[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 60 (Monday, April 8, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H3109-H3111]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
LOCAL WATER PROTECTION ACT
Mrs. CRAIG. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 1331) to amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to
reauthorize certain programs relating to nonpoint source management,
and for other purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 1331
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Local Water Protection
Act''.
SEC. 2. NONPOINT SOURCE MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS.
Section 319(j) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act
(33 U.S.C. 1329(j)) is amended by striking ``subsections (h)
and (i) not to exceed'' and all that follows through ``fiscal
year 1991'' and inserting ``subsections (h) and (i)
$200,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 through 2024''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from
Minnesota (Mrs. Craig) and the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr.
Meadows) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Minnesota.
General Leave
Mrs. CRAIG. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and
include extraneous material on H.R. 1331.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from Minnesota?
There was no objection.
Mrs. CRAIG. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1331.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1331 is a bipartisan bill to reauthorize
appropriations for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's nonpoint
source management grants program.
I thank my colleague, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mast), for
introducing this bill with me. I also thank the gentlewoman from
California (Mrs. Napolitano) for her support in moving this legislation
through committee.
The Clean Water Act was enacted in 1972 to restore and maintain the
chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Nation's waters. In
1987, the Clean Water Act was amended to add section 319 to create a
nonregulatory program through which EPA administers annual grants to
help States develop and implement their own programs for managing
nonpoint sources of water pollution.
Under EPA's 319 program, States retain the primary role for
addressing nonpoint source water pollution caused by snowmelt and
rainfall runoff, which they do largely through monetary means and
financial incentives. However, according to the Government
Accountability Office, the extent of available incentives has declined
in recent years, as grants to States under the section 319 program have
declined by more than 30 percent from a high of about $240 million
annually in fiscal year 2004.
The section 319 program was initially authorized at $70 million
annually in fiscal year 1988, and its authorization level steadily
increased to $130 million in fiscal year 1991, the last year of
authorization for this program.
This bill, H.R. 1331, would reauthorize $200 million annually for the
319 program's grant fund, which gives local and State governments the
flexibility to make conservation practices improvements aimed at
decreasing water pollutants through partnerships within their local
communities.
In Minnesota, we take the quality of our 10,000 lakes very seriously,
and we all want to preserve the quality of these important waterways
for generations to come. We also know that local communities are the
experts on the most effective and innovative ways to keep these
waterways clean.
That is why this bill is so important. It gives local and State
governments authority to create best voluntary conservation programs
that work for their communities.
Here are just a few of the examples of section 319 grants in action
from Minnesota's Second Congressional District.
The Scott County Soil and Water Conservation District saved native
plants and the shoreline protecting McMahon Lake. The grant also
significantly helped reduce pollution throughout the county by planting
filter strips, building control grade structures, lining waterways with
grass, and planting native grass.
Dakota County created and implemented projects to validate,
demonstrate, and refine best management practices for nitrogen
fertilizer for corn production that will lower nitrate levels in Dakota
County's groundwater and surface water.
The Goodhue County Soil and Water Conservation District is currently
working to reduce pollutants in the Mississippi River-Lake Pepin
watershed by 20 percent.
In Wabasha County, the Whitewater Watershed Project worked with
communities to increase awareness of water contamination and provided
low-interest loans to improve residential infrastructure and help
farmers come into compliance with pollution standards.
The South Washington Watershed District integrated a storm water
reuse plan that captures roadway storm water in two existing ponds.
This integrates into two golf course irrigation systems and provides
new water amenities with the public golf courses. This is estimated to
reduce potable water usage by more than 40 million gallons annually.
Finally, in Rice County, the Cannon River Watershed Partnership is
working to engage local, regional, and State programs and organizations
to develop a way for their local community to engage in pollution
reduction in a meaningful and long-term way.
Again, I thank the gentleman from Florida for introducing this
bipartisan bill with me. This legislation passed out of committee with
bipartisan support. It is a good bill, and I am pleased to support it.
I urge my colleagues to do so as well.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. MEADOWS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1331, the Local Water
Protection Act. I thank my colleague from Minnesota (Mrs. Craig) for
her leadership and my good friend from Florida (Mr. Mast) for
introducing this important bill.
H.R. 1331 reauthorizes the Environmental Protection Agency's section
319, which is a nonpoint source pollution control program under the
Clean Water Act. Indeed, the section 319 program takes a cooperative,
nonregulatory approach toward addressing nonpoint sources.
[[Page H3110]]
Reauthorizing this program reinforces the Federal leadership being
provided to help our State and local partners in their nonpoint source
control efforts. This program has benefited water bodies all across the
country, including in my district.
