69–010 

Calendar No. 807 

110TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! SENATE 2d Session 110–375 

SAN GABRIEL BASIN RESTORATION FUND ACT 

JUNE 16, 2008.—Ordered to be printed 

Mr. BINGAMAN, from the Committee on Energy and Natural 

Resources, submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany H.R. 123] 

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 

referred the Act (H.R. 123) to authorize appropriations for the San 

Gabriel Basin Restoration Fund, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that 

the Act do pass. 

PURPOSE OF THE MEASURE

The purpose of H.R. 123 is to authorize appropriations for the 

San Gabriel Basin Restoration Fund. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED

The San Gabriel Basin supplies drinking water to 1.4 million 

people in eastern Los Angeles County, California. 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 process because different treatment methods were required. 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 a comprehensive solution. That 

effort led to establishment of the San Gabriel Basin Restoration 

Fund (Restoration Fund), originally authorized in 2000 as the San 

Gabriel Basin Water Quality Initiative (Public Law 106–554). 


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The Restoration 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. 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 WQA is required to provide 

a 35% non-federal cost share on any federal funds obligated for the 

cleanup. 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 Bureau 

of Reclamation to administer (Public Law 107–66). 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. 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

H.R. 123 was introduced in the House of Representatives by Representative David Dreier (CA) on January 4, 2007, and referred to 

the Committee on Natural Resources. Representatives Lucille Roybal-Allard, Adam Schiff, Grace Napolitano, Linda Sanchez, and 

Hilda Solis are co-sponsors. Under suspension of the rules, H.R. 

123 passed the House of Representatives on December 11, 2007. 

The bill was received in the Senate and referred to the Committee 

on Environment and Public Works. On April 10, 2008, the bill was 

discharged, and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural 

Resources. The Water and Power Subcommittee held a hearing on 

H.R. 123 on April 24, 2008. At its business meeting on May 7, 

2008, the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources ordered 

H.R. 123 favorably reported. 

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open business session on May 7, 2008, by voice vote of a quorum present, 

recommends that the Senate pass H.R. 123. 

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1 amends the provision in P.L. 106–554 which established the San Gabriel Restoration Fund, by increasing the appropriations ceiling for the Restoration Fund from $85,000,000 to 

$146,200,000. Of this amount, section 1 sets aside a total of 

$21,200,000 for the CBMWD, which provides it an additional 

$11,200,000. The set-aside for CBMWD has the effect of reserving 

the balance of new authorized appropriations ($50,000,000) for the 

WQA. Section 1 also declares that both the WQA and CBMWD will 

be responsible for providing a 35% non-federal cost share of any 

funds they receive pursuant to H.R. 123. 


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COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

The following estimate of costs of this measure has been provided 

by the Congressional Budget Office: 

H.R. 123—An act 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 the 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 $50 million over the 2009–2013 

period. Enacting H.R. 123 would not affect direct spending or 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— 

2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 

CHANGES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION 

Estimated Authorization Level ................................................................................ 12 12 12 12 13 

Estimated Outlays ................................................................................................... 10 10 10 10 10 

Basis of estimate: For this estimate, CBO assumes that the legislation will be enacted near the beginning of fiscal year 2009 and 

that the necessary amounts will be appropriated for each year. 

H.R. 123 would increase—from $85 million to $146.2 million— the total amount authorized to be appropriated to the San Gabriel 

Basin Restoration Fund. Under current law, the Secretary of the 

Interior, working in coordination with municipalities, is authorized 

to use amounts in that fund to help design and construct water 

quality projects in the San Gabriel River Basin in California and 

to reimburse those facilities’ operation and maintenance costs. 

Based on historical spending patterns from the fund and assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts, CBO estimates that 

implementing the legislation would cost $50 million over the 2009– 2013 period, with additional spending of $11 million occurring in 

later years. 

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 $50 million over 

the five-year period for water restoration activities. That funding 

would be contingent on the provision of matching funds by those 

entities, but they would incur those costs voluntarily. 

Previous CBO estimate: On December 11, 2007, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R. 123 as ordered reported by the 

House Committee on Natural Resources on November 15, 2007. 


