[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 21]
[House]
[Pages 29094-29095]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




AUTHORIZING PARTICIPATION IN WILLIAMSON COUNTY, TEXAS, WATER RECYCLING 
                           AND REUSE PROJECT

  Mr. OSBORNE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 1732) to amend the Reclamation Wastewater and Groundwater 
Study and Facilities Act to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to 
participate in the Williamson County, Texas, Water Recycling and Reuse 
Project, and for other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 1732

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. PROJECT AUTHORIZATION.

       (a) Short Title.--This section may be cited as the 
     ``Williamson County Water Recycling Act of 2003''.
       (b) In General.--The Reclamation Wastewater and Groundwater 
     Study and Facilities Act (Title XVI of Public Law 102-575; 43 
     U.S.C. 390h et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 
     1635 the following new section:

     ``SEC. 1636. WILLIAMSON COUNTY, TEXAS, WATER RECYCLING AND 
                   REUSE PROJECT.

       ``(a) Authorization.--The Secretary, in cooperation with 
     the Lower Colorado River Authority, Texas, is authorized to 
     participate in the design, planning, and construction of 
     permanent facilities to reclaim and reuse water in Williamson 
     County, Texas.
       ``(b) Cost Share.--The Federal share of the costs of the 
     project described in subsection (a) shall not exceed 25 
     percent of the total cost.
       ``(c) Limitation.--The Secretary shall not provide funds 
     for the operation and maintenance of the project described in 
     subsection (a).''.
       (c) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections in section 2 
     of the Reclamation Projects Authorization and Adjustment Act 
     of 1992 is amended by inserting after the item relating to 
     section 1635 the following:

``Sec. 1636. Williamson County, Texas, Water Recycling and Reuse 
              Project.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from

[[Page 29095]]

Nebraska (Mr. Osborne) and the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. 
Napolitano) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Osborne).


                             General Leave

  Mr. OSBORNE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Nebraska?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. OSBORNE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1732, offered by the gentleman from Texas (Mr. 
Carter) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Edwards), authorizes the 
Secretary of the Interior to participate in the design, planning and 
construction of facilities to reclaim and reuse water in Williamson 
County, Texas. Williamson County is one of the fastest growing counties 
in the State of Texas. The Texas Water Development Board has concluded 
that existing water wells are being overdrawn, and surface water 
supplies are not meeting current drinking water demands. This bill will 
allow the communities to stretch potable water resources by replacing 
drinking water with recycled water on parks, golf courses and school 
grounds.
  This bill is a commonsense solution for communities that want to 
safeguard drinking water supplies for future generations. I urge my 
colleagues to support this bipartisan bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mrs. NAPOLITANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1732. This bill provides the 
Secretary of the Interior with authority to help finance a water 
recycling project to serve residents of Williamson County, Texas. As my 
colleagues know, these water recycling projects are becoming not only 
increasingly popular but necessary with communities who need reliable 
and cost-effective ways to firm up their community clean water 
supplies. It is unfortunate, however, that this administration refuses 
to understand and fund the potential of these projects. We will 
continue to press the administration to support these projects.
  H.R. 1732 is not controversial. I urge support for this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. OSBORNE. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Carter).
  Mr. CARTER. I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise to strongly support H.R. 1732 which authorizes 
the Secretary of the Interior to participate in the Williamson County, 
Texas, water recycling and reuse project. I am proud to represent 
Williamson County, or most of it, and I have been living there for over 
30 years. During this time, I have witnessed Williamson County become 
one of the fastest growing communities in the entire Nation and it has 
been consistently the fastest growing county for over a decade. I have 
observed the needs of this county because it has a limited supply of 
water. Today some would say that water has replaced oil as the 
commodity most important to the future of Texas. Unfortunately, current 
water supplies will simply not meet the growing needs of Williamson 
County and that community.
  To meet this need, I introduced H.R. 1732 to allow the Lower Colorado 
River Authority, the Brazos River Authority and local communities to 
work with the Bureau of Reclamation to design, build and construct 
permanent facilities to reclaim and reuse water in Williamson County. 
This partnership will be an essential part of the county's water 
planning efforts.
  In short, this legislation will ensure current and future sources of 
drinking water are made available for the residents of Williamson 
County. I am excited about this partnership and believe it is a great 
example of Federal and local agencies working together to make a 
positive difference.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the gentleman from California (Mr. 
Pombo), the gentleman from California (Mr. Calvert) and their staffs 
for their efforts in having this legislation brought to the floor in a 
timely manner. I would also like to thank the gentleman from Texas (Mr. 
Edwards), my neighbor to the north, for joining me in this effort. I 
urge my colleagues to support this legislation.
  Mrs. NAPOLITANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  I am very happy to hear the remarks of my colleagues. Water reuse, 
water recycling has been a very, very critical project and favorite 
subject of mine. Having been born and raised in Brownsville, Texas, I 
understand a lot of the Texas issues with the drought along the border 
that is creating havoc with farming and the economy thereof. I hope 
that we can continue to address and include funding to be able to 
expand not only to those areas that are in critical need but also those 
areas that can be used.
  We have no new water in this world. It is all the same water that 
Mother Earth is recycling for us and we are helping recycle. We just 
trust that we can convince the administration of its need and begin 
doing it before we face very critical needs.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman 
from Texas (Mr. Edwards), the coauthor of this bill.
  Mr. EDWARDS. Mr. Speaker, I would first like to thank the gentlewoman 
from California for her leadership in this very, very important area. I 
also want to congratulate my colleague and neighbor in Williamson 
County (Mr. Carter) for offering this important piece of legislation. 
Just as oil and gas was the economic engine for Texas in the 20th 
century, the availability of water will be the economic engine to Texas 
in the future in the 21st century.
  As someone who represents part of Williamson County, the gentleman 
from Texas (Mr. Carter) represents about 80 percent of that county, it 
is one of the largest, fastest-growing counties in the country. Water 
usage there is increasing dramatically. Yet our water supply is 
limited. I was very glad to cosponsor this bill with the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Carter) and will look forward to working with him to try to 
see that we find the appropriations to fund this important piece of 
legislation.
  Mrs. NAPOLITANO. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, 
and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. OSBORNE. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Osborne) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 1732, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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