29–006

108TH CONGRESS REPORT " HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ! 2d Session 108–650

LLAGAS RECLAMATION GROUNDWATER REMEDIATION 

INITIATIVE 

SEPTEMBER 7, 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. 4459] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

The Committee on Resources to whom was referred the bill (H.R. 

4459) to authorize the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the 

Bureau of Reclamation and in coordination with other Federal, 

State, and local government agencies, to participate in the funding 

and implementation of a balanced, long-term groundwater remediation program in California, and for other purposes, 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. 4459 is to authorize the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Bureau of Reclamation and in coordination with other federal, State and local government agencies, to 

participate in the funding and implementation of a balanced, longterm groundwater remediation program in California. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

The communities of Morgan Hill and San Martin in Santa Clara 

County, California, have been forced to close wells due to perchlorate contamination in the groundwater. Perchlorate is both a 

naturally occurring and man-made chemical. Most of the perchlorate manufactured in the United States is used as the primary 

ingredient of solid rocket propellant. Perchlorate is also used in the 

manufacture of pyrotechnics and roadside flares. Research indicates that perchlorate interferes with iodide uptake into the thyVerDate jul 14 2003 22:17 Sep 10, 2004 Jkt 029006 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\HR650.XXX HR650
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roid gland. Since iodide is an essential component of thyroid hormones, perchlorate disrupts how the thyroid functions. In adults, 

the thyroid helps to regulate metabolism. In children, the thyroid 

plays a major role in proper development in addition to metabolism. 

Perchlorate has been detected in more than 500 water wells in 

Santa Clara County, stemming from a nine-mile long plume of the 

chemical in the Llagas Groundwater Subbasin. As a result, more 

than 1,000 residences have been supplied with bottled water. The 

Santa Clara Valley Water District is working to address the problem and develop a long-term plan for remediation of the basin. 

Near-term solutions, such as point-of-use drinking water treatment 

systems and residential wellhead treatment systems, are being considered. 

H.R. 4459 establishes the ‘‘California Basins Groundwater Remediation Fund’’ within the U.S. Treasury. The Fund, subject to annual appropriations and administered by the Bureau of Reclamation, would provide up to $25 million in federal funding to remediate groundwater in the service area of the Santa Clara Valley 

Water District. The bill requires a local cost share of 35 percent. 

Perchlorate is the chemical compound of primary concern, although 

funds will be available to remediate other groundwater challenges 

in the area. 

COMMITTEE ACTION

H.R. 4459 was introduced by House Resources Committee Chairman Richard Pombo (R–CA) on May 20, 2004. The bill was referred 

to the Committee on Resources and within the Committee to the 

Subcommittee on Water and Power. On June 23, 2004, the Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill. On July 8, 2004, 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 July 14, 2004, the Full Resources 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 ANALYSIS

Section 1. Short title 

The bill may be cited as the ‘‘Llagas Reclamation Groundwater 

Remediation Initiative.’’

Section 2. Definitions 

This section defines various terms used in the bill. 

Section 3. California basins remediation 

This section establishes the ‘‘California Basins Groundwater Remediation Fund’’ within the Treasury of the United States. The 

Fund will be administered by the Secretary of the Interior, through 

the Bureau of Reclamation, and in cooperation with the local water 

authority. The section requires that the Fund shall be used for reimbursing the local water authority for the federal share of the 

costs for the planning, design, and construction of groundwater remediation projects. An authorization of $25 million would be availVerDate jul 14 2003 22:17 Sep 10, 2004 Jkt 029006 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\HR650.XXX HR650
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able to carry out the purposes of the bill. The section requires that 

the local non-federal cost share be no less than 35 percent. Nonfederal funding sources may include State or local government 

agencies and private entities. 

The section also states that the bill shall not affect other federal 

and State authorities being used for remediation and protection of 

the groundwater in the natural watersheds of the Llagas groundwater subbasin in California. Furthermore, no funds used for activities and projects pursuant to this section shall be counted 

against federal authorization ceilings established for previously authorized federal activities and projects. 

