[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 119 (Tuesday, September 28, 2004)]
[House]
[Pages H7680-H7681]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GROUNDWATER REMEDIATION ACT

  Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 4606) to authorize the Secretary of the Interior, acting 
through the Bureau of Reclamation and in coordination with other 
Federal, State, and local government agencies, to participate in the 
funding and implementation of a balanced, long-term groundwater 
remediation program in California, and for other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 4606

       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 ``Southern California 
     Groundwater Remediation Act''.

     SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

       For the purposes of this Act:
       (1) Groundwater remediation.--The term ``groundwater 
     remediation'' means actions that are necessary to prevent, 
     minimize, clean up, or mitigate damage to groundwater.
       (2) Local water authority.--The term ``local water 
     authority'' means a currently existing (on the the date of 
     the enactment of this Act) public water district, public 
     water utility, public water planning agency, municipality, or 
     Indian Tribe located within the natural watershed of the 
     Santa Ana River in the State of California.
       (3) Remediation fund.--The term ``Remediation Fund'' means 
     the Southern California Groundwater Remediation Fund 
     established pursuant to section 3(a).
       (4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
     of the Interior.

     SEC. 3. SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GROUNDWATER REMEDIATION.

       (a) Southern California Groundwater Remediation.--
       (1) Establishment of remediation fund.--There shall be 
     established within the Treasury of the United States an 
     interest bearing account to be known as the ``Southern 
     California Groundwater Remediation Fund''.
       (2) Administration of remediation fund.--The Remediation 
     Fund shall be administered by the Secretary, acting through 
     the Bureau of Reclamation. The Secretary shall administer the 
     Remediation Fund in cooperation with the local water 
     authority.
       (3) Purposes of remediation fund.--
       (A) In general.--Subject to subparagraph (B), the amounts 
     in the Remediation Fund, including interest accrued, shall be 
     used by the Secretary to provide grants to the local water 
     authority to reimburse the local water authority for the 
     Federal share of the costs associated with designing and 
     constructing groundwater remediation projects to be 
     administered by the local water authority.
       (B) Cost-sharing limitation.--
       (i) In general.--The Secretary may not obligate any funds 
     appropriated to the Remediation Fund in a fiscal year until 
     the Secretary has deposited into the Remediation Fund an 
     amount provided by non-Federal interests sufficient to ensure 
     that at least 35 percent of any funds obligated by the 
     Secretary for a groundwater remediation project are from 
     funds provided to the Secretary for that project by the non-
     Federal interests.
       (ii) Non-federal responsibility.--Each local water 
     authority shall be responsible for providing the non-Federal 
     amount required by clause (i) for projects under that local 
     water authority. The State of California, local government 
     agencies, and private entities may provide all or any portion 
     of the non-Federal amount.
       (iii) Credits toward non-federal share.--For purposes of 
     clause (ii), the Secretary shall credit the appropriate local 
     water authority with the value of all prior expenditures by 
     non-Federal interests made after January 1, 2000, that are 
     compatible with the purposes of this section, including--

       (I) all expenditures made by non-Federal interests to 
     design and construct groundwater remediation projects, 
     including expenditures associated with environmental 
     analyses, and public involvement activities that were 
     required to implement the groundwater remediation projects in 
     compliance with applicable Federal and State laws; and
       (II) all expenditures made by non-Federal interests to 
     acquire lands, easements, rights-of-way, relocations, 
     disposal areas, and water rights that were required to 
     implement a groundwater remediation project.

       (b) Compliance With Applicable Law.--In carrying out the 
     activities described in this section, the Secretary shall 
     comply with any applicable Federal and State laws.
       (c) Relationship to Other Activities.--Nothing in this 
     section shall be construed to affect other Federal or State 
     authorities that are being used or may be used to facilitate 
     remediation and protection of the groundwater the natural 
     watershed of the Santa Ana River in the State of California. 
     In carrying out the activities described in this section, the 
     Secretary shall integrate such activities with ongoing 
     Federal and State projects and activities. None of the funds 
     made available for such activities pursuant to this section 
     shall be counted against any Federal authorization ceiling 
     established for any previously authorized Federal projects or 
     activities.
       (d) Financial Statements and Audits.--The Secretary shall 
     ensure that all funds obligated and disbursed under this Act 
     and expended by a local water authority, are accounted for in 
     accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and 
     are subjected to regular audits in accordance with applicable 
     procedures, manuals, and circulars of the Department of the 
     Interior and the Office of Management and Budget.
       (e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized 
     to be appropriated to the Remediation Fund $50,000,000. Such 
     funds shall remain available until expended.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Radanovich) and the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. 
Grijalva) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California (Mr. Radanovich).

[[Page H7681]]

  Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4606, authored by the gentleman from California 
(Mr. Baca), authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to participate in 
the funding and implementation of a balanced, long-term groundwater 
remediation program in California. H.R. 4606 establishes the Southern 
California Basins Groundwater Remediation Fund within the U.S. Treasury 
to provide Federal cost-share monies to remediate groundwater supplies 
in the Santa Ana watershed. I urge adoption of this measure.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to commend first the sponsor of the bill, 
the gentleman from California (Mr. Baca), for bringing forth this very 
important measure.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman 
from California (Mr. Baca).
  Mr. BACA. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4606, the Southern 
California Groundwater Remediation Act.
  First of all, I would like to thank our minority leader and our 
majority leader for supporting this bill. Our majority leader happened 
to go in the Inland Empire to see what is going on in that area, and I 
appreciate that.
  The Southern California Groundwater Remediation Act is a long-term 
solution to helping cities in Southern California remove perchlorate 
from their drinking water. Perchlorate groundwater contamination has 
become a crisis in Southern California. This includes my hometown of 
Rialto in California.
  Perchlorate is a main ingredient in rocket fuel. It has been found in 
drinking water supplies in 40 States, including California. It has been 
linked to thyroid damage and may be especially harmful to infants and 
developing fetuses and the 1.2 million women of childbearing age in San 
Bernardino, Riverside, and Orange counties.
  It is also harmful to those with weak immune systems, such as seniors 
and AIDS patients. There is a legal and moral obligation to provide 
safe and healthy water. Today, these obligations are in jeopardy. The 
hard-working families in these areas are not at fault and should not 
have to pay for these problems. We must protect the consumer. Southern 
California, and particularly the Inland Empire, has been greatly 
impacted by perchlorate. Perchlorate has been detected in 182 sources 
in the counties served by the Santa Ana River watershed.

                              {time}  1600

  There is a perchlorate plume in the Inland Empire in California that 
is 7 miles long. It has affected 20 wells in San Bernardino County and 
jeopardized the water supplies of 500,000 residents. The economic 
burden on these communities is almost as much of a concern as the 
potential health effects.
  H.R. 4606 authorizes $50 million in much-needed assistance. It is 
modeled after a successful program in the San Gabriel Basin in southern 
California that has also suffered from perchlorate-polluted water. And 
it is similar to H.R. 4459, a bill introduced by the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Pombo) that deals with perchlorate in northern 
California and passed this House last week.
  I urge my colleagues to support this urgent bill for southern 
California so we can tell these communities that help is on the way. I 
would like to thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Pombo), the 
gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. Rahall), the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Calvert), and the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. 
Napolitano) for their support of H.R. 4606 and for moving this 
legislation forward quickly.
  Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Issa). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from California (Mr. Radanovich) that the 
House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 4606, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________