[House Report 108-562]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



108th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session                                                     108-562

======================================================================



 
INCREASE CEILING ON FEDERAL SHARE OF COSTS OF PHASE I OF ORANGE COUNTY 
                   REGIONAL WATER RECLAMATION PROJECT

                                _______
                                

 June 23, 2004.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

  Mr. Pombo, from the Committee on Resources, submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 1156]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

  The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill 
(H.R. 1156) to amend the Reclamation Wastewater and Groundwater 
Study and Facilities Act to increase the ceiling on the Federal 
share of the costs of phase I of the Orange County, California, 
Regional Water Reclamation Project, having considered the same, 
report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that 
the bill do pass.

                          Purpose of the Bill

    The purpose of H.R. 1156 is to amend the Reclamation 
Wastewater and Groundwater Study and Facilities Act to increase 
the ceiling on the federal share of the costs of Phase I of the 
Regional Water Reclamation Project in Orange County, 
California.

                  Background and Need for Legislation

    In light of drought and decreasing imported water supplies, 
communities throughout southern California continue to seek 
non-traditional ways of developing dependable water supplies. 
Reclaiming wastewater is one of the current non-traditional 
ways of developing new water sources. Most efforts to recycle 
wastewater are locally driven; however the Title XVI program 
(also known as the ``Reclamation Wastewater and Groundwater 
Study and Facilities Act'') adds federal assistance to help 
mitigate drought impacts and reduce dependence on imported 
Colorado River water. Initially authorized in 1992 and amended 
in 1996, the Title XVI program directs the Bureau of 
Reclamation to award federal grants to communities seeking to 
develop non-traditional water supplies. The Title XVI programs 
allow for a 50% federal cost share for feasibility studies and 
a 25% federal cost share for construction projects. The 
Committee notes that the significant local cost-share makes 
these projects attractive to private financing and partnerships 
and encourages regional solutions to complex water supply 
problems.
    H.R. 1156 authorizes additional federal assistance to 
support the Orange County Water District's (OCWD) construction 
of the Ground Water Replenishment System in Orange County, 
California. The OCWD supplies potable water to a 350 square 
mile service area through groundwater supplies (75%) and the 
purchase of imported Colorado River and northern California 
water sources (25%). The OCWD's service area\1\ population is 
expected to grow substantially, requiring an additional 180,000 
acre-feet of water per year.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\ The traditional measure of water, an acre-foot is the amount of 
water that would cover one acre of land to a depth of one foot.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    To meet these needs, OCWD created the Ground Water 
Replenishment System, which will inject highly treated 
wastewater into the groundwater basin. The water will be 
delivered through a 13 mile-long pipeline to spreading basins, 
where it will be blended with other sources of water, including 
the Santa Ana River, and subsequently used for recharging the 
local underground aquifer. This will provide water for future 
uses and create a freshwater barrier to prevent seawater 
intrusion. The existing project's cost is $450 million with a 
$20 million Title XVI authorization. H.R. 1156 authorizes an 
additional $60 million in the total federal cost share. The 
increased federal cost share will help leverage more local and 
state financing to expand the system into a $600 million 
project.

                            Committee Action

    H.R. 1156 was introduced by Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez 
(D-CA) on March 6, 2003. The bill was referred to the Committee 
on Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee on 
Water and Power. On September 10, 2003, the Subcommittee on 
Water and Power held a hearing on H.R. 1156. On October 30, 
2003 The Subcommittee met to mark up the bill. No amendments 
were offered and the bill was forwarded to the Full Resources 
Committee by unanimous consent. On May 21, 2004, the Committee 
met to mark up the bill. No amendments were offered and the 
bill was ordered favorably reported to the House of 
Representatives by unanimous consent.

                           Section-by-Section

    Section 1 of the bill amends Section 1631(d) of the 
Reclamation Wastewater and Groundwater Study and Facilities Act 
to increase the federal cost ceiling to $80 million.

            Committee Oversight Findings and Recommendations

    Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of Rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of 
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the 
Committee on Resources' oversight findings and recommendations 
are reflected in the body of this report.

                   Constitutional Authority Statement

    Article I, section 8 of the Constitution of the United 
States grants Congress the authority to enact this bill.

