[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 120 (Tuesday, August 4, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Page S8769]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. WYDEN:
  S. 1573. A bill to amend the Reclamation Wastewater and Groundwater 
Study and Facilities Act to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to 
participate in the city of Hermiston, Oregon, water recycling and reuse 
project, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources.
  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, today I am introducing legislation to 
provide more clean water for the City of Hermiston, for irrigators in 
the area and for the Umatilla River. It is good for farmers, fish and 
in-stream flows.
  My legislation amends the Reclamation Wastewater and Groundwater 
Study and Facilities Act--P.L. 102-575--to authorize the City of 
Hermiston, OR, to participate in what is known as the Title XVI water 
reclamation program. This long-standing U.S. Bureau of Reclamation 
program encourages the reclamation and use of municipal, industrial and 
agricultural waste water. In this case, the City of Hermiston will 
treat municipal waste water and deliver it to a local irrigation 
district--the West Extension Irrigation District--for agricultural use. 
My bill is a companion bill to legislation already introduced for this 
same purpose in the House of Representatives by Representative Greg 
Walden, H.R. 2714. As with other Title XVI projects, this legislation 
would authorize the Bureau to assist the City in developing this 
project and provide a cost-share of 25 percent for the project.
  The current Hermiston Water Plant discharges ``Class C'' water that 
can be used only for a limited amount of off-project pastureland 
irrigation or discharged into the Umatilla River. Beginning in December 
2010, a new National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System limit will 
go into effect, changing the water temperature and pollutants 
requirements of treated water being put back into the river. Although 
the city is currently in compliance, once the new limits take effect, 
the city's current plant will not allow the city to meet the new 
requirements. As a result, the city will need to construct a new 
treatment plant, but it would still have difficulty meeting the water 
temperature requirements.
  An upgrade of the plant would not only bring the city into compliance 
with the new discharge requirements, but it would increase the quality 
of the recycled water output from ``Class C'' water to ``Class A'' 
water, making it suitable for all irrigation needs, not just 
pastureland. Further, the proposed new plant would be configured to 
discharge its treated water to the West Extension Irrigation District, 
a Bureau of Reclamation-supported irrigation project. This will 
significantly increase the amount of water available to the District 
and will have a beneficial, long-term impact on a regional farming 
community that faces dwindling water supplies. Acreage available to 
utilize the city's recycled water discharge would increase from roughly 
550 acres to nearly 11,000 acres.
  Finally, by ending the discharge of warmer, lower quality water into 
the Umatilla River, the project will improve the habitat for wildlife 
and fish in the River, especially for endangered and threatened 
species. I am pleased that the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla 
Indian Reservation, which has fishing rights in the Umatilla River, 
supports the city's efforts in this regard.
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