[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 195 (Tuesday, November 17, 2020)]
[House]
[Pages H5849-H5851]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
OCEAN POLLUTION REDUCTION ACT II
Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 4611) to modify permitting requirements with respect to the
discharge of any pollutant from the Point Loma Wastewater Treatment
Plant in certain circumstances, and for other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 4611
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 ``Ocean Pollution Reduction
Act II''.
[[Page H5850]]
SEC. 2. SAN DIEGO POINT LOMA PERMITTING REQUIREMENTS.
(a) In General.--Notwithstanding any provision of the
Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.),
the Administrator may issue a permit under section 402 of the
Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1342) for a
discharge from the Point Loma Plant into marine waters that
requires compliance with the requirements described in
subsection (b).
(b) Conditions.--A permit issued under this section shall
require--
(1) maintenance of the currently designed deep ocean
outfall from the Point Loma Plant with a discharge depth of
not less than 300 feet and distance from the shore of not
less than 4 miles;
(2) as applicable to the term of the permit, discharge of
not more than 12,000 metric tons of total suspended solids
per year commencing on the date of enactment of this section,
not more than 11,500 metric tons of total suspended solids
per year commencing on December 31, 2025, and not more than
9,942 metric tons of total suspended solids per year
commencing on December 31, 2027;
(3) discharge of not more than 60 milligrams per liter of
total suspended solids, calculated as a 30-day average;
(4) removal of not less than 80 percent of total suspended
solids on a monthly average and not less than 58 percent of
biochemical oxygen demand on an annual average, taking into
account removal occurring at all treatment processes for
wastewater upstream from and at the Point Loma Plant;
(5) attainment of all other effluent limitations of
secondary treatment as determined by the Administrator
pursuant to section 304(d)(1) of the Federal Water Pollution
Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1314(d)(1)), other than any
requirements otherwise applicable to the discharge of
biochemical oxygen demand and total suspended solids;
(6) compliance with the requirements applicable to Federal
issuance of a permit under section 402 of the Federal Water
Pollution Control Act, including State concurrence consistent
with section 401 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act
(33 U.S.C. 1341) and ocean discharge criteria evaluation
pursuant to section 403 of the Federal Water Pollution
Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1343);
(7) implementation of the pretreatment program requirements
of paragraphs (5) and (6) of section 301(h) of the Federal
Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1311(h)) in addition
to the requirements of section 402(b)(8) of such Act (33
U.S.C. 1342(b)(8));
(8) that the applicant provide 10 consecutive years of
ocean monitoring data and analysis for the period immediately
preceding the date of each application for a permit under
this section sufficient to demonstrate to the satisfaction of
the Administrator that the discharge of pollutants pursuant
to a permit issued under this section will meet the
requirements of section 301(h)(2) of the Federal Water
Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1311(h)(2)) and that the
applicant has established and will maintain throughout the
permit term an ocean monitoring program that meets or exceeds
the requirements of section 301(h)(3) of such Act (33 U.S.C.
1311(h)(3)); and
(9) to the extent potable reuse is permitted by Federal and
State regulatory agencies, that the applicant demonstrate
that at least 83,000,000 gallons per day on an annual average
of water suitable for potable reuse will be produced by
December 31, 2035, taking into account production of water
suitable for potable reuse occurring at all treatment
processes for wastewater upstream from and at the Point Loma
Plant.
(c) Milestones.--The Administrator shall determine
development milestones necessary to ensure compliance with
this section and include such milestones as conditions in
each permit issued under this section before December 31,
2035.
(d) Secondary Treatment.--Nothing in this section prevents
the applicant from alternatively submitting an application
for the Point Loma Plant that complies with secondary
treatment pursuant to section 301(b)(1)(B) and section 402 of
the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C.
1311(b)(1)(B); 33 U.S.C. 1342).
(e) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
(2) Biochemical oxygen demand.--The term ``biochemical
oxygen demand'' means biological oxygen demand, as such term
is used in the Federal Water Pollution Control Act.
(3) Point loma plant.--The term ``Point Loma Plant'' means
the Point Loma Wastewater Treatment Plant owned by the City
of San Diego on the date of enactment of this Act.
(4) State.--The term ``State'' means the State of
California.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from
the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton) and the gentleman from North
Carolina (Mr. Rouzer) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia.
General Leave
Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks
and include extraneous material on H.R. 4611, as amended.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from the District of Columbia?
There was no objection.
{time} 1545
Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 4611. The legislation
introduced by Representative Scott Peters clarifies that the city of
San Diego, California, can utilize the standard Clean Water and
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit process to
continue operation of the Point Loma Wastewater Treatment Plant with
alternative standards.
The legislation provides regulatory accountability and consistency to
the city and has the support of surrounding localities, local public
work departments, and water districts, as well as nongovernmental and
environmental organizations.
I am unaware of any opposition to this legislation currently. The
Point Loma Wastewater Treatment Plant applies for and receives a waiver
under the Clean Water Act to discharge wastewater with less than full
secondary treatment--the baseline requirement of the Clean Water Act.
The facility qualifies for the waiver by meeting certain criteria and
renews its application every 5 years.
As part of a long-term effort, the Point Loma Wastewater Treatment
Plant is working to reduce its discharge into coastal waters. This
effort involves water recycling and will direct a portion of the
facility's discharge. However, the facility's discharges into coastal
waters will never be eliminated.
To be clear, this legislation is not a waiver of all the requirements
of the Clean Water Act, and the facility will need to comply with the
other requirements of the act.
I thank Representative Peters and the city of San Diego for
continuing to work with us on this legislation. I support this
legislation and ask my colleagues to do the same. I reserve the balance
of my time.
