[DOCID: f:hr483.110]
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110th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session 110-483
======================================================================
AUTHORIZING APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE SAN GABRIEL BASIN RESTORATION FUND
_______
December 11, 2007.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on
the State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Rahall, from the Committee on Natural Resources, submitted the
following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 123]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred the
bill (H.R. 123) to authorize appropriations for the San Gabriel
Basin Restoration Fund, having considered the same, report
favorably thereon with an amendment and recommend that the bill
as amended do pass.
The amendment is as follows:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. SAN GABRIEL BASIN RESTORATION FUND.
Section 110 of division B of the Miscellaneous Appropriations Act,
2001 (114 Stat. 2763A-222), as enacted into law by section 1(a)(4) of
the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2001 (Public Law 106-554, as
amended by Public Law 107-66), is further amended--
(1) in subsection (a)(3)(B), by inserting after clause (iii)
the following:
``(iv) Non-federal match.--After $85,000,000
has cumulatively been appropriated under
subsection (d)(1), the remainder of Federal
funds appropriated under subsection (d) shall
be subject to the following matching
requirement:
``(I) San gabriel basin water quality
authority.--The San Gabriel Basin Water
Quality Authority shall be responsible
for providing a 35 percent non-Federal
match for Federal funds made available
to the Authority under this Act.
``(II) Central basin municipal water
district.--The Central Basin Municipal
Water District shall be responsible for
providing a 35 percent non-Federal
match for Federal funds made available
to the District under this Act.''; and
(2) by amending subsection (d) to read as follows:
``(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--
``(1) In general.--There is authorized to be appropriated to
the Restoration Fund established under subsection (a)
$146,200,000. Such funds shall remain available until expended.
``(2) Set-aside.--Of the amounts appropriated under paragraph
(1), no more than $21,200,000 shall be made available to carry
out the Central Basin Water Quality Project.''.
Purpose of the Bill
The purpose of H.R. 123, as amended by the Committee on
Natural Resources, is to authorize additional appropriations
for the San Gabriel Basin Restoration Fund.
Background and Need for Legislation
The San Gabriel Basin supplies drinking water to 1.4
million people in eastern Los Angeles County. Volatile organic
compounds, including suspected carcinogens, were discovered in
the groundwater basin in 1979. Efforts to remove these
compounds were moving forward under the federal Superfund
program until 1997 when perchlorate was found in groundwater.
This greatly complicated the cleanup because perchlorate and
volatile organic compounds require different treatment methods.
The perchlorate discovery closed a number of wells, cutting off
the entire water supply for one water district and restricting
water production for other producers. Faced with these
problems, water producers and the San Gabriel Basin Water
Quality Authority (WQA) began joint efforts to solve the
immediate water supply problems and create an overall solution
that could win backing from all levels of government and from
private industry.
The San Gabriel Basin Restoration Fund (Restoration Fund)
was originally authorized in 2000 as the San Gabriel Basin
Water Quality Initiative (Public Law 106-554). The fund's
authorized appropriations ceiling was established at
$85,000,000 in total for groundwater cleanup in the San Gabriel
Basin and the Central Basin in Southern California.
Specifically, up to $75,000,000 was dedicated to the WQA to
address contamination in the San Gabriel Basin, and up to
$10,000,000 for the Central Basin Municipal Water District
(CBMWD) to address contamination in the Central Basin. While
the initial authorizing legislation directed the Secretary of
the Army to administer the Restoration Fund, Congress in 2002
began appropriating the Restoration Fund to the U.S. Bureau of
Reclamation (USBR) to administer (Public Law 107-66).
H.R. 123, as introduced, proposed to raise the
appropriations ceiling for the Restoration Fund from
$85,000,000 to $135,000,000, an increase of $50,000,000 over
the current authorization.
As amended and ordered reported by the Committee on Natural
Resources, H.R. 123 would raise the appropriations ceiling for
the Restoration Fund from $85,000,000 to $146,200,000, an
increase of $61,200,000 over the current authorization. The
bill, as amended, specifically allocates $50,000,000 of the
additional funds to the San Gabriel Water Quality Authority
(WQA) for use in groundwater cleanup efforts in the San Gabriel
Basin, and further allocates $11,200,000 to the Central Basin
Municipal Water District (CBMWD) for use in groundwater cleanup
efforts in the Central Basin.
Use of the Restoration Fund is restricted to (1)
construction of groundwater treatment facilities, and (2)
operation and maintenance of facilities for no more than 10
years. The Restoration Fund also requires a non-federal cost
share of at least 35% of any appropriated funds obligated by
the USBR in a given fiscal year, and the WQA is responsible for
providing the non-federal amount prior to the obligation of any
funds. H.R. 123, as amended and ordered reported by the
Committee on Natural Resources, amends current law on the non-
federal cost share by stipulating that CBMWD will now also be
responsible for 35% non-federal cost share for any funds they
are specifically slated to receive.
