[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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