[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 42 (Tuesday, April 12, 2005)]
[House]
[Pages H1864-H1865]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GROUNDWATER REMEDIATION ACT

  Mr. DUNCAN. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 18) 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. 18

       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 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. Subject to the 
     limitations in section 4, such funds shall remain available 
     until expended.

     SEC. 4. SUNSET OF AUTHORITY.

       This Act--
       (1) shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this 
     Act; and
       (2) is repealed effective as of the date that is 10 years 
     after the date of the enactment of this Act.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Tennessee (Mr. Duncan) and the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. 
Napolitano) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Duncan).


                             General Leave

  Mr. DUNCAN. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Tennessee?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. DUNCAN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, H.R. 18, 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. This bill establishes a limited Federal fund to 
resolve groundwater problems in the Santa Ana, California, watershed. 
This area has approximately 30 major water wells that are currently 
shut down or are out of production due to groundwater contamination 
from man-made and naturally-occurring chemicals. For example, a local 
perchlorate plume has impacted 250,000 residents in Rialto, California.
  This bill is just one small, but very important, part of a 
comprehensive solution to resolve a water emergency. The House passed 
identical legislation in the 108th Congress. I urge my colleagues to 
once again adopt this measure.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mrs. NAPOLITANO. Madam 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. Madam Speaker, we strongly support passage of H.R. 
18 which will provide financial assistance for cleaning up contaminated 
drinking water supplies in the Santa Ana River watershed in Southern 
California. There have been many problems in Southern California as 
well as in other parts of the Nation that deal with perchlorate, and 
this is just but one of

[[Page H1865]]

them. We hope that we will be able to shed some light on how we can do 
a better job of assisting our communities in being able to put that 
water back to good use, and that is by working with the municipalities.
  I commend the principal sponsor of H.R. 18, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Baca), for his determination and hard work to get this 
legislation enacted. I also greatly appreciate the support and 
leadership demonstrated by the gentleman from California (Mr. Pombo) on 
this very critical and important matter.
  Madam Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to my friend and colleague from 
Southern California (Mr. Baca) who has been very, very adamant about 
getting this addressed.
  (Mr. BACA asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. BACA. First of all, Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the 
gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Duncan) for his support and his eloquent 
presentation of the legislation before us and as well the gentlewoman 
from California (Mrs. Napolitano) in support of this legislation that 
impacts the State of California, especially Southern California, as it 
pertains to perchlorate.
  Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 18, the Southern California 
Groundwater Remediation Act. This legislation passed the House in 
September 2004, and it was H.R. 4606. Today, I fight to protect 
Southern Californians from the growing crisis of perchlorate 
groundwater contamination. I reintroduced this legislation as a long-
term solution to help cities in Southern California remove perchlorate 
from their drinking water and create safe drinking water.
  This bill will authorize $50 million for groundwater remediation, 
including perchlorate cleanup, for most of San Bernardino, Riverside, 
and Orange counties in Southern California. The funds will be managed 
by the Department of the Interior through the Bureau of Reclamation. 
Perchlorate is a main ingredient in rocket fuel that has been found in 
drinking water supplies, lettuce, and even in the milk we drink.
  Perchlorate in water supplies is left over from former military 
sites, defense contractors, and other industries. It has been found in 
43 States, including California. Perchlorate has been linked to thyroid 
damage and may be harmful to infants, developing fetuses, and the 
elderly. There are 1.2 million women of childbearing age in San 
Bernardino, Riverside, and Orange counties who could be at risk from 
perchlorate, and we do not want them to be at risk. We want to make 
sure that there is good-quality drinking water. Perchlorate has been 
detected in 186 sources in the counties served by the Santa Ana River 
watershed and has jeopardized the water supplies of over 500,000 
residents.
  As indicated before, there are 30 wells that have been contaminated 
in the area. There is a perchlorate plume in the Inland Empire in 
California that is 10 miles long and is growing every day, and that 
includes my hometown, which I am a resident of, in Rialto. Perchlorate 
has impacted the daily lives of all of us, and we want to make sure 
that there is safe drinking water in the area. We have a legal and 
moral obligation to provide safe and healthy water to the families and 
children who drink this water every day.
  But perchlorate contamination is more than just a health concern. The 
economic cost in providing safe drinking water is becoming more and 
more of a burden on our communities. Ninety percent of perchlorate in 
water comes from a Federal source. This includes DOD, NASA, and other 
Federal agencies. Innocent, hardworking families should not have to pay 
for federally created problems or problems for which no one will take 
the responsibility.
  I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 18, which is a small price to 
pay for the crisis that has been forced on Southern Californians. I 
would like to thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Pombo) for his 
leadership and carrying legislation in the northern portion of 
California to deal with the problems that we have. I would like to 
thank the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Napolitano), the gentleman 
from California (Mr. Calvert), the gentleman from California (Mr. Gary 
G. Miller), and the gentleman from California (Mr. Rohrabacher) for 
their support of this critical bill for the health of Southern 
California.

                              {time}  1445

  Mr. DUNCAN. Madam Speaker, I urge passage of this bill.
  Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mrs. NAPOLITANO. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  We have heard my colleague indicate how important the cleanup of 
water is, and I would urge my colleague from Georgia (Mr. Linder), 
sponsor of H.R. 135, the Twenty-First Century Water Commission Act of 
2005, to consider that as an issue because that is something that 
affects, like the gentleman stated, 40-some odd States that are 
beginning to understand the harshness of reality and that is that we 
have contaminated aquifers and water resources.
  So, with that, I thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Baca) for 
bringing that to our attention. I do support the bill and hope my 
colleagues will do likewise.
  Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Miller of Michigan). The question is on 
the motion offered by the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Duncan) that 
the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 18, 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.

                          ____________________