Union Calendar No. 428

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 811

[Report No. 104–790, Part I]

AN ACT

To authorize research into the desalinization and

for other purposes.lamation facility to develop such facilities, andto own and operate a water desalinization or recfor States, cities, or qualifying agencies desiringreclamation of water and authorize a program

SEPTEMBER 16, 1996

Referral to the Committees on Science and Transpornot later than September 16, 1996 tation and Infrastructure extended for a period ending

SEPTEMBER 16, 1996

Reported from the Committee on Resources with amendprinted House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be ments, committed to the Committee of the Whole
IB

Union Calendar No. 428

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 811

[Report No. 104–790, Part I]

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MAY 14, 1996

Referred to the Committee on Resources, and in addition to the Committees

on Science, and Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be

subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration

of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

SEPTEMBER 16, 1996

Referral to the Committees on Science and Transportation and Infrastructure

extended for a period ending not later than September 16, 1996

SEPTEMBER 16, 1996

Reported from the Committee on Resources with amendments, committed to

the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]

[For text of Senate passed bill, see copy of bill as printed in the House of Representatives on

May 14, 1996]

AN ACT

To authorize research into the desalinization and reclamation

of water and authorize a program for States, cities,

or qualifying agencies desiring to own and operate a

water desalinization or reclamation facility to develop

such facilities, and for other purposes.
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1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Water Desalination Act

5 of 1996’’.

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

7 As used in this Act:

8 (1) DESALINATION OR DESALTING.—The terms

9 ‘‘desalination’’ or ‘‘desalting’’ mean the use of any

10 process or technique for the removal and, when fea11 sible, adaptation to beneficial use, of organic and in12 organic elements and compounds from saline or bio13 logically impaired waters, by itself or in conjunction

14 with other processes.

15 (2) SALINE WATER.—The term ‘‘saline water’’

16 means sea water, brackish water, and other mineral17 ized or chemically impaired water.

18 (3) UNITED STATES.—The term ‘‘United States’’

19 means the States of the United States, the District of

20 Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the

21 territories and possessions of the United States.

22 (4) USABLE WATER.—The term ‘‘usable water’’

23 means water of a high quality suitable for environ24 mental enhancement, agricultural, industrial, munic-
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1 ipal, and other beneficial consumptive or non2 consumptive uses.

3 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

4 the Secretary of the Interior.

5 SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF RESEARCH AND STUDIES.

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—In order to determine the most cost7 effective and technologically efficient means by which usable

8 water can be produced from saline water or water otherwise

9 impaired or contaminated, the Secretary is authorized to

10 award grants and to enter into contracts, to the extent pro11 vided in advance in appropriation Acts, to conduct, encour12 age, and assist in the financing of research to develop proc13 esses for converting saline water into water suitable for ben14 eficial uses. Awards of research grants and contracts under

15 this section shall be made on the basis of a competitive,

16 merit-reviewed process. Research and study topics author17 ized by this section include—

18 (1) investigating desalination processes;

19 (2) ascertaining the optimum mix of investment

20 and operating costs;

21 (3) determining the best designs for different con22 ditions of operation;

23 (4) investigating methods of increasing the eco24 nomic efficiency of desalination processes through
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1 dual-purpose co-facilities with other processes involv2 ing the use of water;

3 (5) conducting or contracting for technical work,

4 including the design, construction, and testing of pilot

5 systems and test beds, to develop desalting processes

6 and concepts; and

7 (6) studying methods for the recovery of byprod8 ucts resulting from desalination to offset the costs of

9 treatment and to reduce environmental impacts from

10 those byproducts.

11 (b) PROJECT RECOMMENDATIONS AND REPORTS TO

12 THE CONGRESS.—As soon as practicable and within three

13 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary

14 shall recommend to Congress desalination demonstration

15 projects or full-scale desalination projects to carry out the

16 purposes of this Act and to further evaluate and implement

17 the results of research and studies conducted under the au18 thority of this section. Recommendations for projects shall

19 be accompanied by reports on the engineering and economic

20 feasibility of proposed projects and their environmental im21 pacts.