For example, when agricultural runoff impaired the Mills River, a
source of drinking water for more than 50,000 people in western North
Carolina, the North Carolina Division of Water Quality used $450,000 of
the section 319 grant to restore the Mills River and remove it from the
State's impaired list in 2006.
There are hundreds more success stories from States across the Nation
where the section 319 program has addressed nonpoint sources and
restored water bodies.
For these reasons, Mr. Speaker, I support this program. I urge all
Members to support the passage of H.R. 1331, and I reserve the balance
of my time.
Mrs. CRAIG. Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a letter of support
for H.R. 1331 from Trout Unlimited.
Trout Unlimited,
Arlington, VA, April 8, 2019.
Re Trout Unlimited supports HR 1331, The Local Water
Protection Act.
Hon. Angie Craig,
House of Representatives.
Hon. Brian Mast,
House of Representatives.
Dear Representatives Craig and Mast: On behalf of Trout
Unlimited (TU), I am writing to strongly support the above
referenced bill, to urge its swift passage through the House,
and to thank you for introducing it. Section 319 of the Clean
Water Act has provided our field staff with valuable funds
which they have leveraged many times over to accomplish a
number of valuable nonpoint source pollution projects across
the nation. But as you know there is much more work to be
done, and passage of this bill will be a big step in a
positive direction for the health of the Nation's watersheds.
Trout Unlimited has over 300,000 conservation-minded
members and supporters, organized into 380 chapters in 35
state councils. Our mission is to conserve, protect and
restore the Nation's trout and salmon fisheries and their
watersheds. We have 250 staff spread across America who work
with our members and a wide variety of partners--including
farmers, ranchers, miners and state and local agencies--to
accomplish our mission. Section 319 has become an
increasingly important tool for our work.
Working with our partners, we have used Section 319 funds
in a variety of ways to control nonpoint pollution. Of
special note is our recent use of funds to control abandoned
mine pollution in Pennsylvania and Colorado. Abandoned mine
pollution is especially insidious problems in coal country
and in the mining regions of the Rocky Mountain West, but we
have developed a number of techniques which are restoring
formerly dead streams to healthy streams.
TU and other conservation groups are pressing Congress to
provide more funding for natural infrastructure funding and
projects. Section 319, and your bill, are delivering on that
request.
Abandoned mine cleanup, sediment control, and nutrient
runoff control, are model examples of natural infrastructure
projects.
Thank you again for introducing this bill. We urge its
speedy passage.
Sincerely,
Steve Moyer,
Vice President,
Government Affairs.
Mrs. CRAIG. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. MEADOWS. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mast), the sponsor of this particular
legislation.
Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I rise today also in support of H.R. 1331, the
Local Water Protection Act. I thank both my colleagues for their
support and their comments on this legislation.
Let's talk about what this really does, how this bill is so
important, and how it makes a difference with nonpoint source
pollution.
Point source pollution is easy to identify, for most people. They
have an image of it in their head. It is that pipe coming out of some
sort of seawall, coming out of the ground somewhere, dripping something
that doesn't look so fresh into their waterways that they want to look
pristine and beautiful.
That is easy to identify. The nonpoint stuff is not quite as easy for
everybody to go out there and see.
What this does is it helps us prevent toxic agricultural runoff that
can have an impact from things like fertilizer spraying, those things
that go out there and are put onto our crops at different times.
It can help implement best management practices. It can install pump
stations where they might be needed. It can assist with septic to sewer
conversions for those issues that arise in our more suburban and
residential areas where we have runoff coming off yards, leaky septic
tanks, things that we also don't want in our waterways coming from
those areas.
It can help address legacy pollutants already in our waterways. It
can help prevent other forms of pollutants from coming in. This is why
it is so important.
For us, Mr. Speaker, in Florida, this is a huge issue because our
Florida waterways, we know how irreplaceable a treasure they are. They
are ecologically unique. They are central to our economy. They are
central to our health because our family members are in and out of the
water so often, whether they are fishing, whether they are swimming,
whether they are boating, whether they are recreating, whatever it is,
whether it is a part of their livelihood, it is what they are in, so it
is a big deal for our health.
The community that I represent, like many others, is plagued with
toxic algal blooms that result from algae-laden discharges, an
unnatural infusion of freshwater into our salt water that causes this.
It creates a real mess for us.
When this nutrient-loaded freshwater hits our saltwater estuaries, it
wreaks havoc on our coasts. It kills everything in the sea life in its
path.
This past summer, we had freshwater that was released into our
coastal estuaries that was labeled nearly 50 times too toxic for human
contact. Now that water has tested positive for a number of toxins in
areas that are very heavily populated. It is a very bad situation for
what we experience each and every year.
