109TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 18
AN ACT
To authorize the Secretary of the Interior, acting
through the Bureau of Reclamation and in co-
ordination with other Federal, State, and local
government agencies, to participate in the fund-
ing and implementation of a balanced, long-term
groundwater remediation program in California,
and for other purposes.
109TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 18
AN ACT
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.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Southern California
Groundwater Remediation Act’’.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
For the purposes of this Act:
(1) GROUNDWATER REMEDIATION.—The term
‘‘groundwater remediation’’ means actions that are
necessary to prevent, minimize, clean up, or mitigate
damage to groundwater.
(2) LOCAL
WATER
AUTHORITY.—The term
‘‘local water authority’’ means a currently existing
(on the date of the enactment of this Act) public
water district, public water utility, public water plan-
ning agency, municipality, or Indian Tribe located
within the natural watershed of the Santa Ana River
in the State of California.
(3) REMEDIATION FUND.—The term ‘‘Remedi-
ation Fund’’ means the Southern California Ground-
water Remediation Fund established pursuant to
section 3(a).
(4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means
the Secretary of the Interior.
SEC. 3. SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GROUNDWATER REMEDI-
ATION.
(a) SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GROUNDWATER REME-
DIATION.—
(1) 
ESTABLISHMENT
OF
REMEDIATION
FUND.—There shall be established within the Treas-
ury of the United States an interest bearing account
to be known as the ‘‘Southern California Ground-
water Remediation Fund’’.
(2) 
ADMINISTRATION
OF
REMEDIATION
FUND.—The Remediation Fund shall be adminis-
tered by the Secretary, acting through the Bureau of
Reclamation. The Secretary shall administer the Re-
mediation Fund in cooperation with the local water
authority.
(3) PURPOSES OF REMEDIATION FUND.—
(A) IN
GENERAL.—Subject to subpara-
graph (B), the amounts in the Remediation
Fund, including interest accrued, shall be used
by the Secretary to provide grants to the local
water authority to reimburse the local water au-
thority for the Federal share of the costs associ-
ated with designing and constructing ground-
water remediation projects to be administered
by the local water authority.
(B) COST-SHARING LIMITATION.—
(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may
not obligate any funds appropriated to the
Remediation Fund in a fiscal year until
the Secretary has deposited into the Reme-
diation Fund an amount provided by non-
Federal interests sufficient to ensure that
at least 35 percent of any funds obligated
by the Secretary for a groundwater reme-
diation project are from funds provided to
the Secretary for that project by the non-
Federal interests.
(ii) 
NON-FEDERAL
RESPONSI-
BILITY.—Each local water authority shall
be responsible for providing the non-Fed-
eral amount required by clause (i) for
projects under that local water authority.
The State of California, local government
agencies, and private entities may provide
all or any portion of the non-Federal
amount.
(iii) CREDITS TOWARD NON-FEDERAL
SHARE.—For purposes of clause (ii), the
Secretary shall credit the appropriate local
water authority with the value of all prior
expenditures 
by 
non-Federal 
interests
made after January 1, 2000, that are com-
patible with the purposes of this section,
including—
(I) all expenditures made by non-
Federal interests to design and con-
struct 
groundwater 
remediation
projects, including expenditures asso-
ciated with environmental analyses,
and public involvement activities that
were 
required 
to 
implement 
the
groundwater remediation 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 ground-
water remediation project.
(b) COMPLIANCE WITH APPLICABLE LAW.—In car-
rying out the activities described in this section, the Sec-
retary shall comply with any applicable Federal and State
laws.
(c) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER ACTIVITIES.—Nothing
in this section shall be construed to affect other Federal
or State authorities that are being used or may be used
to facilitate remediation and protection of the groundwater
the natural watershed of the Santa Ana River in the State
of California. In carrying out the activities described in
this section, the Secretary shall integrate such activities
with ongoing Federal and State projects and activities.
None of the funds made available for such activities pursu-
ant to this section shall be counted against any Federal
authorization ceiling established for any previously author-
ized Federal projects or activities.
(d) FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
AND AUDITS.—The
Secretary shall ensure that all funds obligated and dis-
bursed under this Act and expended by a local water au-
thority, are accounted for in accordance with generally ac-
cepted accounting principles and are subjected to regular
audits in accordance with applicable procedures, manuals,
and circulars of the Department of the Interior and the
Office of Management and Budget.
(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— There is
authorized to be appropriated to the Remediation Fund
$50,000,000. Such funds shall remain available until ex-
pended. Subject to the limitations in section 4, such funds
shall remain available until expended.
SEC. 4. SUNSET OF AUTHORITY.
This Act—
(1) shall take effect on the date of the enact-
ment of this Act; and
(2) is repealed effective as of the date that is
10 years after the date of the enactment of this Act.
Passed the House of Representatives April 12, 2005.
Attest:
Clerk.