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The two versions of the legislation would authorize the same total 

amount of funding for the San Gabriel Basin Restoration Fund, 

and our estimates of discretionary spending are the same. The 

House version would allow the Secretary of the Interior to invest 

unspent balances in the fund, which would increase direct spending 

by an estimated $3 million over the 2008–2013 period. 

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: Peter H. Fontaine, Assistant Director for 

Budget Analysis. 

REGULATORY IMPACT EVALUATION

In compliance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the Standing 

Rules of the Senate, the Committee makes the following evaluation 

of the regulatory impact which would be incurred in carrying out 

H.R. 123. The bill is not a regulatory measure in the sense of imposing Government-established standards or significant economic 

responsibilities on private individuals and businesses. 

No personal information would be collected in administering the 

program. Therefore, there would be no impact on personal privacy. 

Little, if any, additional paperwork would result from the enactment of H.R. 123, as ordered reported. 

CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING

H.R. 123, as reported, does not contain any congressionally directed spending items, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in Rule XLIV of the Standing Rules of the Senate. 

EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

The testimony provided by the Bureau of Reclamation at the subcommittee hearing on April 24, 2008 on H.R. 123 follows: 

STATEMENT OF ROBERT W. JOHNSON, COMMISSIONER, 

BUREAU OF RECLAMATION, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee, I am 

Robert Johnson, Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation. I am pleased to be here today to give the Department’s views on H.R. 123, a proposal to increase the ceiling on funds authorized to be appropriated to the San Gabriel Basin Restoration Fund. The Administration does not 

support H.R. 123. 

Groundwater contamination was first detected in the 

San Gabriel Valley in 1979. Following this discovery, the 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency designated major 

portions of the region’s groundwater as Superfund sites. 

Between 1990 and 1997, EPA identified Potentially Responsible Parties at the site who then engaged in negotiations with local water agencies and began initial design 

work on an EPA-developed basin-wide plan to set cleanup 

priorities. After reaching a detailed agreement with seven 

local water agencies in March 2002, design work was completed and construction work began. Construction of the 


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four planned groundwater extraction and treatment facilities was largely completed in 2006. 

As part of this effort to clean up the groundwater contamination in the San Gabriel Basin and prevent the contamination from spreading into the adjacent Central 

Basin, the San Gabriel Basin Restoration Fund (Fund) was 

established in 2001 by P.L. 106–554. Originally established as a Defense Department account and subsequently 

transferred to the Interior Department, this interest-bearing account reimburses the San Gabriel Basin Water Quality Authority (WQA) and the Central Basin Municipal 

Water District (District) for designing and constructing facilities that help with groundwater cleanup efforts in the 

Basin. The Fund is also authorized to reimburse the WQA 

and District for operating and maintaining these facilities 

for up to 10 years. A 35 percent non-Federal share is required for projects. This cost-share can be met by credits 

given to the WQA for expenditures used for water quality 

projects that have already been built in the San Gabriel 

Basin, in lieu of depositing the required 35 percent nonFederal share for these projects into the Fund. To date, the 

entire non-Federal share has been met by credits that 

have been certified by Reclamation. In Fiscal Year 2001, Congress appropriated $23 million 

for deposit into the Fund. The Energy and Water Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2002 (P.L. 107–66), transferred administrative responsibility for the fund from the 

Secretary of the Army to the Secretary of the Interior, and 

appropriated an additional $12 million. Appropriations in 

fiscal years 2003–2008 brought the total deposits to the Fund to $71.71 million. In addition, the Fund has accumulated over $2.8 million in interest. 

Reclamation has executed six grant agreements under 

the Restoration Fund authority. One grant agreement is 

with the Central Basin Municipal Water District, covering 

design, construction, operation, and maintenance of their 

facility, up to the $10 million ceiling established by the 

legislation for this component. The other five agreements 

are with the WQA. Four cover the design and construction 

of specific facilities, and the fifth agreement covers operation and maintenance of those four facilities. 

