
arsenic removal.
  This bill authorizes $8 million for research and development of cost 
effective strategies. The program will focus on reducing overall costs, 
including those for energy and will include demonstration projects in 
the arid southwest.
  The bill also provides for a 4 year extension in the time by which 
municipalities must comply with the new EPA mandate, in addition to the 
extension that EPA has already committed to. This extension is open to 
any public water system that is in the process of utilizing technology 
authorized under this bill. Our national laboratories, especially 
Sandia, will be strong contributors to this program.
  Another part of the bill deals with the challenges of providing 
adequate supplies of fresh water for the growing populations of our 
southwest. These States face severe water shortages, which impact both 
our urban communities and our rural agricultural ones. Our fresh water 
supply will not increase, unless we take steps today and invest in new 
approaches to water supply and management.
  To achieve this, my bill provides authority for the program director, 
in cooperation with the Commissioner of Reclamation, to coordinate 
desalination research for improved technologies. This program is 
authorized at $6 million.
  The program will focus on development and demonstration of 
technologies appropriate for desalinating brackish water and encourages 
the use of renewable energy. Part of these funds will enable completion 
of a national desalination research center in the Tularosa Basin of New 
Mexico.
  The bill also provides $7 million to implement programs to examine 
the relationships between water supplies and energy needs. It will 
focus on the availability of water and on opportunities for increasing 
our supplies. Hopefully, with this research we can turn our water 
future into something other than a ``zero sum'' game.
  The program will develop comprehensive models to assess and manage 
competing demands for water by energy, agriculture and other sectors. 
To accomplish this, models will include a range of physical phenomena 
and a complete set of the major water uses. The bill provides for the 
development of these models for up to 3 domestic river basins, one of 
which addresses an international border.
  Many Americans are under the illusion that water will always flow out 
of their tap each time it is turned on. And they continue to believe 
that there will always be an adequate supply of good quality water to 
meet all needs, energy, agriculture and domestic. I fear this may not 
always be the case. Unless we develop a long-term strategy for dealing 
with impending water shortages it could be too late.
  I hope this bill starts us down the path of conquering water 
challenges in the 21st Century.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 2599

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Water Supply Technologies 
     Act of 2002''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress finds that--
       (1) the understanding, use, and protection of water 
     resources are matters of national and global security;
       (2) increasing demand for water supply may dramatically 
     alter population patterns and strain international relations;
       (3) the remediation of many sites of the Department of 
     Energy and the treatment of domestic water supplies require 
     cost-effective, efficient removal of contaminants from water 
     supplies;

[[Page S5212]]

       (4) such remediation frequently involves knowledge and 
     modeling of water transport at the surface and subsurface 
     levels;
       (5)(A) energy costs--
       (i) are a major factor in the extraction, storage, 
     treatment, and delivery of water; and
       (ii) are particularly high in the case of desalination 
     processes; and
       (B) increased efficiencies in energy use, or use of 
     renewable energy sources in treatment processes, can result 
     in large cost savings;
       (6)(A) most energy production technologies are highly water 
     intensive;
       (B) the energy industry is the second largest water user 
     after agriculture;
       (C) energy production requires a reliable, predictable 
     water supply; and
       (D) the limited availability of water is beginning to 
     constrain construction of new powerplants;
       (7) having strong expertise in geosciences, hydrology, 
     chemistry, energy options, system modeling, and security 
     technologies, the Department of Energy is well positioned to 
     contribute to national efforts relating to water issues;
       (8) modeling and simulation of water cycles on at least the 
     scale of river basins can guide strategies affecting--
       (A) site cleanup;
       (B) agricultural use of land;
       (C) industrial use of land;
       (D) protection of the environment; and
       (E) population expansion;
       (9) municipal water systems are facing unfunded Federal 
     mandates to remove heavy metals and other contaminants from 
     water supplies;
       (10) in the future, as water supplies are further stressed, 
     municipal water systems may be forced to use water supplies 
     that cannot, using existing technologies, be cost-effectively 
     purified to meet clean water standards;
       (11) many components of technologies used in the 
     remediation of heavy metals and other contaminants at sites 
     of the Department would aid municipal water systems in water 
     purification;
       (12) for municipal water systems, 2 of the most 
     economically and technically challenging treatment processes 
     are--
       (A) reduction of arsenic levels; and
       (B) desalination;
       (13)(A) the security of water supplies is a growing 
     concern; and
       (B) there is an emerging need for real-time sensing, and 
     reporting systems for early warnings to the public, of 
     potentially hazardous contaminants in the drinking water 
     supply;
       (14) major water shortages along the United States-Mexico 
     border--
       (A) are projected to occur in the future; and
       (B) could contribute to many issues affecting the border 
     region; and
       (15) research and development of the Department must be 
     coordinated with research and development of other Federal 
     agencies, each of which has responsibilities, interests, and 
     capabilities to contribute to solving the important problems 
     described in this section.

     SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act:
       (1) Arsenic removal program.--The term ``arsenic removal 
     program'' means the program carried out under section 4(d).
       (2) Department.--The term ``Department'' means the 
     Department of Energy.
       (3) Deputy assistant secretary.--The term ``Deputy 
     Assistant Secretary'' means the Deputy Assistant Secretary 
     for Water Supply Technologies in the Office of Energy 
     Efficiency and Renewable Energy of the Department appointed 
     under section 4(a)(2).
       (4) Desalination program.--The term ``desalination 
     program'' means the program carried out under section 4(e).
       (5) Foundation.--The term ``Foundation'' means the American 
     Water Works Association Research Foundation.
       (6) Indian tribe.--The term ``Indian tribe'' has the 
     meaning given the term in section 4 of the Indian Self-
     Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b).
       (7) Program.--The term ``Program'' means the Water Supply 
     Technologies Program established by section 4(a)(1).
       (8) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
     of Energy.
       (9) Water and energy sustainability program.--The term 
     ``water and energy sustainability program'' means the program 
     carried out under section 4(f).
       (10) Water supply security program.--The term ``water 
     supply security program'' means the program carried out under 
     section 4(g).

     SEC. 4. WATER SUPPLY TECHNOLOGIES PROGRAM.

       (a) Establishment.--
       (1) In general.--There is established within the Office of 
     Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy of the Department a 
     program to be known as the ``Water Supply Technologies 
     Program''.
       (2) Deputy assistant secretary.--The Secretary shall 
     establish, and appoint an individual to fill, the position of 
     Deputy Assistant Secretary for Water Supply Technologies.
       (b) Duties.--
       (1) In general.--The Deputy Assistant Secretary shall carry 
     out the Program, consisting of--
       (A) the arsenic removal program under subsection (d);
       (B) the desalination program under subsection (e);
       (C) the water and energy sustainability program under 
     subsection (f); and
       (D) the water supply security program under subsection (g).
       (2) Contractual authority.--In carrying out the duties of 
     the Deputy Assistant Secretary, the Deputy Assistant 
     Secretary may enter into contracts with--
       (A) private industries;
       (B) colleges and universities;
       (C) national laboratories; and
       (D) nonprofit organizations.
       (c) Oversight.--The Secretary shall ensure that the results 
     of research and development conducted by the Department that 
     are relevant to the Program are communicated to the Deputy 
     Assistant Secretary.
       (d) Arsenic Removal Program.--
       (1) In general.--As soon as practicable after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Deputy Assistant Secretary shall 
     offer to enter into a contract with the Foundation under 
     which the Foundation shall carry out a research program to 
     develop and demonstrate innovative arsenic removal 
     technologies.
       (2) Types of research.--In carrying out the arsenic removal 
     program, the Foundation shall, to the maximum extent 
     practicable, conduct research on means of--
       (A) reducing energy costs incurred in using arsenic removal 
     technologies;
       (B) minimizing materials costs, operating costs, and 
     maintenance costs incurred in using arsenic removal 
     technologies; and
       (C) minimizing any quantities of waste (especially 
     hazardous waste) that result from use of arsenic removal 
     technologies.
       (3) Water purification technologies.--In carrying out the 
     arsenic removal program, the Foundation shall carry out peer-
     reviewed projects (including research projects and cost-
     shared demonstration projects in conjunction with municipal 
     water systems) to develop and demonstrate water purification 
     technologies.
       (4) Demonstration projects.--
       (A) Arid southwestern united states.--In carrying out the 
     arsenic removal program, the Foundation shall carry out at 
     least 3 demonstration projects to demonstrate the 
     applicability of innovative arsenic removal technologies to 
     the arid southwestern United States.
       (B) Rural communities and indian tribes.--Not less than 40 
     percent of the funds of the Department used for demonstration 
     projects under the arsenic removal program shall be expended 
     in partnership with rural communities or Indian tribes.
       (5) Evaluation of cost effectiveness.--In carrying out the 
     arsenic removal program, the Foundation shall use WERC, A 
     Consortium for Environmental Education and Technology 
     Development, to evaluate the cost effectiveness of arsenic 
     removal technologies used in the program.
       (6) Education and training.--In carrying out the arsenic 
     removal program, the Deputy Assistant Secretary shall provide 
     a mechanism for education, training, and technology transfer 
     to be developed and implemented by WERC, A Consortium for 
     Environmental Education and Technology Development.
       (7) Coordination with other programs.--The Deputy Assistant 
     Secretary, in conjunction with the Administrator of the 
     Environmental Protection Agency, shall ensure that activities 
     under the arsenic removal program are coordinated with 
     appropriate programs of the Environmental Protection Agency.
       (8) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
     commencement of the arsenic removal program, and annually 
     thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report 
     on the results of the arsenic removal program.
       (e) Desalination Program.--
       (1) In general.--The Deputy Assistant Secretary, in 
     cooperation with the Commissioner of Reclamation, shall carry 
     out a desalination program in accordance with the 
     desalination technology progress plan developed under the 
     matter under the heading ``water and related resources'' 
     under the heading ``Bureau of Reclamation'' in title II of 
     the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act, 2002 
     (115 Stat. 498), and described in Senate Report 107-39.
       (2) Desalination research.--
       (A) In general.--Under the desalination program, Sandia 
     National Laboratories and the Bureau of Reclamation shall 
     coordinate desalination research for next-generation 
     desalination technology.
       (B) Required research elements.--In conducting research 
     under the desalination program, Sandia National Laboratories 
     and the Bureau of Reclamation shall--
       (i) focus on research relating to, and development and 
     demonstration of, technologies that are appropriate for use 
     in desalinating brackish groundwater and other saline water 
     supplies; and
       (ii) consider the use of renewable energy.
       (3) Construction projects.--Under the desalination program, 
     funds made available to carry out activities in the Tularosa 
     Basin, New Mexico, may be used for construction projects, 
     including completion of the National Desalination Research 
     Center.
       (4) Steering committee.--
       (A) In general.--The Deputy Assistant Secretary and the 
     Commissioner of Reclamation shall jointly establish a 
     steering committee for the desalination program.
       (B) Chairpersons.--The steering committee shall be jointly 
     chaired by 1 representative from the Program and 1 
     representative from the Bureau of Reclamation.

