[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 125 (Wednesday, October 6, 2004)]
[House]
[Pages H8338-H8340]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   TIJUANA RIVER VALLEY ESTUARY AND BEACH SEWAGE CLEANUP ACT OF 2000 
                               AMENDMENT

  Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 4794) to amend the Tijuana River Valley Estuary and Beach 
Sewage Cleanup Act of 2000 to extend the authorization of 
appropriations, and for other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 4794

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

     SECTION 1. ACTIONS TO BE TAKEN.

       (a) Secondary Treatment.--Section 804(a)(1) of the Tijuana 
     River Valley Estuary and Beach Sewage Cleanup Act of 2000 (22 
     U.S.C. 277d-44(a)(1); 114 Stat. 1978) is amended by striking 
     ``Subject to'' and all that follows through ``of this Act,'' 
     and inserting ``Pursuant to Treaty Minute 311 to the Treaty 
     for the Utilization of Waters of the Colorado and Tijuana 
     Rivers and of the Rio Grande, dated February 3, 1944,''.
       (b) Contract.--Section 804(c) of such Act is amended as 
     follows:
       (1) By striking paragraph (1) and inserting the following:
       ``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding any provision of Federal 
     procurement law, the Commission may enter into a multiyear 
     fee-for-services contract with the owner of a Mexican 
     facility in order to carry out the secondary treatment 
     requirements of subsection (a) and make payments under such 
     contract, subject to the availability of appropriations and 
     subject to the terms of paragraph (2).''.
       (2) In paragraph (2)(I) by striking ``, with such annual 
     payment'' and all that follows through the period at the end 
     and inserting ``, including costs associated with the 
     purchase of any insurance or other financial instrument under 
     subparagraph (K). Costs associated with the purchase of such 
     insurance or other financial instrument may be amortized over 
     the term of the contract.''.
       (3) In paragraph (2) by redesignating subparagraphs (J) 
     through (P) as subparagraphs (L) through (R), respectively, 
     and by inserting after subparagraph (I) the following:
       ``(J) Neither the Commission nor the United States 
     Government shall be liable for payment of any cancellation 
     fees if the Commission cancels the contract.
       ``(K) The owner of the Mexican facility may purchase 
     insurance or other financial instrument to cover the risk of 
     cancellation of the contract by the Commission. Any such 
     insurance or other financial instrument shall not be provided 
     or guaranteed by the United States Government, and the 
     Government may reserve the right to validate independently 
     the reasonableness of the premium when negotiating the annual 
     service fee with the owner.''.
       (4) By striking paragraphs (2)(L) and (2)(M) (as 
     redesignated by paragraph (3) of this subsection) and 
     inserting the following:
       ``(L) Transfer of ownership of the Mexican facility to an 
     appropriate governmental entity, other than the United 
     States, if the Commission cancels the contract.
       ``(M) Transfer of ownership of the Mexican facility to an 
     appropriate governmental entity, other than the United 
     States, if the owner of the Mexican facility fails to perform 
     under the contract.''.
       (5) In paragraph (2)(N) (as redesignated by paragraph (3) 
     of this subsection) by inserting after ``competitive 
     procedures'' the following: ``under applicable law''.

     SEC. 2. IMPLEMENTATION OF NEW TREATY MINUTE.

       Section 805 of the Tijuana River Valley Estuary and Beach 
     Sewage Cleanup Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 277d-45; 114 Stat. 
     1980) is amended--
       (1) in the section heading striking ``negotiation of''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(c) Implementation.--In light of the continuing threat to 
     the environment and to public health and safety within the 
     United States as a result of the river and ocean pollution in 
     the San Diego-Tijuana border region, the Commission is 
     requested to give the highest priority to the implementation 
     of Treaty Minute 311 to the Treaty for the Utilization of 
     Waters of the Colorado and Tijuana Rivers and of the Rio 
     Grande, dated February 3, 1944, which establishes a framework 
     for the siting of a treatment facility in Mexico to provide 
     for the secondary treatment of effluent from the IWTP at the 
     Mexican facility, to provide for additional capacity for 
     advanced primary and secondary treatment of additional sewage 
     emanating from the Tijuana River area, Mexico, and to meet 
     the water quality standards of Mexico, the United States, and 
     the State of California consistent with the provisions of 
     this title, in order that the other provisions of this title 
     to address such pollution may be implemented as soon as 
     possible.''.

     SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       Section 806 of the Tijuana River Valley Estuary and Beach 
     Sewage Cleanup Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 277d-46; 114 Stat. 
     1981) is amended by striking ``a total of $156,000,000 for 
     fiscal years 2001 through 2005'' and inserting ``such sums as 
     may be necessary''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Ohio (Mr. LaTourette) and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Costello) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. LaTourette).
  Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 4794, to amend the 
Tijuana River Valley Estuary and Beach Sewage Cleanup Act of 2000.

[[Page H8339]]

  For years the United States Congress has been trying to address a 
public health and environmental problem that exists along the U.S.-
Mexican border. Raw or partially treated sewage from the Tijuana, 
Mexico area flows spot United States and ends up on California beaches.
  In 2000, Congress addressed this problem by authorizing the United 
States to contract with a plant in Mexico for waste water treatment 
services that would meet the clean water standards. That law required 
the United States and Mexico to negotiate a new treaty. That 
negotiation was completed in February of this year. Now the United 
States must negotiate a contract.
  It is my understanding that those negotiations are finally underway, 
but before a contract can be signed, the Tijuana Valley Estuary and 
Beach Sewage Cleanup Act authorization must be extended and updated. 
H.R. 4794 provides that authority.
  I want to congratulate and commend the gentleman from California (Mr. 
Hunter), the gentleman from California (Mr. Filner), the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Cunningham), the gentleman from California (Mr. Issa) 
and the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Davis) for their persistence. 
This is a good piece of legislation. I urge my colleagues to support 
it.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. COSTELLO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 4794. This critical 
bipartisan bill would reauthorize and update legislation to address the 
ongoing problem of sewage that migrates across the U.S.-Mexican border 
into the waters off of San Diego, California. In light of recent 
efforts of the International Boundary Water Commission to successfully 
negotiate a treaty minute on this issue, the Committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure, working with the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Filner) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Hunter), 
developed this legislation to amend existing law to reflect the terms 
of the new treaty minute.
  Other than annual appropriations, this legislation should be the last 
legislative hurdle necessary for the construction of the treatment 
facilities to protect the public and the ecological health of the San 
Diego region.
  I commend our committee colleague the gentleman from California (Mr. 
Filner) who first brought this issue to our committee's attention in 
the 106th Congress, as well as my friend the gentleman from California 
(Mr. Hunter) for their efforts in pursuing this legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, time is of the essence for this legislation. The United 
States will face court-ordered sanctions unless we get about the 
business of cleaning up this sewage. But even more importantly, every 
day's delay is another day that the United States citizens are faced 
with raw sewage in the river and off the California coast. It is time 
for our work to begin and for this project to move forward.
  Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge this legislation and urge my colleagues 
to support it.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to yield such time as 
he may consume to the gentleman from California (Mr. Hunter), one of 
the champions of this legislation
  Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. 
LaTourette) and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Costello) for managing 
this bill. I think they have described it very well, the problem that 
we have with pollution that sweeps north on to California beaches. Not 
only is it a public health hazard and one that accrues to the detriment 
of thousands and thousands of families in the San Diego region, but 
also has a major impact on our economy. This situation of polluted 
beaches from raw sewage costs us in excess of some $15 million a year.
  In an attempt to look for a better way to address this border sewage 
problem, the House and the Tijuana River Estuary and Beach Cleanup Act, 
P.L. 106-457, authorized what we thought was a cutting edge concept 
