[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 189 (Tuesday, December 11, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H15227-H15229]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1230
          SAN GABRIEL BASIN RESTORATION FUND AUTHORIZATION ACT

  Mrs. NAPOLITANO. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass 
the bill (H.R. 123) to authorize appropriations for the San Gabriel 
Basin Restoration Fund, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                H.R. 123

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

[[Page H15228]]

     SECTION 1. SAN GABRIEL BASIN RESTORATION FUND.

       Section 110 of division B of the Miscellaneous 
     Appropriations Act, 2001 (114 Stat. 2763A-222), as enacted 
     into law by section 1(a)(4) of the Consolidated 
     Appropriations Act, 2001 (Public Law 106-554, as amended by 
     Public Law 107-66), is further amended--
       (1) in subsection (a)(3)(B), by inserting after clause 
     (iii) the following:
       ``(iv) Non-federal match.--After $85,000,000 has 
     cumulatively been appropriated under subsection (d)(1), the 
     remainder of Federal funds appropriated under subsection (d) 
     shall be subject to the following matching requirement:

       ``(I) San gabriel basin water quality authority.--The San 
     Gabriel Basin Water Quality Authority shall be responsible 
     for providing a 35 percent non-Federal match for Federal 
     funds made available to the Authority under this Act.
       ``(II) Central basin municipal water district.--The Central 
     Basin Municipal Water District shall be responsible for 
     providing a 35 percent non-Federal match for Federal funds 
     made available to the District under this Act.'';

       (2) in subsection (a), by adding at the end the following:
       ``(4) Interest on funds in restoration fund.--No amounts 
     appropriated above the cumulative amount of $85,000,000 to 
     the Restoration Fund under subsection (d)(1) shall be 
     invested by the Secretary of the Treasury in interest-bearing 
     securities of the United States.''; and
       (3) by amending subsection (d) to read as follows:
       ``(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--
       ``(1) In general.--There is authorized to be appropriated 
     to the Restoration Fund established under subsection (a) 
     $146,200,000. Such funds shall remain available until 
     expended.
       ``(2) Set-aside.--Of the amounts appropriated under 
     paragraph (1), no more than $21,200,000 shall be made 
     available to carry out the Central Basin Water Quality 
     Project.''.

