Lower Rio Grande Valley Water Resources Conservation and Improvement Act of 2005

Mr. Speaker, first, let me thank my good friend and colleague from Arizona for allowing me the privilege to rise today in support of legislation I introduced, the Newlands Project Headquarters and Maintenance Yard Facility Transfer Act, H.R. 540.

This legislation passed the House under suspension of the rules last year, but was not considered in the Senate prior to the adjournment of the 108th Congress. I truly appreciate the opportunity to stand before my colleagues again in support of this legislation that is so important for the people of the Second District of the State of Nevada.

The purpose of this legislation is to transfer all right, title, and interest in the Newlands Project to the Truckee-Carson Irrigation District, otherwise known as TCID. This conveyance consists of approximately 35 acres and will allow TCID to make permanent improvements on this land for the continued operation of the Newlands Reclamation Project.

In 1996, the Bureau of Reclamation certified that TCID had repaid the original construction costs designated for repayment to the United States. The original construction costs included the cost of the land on which the initial headquarter facilities were located. In the late 1970s, however, TCID had outgrown the original facilities and moved to the current site, which is the area to be conveyed through this legislation.

TCID paid for the land where the original facilities were located; however, they were never compensated when they vacated these lots, despite the fact that a Federal post office now sits on the original tract of land that housed the project headquarters.

Critics will charge that this bill unfairly favors the TCID and that the land is a taxpayer asset and should be treated accordingly. Those assertions simply do not make sense.

The Bureau of Reclamation certified that the Newlands Project had been paid for and asking the TCID to pay for their land that their headquarters is currently located on would be in effect asking them to pay for it twice.

To say that H.R. 540 is a giveaway is simply incorrect and misrepresents the intent of this important legislation. This bill is a fair solution to an unfair situation.

Therefore, I urge my colleagues to join me and Senator John Ensign and Senator Harry Reid and Governor Kenny Guinn of Nevada and the local leaders of Churchill County and the city of Fallon, Nevada, in supporting this legislation.

I want to thank the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Renzi), my good friend and colleague, once again for allowing me to speak on this bill. I appreciate the consideration of this legislation that is so very important to my constituents in Nevada.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 540) to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to convey the Newlands Project Headquarters and Maintenance Yard Facility to the Truckee-Carson Irrigation District, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 540.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

H.R. 540 directs the Secretary of the Interior to transfer 35 acres of the Truckee-Carson Irrigation District as soon as practicable. Before the transfer takes place, all environmental analyses will be completed in accordance with Federal, State and local laws.

As amended, this important bill also includes a number of other bipartisan water measures either favorably reported by the Committee on Resources in the waning days of the 108th Congress or those which were passed in the last Congress but were not considered by the Senate. Today's effort is an attempt to make it easier for Senate to pass these measures.

These bipartisan bills include H.R. 386, legislation offered by the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hinojosa) and some of his lower Rio Grande, Texas colleagues, to help local irrigation districts and communities preserve their water supplies; H.R. 802, a bill authored by the gentleman from California (Mr. Dreier) and the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Napolitano), to authorize Federal assistance for a water recycling project in California's Inland Empire; H.R. 855, legislation introduced by the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Ortiz), to provide Federal dollars to the City of Brownsville's desalinization project; H.R. 863, a bill sponsored by the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Reyes), to provide Federal assistance to the City of El Paso's alternative water supply project; H.R. 1008, legislation authored by the gentleman from California (Mr. Calvert) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Lewis), to allow Federal assistance for water projects in southern California; H.R. 1197, a bill sponsored by the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Osborne), to extend irrigation contracts in Nebraska; and finally, H.R. 1327, legislation offered by the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Tiahrt), to provide Federal assistance to the City of Wichita's aquifer recharge project.

Mr. Speaker, these are bipartisan bills and deserve unanimous support.

Once again, I urge my colleagues to pass H.R. 540 and the measures included therewith.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Gibbons).

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 540, a bill that will authorize a variety of water projects including several in my congressional district. I want to thank Chairman Pombo and Ranking Member Rahall for including my legislation, H.R. 386, in this bill.

I represent a region of the country that is subject to periodic droughts and yet is experiencing phenomenal population growth.

The 2000 Census showed that the population of Hidalgo County, in my district, increased by 48 percent. On the Mexican side of the border, millions have come to work in the maquiladoras and to take advantage of the economic boom that has come from NAFTA.