22 (c) AUTHORITY TO ENGAGE OTHERS.—In carrying

23 out research and studies authorized in this section, the Sec24 retary may engage the necessary personnel, industrial or

25 engineering firms, Federal laboratories, water resources re-
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1 search and technology institutes, other facilities, and edu2 cational institutions suitable to conduct investigations and

3 studies authorized under this section.

4 (d) ALTERNATIVE TECHNOLOGIES.—In carrying out

5 the purposes of this Act, the Secretary shall ensure that at

6 least three separate technologies are evaluated and dem7 onstrated for the purposes of accomplishing desalination.

8 SEC. 4. DESALINATION DEMONSTRATION AND DEVELOP9 MENT.

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—In order to further demonstrate the

11 feasibility of desalination processes investigated either inde12 pendently or in research conducted pursuant to section 3,

13 the Secretary shall administer and conduct a demonstration

14 and development program for water desalination and relat15 ed activities, including the following:

16 (1) DESALINATION PLANTS AND MODULES.—

17 Conduct or contract for technical work, including the

18 design, construction, and testing of plants and mod19 ules to develop desalination processes and concepts.

20 (2) BYPRODUCTS.—Study methods for the mar21 keting of byproducts resulting from the desalting of

22 water to offset the costs of treatment and to reduce en23 vironmental impacts of those byproducts.

24 (3) ECONOMIC SURVEYS.—Conduct economic

25 studies and surveys to determine present and prospec-
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1 tive costs of producing water for beneficial purposes

2 in various locations by desalination processes com3 pared to other methods.

4 (b) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—Federal participa5 tion in desalination activities may be conducted through

6 cooperative agreements, including cost-sharing agreements,

7 with non-Federal public utilities and State and local gov8 ernmental agencies and other entities, in order to develop

9 recommendations for Federal participation in processes and

10 plants utilizing desalting technologies for the production of

11 water.

12 SEC. 5. AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION.

13 All information from studies sponsored or funded

14 under authority of this Act shall be considered public infor15 mation.

16 SEC. 6. TECHNICAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANCE.

17 The Secretary may—

18 (1) accept technical and administrative assist19 ance from States and public or private agencies in

20 connection with studies, surveys, location, construc21 tion, operation, and other work relating to the

22 desalting of water, and

23 (2) enter into contracts or agreements stating the

24 purposes for which the assistance is contributed and
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1 providing for the sharing of costs between the Sec2 retary and any such agency.

3 SEC. 7. COST SHARING.

4 The Federal share of the cost of a research, study, or

5 demonstration project or a desalination development project

6 or activity carried out under this Act shall not exceed 50

7 percent of the total cost of the project or research or study

8 activity. A Federal contribution in excess of 25 percent for

9 a project carried out under this Act may not be made unless

10 the Secretary determines that the project is not feasible

11 without such increased Federal contribution. The Secretary

12 shall prescribe appropriate procedures to implement the

13 provisions of this section. Costs of operation, maintenance,

14 repair, and rehabilitation of facilities funded under the au15 thority of this Act shall be non-Federal responsibilities.

16 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

17 (a) SECTION 3.—There are authorized to be appro18 priated to carry out section 3 of this Act $5,000,000 per

19 year for fiscal years 1997 through 2002. Of these amounts,

20 up to $1,000,000 in each fiscal year may be awarded to

21 institutions of higher education, including United States22 Mexico binational research foundations and interuniversity

23 research programs established by the two countries, for re24 search grants without any cost-sharing requirement.
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1 (b) SECTION 4.—There are authorized to be appro2 priated to carry out section 4 of this Act $25,000,000 for

3 fiscal years 1997 through 2002.

Amend the title so as to read: ‘‘An Act to authorize

the Secretary of the Interior to conduct studies regarding

the desalination of water and water reuse, and for other

purposes.’’.

Passed the Senate May 3, 1996.

Attest: KELLY D. JOHNSTON,

Secretary.