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


                             General Leave

  Mrs. NAPOLITANO. 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 
gentlewoman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Mrs. NAPOLITANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  H.R. 123 was introduced by our colleague and good friend, Congressman 
David Dreier of California, to provide additional funds for the San 
Gabriel Basin Restoration Fund. This bill, which is a very important 
bill for my whole area, has worked to clean up a contamination, a 
Superfund site, that has cleaned up much of the contamination in an 
area that comprises probably around 30 cities, and as amended will 
raise the appropriation ceiling by an additional $61.2 million.
  We need this to further continue to provide the cleanup on this water 
to millions of people in dozens of cities. This bill has been worked on 
in a bipartisan basis. Both my colleague, Mr. Dreier, myself, our 
staffs have worked diligently for a long time to carry this bill to 
where it is.
  When H.R. 123 was introduced earlier this year, it only included 
funds for cleanup in the San Gabriel Basin. Since then, my staff, 
committee staff and Congressman Dreier's staff have worked together to 
amend the bill to include additional funds for cleanup in the central 
basin as well. While this legislation provides a central basin with 
access to much-needed additional funds, all funds left under the 
original authorization should remain dedicated to the Water Quality 
Authority, the entity which is responsible for coordinating cleanup 
efforts in the San Gabriel Basin.
  Mr. Speaker, we have no objection to this noncontroversial, 
bipartisan bill and I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 123, as 
amended.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 123 was introduced by our 
distinguished colleague, the gentleman from California, the 
distinguished ranking member of the Rules Committee, David Dreier; and 
it extends a highly successful water cleanup effort in Southern 
California. This legislation as amended authorizes additional Federal 
dollars for groundwater remediation aquifers that provide drinking 
water to the Los Angeles area residents.
  As explained by the Democrat bill manager, this amended bill will 
allow the central basin water authorities to pursue their own 
appropriations while not harming what remains of the original San 
Gabriel Restoration Fund. This aspect of the bill is very important 
when it comes to protecting the San Gabriel water supply. This bill has 
enjoyed bipartisan support and dialogue throughout the legislative 
process, and I urge my colleagues to support this result-oriented bill.
  I will reserve at this moment.
  Mrs. NAPOLITANO. Mr. Speaker, I have no speakers waiting. I still 
remain committed to reserving my time.
  Mr. BISHOP of Utah. It is only right that I yield as much time as he 
chooses to consume to the gentleman from California, the sponsor of 
this wonderful piece of legislation, Mr. Dreier.
  (Mr. DREIER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, let me begin by rising to compliment my 
distinguished California colleague, the Chair of the subcommittee, for 
her amazing and festive outfit which includes shoes and earrings which 
I hope very much our colleagues will seize the opportunity to see 
during this holiday season.
  The importance of stating that is matched by my praise for her work 
and the work of her staff on this important legislation. It has been 
nearly a decade, actually back in 1999, that we were able to first pass 
legislation designed to deal with a horrendous tragedy that came in the 
aftermath of the Cold War. It was during the Cold War that we had a 
wide range of defense contractors, some of which are in business today, 
and some of which no longer are in business; but during that period of 
time, they legally disposed of spent rocket fuel. They did it legally. 
No one knew what the ramifications of that would be at the time.
  And so, Mr. Speaker, what happened? Well, in the mid-1990s there was 
this discovery of perchlorate which was a byproduct of the disposal of 
that spent rocket fuel. Unfortunately, it created the potential to 
contaminate the water for as many as 7 million Californians.
  That is why I want to join in praising Mrs. Napolitano for her work 
in expanding this cleanup effort, and I want to thank all the members 
of her staff. I also want to express appreciation to our colleague, 
Cathy McMorris Rodgers, who also has worked very hard on this. And I 
know that the discovery of perchlorate is something that has hit other 
parts of the country.
  Well, we in the San Gabriel Valley have put together what clearly is 
the best model for not only our area, Mr. Speaker, but for other parts 
of the country, Dallas, Texas, other parts of California, where this 
has been found. What does that partnership consist of? It is the 
Federal Government, and there was a lot of litigation that was 
initiated in the 1990s over this problem. I decided back then in the 
1990s, why should we wait for litigation to go through the courts when 
perchlorate was seeping into the groundwater when it was very clear 
that the Federal Government had contracted with these people and we won 
the Cold War.
  And so it was obvious that this was a Federal responsibility for us 
to step up to the plate. But there, obviously, were a lot of others who 
did want to take on some of the responsibility, so companies like 
Aerojet and other companies did agree to participate in the cleanup 
effort. And the State of California and local governments as well have 
been part of this process.
  Again, our bipartisan staffs have worked so closely together on this 
issue that to me, Mr. Speaker, it is a great demonstration of the 
willingness of Chairwoman Napolitano to reach out and work on an issue 
where we could find areas of agreement. Again, I can't thank her enough 
for that. And I will say that as we look at this challenge down the 
road, we hope very much that it is taken care of. But I am well aware 
of the fact that we will see further environmental difficulties in the 
future, and I believe that this legislation, H.R. 123, will be a model 
that can be utilized for many of the other environmental challenges 
that we face beyond the issue of water in the future.
  So again I thank all of my colleagues who have been involved, Mr. 
Speaker,

[[Page H15229]]

and I thank those in our local area, the Water Quality Authority and 
other entities that have stepped up and are working with us, because 
they really were key in putting together this model; and I urge my 
colleagues to support the gentlewoman's resolution here.
  Mrs. NAPOLITANO. Mr. Speaker, my colleague has very well outlined the 
background of the bill. Due to his vision, this started over a decade 
over ago, brought all the parties together, had many hurdles that were 
accomplished only when people were brought to the table and were able 
to seek the solution to be more expediently cleaning up that area. And 
I can tell you that this has been, as he has outlined, a very hard-
worked, joint effort, not only at the local level with the State, the 
locals, the Fed, the EPA, all the water districts, but also our staffs 
who have run into difficulties and had been able to work to iron them 
out. So kudos also, Mr. Speaker, to Chairman Dreier's staff in being 
willing to work with our staff in bringing this to the solution where 
we are now.
  I have no further speakers, Mr. Speaker, and I reserve the balance of 
my time.
  Mr. BISHOP of Utah. We have no other speakers, Mr. Speaker. I did not 
have the opportunity of giving my life history on the last bill, and I 
really am disappointed Mr. Dreier didn't give his life history in his 
bill; but beside that disappointment, I also am grateful to be here 
with the distinguished subcommittee chairwoman who is dressed in as 
festive an outfit for this time of year as is possible to do, and we 
simply yield back the balance of our time in urging my colleagues to 
approve this piece of legislation.
  Mrs. NAPOLITANO. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the comments about my 
dress and demeanor. I only feel that we are hoping to wrap it up this 
week and not be here through Christmas.
  Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this bill's 
passage. H.R. 123 is an important continuation of the successful 
federal-state-local partnership that already exists in providing one of 
the most basic necessities of life--clean drinking water. The bill 
extends the current authorization of the San Gabriel Basin Restoration 
Fund by a total of $61.2 million--$50 million for the San Gabriel Basin 
Water Quality Authority (WQA), and $11.2 million for the Central Basin 
Municipal Water District (Central Basin).
  The San Gabriel Basin Restoration Fund was created because of the 
critical need to quickly implement a plan that would address the 
contaminated groundwater in the San Gabriel Valley. Before important 
environmental laws were put into place, the Federal Government had 
contracted with defense companies that were, at that time, legally 
permitted to dispose of spent-rocket fuel without proper safeguards for 
groundwater. There had already been clean-up efforts in the region for 
other contaminants but in 1997, perchlorate contamination was 
discovered in the groundwater in the San Gabriel Valley. Unfortunately, 
at the time of discovery, many of those contractors and other 
responsible parties had either moved their businesses to other 
locations, or had simply gone out of business. The region's groundwater 
remained threatened while mounting litigation between the Environmental 
Protection Agency and private parties potentially responsible for the 
contamination delayed any hope for a solution.
  In 1999, the Federal Government rightfully stepped in with the 
creation of the Restoration Fund to provide a mechanism for those 
responsible for the contamination to partner with local, state and 
federal agencies to solve the crisis and immediately implement the 
clean-up. The willingness of the Federal Government to partner with 
local and state agencies proved to be the impetus for private 
investment and participation in the ongoing cleanup efforts.
  I am proud to say that this partnership is an example of good 
stewardship of taxpayer money. Initially in 1999, when we first began 
the process for creating the Restoration Fund, the total cost of 
cleaning up the basin was estimated at $320 million. Congress created 
the Restoration Fund in 2000, with an initial authorization of $85 
million, or a 25 percent investment. To date, a little over $70 million 
has been appropriated, with approximately 83 percent of the cleanup 
provided by local sources and responsible parties, with about 12 
percent federal funding.
  After recent evaluation of the total project, accounting for 
increased levels of detected contamination, increased energy costs and 
inflation, the total cost of cleanup now, almost a decade later, is 
approximately $1 billion. With a modest increase of $61.2 million, 
bringing the total federal investment to $146.2 million, or 
approximately 14 percent, the WQA and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation 
can continue jointly administering this cleanup program.

