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[Senate Report 109-353]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

                                                       Calendar No. 647
109th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session                                                     109-353

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           DANA POINT DESALINATION PROJECT AUTHORIZATION ACT

                                _______
                                

               September 27, 2006.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

    Mr. Inhofe, from the Committee on Environment and Public Works, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 3929]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Environment and Public Works, to which was 
referred a bill (H.R. 3929) to amend the Water Desalination Act 
of 1996, to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to assist 
in research and development, environmental and feasibility 
studies, and preliminary engineering for the Municipal Water 
District of Orange County, California, Dana Point Desalination 
Project located at Dana Point, California, having considered 
the same, reports favorably thereon with an amendment and 
recommends that the bill, as amended, do pass.

                    General Statement and Background

    The oceans account for approximately 97.4% of the world's 
water. Another 2% is locked up in ice caps and glaciers. 
Subtracting saline ground water and inland saline seas from the 
remainder, less than 0.5% of the Earth's water is directly 
suitable for human consumption, agricultural or industrial 
uses.\1\ In recent years, desalination has increasingly been 
used to produce potable water from brackish groundwater and 
seawater to both improve the quality of fresh water for 
drinking and industrial uses, and to treat industrial 
wastewater prior to discharge and reuse. The use of 
desalination technologies for treating fresh, brackish, and 
contaminated water supplies may continue to increase due to the 
increasing shortage of usable surface and groundwater supplies 
in many parts of the United States. While large-scale seawater 
desalination plants remain expensive, in recent years many 
coastal communities are moving toward desalting seawater to 
supplement freshwater supplies.
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    \1\http://ncseonline.org/nle/crsreports/water/h2o-34.cfm. 
Congressional Research Service. ``Desalination R&D: The New Federal 
Program,'' February, 1999. Page 1-2. Original located in Congressional 
Research Service Archives.
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    The Water Desalination Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-298) 
authorized an expanded United States research and development 
program to produce the most cost-effective and technologically 
efficient means by which usable water could be produced from 
saline water or water otherwise impaired or contaminated. Under 
the Act, the Secretary of Interior is authorized to award 
competitive grants and to enter into competitive contracts, 
based on annual appropriations, to conduct, encourage, and 
assist in the financing of research to develop processes for 
converting saline water into water suitable for beneficial 
uses.
    H.R. 3929 amends the Water Desalination Act of 1996 to 
authorize up to $2.5 million in federal funding to assist the 
Municipal Water District in Orange County in conducting 
preliminary engineering and environmental studies on the Dana 
Point Desalination Project. The Municipal Water District of 
Orange County provides wholesale water to 30 cities and retail 
water agencies in Orange County, California. Tremendous 
population growth combined with the limitation placed on 
current water supplies, primarily from the Colorado River and 
the Sacramento/San Joaquin Bay-Delta, have both been causal 
factors in the Water District's concerted look at desalination 
as a cost-effective option. If found feasible under Bureau of 
Reclamation standards and guidelines, the Dana Point Project 
would use a unique subsurface ocean intake system that would 
seek to reduce impacts on the environment, cut down on pre-
treatment costs related to desalination, and deliver between 
15,000 and 20,000 acre-feet of water per year to Orange County 
water consumers.
    It also authorizes $500,000 for a comparative feasibility 
study for supplying potable water to Central and Southern Rhode 
Island through desalinization, conservation, development of 
additional water supplies and increased water use efficiency.

                     Objectives of the Legislation

    H.R. 3929 amends the Water Desalination Act of 1996 to 
authorize the Secretary of Interior to assist in research and 
development, environmental and feasibility studies, and 
preliminary engineering for the Municipal Water District of 
Orange County, California, Dana Point Desalination Project 
located at Dana Point, California.

                      Section-by-Section Analysis

Section 1. Short title

    This Act may be cited as the ``Dana Point Desalination 
Project Authorization Act.''

