[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 50 (Tuesday, May 2, 2006)]
[House]
[Pages H1938-H1939]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1515
           DANA POINT DESALINATION PROJECT AUTHORIZATION ACT

  Mr. PEARCE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 3929) to amend the Water Desalination Act of 1996 to 
authorize the Secretary of the Interior to assist in research and 
development, environmental and feasibility studies, and preliminary 
engineering for the Municipal Water District of Orange County, 
California, Dana Point Desalination Project located at Dana Point, 
California, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 3929

       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 ``Dana Point Desalination 
     Project Authorization Act''.

     SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION FOR DANA POINT DESALINATION PROJECT.

       The Water Desalination Act of 1996 (42 U.S.C. 10301 note; 
     Public Law 104-298) is amended by adding at the end the 
     following new section:

     ``SEC. 10. DANA POINT DESALINATION RESEARCH AND FEASIBILITY 
                   RELATED COSTS.

       ``(a) Authority.--The Secretary may assist in research and 
     development, environmental and feasibility studies, and 
     preliminary engineering for the Municipal Water District of 
     Orange County, California, Dana Point Desalination Project 
     located at Dana Point, California.
       ``(b) Federal Share.--Notwithstanding section 7, the 
     Federal share of the costs for the project assisted under 
     subsection (a) shall not exceed 25 percent of the total costs 
     of the project.
       ``(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is hereby 
     authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary $2,500,000 to 
     carry out this section.
       ``(d) Sunset.--The authority of the Secretary to carry out 
     any provisions of this section shall terminate 10 years after 
     the date of the enactment of this section.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
Mexico (Mr. Pearce) and the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Udall) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Mexico.


                             General Leave

  Mr. PEARCE. Mr. 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 New Mexico?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. PEARCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3929, introduced by our distinguished colleague, 
Ken Calvert, authorizes Federal participation in a unique desalination 
research and development project in Southern California.
  Water consumers in that area of the State depend on imported water, 
and local efforts are being undertaken to develop nearby water supplies 
to reduce this dependence.
  Desalination and water recycling are some of the most important ways 
to create new local water supplies. This legislation provides limited 
Federal assistance to develop a unique subsurface ocean water 
collection system that can reduce desalination's cost and eliminate 
impacts on the environment.
  This project will not only help Southern California, but could also 
be a model for future desalination operations nationwide. I urge my 
colleagues to support this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  (Mr. UDALL of New Mexico asked and was given permission to revise and 
extend his remarks.)
  Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, we support passage of H.R. 
3929. We need to do more, not less, to help communities that are 
working to apply new technologies to their water supply problems. This 
bill provides limited financial assistance for engineering and 
environmental studies. It does not authorize funds for construction.
  The project sponsors are exploring the feasibility of an ocean water 
desalinization plant using subsurface intake wells, which are 
protective of the marine environment. If this design is successful, it 
could encourage other coastal communities that are considering ocean 
desalinization as a way to stretch their limited water supplies without 
causing damage to marine life.
  It is unfortunate that the Bush administration opposes this bill. 
Their opposition to H.R. 3929 is short-sighted and ill advised. This 
administration appears to be on a crusade against the use of innovative 
technologies to help solve water supply problems.
  I hope the bill will be enacted despite their objections.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. PEARCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Campbell).
  Mr. CAMPBELL of California. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from 
New Mexico for yielding me time.
  Mr. Speaker, I have some familiarity with the project, since it is 
located in the district which I have the privilege to represent. Water 
is an issue. It is an issue in the West; it is an issue in California.
  We will probably be dealing this week and over the next few weeks and 
perhaps months with some of the issues of a shortage of various energy 
projects. We can avoid shortages in water if we work on it early, if we 
get on some of these projects now.
  What this project does, as both the previous speakers indicated, is 
it is not just something that is good for the district I represent or 
the area I represent, but is in fact a test project for this new type 
of desalinization, where you are getting the water, rather than 
directly out of the ocean on the coast, you are actually bringing the 
water out underneath the sand, and then back to a desalinization plant, 
which is off the coast.
  That is why it does not have the negative environmental impacts 
putting a plant directly on the coast right against the water would be. 
But, also, the sand itself has the effect, we believe, of filtering 
this water on its way to the desalinization plant, which both reduces 
the cost, reduces the waste that is created in desalinization, and 
possibly, we believe, makes the project considerably more efficient and 
therefore cheaper.
  So what this project, if it is successful, will do is it will create 
desalinization that will be both less impactful on the environment, 
result in a higher