                    Compliance With House Rule XIII

    1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII of the 
Rules of the House of Representatives requires an estimate and 
a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be 
incurred in carrying out this bill. However, clause 3(d)(3)(B) 
of that rule provides that this requirement does not apply when 
the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted 
cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the 
Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
    2. Congressional Budget Act. As required by clause 3(c)(2) 
of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and 
section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, this 
bill does not contain any new budget authority, spending 
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in 
revenues or tax expenditures.
    3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by 
clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or 
objective of this bill is to amend the Reclamation Wastewater 
and Groundwater Study and Facilities Act to increase the 
ceiling on the federal share of the costs of Phase I of the 
Regional Water Reclamation Project in Orange County, 
California.
    4. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate. Under clause 
3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives and section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act 
of 1974, the Committee has received the following cost estimate 
for this bill from the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office:

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                      Washington, DC, May 26, 2004.
 Hon. Richard W. Pombo,
 Chairman, Committee on Resources,
 House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
     Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 1156, a bill to 
amend the Reclamation Wastewater and Groundwater Study and 
Facilities Act to increase the ceiling on the federal share of 
the costs of phase I of the Orange County, California, Regional 
Water Reclamation Project.
     If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Julie 
Middleton.
             Sincerely,
                                               Douglas Holtz-Eakin.
    Enclosure.

 H.R. 1156--A bill to amend the Reclamation Wastewater and Groundwater 
        Study and Facilities Act to increase the ceiling on the federal 
        share of the costs of phase I of the Orange County, California, 
        Regional Water Reclamation Project

     Summary: H.R. 1156 would add $60 million to the amounts 
authorized to be appropriated for the federal share of phase I 
of the Orange County, California, Regional Water Reclamation 
Project. Under current law, the maximum federal share for this 
project is $20 million. The federal government has spent $11 
million on the project to date.
     Assuming appropriation of the authorized amounts, CBO 
estimates that implementing H.R. 1156 would cost $60 million 
over the 2005-2009 period. Enacting this bill would not affect 
direct spending or revenues.
     H.R. 1156 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) 
and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal 
governments. The additional federal funds authorized by this 
bill would benefit the Orange County Water District.
     Estimated cost to the Federal Government: The estimated 
budgetary impact of H.R. 1156 is shown in the following table. 
The costs of this legislation fall within budget function 300 
(natural resources and environment).
    For this estimate, CBO assumes that H.R. 1156 will be 
enacted near the end of fiscal year 2004 and that the 
authorized amounts will be appropriated in equal amounts over 
the 2005-2007 period. According to the Bureau of Reclamation, 
funding for the project is scheduled to be completed in fiscal 
year 2007. Based on historical spending of similar projects, 
CBO estimates that implementing this bill would cost $60 
million over the 2005-2009 period.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                  By fiscal year, in millions of dollars--
                                                           -----------------------------------------------------
                                                              2004     2005     2006     2007     2008     2009
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                        SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION

Spending Under Current Law for Orange County Reclamation
 Project:
    Authorization Level \1\...............................        3        2        4        3        0        0
    Estimated Outlays.....................................        2        3        3        3        1        0
Proposed Changes:
    Authorization Level...................................        0       20       20       20        0        0
    Estimated Outlays.....................................        0       13       17       20        7        3
Spending Under H.R. 1156 for Orange County Reclamation
 Project:
    Authorization Level \1\...............................        3       22       24       23        0        0
    Estimated Outlays.....................................        2       16       20       23        8        3
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The 2004 level is the amount appropriated for that year.

    Intergovernmental and private-sector impact: H.R. 1156 
contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as 
defined in UMRA and would impose no costs on state, local, or 
tribal governments. The additional federal funds authorized by 
this bill would benefit the Orange County Water District.
    Estimate prepared by: Federal Costs: Julie Middleton; 
Impact on State, Local, and Tribal Governments: Marjorie 
Miller; and Impact on the Private Sector: Jean Talarico.
    Estimate approved by: Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy Assistant 
Director for Budget Analysis.

                    Compliance With Public Law 104-4

    This bill contains no unfunded mandates.

                Preemption of State, Local or Tribal Law

    This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or 
tribal law.

         Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

  In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law 
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new 
matter is printed in italic, existing law in which no change is 
proposed is shown in roman):

 SECTION 1631 OF THE RECLAMATION WASTEWATER AND GROUNDWATER STUDY AND 
                             FACILITIES ACT


SEC. 1631. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

  (a) * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

  (d)(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this title and 
except as provided by [paragraph (2)] paragraphs (2) and (3), 
the Federal share of the costs of each of the individual 
projects authorized by this title shall not exceed $20,000,000 
(October 1996 prices).

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

  (3) The Federal share of the costs of the project authorized 
by section 1624 shall not exceed $80,000,000.

                                  
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