involving a public-private partnership approach that will save taxpayer 
money and ensure that a wastewater treatment facility is brought online 
as quickly as possible and in complete compliance with the U.S. Clean 
Water Act regulations.
  OMB has certified, incidentally, that the public-private partnership 
approach will save significant funds over a similar plant built and 
operated by the Federal Government.
  So this is a new approach, Mr. Speaker, but we think it is going to 
work and work very effectively.
  Since the passage of P.L. 106-457, the IBWC, the International 
Boundary and Water Commission, has completed treaty minute negotiations 
with Mexico and has begun the process of addressing this decades old 
problem. As a result, in order to ensure that the project continues to 
move forward expeditiously, all of us in the San Diego congressional 
delegation introduced H.R. 4794, which has been well described as the 
Tijuana River Estuary and Beach Cleanup Reauthorization Act.
  This legislation will make necessary technical corrections to the 
base law to address changing circumstances and bring the law into line 
with the binational treaty that was negotiated. So this is what we need 
to get this project moving.
  We want to thank all of our friends and good colleagues who have 
worked on this, including the gentleman from Alaska (Chairman Young) 
and the subcommittee chairman, the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. 
Duncan), as well as the ranking members, the gentleman from Minnesota 
(Mr. Oberstar) and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Costello), for 
their help and guidance with this very important bipartisan 
legislation. The bill represents a real victory for the citizens of San 
Diego and for the taxpayers.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to strongly support its passage 
and, again, to the gentlemen managing the bill, I thank them very much 
for their support.
  Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 4794. The 
bill amends legislation enacted in 2000 to address the continuing 
problem of untreated or partially treated sewage that migrates across 
the U.S.-Mexican border into the waters off San Diego, California.
  Since the original legislation in 2000, the United States, acting 
through the International Boundary Waters Commission (IBWC), has 
successfully negotiated an agreement with Mexico on implementing a bi-
national effort to address this problem. The bill makes minor changes 
to reflect those discussions, and provides an updated authorization 
level to allow for the construction of the wastewater treatment 
facility, as contemplated in 2000. It also addresses an interpretation 
by the Office of Management and Budget that was contrary to the 
original intent of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 
when the bill was first developed.
  When this bill is enacted, it should create all the authority 
necessary for the construction of treatment facilities to protect the 
public and the ecological health of the San Diego region.
  I commend our Committee colleague, Mr. Filner, who first brought this 
issue to the Committee's attention in the 106th Congress, for his 
efforts in pursuing this legislation.
  I support the bill and urge an ``aye'' vote.
  Mrs. DAVIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of 
H.R. 4794, which will amend the Tijuana River Valley Estuary and Beach 
Sewage Cleanup Act of 2000 to bring it up to date to include the 
International Boundary and Water Commission Treaty Minute No. 311 
between the United States and Mexico. Reauthorization will pave the way 
for an ultimate solution to the long-standing problem of sewage outfall 
that pollutes the Tijuana River Valley Estuary and the precious beaches 
of Imperial Beach.
  Located on the southwest corner of the United States, Imperial Beach 
offers its residents and visitors an exceptional coastal experience 
situated as it is between the wonderful Tijuana Estuary natural 
wetlands and bird habitat and the mighty Pacific Ocean.
  Unfortunately, the metropolitan area of Tijuana and San Diego has 
grown well beyond the existing capacity to provide for the current 
sewage volume and allow a healthy and safe environment for the 
population along the border.
  The 2000 Act provided the framework for improving the existing South 
Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant, which was constructed by 
the International Boundary and Water Commission following authorization 
in a 1987 Water Quality Act. However, the plant was only built to 
advanced primary standards and not to the required secondary treatment 
standard as required by the law.
  Since that time, the rapid growth in the metropolitan region has 
resulted in a frequent flow