[[Page H1939]]

yield of usable water, and be cheaper along the way. So something that 
is good for all sides.
  The Federal involvement here would only be 25 percent of the entire 
project, as 75 percent of the cost is being carried by local public 
agencies. So I appreciate the support on both sides of the aisle for 
this project and would urge its passage.
  Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3929, the 
Dana Point Desalination Project Authorization Act. My legislation will 
authorize Federal participation in a relatively small ocean 
desalination project that could have an enormous impact on the future 
development of desalination projects.
  As our country continues to look for new sources of water, 
particularly in the West, the expansion of our desalinated ocean water 
capability is essential. While extensively utilized in other parts of 
the world, most notably in the Middle East, the U.S. has only recently 
begun to consider large-scale ocean water desalination projects. There 
are a number of factors that have limited the viability of desalination 
projects. The major issues confronting ocean desalination are the cost 
of producing potable water and the potential negative impacts on ocean 
ecosystems.
  The Dana Point Desalination Project is not a typical ocean 
desalination project. The project will use a unique subsurface ocean 
intake system that will collect water that naturally seeps through the 
ocean floor. The system provides a number of benefits over traditional 
intake systems, including removing the negative impacts on marine life 
as well as potentially reducing the need for extensive pretreatment 
filtration. If constructed and successful, the system would remove 
various concerns expressed by environmental advocates as well as 
improve the feasibility of future ocean desalination projects.
  The Dana Point Desalination Project, to the best of my knowledge, is 
the only ocean desalination project supported by the Surfrider 
Foundation. Their support is a direct result of the unique subsurface 
intake technology that avoids negative impacts to the marine ecosystem. 
I would like to submit a letter form the Surfrider Foundation detailing 
their support for the Dana Point project for the record.
  The Dana Point Desalination Project could have significant regional 
and national benefits. H.R. 3929 simply authorizes Federal 
participation in the project and limits the Federal obligation to $2.5 
million to assist with preliminary engineering and environmental 
studies. No construction dollars are authorized in H.R. 3929.
  I urge all of my colleagues to join me in supporting the Dana Point 
Desalination Project and passing H.R. 3929.

                                         Surfrider Foundation,

                                                 January 10, 2006.
     Re Support for MWDOC Beach Well Feasibility Study.

       To Whom it May Concern: I am writing on behalf of the 
     Surfrider Foundation in support of efforts by the Municipal 
     Water District of Orange County (MWDOC) to investigate the 
     feasibility of sub-surface beach wells to supply seawater for 
     ocean desalination.
       The Surfrider Foundation is a non-profit environmental 
     organization dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of the 
     world's oceans, waves and beaches for all people, through 
     conservation, activism, research and education.
       In general, Surfrider Foundation believes that future 
     demands for water supplies should first be met by fully 
     utilizing water conservation, wastewater reclamation, and 
     stormwater management that will capture runoff for beneficial 
     uses. We feel very strongly that these supply alternatives 
     combine the benefit of meeting our future water needs while 
     simultaneously reducing polluted runoff and ocean discharges. 
     Ocean desalination should be the lowest priority for water 
     supply choices and only employed using the most 
     environmentally protective methods and technology.
       We are pleased to see this approach to water supply 
     alternatives reflected in MWDOC's 2005 Urban Water Management 
     Plan. Furthermore, we are very supportive of the measured 
     approach MWDOC is taking toward filling a limited role for 
     ocean desalination in their water supply portfolio. Sub-
     surface ``feedwater'' intakes for desalination will avoid the 
     unnecessary destruction of marine life, and disruption of 
     healthy marine ecosystems, that accompanies open ocean 
     intakes.
       We look forward to the results of the sub-surface beach 
     well feasibility study MWDOC is proposing in Dana Point.
           Sincerely,
                                                       Joe Geever,
                             Southern California Regional Manager.

  Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, having no further speakers, I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. PEARCE. Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers and yield back 
the balance of my time and urge passage of H.R. 3929.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Pearce) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 3929, 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.

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