[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 144 (Wednesday, October 15, 2003)]
[House]
[Pages H9409-H9410]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
IRVINE BASIN SURFACE AND GROUNDWATER IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 2003
Mr. POMBO. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill
(H.R. 1598) to amend the Reclamation Wastewater and Groundwater Study
and Facilities Act to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to
participate in projects within the San Diego Creek Watershed,
California, and for other purposes.
The Clerk read as follows:
H.R. 1598
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 ``Irvine Basin Surface and
Groundwater Improvement Act of 2003''.
SEC. 2. PROJECT AUTHORIZATION.
(a) In General.--The Reclamation Wastewater and Groundwater
Study and Facilities Act (Public Law 102-575, title XVI; 43
U.S.C. 390h et seq.) is amended by inserting after section
1635 the following:
``SEC. 1636. IRVINE BASIN GROUNDWATER AND SURFACE WATER
IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS.
``(a) Authorization.--The Secretary, in cooperation with
the Irvine Ranch Water District, California, is authorized to
participate in the design, planning, and construction of
projects to naturally treat impaired surface water, reclaim
and reuse impaired groundwater, and provide brine disposal
within the San Diego Creek Watershed.
``(b) Cost Share.--The Federal share of the costs of the
projects authorized by this section shall not exceed 25
percent of the total cost.
``(c) Limitation.--The Secretary shall not provide funds
for the operation or maintenance of a project authorized by
this section.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections in section 2
of the Reclamation Projects Authorization and Adjustment Act
of 1992 is amended by inserting after the item relating to
section 1635 the following:
``1636. Irvine basin groundwater and surface water improvement
projects.''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
California (Mr. Pombo) and the gentlewoman from California (Mrs.
Napolitano) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California (Mr. Pombo).
Mr. POMBO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
H.R. 1598, sponsored by the gentleman from California (Mr. Cox),
authorizes Federal assistance for the design and construction of a de-
salter and a regional brine line to treat brackish groundwater. The
bill also provides for strategic placement of wetlands to naturally
clean surface water in the San Diego Creek Watershed. All Federal
assistance would be limited to 25 percent of the overall project's
cost.
This bill is yet another step towards ``drought proofing'' southern
California and will decrease the region's overdependence on imported
Colorado River water.
I urge my colleagues to support this important bill.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mrs. NAPOLITANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
(Mrs. NAPOLITANO asked and was given permission to revise and extend
her remarks.)
Mrs. NAPOLITANO. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1598.
Communities throughout the Nation are finding technologically advanced
and innovative ways to solve their water supply and water quality
problems. H.R. 1598 is an excellent example of how we can help those
communities.
With only a small amount of financial assistance from the Federal
Government, we can save water by building water recycling and desalting
projects, and may I add, also recycling projects, that are important to
southern California. Not too long ago, Congress would have rushed to
support an expensive dam and reservoir project. We now have the option
to help our cities who understand that the future to securing a
reliable water supply is through the promotion of water recycling,
conservation and desalination.
Mr. Speaker, I hope the administration can understand how important
these projects are, especially water recycling, and how they can help
communities solve their water problems that are so urgently needed,
even now, especially in the area where there is tremendous drought.
I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of H.R. 1598.
Mr. Speaker, I have no speakers, and I yield back the balance of my
time.
Mr. POMBO. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the
gentleman from California (Mr. Cox).
Mr. COX. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding me the time.
The Irvine Basin Surface and Groundwater Improvement Act is a bill
that, as its author, of course, I am very pleased to see on the floor,
but one also that I am very very grateful to the committee for
producing. This is going to make a very important contribution to
improving water quality in southern California.
I would especially like to thank and recognize the efforts of the
gentleman from California (Mr. Pombo), the chairman of the Committee on
Resources. I would like to thank the gentlewoman from California (Mrs.
Napolitano) and the gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. Rahall), the
ranking member, for their support and leadership, and also my colleague
from Orange County (Mr. Calvert), the chairman of the Subcommittee on
Water and Power. I thank all of them for their active interest in and
support of this important legislation.