[[Page S5213]]

       (f) Water and Energy Sustainability Program.--
       (1) In general.--The Deputy Assistant Secretary shall carry 
     out a program to ensure that sufficient quantities of water 
     are available for the energy sector through development of 
     modeling and analysis tools to assess and manage--
       (A) competing demands for water by the energy sector and 
     other categories of water users, including the agriculture 
     sector, the energy sector, industry, domestic users, and the 
     environment; and
       (B) the impacts of energy production on the availability of 
     water.
       (2) Required elements.--Under the water and energy 
     sustainability program, the Deputy Assistant Secretary 
     shall--
       (A) in accordance with paragraph (3), develop a coordinated 
     strategy to identify technology development and improved 
     modeling capabilities needed to achieve the goal of continued 
     water and energy sustainability;
       (B) in accordance with paragraph (4), develop such advanced 
     modeling and decision analysis tools as are necessary to 
     assess and manage competing demands for water by various 
     categories of water users specified in paragraph (1)(A); and
       (C) in accordance with paragraph (5), carry out 
     demonstration projects to test the models and tools developed 
     under subparagraph (B).
       (3) Water and energy sustainability strategy.--In 
     developing the strategy under paragraph (2)(A), the Deputy 
     Assistant Secretary shall--
       (A) collaborate with water management agencies, 
     universities, industry, and stakeholder groups to define 
     issues and needs; and
       (B) develop a coordinated science and technology strategy 
     to support future water use decisions that include issues of 
     energy sustainability.
       (4) Advanced modeling and decision analysis tools.--
       (A) Applicable scales.--Modeling and decision analysis 
     tools developed under paragraph (2)(B) shall address water 
     and energy availability issues--
       (i) physically, on the scale of river basins; and
       (ii) temporally, on scales ranging from seasons to decades.
       (B) Coordination.--Modeling and decision analysis tools 
     developed under paragraph (2)(B) shall be coordinated with 
     global climate change predictive capabilities supported by 
     the Federal Government.
       (C) Modeling tools.--Modeling tools developed under 
     paragraph (2)(B) shall include tools for modeling the effects 
     of--
       (i) atmospheric, surface, and subsurface phenomena;
       (ii) rural and urban populations and land use changes;
       (iii) energy, agriculture, and other industrial demands;
       (iv) energy impacts on water quality and quantity; and
       (v) changing marketplace behaviors and other economic 
     forces.
       (D) Decision analysis tools.--Decision analysis tools 
     developed under paragraph (2)(B) shall include tools to 
     support water and energy resources planning through--
       (i) provision of direct support for policy and planning 
     decisions;
       (ii) optimization of water use for the energy sector and 
     other categories of water users specified in paragraph 
     (1)(A); and
       (iii) assessment of the potential benefits of new 
     technologies to improve water and energy sustainability.
       (5) Demonstration projects.--Demonstration projects carried 
     out under paragraph (2)(C) shall--
       (A) test water and energy modeling and decision analysis 
     tools for 3 river basins, at least 1 of which includes an 
     international border;
       (B) focus on assessing water resources and managing 
     competing demands for, and impacts on, water by the energy 
     sector and other categories of water users specified in 
     paragraph (1)(A); and
       (C) be conducted in collaboration with water resources 
     management organizations in the basins described in 
     subparagraph (A).
       (6) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Deputy Assistant Secretary shall 
     submit to the Secretary and Congress a report on the water 
     and energy sustainability program that--
       (A) describes the elements required under paragraph (2); 
     and
       (B) makes recommendations for a management structure and 
     research and development plan for the water and energy 
     sustainability program that optimizes use of Federal 
     resources and programs.
       (g) Water Supply Security Program.--
       (1) In general.--As soon as practicable after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Deputy Assistant Secretary shall 
     offer to enter into a contract with the Foundation under 
     which the Foundation shall carry out a research program, in 