The total estimated cost of the project authorized by the 

legislation is about $204 million. Based on this cost estimate, about $69 million would be allocated for the completion of all five facilities, and about $135 million would be 

allocated to fund the operation and maintenance of all five 

facilities for 10 years, as authorized. 

The San Gabriel Basin Restoration Fund is and will continue to be used for important local projects. Reclamation 

must allocate its scarce budget toward funding already authorized projects within the agency’s traditional mission of 

delivering water and power in an environmentally responsible and cost-efficient manner, with emphasis on the 

needs of aging infrastructure, the safety of existing facilities and dams, and ongoing environmental restoration efVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:57 Jun 17, 2008 Jkt 069010 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6969 E:\HR\OC\SR375.XXX SR375

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forts. The Administration has not budgeted for the San 

Gabriel Basin Restoration Fund in any of the preceding 

fiscal years. The Administration believes that resources 

should be allocated to achieving priorities within Reclamation’s traditional mission area and does not support the 

$61.2 million cost ceiling increase proposed in H.R. 123. 

Reclamation, however, will continue to work with the 

WQA and the District when possible to advance the goal 

of groundwater cleanup in the San Gabriel Basin. 

Mr. Chairman, this concludes my testimony. Thank you 

for the opportunity to comment on H.R. 123. I would be 

happy to answer any questions at this time. 

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing 

Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by the bill H.R. 

123 as ordered 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): 

CONSOLIDATED APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2001 

SAN GABRIEL BASIN, CALIFORNIA 

Public Law 106–554 (114 Stat. 2763A–222) 

SEC. 110. SAN GABRIEL BASIN, CALIFORNIA. 

(a) SAN GABRIEL RESTORATION.—

(1) ESTABLISHMENT OF FUND.—There shall be established 

within the Treasury of the United States an interest-bearing 

account to be known as the San Gabriel Basin Restoration 

Fund (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Restoration Fund’’). 

(2) ADMINISTRATION OF FUND.—The Restoration Fund shall 

be administered by the Secretary of the Interior, in cooperation 

with the San Gabriel Basin Water Quality Authority or its successor agency. 

(3) PURPOSES OF FUND.—

(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subparagraph (B), the 

amounts in the Restoration Fund, including interest accrued, shall be utilized by the Secretary—

* * * * * * * 

(B) COST-SHARING LIMITATION.—

(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may not obligate 

any funds appropriated to the Restoration Fund in a 

fiscal year until the Secretary has deposited in the 

Fund an amount provided by non-Federal interests 

sufficient to ensure that at least 35 percent of any 

funds obligated by the Secretary are from funds provided to the Secretary by the non-Federal interests. 

(ii) NON-FEDERAL RESPONSIBILITY.—The San Gabriel 

Basin Water Quality Authority shall be responsible for 

providing the non-Federal amount required by clause 

(i). The State of California, local government agencies, 


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and private entities may provide all or any portion of 

such amount. 

(iii) CREDITS TOWARD NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—For 

purposes of clause (ii), the Secretary shall credit the 

San Gabriel Basin Water Quality Authority with the 

value of all prior expenditures by non-Federal interests made after February 11, 1993, that are compatible with the purposes of this section, including—

(I) all expenditures made by non-Federal interests to design and construct water quality 

projects, including expenditures associated with 

environmental analyses and public involvement 

activities that were required to implement the 

water quality 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 water quality 

project. 

(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 

shall be responsible for providing a 35 percent 

non-Federal match for Federal funds made available to the District under this Act. 

(4) INTEREST ON FUNDS IN RESTORATION FUND.—No amounts 

appropriated above the cumulative amount of $85,000,000 to 

the Restoration Fund under subsection (d)(1) shall be invested 

by the Secretary of the Treasury in interest-bearing securities of 

the United States. 

* * * * * * * 

(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appropriated to 

the Restoration Fund established under subsection (a) 

ø$85,000,000¿ $146,200,000. Such funds shall remain available 

until expended. 

(2) SET-ASIDE.—Of the amounts appropriated under paragraph (1), no more than ø$10,000,000¿ $21,200,000 shall be 

available to carry out the Central Basin Water Quality Project. 

* * * * * * * 

Æ 


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