This bill authorizes the Federal Government to assist in designing a
series of wetlands. As the gentlewoman from California (Mrs.
Napolitano) has said, this is an innovative approach, one that has the
support of environmentalists and government leaders alike. This series
of wetlands is going to clean up polluted surface runoff within the San
Diego Creek Watershed in Orange County, California.
For those of my colleagues who are not familiar with southern
California, the San Diego Creek is one of our region's major
watersheds. It empties into Upper Newport Bay, one of the largest
wetlands in the entire coastal region between Los Angeles and San
Diego.
The Upper Newport Bay is home to over 75 species of fish, nearly 200
species of birds, and a number of threatened and endangered species,
including the light-footed clapper rail, Belding's Savannah sparrow,
the American osprey, the California brown pelican and California's
least tern. In addition, the Bay is an important stop on the Pacific
Flyway for 50,000 migratory birds each year.
Unfortunately, the Upper Newport Bay is threatened by silt and
polluted runoff from the San Diego Creek that flows into the Bay. In
fact, the Environmental Protection Agency has declared the water
quality of San Diego Creek and its tributaries to be limited. That is a
bureaucratic euphemism for hazardous to swim in or drink. The reason
for this designation is that drainage from urban surfaces flows
unfiltered into the watershed.
Thankfully, there is a solution on the horizon to save the Upper
Newport Bay. This legislation will use a natural treatment system to
reduce the amount of silt and pollutants that gets dumped into San
Diego Creek and, in turn, into Upper Newport Bay. The plan was
developed by environmentalists and local officials, and it relies on
wetlands, nature's own system for filtering pollutants out of the
water. Specifically, the plan calls for the creation of an entire
network of wetlands to be developed along the San Diego Creek basin.
The natural, beneficial bacteria in the soils of these wetlands,
along with
[[Page H9410]]
plants such as bulrush and cattails, will remove nitrogen and other
pollutants from surface runoff. It is expected that this natural
treatment system will reduce fecal coliform levels by over 26 percent
and each year remove 126,000 pounds of nitrogen and 21,000 pounds of
phosphorus from the San Diego Creek.
In this way, the natural treatment system will help prevent unwanted
sediment, nutrients and contaminants from polluting and clogging up San
Diego Creek and Upper Newport Bay. It will also provide another major
benefit. The creation of all these new wetlands will provide
considerable additional wildlife habitat and open space, including
habitat for the many threatened and endangered species of the Upper
Newport Bay.
{time} 1600
For all of these reasons, the Natural Treatment System established by
this legislation is strongly supported by local environmental groups,
including Orange County Coastkeepers and the Newport Bay Naturalists
and Friends. This legislation is also fully supported by our local
public officials, including the Irvine Ranch Water District, the County
of Orange and the cities of Newport Beach, Lake Forest, Irvine, Orange,
Santa Ana, and Tustin.
This bill, Mr. Speaker, will be of tremendous help to our local
environmental efforts. By allowing the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation,
which has extensive experience in wetlands restoration, to serve as a
partner in this important regional project, H.R. 1598 is an important
step toward assuring that the Natural Treatment System moves forward as
quickly and cost effectively as possible.
Finally, I would like to point out that the Natural Treatment System
will also provide significant cost savings for the Federal Government.
Since the Upper Newport Bay is a Federal waterway, the U.S. Corps of
Engineers regularly dredges the bay to remove the accumulation of silt
and pollutants. By significantly reducing silt runoff into Upper
Newport Bay, the Natural Treatment System will reduce both the Corps of
Engineers' dredging expenses and the bill to Federal taxpayers.
Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge my colleagues to support H.R. 1598 so
that we can move forward with this important environmental initiative
for Southern California.
Mr. POMBO. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Petri). The question is on the motion
offered by the gentleman from California (Mr. Pombo) that the House
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 1598.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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