Section 2. Authorization for Dana Point Desalination Project

    This section amends the Water Desalination Act of 1996 
(P.L. 104-298) to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to 
assist the Municipal Water District of Orange County, 
California in research and development, environmental and 
feasibility studies, and preliminary engineering for the Dana 
Point Desalination Project at Dana Point, California. This 
section reduces the maximum allowed federal cost of the project 
to 25 percent from the maximum of 50 percent under the Act; 
authorizes $2.5 million to be appropriated to the Secretary to 
carry out this section; and includes a sunset provision of 10 
years for the Secretary to carry out any provisions under this 
section.

Section 3. Authorization for Rhode Island desalination study

    This section authorizes $500,000 for the Secretary, working 
in coordination with the University of Rhode Island, the Rhode 
Island Water Resources Board, and a coalition of businesses and 
nonprofit organizations known as the Rhode Island Coalition for 
Water Security, to conduct a comparative study exploring 
options for supplying potable water to Central and Southern 
Rhode Island. The study assesses the cost-effectiveness and 
environmental impact of several options,including desalination, 
reduced nonessential use of potable water, wastewater reuse, increased 
water use efficiency, and development of additional ground and surface 
supplies. Currently, the central and southern portions of Rhode Island 
are experiencing a potable water supply shortage due to reduced water 
resources, aquifer limitations, and saltwater intrusion. This study is 
critical for developing a coherent and comprehensive policy for Rhode 
Island that takes into consideration desalination and other options for 
drinking water supply.

                          Legislative History

    On September 28, 2005, Representative Ken Calvert (R-CA) 
introduced H.R. 3929, which was cosponsored by Representatives 
Miller, Rohrabacher, and Royce. The bill was referred to the 
House Committee on Resources Subcommittee on Water and Power 
and the House Committee on Science. On October 5, 2005, the 
Subcommittee on Water and Power held a hearing on the bill. On 
December 12, 2005, H.R. 3929 was reported with an amendment and 
discharged, respectively, by the House Resources Committee and 
the House Science Committee. Under suspension of the rules, the 
House of Representatives approved H.R. 3929 on May 2, 2006 by 
voice vote. Upon receipt by the Senate, H.R. 3929 was received, 
read twice, and referred to the Senate Committee on Environment 
and Public Works. The Committee met on September 13, 2006, to 
consider the bill. H.R. 3929 was ordered favorably reported 
with amendment by voice vote.

                                Hearings

    No Senate committee hearings were held on H.R. 3929.

                             Rollcall Votes

    The Committee on Environment and Public Works met to 
consider H.R. 3929, the Dana Point Desalination Project 
Authorization Act, on September 13, 2006. An amendment was 
offered by Senator Voinovich on behalf of Senator Chafee to add 
language authorizing a study for supplying potable water to 
Central and Southern Rhode Island. The amendment was approved 
by voice vote. H.R. 3929 was ordered favorably reported by 
voice vote. No rollcall votes were taken.

                      Regulatory Impact Statement

    In compliance with section 11(b) of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the committee makes evaluation of 
the regulatory impact of the reported bill.
    The bill does not create any additional regulatory burdens, 
nor will it cause any adverse impact on the personal privacy of 
individuals.

                          Mandates Assessment

    In compliance with the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 
(Public Law 104-4), the committee finds that H.R. 3929 would 
not impose Federal intergovernmental unfunded mandates on 
State, local, or tribal governments.