This bill helps to stop this pollution by increasing the EPA's
successful section 319 grant program. It addresses nonpoint source
pollution through State-run nonpoint source pollution management, not
Washington, D.C., one-size-fits-all approaches, but State-run. The bill
reauthorizes this program and increases funding levels up to $200
million annually through 2024. This is an amazing bill. I am very proud
to work with everybody else on it.
In short, Mr. Speaker, this is a bill that can make a real difference
for communities across our country, but specifically for communities in
and around Florida and our beautiful peninsula, as well.
Mr. Speaker, I fully support its passage. I thank Congresswoman Craig
for leading this effort with me.
By the way, congratulations to Congresswoman Craig on passing her
first piece of legislation, as well. Let's get this bill passed.
Mrs. CRAIG. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from
California (Mrs. Napolitano).
{time} 1715
Mrs. NAPOLITANO. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Minnesota
(Mrs. Craig) for yielding.
I rise in very strong support of H.R. 1331, the bipartisan Local
Water Protection Act, and I wish to thank Representatives Craig and
Mast for their leadership in introducing this bill that will help many
communities in Minnesota, Florida, California, and around the country
manage and treat pollution in our rivers, lakes, and seas.
The bill authorizes $200 million annually for EPA to provide grants
to States to address nonpoint source water pollution. This is pollution
that comes when rain runoff carries toxins, fertilizers, metals, and
other contaminants from farms, roads, and forests into the water
bodies.
Today, according to the data provided by the State of California, my
home State, approximately 89 percent of my State's assessed rivers and
streams currently do not meet the State water quality standards. That
is pretty high. And of that number, somewhere between 30 to 60 percent
are impaired because of nonpoint sources of pollution in the State,
both urban and rural sources. The number is staggering and has remained
relatively constant over the past decade.
As Mrs. Craig mentioned, States around the country are experiencing
the same level of unacceptable pollution entering their waterways, and
this bill will address it.
Mr. Speaker, I again thank the gentlewoman from Minnesota (Mrs.
Craig)
[[Page H3111]]
and the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mast) for introducing this
bipartisan bill, and I urge my colleagues to support this important
legislation, which will help all of our congressional districts.
Mr. MEADOWS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support.
I thank the leadership of the gentlewoman from Minnesota (Mrs. Craig)
and the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mast), and I urge all of my
colleagues to support it, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mrs. CRAIG. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time and
urge my colleagues to support this legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 1331,
``The Local Water Protection Act'', which provides 200 million annually
to support the nonpoint source management grants program administered
by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
I support this legislation because it is necessary to counteract the
current crisis of water pollution in our country.
As an Energy and Environment Task Force Co-Chair of the Congressional
Black Caucus, I understand the necessity of this bill and its funding
to managing sources of water pollution.
It is unsustainable to think we can continue to allow runoff that
carries pollutants, fertilizers, and sediment from fields; toxins from
abandoned mines, and oils and heavy metals from roads, into lakes,
rivers, and other bodies of water.
As pollutants in our waters increase, human exposure to toxins will
follow in step, toxin exposure is directly linked to cancers and heart
disease.
Before the pollutants reach people they reach our waterways,
adversely affecting a whole ecosystem, putting 1 to 11 percent of
marine species in to extinction every decade.
The strain on the marine life is not the only adverse effect to
nature, global warming is also worsened when we turn a cheek to
decreasing the pollution of our waterways.
Water pollution is not a topic to be taken lightly and we are
reminded of our current privileges of clean water when we look at
cities that have experienced the unimaginable, such as Flint, Michigan.
Flint, Michigan has lived in a state of fear, having to drink from
bottles of filtered water in order to completely avoid lead poisoning
and contamination.
Citizens of Flint, Michigan had to abandon their homes and the
residents had to be compensated for their property and their current
and future health conditions that arise from the contamination by
polluted water.
Water pollution poses a threat in every state, including my home
state of Texas.
It was found just recently that in 938 instances, Texas companies
released pollution that exceeded the levels permitted by federal clean
water laws according to researchers who examined Texas Commission for
Environmental Quality data.
Texas was found in 2018 to have the most widespread radiated drinking
water contamination affecting more than 3,500 utilities serving 22
million people.
The contamination in Texas included detectable levels of radium-226
and radium-228 in a study conducted by the Environmental Working Group
(EWG).
Currently, it is required by law for states to submit reports to the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding the current sources of
water pollution within their state, as well as plans to manage those
sources of pollution.
EPA provides grants for states to carry out their plans to manage
water pollution.
Mr. Speaker, we must not wait to take action when the health of our
marine life, the state of Global Warming, and the health of our people
are being affected.
H.R. 1331 would allow instrumental programs to continue serving as a
step in the right direction in protecting and healing our home.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentlewoman from Minnesota (Mrs. Craig) that the House suspend the
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 1331.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mrs. CRAIG. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.
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