House of Representatives,
Committee on Natural Resources,
Washington, DC, November 12, 2020.
Hon. Peter A. DeFazio,
Chair, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, House
of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Chair Defazio: In recognition of the goal of
expediting consideration of H.R. 4611 the ``Ocean Pollution
Reduction Act II,'' the Committee on Natural Resources agrees
to waive formal consideration of the bill as to provisions
that fall within the Rule X jurisdiction of the Committee on
Natural Resources.
The Committee on Natural Resources takes this action with
the mutual understanding that, in doing so, we do not waive
any jurisdiction over the subject matter contained in this or
similar legislation, and that the Committee will be
appropriately consulted and involved as the bill or similar
legislation moves forward so that we may address any
remaining issues within our jurisdiction. Our Committee also
reserves the right to seek appointment of conferees to any
House-Senate conference involving this or similar
legislation.
Thank you for agreeing to include our exchange of letters
in the Congressional Record. I appreciate your cooperation
regarding this legislation and look forward to continuing to
work with you as this measure moves through the legislative
process.
Sincerely,
Raul M. Grijalva,
Chair, House Natural Resources Committee.
____
House of Representatives, Committee on Transportation and
Infrastructure,
Washington, DC, November 12, 2020.
Hon. Raul M. Grijalva,
Chair, Committee on Natural Resources,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Chair Grijalva: Thank you for your letter regarding
H.R. 4611, the Ocean Pollution Reduction Act II. I appreciate
your decision to waive formal consideration of the bill.
I agree that the Committee on Natural Resources has valid
jurisdictional claims to certain provisions in this important
legislation, and I further agree that by forgoing formal
consideration of the bill, the Committee on Natural Resources
is not waiving any jurisdiction over any relevant subject
matter. Additionally, I will support the appointment of
conferees from the Committee on Natural Resources should a
House-Senate conference be convened on this legislation.
Finally, this exchange of letters will be included in the
Congressional Record when the bill is considered on the
floor.
Thank you again, and I look forward to continuing to work
collaboratively with the
[[Page H5851]]
Committee on Natural Resources on this important issue.
Sincerely,
Peter A. DeFazio
Chair.
Mr. ROUZER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I rise in support of H.R. 4611, the Ocean Pollution Reduction Act II.
This bill would modify and simplify the city of San Diego's required
permitting process under the Clean Water Act to operate the city's
Point Loma Wastewater Treatment Plant.
The bill would make permanent a regulatory exemption under the Clean
Water Act, and, in exchange, the city would promote water recycling and
conservation efforts at its facility. This would result in increased
water supply for the region and reduce treated wastewater discharges to
the ocean.
The bill will help ensure that San Diego has long-term certainty for
its water supply, all while saving the city and regional ratepayers
millions of dollars by simplifying our permitting process.
I urge support of this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my
time.
Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from
California (Mr. Peters). This is his legislation.
Mr. PETERS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.
For 40 years, the city of San Diego has treated the region's sewage
through the Point Loma Wastewater Treatment Plant. It is a chemically
enhanced primary treatment facility that treats wastewater to a level
that can be discharged into the ocean without harming the environment.
The Clean Water Act generally requires sewer systems to implement a
secondary level of treatment. However, scientists at the Scripps
Institution of Oceanography have consistently said that forcing San
Diego ratepayers to pay billions of dollars to upgrade the Point Loma
facility to secondary treatment would be a waste of money because the
enhanced advanced treatment the plant currently provides, combined with
its 4-mile-long outfall, causes no harm to the ocean environment. In
fact, the construction of a new facility along the coastline could do
more harm than good. For these reasons, San Diego has been allowed to
avoid building a new facility through a Federal waiver process at a
cost of millions of dollars every 5 years.
Water has always been in short supply in southern California, yet,
during my first years on the San Diego City Council in the early 2000s,
I was one of only three council members to support blackwater recycling
to improve the reliability of our regional water supply.
Even though all water is recycled, our opponents at the time dubbed
it ``toilet to tap.'' Now, however, we recognize that historic
droughts, combined with the shortage of melting snow, have made our
water supply shortage a permanent challenge for the West. And today,
San Diego's proposed water recycling plan with the more accurate
moniker, the ``pure water program,'' has widespread support from among
local elected leaders, environmental advocates, and State regulators.
In 2019, I introduced the Ocean Pollution Reduction Act II, or OPRA
II, to support the dual goals of increasing fresh water supply and
reducing pollution output to the ocean.
Under OPRA II, the city of San Diego must demonstrate that the pure
water program can produce 83 million gallons a day of water by 2036.
This is an estimated one-third of the entire city's drinking water
needs. Over the same period, the program is expected to reduce
pollution discharge from the Point Loma plant by over 100 million
gallons.
Pure water will still require substantial investment from San Diego
ratepayers; however, this bill replaces the complex and expensive
secondary treatment waiver application with a simpler and more
environmentally effective process if the city meets stringent water
recycling milestones.
OPRA II has been a decades-long labor of love among the city of San
Diego, its regional partners, and State and Federal Government. It will
deploy cost-effective technology and will protect our region's water
sources, technology that could one day be deployed by other vulnerable
communities to help address water shortage issues.
I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I thank my
colleagues.
Mr. ROUZER. Mr. Speaker, in closing, the simplified permitting
process under H.R. 4611 will provide more certainty to communities in
the San Diego area, will increase water recycling and conservation
efforts there, as well as reduce treated wastewater discharges into the
Pacific Ocean.
I urge support of this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this
legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton) that the House
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 4611, as amended.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to section 3 of House Resolution
965, the yeas and nays are ordered.
Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further proceedings on this motion
will be postponed.
____________________