  Their outstanding work is why this project is cost effective and such 
a huge success. In working with the WQA and the U.S. Bureau of 
Reclamation over the past decade on this regional solution, there is no 
doubt that this increase is warranted and will be utilized in the most 
effective way to continue to provide safe drinking water.
  The cost-effectiveness of the original authorization of the 
Restoration Fund is clear. And without a doubt, that cost-effective use 
of the federal investment will be continued in this new authorization. 
The federal partnership will continue to hold the coalition of local 
water agencies and private parties together to finish the job that we 
started a decade ago.
  It is important to note that this bill, while originally introduced 
to authorize additional funds for the WQA, was amended to include 
additional funding for the Central Basin. The WQA and Central Basin 
were jointly authorized to implement the cleanup by the original 
Restoration Fund. These two agencies have worked side by side for many 
years to ensure that the millions of residents in our region have safe 
drinking water. While the Central Basin has realized its full 
authorization under the Restoration Fund, there are funds yet to be 
appropriated to the WQA under the original authorization. Therefore, 
the WQA is not responsible to provide the Central Basin with any 
further appropriations that are secured under the original $85 million 
ceiling.
  However, we all recognize Central Basin's desire to seek additional 
funds beyond what they have already been fully provided under the 
original authorization to ensure the safety of the region's 
groundwater. Central Basin has stepped forward in committing to 
providing the 35 percent local cost share on any future appropriations 
they secure. Once the WQA receives its full appropriation under the 
original authorization, should the WQA and Central Basin decide to 
pursue and split a single appropriation as they've done in the past, 
then the WQA and the Central Basin have mutually agreed that the WQA 
will receive 90 percent, and Central Basin will receive 10 percent of 
any annual appropriation to the Restoration Fund under the new 
authorization ceiling outlined in this bill. I want to commend the 
cooperation between these two agencies in working out the details of 
the implementation of this bill and for their continued service to the 
residents of the San Gabriel Valley.
  This bill is a product of strong bipartisan cooperation with the 
Chair of the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water and Power, 
Ms. Napolitano, an original cosponsor of the bill and great partner 
throughout the years in addressing the very serious challenge of 
keeping our groundwater supply safe for southern Californians. I am 
very proud to have the support of our friends Gary Miller, Lucille 
Roybal-Allard, Adam Schiff, Hilda Solis and Linda Sanchez. I also want 
to thank Ranking Member Cathy McMorris-Rodgers for her support 
throughout the legislative process as well as recognize the hard work 
of the very able Majority and Minority subcommittee staff including 
Steve Lanich, Kiel Weaver, Emily Knight and from Chairwoman 
Napolitano's personal office, Daniel Chao.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support passage of this 
legislation.
  Mrs. NAPOLITANO. I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Napolitano) that the House suspend 
the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 123, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________