[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 70 (Thursday, May 19, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Page S3178]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. WYDEN:
  S. 1033. 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 reintroducing legislation to 
authorize the Bureau of Reclamation to share in the cost of the 
construction of a new wastewater treatment plant for Hermiston, Oregon. 
The bill is identical to legislation which passed the House of 
Representatives in the previous Congress, by voice vote, and which was 
reported by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee without 
opposition last year.
  The reason for involving the Bureau in this project is quite simple. 
Once constructed, the plant will provide the Bureau-authorized West 
Extension Irrigation District with enough additional high-quality water 
per year to irrigate approximately 600 acres of high value crops. This 
will have a significant, long-term benefit to the farming industry in 
the Hermiston area.
  The Hermiston project has gotten the sign off at every level from the 
local irrigation district to Federal agencies. The City and the Bureau 
have completed the required feasibility report and the Bureau of 
Reclamation has formally concluded that the project meets the 
requirements of the Title XVI cost-sharing program. The regional office 
of the National Marine Fisheries Service at NOAA has completed a 
biological opinion approving the project. The City and the West 
Extension Irrigation District have signed a memorandum of understanding 
to work together to develop the project. The Bureau has concluded its 
environmental review of the authorization to transfer the water to the 
District and issued a finding of no significant impact or FONSI.
  Although the Bureau will be sharing in the cost of the project, I 
want my colleagues to know that the City, not the Bureau, will be 
responsible for the bulk of the expense. CBO has estimated that the 
Federal share of the $26 million project would be $7 million or just 
over one-quarter of the cost.
  The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation have also 
recognized the benefits of the project and support it. These benefits 
include a significant improvement in the quality of water discharged to 
the Umatilla River in winter and protection of sensitive fish habitat 
during summer. These benefits have led the tribe to endorse 
construction of the Hermiston Water Recycling System Improvement 
Project and the City's effort to obtain federal funding.
  This project will increase agricultural production while improving 
the local economy, the environment and habitat for endangered fish. I 
look forward to working with my colleagues to complete action on this 
legislation after it had advanced so far in the last Congress.
                                 ______