[[Page H8340]]

of untreated or partially treated sewage through the Tijuana River, 
which flows north from Tijuana across the border to the Pacific Ocean 
at Imperial Beach. This pollution is a public health threat as well as 
an environmental danger.
  This reauthorization addresses a multitude of details to implement a 
privately built and operated plant in Tijuana. Although the realization 
of the new Minute in February took a very long time, I hope that with 
new leadership now in place on the Commission and with this 
authorization in place there will be rapid progress toward the 
fulfillment of this desperately needed public safety facility.
  I want to thank my colleague from San Diego, Representative Hunter, 
for taking the leadership in the time-consuming process of bringing 
agreement on the details from numerous administration entities.
  I urge your support for this measure, which has been co-sponsored by 
the bipartisan San Diego delegation.
  Mr. CUNNINGHAM. Mr. Speaker, in 2002, the City of San Diego declared 
a local emergency regarding the flow of sewage across the border from 
Tijuana to San Diego. It is estimated that 70 million gallons per day 
of sewage is released into the Tijuana River Valley and flows into the 
Pacific Ocean.
  It is imperative that something be done to stop the flow of sewage 
from Tijuana into the Pacific. This legislation is a positive and 
significant step forward in ensuring that the requirements of the Clean 
Water Act are met. It makes the necessary changes that would 
effectively allow for the building of a waster water sewage treatment 
facility in Mexico that will process 50+ million gallons of water per 
day in compliance with the Clean Water Act.
  I have been working for years now to ensure a solution to this 
problem, and I believe the proposal to construct a treatment plant in 
Mexico is the most cost-effective solution. This bill will enable that 
to occur, and to eliminate the potential threat to the quality of water 
in the San Diego-Tijuana border at zero cost to taxpayers. This bill 
will ensure major environmental benefits for California and is the best 
option to address this serious public health and safety concern for San 
Diego.
  OMB certified that the public-private partnership approach will save 
significant funds. The International Boundary and Water Commission 
(IBWC) has completed treaty minute negotiations with Mexico. This 
process has taken years, and I would like to thank the IBWC for working 
on the issue. I would like to thank Duncan Hunter, Darrel Issa and 
Susan Davis for all their hard work. H.R. 4794's introduction by this 
delegation makes technical corrections to the base law. I would like to 
thank Chairman Don Young, the Ranking Member James Oberstar and Jerry 
Costello for all their help. This bill is a victory for San Diego, 
Mexico and the environment.
  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 4794, the 
bipartisan bill to amend the Tijuana River Valley Estuary and Beach 
Sewage Cleanup Act of 2000. The House and Senate passed this bill four 
years ago in an effort to resolve an enormous health problem in my 
district. Fifty million gallons of raw sewage flow through the Tijuana 
River from Mexico into San Diego beaches everyday. Most Americans 
cannot imagine the environmental and health impacts caused by this 
problem.
  Eleven years ago, the San Diego city council declared a state of 
emergency in the Tijuana River Valley because of sewage from Mexico 
flowing over the border and spoiling our beaches and waterways. Every 
two weeks since then, the city council has continued to declare a state 
of emergency.
  I worked with my colleagues to establish a bipartisan plan for a 
public-private partnership to solve this problem, but the crisis 
continues. And four years after the signing of the bill nothing has 
been done. The International Boundary and Water Commission has failed 
to take the steps necessary to build the wastewater treatment plant 
that Congress authorized and that families in San Diego deserve.
  The IBWC has a new Commissioner who, I believe, recognizes the 
responsibility that the IBWC has been given from Congress: To end the 
flow of raw sewage into southern California. That is why I have joined 
my Congressional colleagues from San Diego in offering this bill to 
continue the authorization for this project, so we can make sure that 
this environmental nightmare comes to an end.
  Mr. COSTELLO. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I yield 
back the balance of my time.
  Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. LaTourette) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 4794, 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.

                          ____________________