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, credit authority, or an increase 

or decrease in revenues or tax expenditures. According to the Congressional Budget Office, enactment of this bill would result in increased direct spending of less than $500,000 per year annually 

from 2005–2012. 

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 authorize the Secretary of the Interior, acting 

through the Bureau of Reclamation and in coordination with other 

federal, State and local government agencies, to participate in the 

funding and implementation of a balanced, long-term groundwater 

remediation program in 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: 

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H.R. 4459—Llagas Reclamation Groundwater Remediation Initiative 

Summary: H.R. 4459 would establish an interest-bearing account 

in the Treasury called the California Basins Groundwater Remediation Fund and would authorize the appropriation of $25 million 

to be deposited into the fund. The bill would authorize the Secretary of the Interior through the Bureau of Reclamation to use the 

fund to provide grants to the Santa Clara Valley Water District for 

groundwater cleanup projects in the Llagas watershed in Santa 

Clara County, California. H.R. 4459 would authorize the bureau to 

pay up to 65 percent of the cost of the groundwater cleanup 

projects. The bureau, however, would not have the authority to obligate money for a project until the nonfederal share of the costs 

(35 percent) is either deposited into the account or credited to the 

account as an in-kind contribution. 

Assuming appropriation of the necessary funds, CBO estimates 

that implementing H.R. 4459 would cost $20 million over the 2005–

2009 period and an additional $5 million after that period. Enacting this bill would increase direct spending by less than $500,000 

annually over the 2005–2012 period. 

H.R. 4459 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 federal funds authorized by this bill would benefit local governments in California. Any expenditures made by those governments to provide the required matching funds would be made voluntarily. 

Estimated cost to the Federal Government: The estimated budgetary impact of H.R. 4459 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—

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

CHANGES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION 1

Estimated Authorization Level ...................................................................... 5 5 5 5 5

Estimated Outlays ......................................................................................... 2 3 5 5 5

1 Implementing H.R. 4459 also would increase direct spending by less than $500,000 a year. 

Basis of estimate 

Spending subject to appropriation 

For this estimate, CBO assumes that H.R. 4459 will be enacted 

near the end of fiscal year 2004 and that the necessary funds will 

be appropriated in equal amounts over the 2005–2009 period to the 

California Basins Groundwater Remediation Fund. Because the bill 

would require that the nonfederal cost share be deposited into the 

fund or in-kind contributions be credited before funds could be obligated, CBO expects that spending on the Santa Clara projects 

would be somewhat slower than historical federal spending on 

similar projects. CBO estimates that implementing this bill would 

cost $20 million over the 2005–2009 period and an additional $5 

million after that period. 

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Direct spending 

Under this bill, nonfederal funds equal to 35 percent of the total 

cost of the project would be required to be either deposited into the 

account or credited to the account as an in-kind contribution before 

any funds could be obligated. Currently, it is unknown how much 

of the nonfederal contributions would be cash and how much would 

be in-kind donations. According to the bureau, the total cost of the 

project could be at least $40 million, which means that the nonfederal share could be at least $15 million. Any receipt to the fund, 

however, would be offset by equal amounts of direct spending from 

the fund over the 2005–2012 period. 

In addition, the bill would authorize the bureau to spend interest 

earned on the California Basins Groundwater Remediation Fund. 

CBO estimates that provision would increase direct spending by 

less than $500,000 annually over the 2005–2012 period. 

Intergovernmental and private-sector impact: H.R. 4459 contains 

no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in 

UMRA and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments. The federal funds authorized by this bill would benefit local 

governments in California. Any expenditures made by those governments to provide the required matching funds would be made 

voluntarily. 

Estimate prepared by: Federal Costs: Julie Middleton; Impact on 

State, Local, and Tribal Governments: Marjorie Miller; Impact on 

the Private Sector: Karen Raupp. 

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

If enacted, this bill would make no changes in existing law.

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