[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 96 (Monday, June 11, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3635-S3636]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 2651. Mr. GARDNER (for himself and Mr. Bennet) submitted an
amendment intended to be proposed to amendment SA 2282 proposed by Mr.
Inhofe (for himself and Mr. McCain) to the bill H.R. 5515, to authorize
appropriations for fiscal year 2019 for military activities of the
Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense
activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel
strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which was
ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
In section 315, beginning in subsection (b), strike
paragraph (2) and all that follows through subsection (g) and
insert the following:
(2) the elevated levels of perfluorooctane sulfonic acid
and perfluorooctanoic acid in the drinking water are the
result of activities conducted by or paid for by the
Department of the Army or the Department of the Air Force at
a military installation or at a State-owned National Guard
installation;
(3) such treatment takes place only during the fiscal year
in which the request was made;
(4) the local water authority waives all claims against the
United States and the National Guard for treatment expenses
incurred before the fiscal year during which the treatment is
taking place; and
(5) the cost of any treatment provided pursuant to
subsection (a) does not exceed the actual cost of the
treatment attributable to the activities conducted by or paid
for by the Department of the Army or the Department of the
Air Force, as the case may be.
(c) Existing Agreements.--Treatment of drinking water
pursuant to subsection (a) may be provided without regard to
existing contractual provisions in agreements between the
Department of the Army, the Department of the Air Force, or
the National Guard Bureau, as the case may be, and the State
in which the base is located relating to environmental
response actions or indemnification.
(d) Authority To Enter Into Agreements.--The Secretary
concerned may enter into such grants, cooperative agreements,
or contracts with a local water authority as may be necessary
to implement this section.
(e) Use of DSMOA.--Using funds authorized to be
appropriated by section 301 for operation and maintenance,
the Secretary concerned may pay, utilizing an existing
Defense-State Memorandum of Agreement, costs that would
otherwise be eligible for payment under that agreement.
(f) Termination of Authority.--The authority under this
section shall terminate on September 30, 2021.
(g) Retroactive Effect.--Notwithstanding paragraphs (1),
(3), (4) of subsection
[[Page S3636]]
(b), the Secretary concerned may reimburse a local water
authority or a State for the treatment of drinking water
pursuant to this section if--
(1) the local water authority or state requested such a
payment from the National Guard Bureau, the Department of the
Army, or the Department of the Air Force prior to March 1,
2018, or the National Guard Bureau, the Department of the
Army, or the Department of the Air Force was aware of a
treatment plan by the local water authority or state prior to
that date; and
(2) the local water authority or the State, as the case may
be, waives all claims against the United States, the
Department of the Army, the Department of the Air Force, and
the National Guard for treatment expenses incurred before
January 1, 2018.
______