[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 1 (Tuesday, January 4, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E10]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    INTRODUCING THE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GROUNDWATER REMEDIATION ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. JOE BACA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, January 4, 2005

  Mr. BACA. Mr. Speaker, today, I will be reintroducing the Southern 
California Groundwater Remediation Act. This legislation is a long-term 
solution to help cities in Southern California remove perchlorate from 
their drinking water.
  Formerly H.R. 4606, this legislation passed the House of 
Representatives in September of 2004. Today, I pick up the fight to 
clean up perchlorate groundwater contamination and protect the health 
of Southern Californians. Perchlorate groundwater contamination remains 
a crisis in Southern California. This includes my hometown of Rialto, 
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 could also be 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 hardworking 
families in these areas are not at fault and should not have to pay for 
this problem. We must protect these consumers.
  Southern California, and particularly the Inland Empire, has been 
greatly impacted by perchlorate. Perchlorate has been detected in 184 
sources in the counties served by the Santa Ana River watershed. There 
is a perchlorate plume in the Inland Empire in California that is seven 
miles long and growing every day. It has affected 82 wells in San 
Bernardino County, and jeopardized the water supplies of 500,000 
residents who rely on the Colorado River.
  The economic burden on these communities is almost as much of a 
concern as the potential health effects. The bill 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 Richard Pombo in the 108th Congress that 
deals with perchlorate in Northern California, and passed the House 
last September.
  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 Congresswoman Grace Napolitano, Congressman Ken 
Calvert and Congressman Gary Miller for their support of this crucial 
bill to the health of Southern Californians.

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