[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 8 (Tuesday, February 1, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E130]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             ORANGE COUNTY GROUNDWATER REPLENISHMENT SYSTEM

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. LORETTA SANCHEZ

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 1, 2005

  Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California. Mr. Speaker, today I am 
introducing a bill to support the Orange County Groundwater 
Replenishment System. This bill is identical to the one I introduced in 
the 108th Congress as H.R. 1156, which passed the House by voice vote 
under Suspension of the rules last year.
  The bill would increase the authorized Federal share for the Orange 
County California Groundwater Replenishment (OCGWR) System from $20 
million to $80 million. This will allow Orange County to complete this 
important and much-needed project, which will serve about 2.3 million 
residents of north and central Orange County, and it will create a new 
water supply of 72,000 acre-feet per year.
  The OCGWR project is not just important to Orange County, California, 
but also to the entire western United States. By recycling our own 
water, we in Orange County would not have to rely so heavily on water 
from the Colorado River Aqueduct or the San Francisco Bay Delta.
  Moreover, the OCGWR is a highly innovative recycling project--a pilot 
project for other future water recycling projects. Experts in public 
water management systems, from other States and from countries from 
around the world, have come to Orange County to look at the tertiary 
cleaning system that we have. The project is of national and even 
international significance.
  This is a straightforward and reasonable bill. Its passage would 
simply bring the Federal share of funding closer to 25 percent, the 
level at which almost every other reclamation project is funded under 
Federal water reclamation and conservation programs.
  This project, and this legislation, has received strong support from 
Members on both sides of the aisle. As I mentioned previously, the 
Committee on Resources very generously allowed this same bill to be 
considered under Suspension of the Rules last year. I would like to 
take this opportunity to again thank Chairman Pombo from California, 
Ranking Member Rahall from West Virginia, as well as former 
Subcommittee Chairman Calvert and Ranking Member Napolitano of 
California for their overwhelming support of this bill.
  I would also like to thank my colleagues from Orange County for their 
continued support. Mr. Miller, Mr. Cox, Mr. Rohrrabacher and Mr. Royce 
are strong supporters of this project. Securing funding for the OCGWR 
has always been, and will continue to be, a bipartisan effort.
  Lastly, let me thank Orange County Water District President Phil 
Anthony, former OCWD Board Chair Denis Bilodeau, and General Manager 
Virginia Grebbien for their hard work and leadership in groundwater 
recycling. Their innovation has put Orange County in the forefront of 
water recycling and groundwater replenishment technology.
  I look forward to working on passing this legislation with all of my 
colleagues, and I thank them again for their continued support.

                          ____________________