     coordination with the Assistant to the President for Homeland 
     Security, with the goal of developing low-cost, mass-
     produced, micro-analytical systems to provide early warning 
     of potentially hazardous contaminants in municipal water 
     systems.
       (2) Required elements.--In carrying out the water supply 
     security program, the Foundation shall, to the maximum extent 
     practicable, develop--
       (A) means of reducing monitoring costs, including 
     technologies to replace expensive sampling and analysis used, 
     as of the date of enactment of this Act, for routine 
     regulatory compliance;
       (B) innovative, cost-effective monitoring technologies for 
     detection of--
       (i) chemical and biological threats; and
       (ii) chemicals and pharmaceuticals subject to current or 
     potential future regulation; and
       (C) rapid and effective methodologies to transform 
     monitoring data into information for decisionmaking and 
     automated response.
       (3) Monitoring technologies.--In carrying out the water 
     supply security program, the Foundation, in conjunction with 
     municipal water systems, shall carry out peer-reviewed 
     projects to develop and demonstrate monitoring technologies.
       (4) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
     implementation of the water supply security program, and 
     annually thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a 
     report on the results of the water supply security program.
       (h) Cost Sharing.--
       (1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), each 
     demonstration project carried out under the Program shall be 
     carried out on a cost-shared basis, as determined by the 
     Secretary.
       (2) In-kind contributions; waivers.--With respect to a 
     demonstration project, the Secretary may--
       (A) accept in-kind contributions; and
       (B) waive the cost-sharing requirement in appropriate 
     circumstances.
       (i) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized 
     to be appropriated to carry out this section--
       (1) $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2003, of which--
       (A) $8,000,000 shall be used to carry out subsection (d);
       (B) $6,000,000 shall be used to carry out subsection (e);
       (C) $7,000,000 shall be used to carry out subsection (f); 
     and
       (D) $4,000,000 shall be used to carry out subsection (g); 
     and
       (2) such sums as are necessary for each fiscal year 
     thereafter.

     SEC. 5. EXTENSIONS OF COMPLIANCE DEADLINES FOR SMALL PUBLIC 
                   WATER SYSTEMS.

       Section 1412(b)(10) of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 
     U.S.C. 300g-1(b)(10)) is amended--
       (1) by striking ``A national primary'' and inserting the 
     following:
       ``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), a 
     national primary''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(2) Extensions.--
       ``(A) Small public water systems.--
       ``(i) In general.--In accordance with the report submitted 
     to Congress by the Administrator entitled `Small System 
     Arsenic Implementation Issues', in addition to any 2-year 
     extension described in paragraph (1), the Administrator (or a 
     State, in the case of an individual system) may provide to a 
     public water system that serves a population of not more than 
     10,000 an extension of 3 years in which to comply with a 
     maximum contaminant level or treatment technique described in 
     that paragraph.
       ``(ii) Renewal of extensions.--The Administrator (or a 
     State, in the case of an individual system) may renew an 
     extension granted to a small public water system under clause 
     (i) if--

       ``(I) the small public water system serves a population of 
     not more than 3,300; and
       ``(II) the small public water system demonstrates, to the 
     satisfaction of the Administrator (or the State), that the 
     small public water system is taking all practicable steps to 
     meet the requirements of this title.

       ``(B) All public water systems.--In addition to any 2-year 
     extension received under paragraph (1), the Administrator (or 
     a State, in the case of an individual system) may provide to 
     any public water system an extension of 4 years in which to 
     comply with a maximum contaminant level or treatment 
     technique described in that paragraph if the public water 
     system is in the process of implementing arsenic removal 
     technology developed under section 4(d) of the Water Supply 
     Technologies Act of 2002.''.

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