                          Cost of Legislation

H.R. 3929--Dana Point Desalination Project Authorization Act

    Summary: H.R. 3929 would authorize the Secretary of the 
Interior to assist the Municipal Water District of Orange 
County with research and development activities, environmental 
and feasibility studies, and preliminary engineering for a 
desalination plant in Dana Point, California. The act would 
authorize the appropriation of $2.5 million for these 
activities. The authority would terminate within 10 years, and 
the federal share of the project's studies and initial 
engineering costs could not exceed 25 percent. In addition, the 
act would authorize the appropriation of $500,000 for a 
feasibility study to assess the cost-effectiveness and 
environmental impact of different techniques for providing 
potable water to the state of Rhode Island.
    Assuming appropriation of the authorized amount, CBO 
estimates that implementing H.R. 3929 would cost $3 million 
over the 2007-2008 period. Enacting H.R. 3929 would not affect 
direct spending or revenues.
    H.R. 3929 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA); 
the act would benefit the state of Rhode Island and Orange 
County, California, and any costs would be incurred 
voluntarily.
    Estimated cost to the Federal Government:The estimated 
budgetary impact of H.R. 3929 is shown in the following table. The 
costs of this legislation fall within budget function 300 (natural 
resources and environment).
    For this estimate, CBO assumes that H.R. 3929 will be 
enacted near the beginning of fiscal year 2007 and that the 
authorized amounts will be appropriated in fiscal year 2007. 
Based on historical spending patterns of similar projects, CBO 
estimates that implementing this act would cost $3 million over 
the 2007-2008 period.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                       By fiscal year, in millions of dollars--
                                                                    --------------------------------------------
                                                                       2007     2008     2009     2010     2011
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                  CHANGES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION
Authorization Level................................................        3        0        0        0        0
Estimated Outlays..................................................        2        1        0        0        0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Intergovernmental and private-sector impact: H.R. 3929 
contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as 
defined in UMRA and would impose no costs on state, local, or 
tribal governments. The act would authorize funding for 
desalination activities that would benefit the state of Rhode 
Island and the water district in Orange County, California. Any 
costs incurred would be voluntary.
    Previous CBO estimate: On November 30, 2005, CBO 
transmitted a cost estimate for H.R. 3929 as ordered reported 
by the House Committee on Resources on November 16, 2005. That 
version of the legislation did not include an authorization of 
appropriations for a potable water supply feasibility study for 
the state of Rhode Island. CBO's cost estimates reflect the 
different levels of authorized funding in the two versions of 
the legislation.
    Estimate prepared by: Federal Costs: Julie Middleton. 
Impact on State, Local, and Tribal Governments: Lisa Ramirez-
Branum. Impact on the Private Sector: Craig Cammarata.
    Estimate approved by: Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy Assistant 
Director for Budget Analysis.

                        Changes in Existing Law

    In compliance with section 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing 
Rules of the Senate, 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:

WATER DESALINATION ACT OF 1996

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Water Desalination Act of 
1996''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    As used in this Act:
          (1) * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

SEC. 9. CONSULTATION.

    In carrying out the provisions of this Act, the Secretary 
shall consult with the heads of other Federal agencies, 
including the Secretary of the Army, which have experience in 
conducting desalination research or operating desalination 
facilities. The authorization provided for in this Act shall 
not prohibit other agencies from carrying out separately 
authorized programs for desalination research or operations.

SEC. 10. DANA POINT DESALINATION RESEARCH AND FEASIBILITY RELATED 
                    COSTS.

    (a) Authority.--The Secretary may assist in research and 
development, environmental and feasibility studies, and 
preliminary engineering for the Municipal Water District of 
Orange County, California, Dana Point Desalination Project 
located at Dana Point, California.
    (b) FFederal Share.--Notwithstanding section 7, the Federal 
share of the costs for the project assisted under subsection 
(a) shall not exceed 25 percent of the total costs of the 
project.
    (c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is hereby 
authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary $2,500,000 to 
carry out this section.
    (d) Sunset.--The authority of the Secretary to carry out 
any provisions of this section shall terminate 10 years after 
the date of the enactment of this section.

SEC. 11. FEASIBILITY STUDY FOR DESALINATION TO SUPPLY CENTRAL AND 
                    SOUTHERN RHODE ISLAND.

    (a) Authority.--The Secretary, in coordination with the 
University of Rhode Island, the Rhode Island Coalition for 
Water Security, and the Rhode Island Water Resources Board, 
shall conduct a comparative study to assess the cost-
effectiveness and the environmental impact of providing a 
potable water supply to central and southern Rhode Island by--
          (1) desalination;
          (2) reduced nonessential use of potable water;
          (3) wastewater reuse;
          (4) increased water use efficiency; and
          (5) development of additional ground and surface 
        supplies.
    (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized 
to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this section 
$500,000.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

                                  
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