This growth has placed an enormous strain on water delivery systems along the Texas-Mexico border. Agriculture irrigation water often flows through open dirt ditches and studies show that much is lost to seepage and evaporation.

Municipalities rely on the water from the irrigation delivery systems to meet the water needs of growing communities.

H.R. 540 will authorize 19 projects that will allow border water districts to continue upgrading and modernizing our antiquated water delivery systems through the installation of water pipes and canal linings. Similar projects were authorized in the 106th and 107th Congresses.

We have already made a great deal of progress because this has been a collaborative effort. The irrigation districts have provided matching funds. The Texas Water Development Board and Texas A&M University have paid for many of the engineering studies. Federal appropriators have provided more than $10 million. As a result, we are seeing water savings of almost 80 percent in the projects that have been completed.

Most importantly, Federal authorization has allowed us to tap into the resources of the North American Development Bank. To date, NADBank has approved almost $24 million for these projects and passage of H.R. 540 will make these new projects eligible for NADBank assistance.

These funds are being put to good use. Numerous projects are already underway and some are almost completed.

When the metering system is fully installed, irrigation districts will have a much clearer picture of water usage and water savings. This data will be vital to improving water management throughout the region.

I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to thank House Resources Chairman Richard Pombo and Subcommittee on Water and Power Chairman George Radanovich, for their hard work in moving H.R. 802 as a part of this larger resources package bill, H.R. 540 as amended, to the House floor.

I introduced this Inland Empire Water Recycling Initiative, H.R. 802, to authorize $30 million total for the Inland Empire Utilities Agency (IEUA) and the Cucamonga Valley Water District (CVWD) to assist in constructing two water recycling projects which will nearly 100,000 acre-feet of new water annually to the area's water supply.

It is imperative that we continue to approve measures preventing water supply shortages in the Western United States. This recycling initiative will help meet the water needs of the Inland Empire and begin a strategic federal-local partnership to bring a significant amount of new water supply to the region.

I am pleased that this initiative has the support of all member agencies of the Inland Empire Utilities Agency, as well as the water agencies downstream in Orange County. IEUA encompasses approximately 242 square miles and serves the cities of Chino, Chino Hills, Fontana, Ontario, Upland, Montclair, and Rancho Cucamonga.

IEUA and CVWD are replacing water-intensive applications like landscape and agricultural irrigation, construction, and industrial cooling with high-quality recycled water, fresh water can be conserved or used for drinking, thereby reducing the dependence on expensive imported water.

In addition, by recycling water which would otherwise be wasted and unavailable, these agencies provide that the water available goes through at least one more cycle of beneficial use before it is ultimately returned to the environment.

I want to reiterate my thanks to the House Resources Committee, as well as to my colleagues, Ken Calvert, Grace Napolitano, Gary Miller, and Joe Baca for cosponsoring H.R. 802.

And last but certainly not least, I appreciate the visionary leadership of Mr. Robert DeLoach, General Manager of the Cucamonga Valley Water District and Mr. Rich Atwater, CEO and General Manager of the Inland Empire Utilities Agency.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me time this afternoon.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this legislation which will help several local communities around the country address their water management issues.

Like many communities in the West, one of the greatest challenges facing my congressional district of El Paso, Texas, has been providing an adequate water supply to our rapidly growing population.

Fortunately, our community is meeting this challenge successfully, in part through the construction of a major inland desalination plant that will treat the brackish water of the Hueco Bolson so it can be utilized by the people of El Paso and the surrounding region, as well as Fort Bliss military base. The project, which is a partnership of the El Paso Water Utilities and the Department of Defense, is set to begin construction and should be completed within the year.

I am proud to say that El Paso is leading the way when it comes to inland desalination, in addition to our ongoing conservation and reclamation initiatives. This bill will further our efforts by authorizing the city of El Paso to expand the soon-to-be constructed desalination plant or to construct an additional plant if and when additional capacity is required over the next 10 years.

Ensuring a reliable, long-term water source for El Paso and the El Paso region is essential for the community's future. Desalination, and therefore, this legislation, is an integral part of that effort.

In closing, Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Gibbons) and the gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. Rahall), the chairman and ranking member of the full committee, and the gentleman from California (Mr. Radanovich) and the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Napolitano), the chairman and ranking member of the Subcommittee on Water and Power, for their assistance in moving this important legislation forward.

I would also like to thank my two colleagues from Arizona and from New Mexico for granting me the opportunity to speak this afternoon. Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to support this bill.