TheWeekInCongress.com
Week Ending April 15, 2005
HR 18 Southern California Groundwater Remediation Act.
BRIEF
The bill establishes within the Treasury Department the Southern California Groundwater Remediation Fund. (SCGRF)
Stocked with $50 million the fund can be used by the Secretary of Interior to provide grants to the water authority within the natural watershed of the Santa Ana River in California for the Federal share of costs associated with designing and constructing groundwater remediation projects. The Federal share can run as high as 65 percent but funds may not be obligated until the private interests have deposited at least 35 percent of project costs in the SCGRF. Some private investments made after January 1, 200 can be noted as private sector investments.
Sponsor: Representative Joe Baca (D-CA-43rd)
Vote: Passed House by voice vote (April 12, 2005)
Cost to the taxpayers: $50 million to remain available until spent.
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MORE INFORMATION
For the purposes of this Act:
(1) GROUNDWATER REMEDIATION- The term `groundwater remediation' means actions that are necessary to prevent, minimize, clean up, or mitigate damage to groundwater.
(2) LOCAL WATER AUTHORITY- The term `local water authority' means a currently existing (on the date of the enactment of this Act) public water district, public water utility, public water planning agency, municipality, or Indian Tribe located within the natural watershed of the Santa Ana River in the State of California.
(3) REMEDIATION FUND- The term `Remediation Fund' means the Southern California Groundwater Remediation Fund established pursuant to section 3(a).
(4) SECRETARY- The term `Secretary' means the Secretary of the Interior.
(3) PURPOSES OF REMEDIATION FUND-
(A) IN GENERAL- Subject to subparagraph (B), the amounts in the Remediation Fund, including interest accrued, shall be used by the Secretary to provide grants to the local water authority to reimburse the local water authority for the Federal share of the costs associated with designing and constructing groundwater remediation projects to be administered by the local water authority.
(B) COST-SHARING LIMITATION-
(i) IN GENERAL- The Secretary may not obligate any funds appropriated to the Remediation Fund in a fiscal year until the Secretary has deposited into the Remediation Fund an amount provided by non-Federal interests sufficient to ensure that at least 35 percent of any funds obligated by the Secretary for a groundwater remediation project are from funds provided to the Secretary for that project by the non-Federal interests.
(ii) NON-FEDERAL RESPONSIBILITY- Each local water authority shall be responsible for providing the non-Federal amount required by clause (i) for projects under that local water authority. The State of California, local government agencies, and private entities may provide all or any portion of the non-Federal amount.
(iii) CREDITS TOWARD NON-FEDERAL SHARE- For purposes of clause (ii), the Secretary shall credit the appropriate local water authority with the value of all prior expenditures by non-Federal interests made after January 1, 2000, that are compatible with the purposes of this section, including--
(I) all expenditures made by non-Federal interests to design and construct groundwater remediation projects, including expenditures associated with environmental analyses, and public involvement activities that were required to implement the groundwater remediation projects in compliance with applicable Federal and State laws; and
(II) all expenditures made by non-Federal interests to acquire lands, easements, rights-of-way, relocations, disposal areas, and water rights that were required to implement a groundwater remediation project.
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