[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 72 (Friday, May 18, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E853]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               INTRODUCTION OF CLEAN WATER RESEARCH BILLS

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, May 18, 2012

  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to 
describe two bills I am introducing regarding clean water research--
H.R. 5826, The Coordinating Water Research for a Clean Water Future Act 
of 2012, and H.R. 5827 the Energy and Water Research Integration Act of 
2012. These two bills will help focus the Federal government's research 
efforts on clean water, a critical natural resource that we too often 
take for granted.
  As a Representative from the great state of Texas, I know how 
important water is to public health, the economy, and the environment. 
Moreover, Texans certainly are not alone. Whether facing unpredictable 
and extreme weather conditions in places like Idaho where increasingly 
difficult dam and reservoir management is making it harder to protect 
property and lives; the drawdown of aquifers in the Powder River Basin 
from coal-bed methane operations; or the billions of taxpayer dollars 
spent to upgrade water infrastructure in the East, water is an ever-
present topic of dinner conversation and political tension across the 
country.
  As of last week, in Texas alone more than a thousand community water 
systems were forced to limit water use in order to avoid shortages. 
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the 12-month period between 
October 2010 and September 2011 was the driest in Texas since 1895. The 
dry conditions have been so severe that large portions of the State are 
categorized as being in ``an exceptional state of drought,'' the worst 
condition on the Federal government's drought monitor scale.
  Throughout my career I have fought to ensure that future generations 
have access to clean water. My introduction of these two bills builds 
on the accomplishments of the former Chairman of the House Science, 
Space, and Technology Committee, Bart Gordon, who introduced similar 
legislation that moved through the House of Representatives in the 
111th Congress.
  The first bill, H.R. 5826, will authorize coordination of water 
research activities to ensure a future where clean water is abundant, 
affordable, and accessible for generations to come. To do this, the 
country needs to better coordinate federal research among agencies 
which oversee and protect this natural resource. The bill elevates the 
importance of ensuring clean and reliable water supplies through the 
implementation of a National Water Research and Development Initiative 
at the Office of Science and Technology Policy of the White House. The 
Initiative will improve the Federal government's role in coordinating 
federal water research activities that identify, characterize, and 
address changes in U.S. clean water use, quality, supply, and demand.
  H.R. 5826 is drafted based on a range of expert recommendations, 
including those from the 2004 National Research Council report, 
``Confronting the Nations' Water Problems; the Role of Research,'' and 
the 2007 Office of Science and Technology Policy report ``A Strategy 
for Federal Science and Technology to Support Water Availability and 
Quality in the United States.''
  The second bill, H.R. 5827, ``The Energy and Water Research 
Integration Act'' focuses attention on the energy-water nexus, a term 
used to describe the energy required to provide reliable water supplies 
and the water required to provide reliable energy supplies. The bill 
directs the Secretary of Energy to integrate water considerations into 
the Department of Energy's energy research. The bill requires the 
Secretary to seek to advance energy technologies and practices that 
would minimize freshwater withdrawal and consumption, increase water 
use efficiency, and utilize nontraditional water sources with efforts 
to improve water quality.
  H.R. 5827 is based on hearings held in the 110th and 111th Congress 
when the Science and Technology Committee reviewed federal research 
related to water, with particular attention on the energy-water nexus. 
At the request of the Committee, the Government Accountability Office 
conducted five studies on the energy-water nexus. As GAO has aptly 
pointed out in its reports on this issue, energy and water are two 
critical resources that are intrinsically and reciprocally linked. For 
example, the energy sector is the fastest-growing consumer of water 
right now and will account for 85% of the growth in domestic water 
consumption in the United States between 2005 and 2030. The GAO's 
reports showed that very substantial quantities of water are needed to 
produce energy from a wide range of resources, such as for cooling 
thermoelectric power plants, growing and converting feedstocks into 
biofuels; and extracting oil shale and natural gas. GAO's work also 
demonstrated that the development of oil and gas sources often results 
in the production of large volumes of wastewater that must be managed 
or treated. Furthermore, GAO's work has also shown that significant 
amounts of energy are needed to extract, transport, treat, and use 
water in urban environments.
  In many ways, these seminal reports confirmed what we already knew, 
and that is that water availability and quality are essential for 
public health and a strong economy, but demands for, and threats to, 
these resources are growing. We can no longer afford to take it for 
granted. Whether it is billions of dollars in lost revenue for our 
agricultural sector, or reduced electric reliability due to low cooling 
water supplies for power plants, the country is already feeling the 
impacts of reduced water availability and quality.
  That is why communities and businesses across the country want to see 
more water research and better coordination. The bills are supported by 
small businesses like NanoH20, who see the need for 
innovative technologies in the water sector, as well as national 
organizations like Alliance for Water Efficiency, the Water Innovation 
Alliance, the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical 
Officials (IAPMO), and the Water Research Foundation. The Water 
Environment Research Foundation also supports the Energy and Water 
Research Integration Act.
  Given this diverse base of support and the passage of similar bills 
through the House in the 111th Congress, I hope that the Science, 
Space, and Technology Committee and the House will be quick to take up 
these pieces of legislation and move them expeditiously.

                          ____________________