Committee Action
H.R. 123 was introduced on January 4, 2007 by Rep. David
Dreier (R-CA). The bill was referred to the Committee on
Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee
on Water and Power. The Subcommittee held a hearing on H.R. 123
on September 25, 2007. The Subcommittee subsequently met on
October 16, 2007 to mark up H.R. 123. The Subcommittee
forwarded the bill to the Full Committee on Natural Resources
by unanimous consent without amendment. On November 15, 2007,
the Full Natural Resources Committee met to consider the bill.
Rep. Grace F. Napolitano, (D-CA) offered an amendment in the
nature of a substitute. This amendment further increased the
authorized appropriation ceiling and specifically allocated
additional funds for the CBMWD to continue the Water Quality
Protection Project. The amendment further stipulated that CBMWD
must provide a non-federal cost share of 35% of any future
annual appropriations it receives as a part of the Restoration
Fund. The amendment was adopted by unanimous consent. H.R. 123,
as amended, was then ordered favorably reported to the House of
Representatives by unanimous consent.
Section-by-Section Analysis
Section 1. San Gabriel Restoration Fund
Public Law 106-554 established the San Gabriel Restoration
Fund with an appropriations ceiling of $85,000,000. Of this
amount, $75,000,000 was made available to the WQA, and
$10,000,000 was set aside for CBMWD. In past years, CBMWD and
the WQA would seek one appropriation under the Restoration
Fund, and split that appropriation between them. According to
information supplied to the Committee by the Bureau of
Reclamation, as of November 2007, CBMWD has received the full
$10,000,000 originally authorized in P.L. 106-554, while the
WQA has not yet received the full $75,000,000 originally
authorized. Therefore, all funds currently left under the
current authorization ceiling of $85,000,000 should be directed
solely to the WQA.
H.R. 123, as amended, amends P.L. 106-554 to further raise
the appropriations ceiling for the Restoration Fund by an
additional $61,200,000, by striking $85,000,000 and inserting
$146,200,000. Of this amount, an additional $50,000,000, or up
to $135,000,000, will be available to the WQA once they have
received their full appropriation under the original P.L. 106-
554 authorizing language, and the $11,200,000 that remains
within the overall $146,200,000 ceiling will be set aside for
the CBMWD by striking $10,000,000 and inserting $21,200,000.
H.R. 123, as amended, maintains the 35% non-federal cost share
required by P.L. 106-554. However, H.R. 123, as amended, amends
Public Law 106-554 to divide up responsibility for this cost
share. Under the original authorizing language of Public Law
106-544, the WQA was responsible for the full 35% non-federal
cost share of all funds appropriated under the Restoration
Fund. H.R. 123, as amended, will now require that the WQA will
only be responsible for providing 35% non-federal cost share of
any funds they receive through the annual appropriations
process, and requires that once CBMWD begins to draw down on
the $21,200,000 ceiling, CBMWD will also be responsible for
providing 35% non-federal cost share of any funds they receive.
As stated above, because CBMWD has already received their
full $10,000,000 under the original authorization allowed under
P.L. 106-554, the WQA is not bound to split any further
appropriations granted under the current $85,000,000 ceiling
with CBMWD. However, CBMWD retains the ability to seek their
own appropriation and begin drawing down on the $21,200,000
ceiling as soon as this bill is enacted into law, provided that
CBMWD can provide the 35% non-federal cost share of any funds
they receive.
Further, the Committee is aware that once the WQA receives
its full appropriation under the original authorization, should
the WQA and CBMWD decide to pursue and split a single
appropriation as they've done in the past, then the WQA and the
CBMWD have mutually agreed that the WQA will continue to
receive 90 percent of the annual appropriation under the new
authorization ceiling and the CBMWD will continue to receive 10
percent of the annual appropriation to the Restoration Fund
under the new authorization ceiling.
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 Natural 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. This bill does
not authorize funding and therefore, clause 3(c)(4) of rule
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives does not
apply.
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:
H.R. 123--A bill to authorize appropriations for the San Gabriel Basin
Restoration Fund
Summary: H.R. 123 would authorize the appropriation of
additional amounts to the San Gabriel Basin Restoration Fund
and would make use of those funds contingent on the provision
of matching funds by local entities in the state of California.
Assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts, CBO
estimates that implementing H.R. 123 would cost $40 million
over the 2008-2012 period. Unspent deposits into the fund would
be credited with interest, and CBO estimates that enacting the
legislation also would increase direct spending by $3 million
over the 2008-2017 period because that interest could be spent
without further appropriation. Enacting H.R. 123 would not
affect revenues.
H.R. 123 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.
Estimated cost to the Federal Government: The estimated
budgetary impact of H.R. 123 is shown in the following table.
The costs of this legislation fall within budget function 300
(natural resources and environment).
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By fiscal year, in millions of dollars--
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2008-2012 2008-2017
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHANGES IN DIRECT SPENDING
Estimated Budget Authority.................................. 0 * * 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 3
Estimated Outlays........................................... 0 * * 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 3
CHANGES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION
Estimated Authorization Level \1\........................... 0 12 12 12 12 13 0 0 0 0 48 61
Estimated Outlays........................................... 0 10 10 10 10 10 11 0 0 0 40 61
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: * = direct spending of less than $500,000.
\1\ A full-year appropriation for this program has not yet been provided for 2008.
Basis of estimate: For this estimate, CBO assumes that the
bill will be enacted near the beginning of fiscal year 2008 and
that the necessary amounts will be appropriated for each year.
H.R. 123 would authorize an increase in the total amounts
that could be appropriated to the San Gabriel Basin Restoration
Fund from $85 million to $146.2 million. (To date, $69 million
has been appropriated.) The fund was established for the
purpose of cleaning up and preventing contamination of
groundwater in the San Gabriel River basin in California. The
Secretary of the Interior, working in coordination with
municipalities, is authorized to help design and construct
water quality projects and reimburse the operation and
maintenance costs of those facilities for up to 10 years.
Assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts, CBO
estimates that implementing the legislation would result in
additional discretionary spending of $40 million over the 2008-
2012 period and an additional $21 million thereafter.
Funds deposited into the San Gabriel Basin Restoration Fund
are credited with interest until they are spent. Those amounts
are available for spending without further appropriation. Based
on CBO's projections of the federal funds rate and estimated
balances in the San Gabriel Basin Restoration Fund, CBO
estimates that enacting H.R. 123 would increase net direct
spending by $3 million over the 2008-2017 period.
Intergovernmental and private-sector impact: H.R. 123
contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as
defined in UMRA and would impose no costs on state, local, or
tribal governments. Assuming appropriation of the authorized
amounts, the San Gabriel Basin Water Quality Authority and the
Central Basin Municipal Water District would receive an
additional $40 million for water restoration activities. Those
entities would be required to provide matching funds, but those
costs would be incurred voluntarily.
Estimate prepared by: Federal costs: Tyler Kruzich; Impact
on State, local, and tribal governments: Melissa Merrell;
Impact on the private sector: Amy Petz.
Estimate approved by: Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.
Compliance With Public Law 104-4
This bill contains no unfunded mandates.
Earmark Statement
H.R. 123 does not contain any congressional earmarks,
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in
clause 9(d), 9(e) or 9(f) of rule XXI.
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):
MISCELLANEOUS APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2001
* * * * * * *
DIVISION B
TITLE I
* * * * * * *
Sec. 110. San Gabriel Basin, California. (a) San Gabriel
Basin Restoration.--
(1) * * *
* * * * * * *
(3) Purposes of fund.--
(A) * * *
(B) Cost-sharing limitation.--
(i) * * *
* * * * * * *
(iv) Non-federal match.--After
$85,000,000 has cumulatively been
appropriated under subsection (d)(1),
the remainder of Federal funds
appropriated under subsection (d) shall
be subject to the following matching
requirement:
(I) San gabriel basin water
quality authority.--The San
Gabriel Basin Water Quality
Authority shall be responsible
for providing a 35 percent non-
Federal match for Federal funds
made available to the Authority
under this Act.
(II) Central basin municipal
water district.--The Central
Basin Municipal Water District
shall be responsible for
providing a 35 percent non-
Federal match for Federal funds
made available to the District
under this Act.
* * * * * * *
[(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--
[(1) In general.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to the Restoration Fund established under
subsection (a) $85,000,000. Such funds shall remain
available until expended.
[(2) Set-aside.--Of the amounts appropriated under
paragraph (1), no more than $10,000,000 shall be
available to carry out the Central Basin Water Quality
Project.]
(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--
(1) In general.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to the Restoration Fund established under
subsection (a) $146,200,000. Such funds shall remain
available until expended.
(2) Set-aside.--Of the amounts appropriated under
paragraph (1), no more than $21,200,000 shall be made
available to carry out the Central Basin Water Quality
Project.
* * * * * * *
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