California New River Restoration Act of 2021
Bill: H.R.491 | Sponsor: Rep. Vargas, Juan (D-CA)
Policy area: Environmental Protection

Summary:
California New River Restoration Act of 2021
This bill requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish a California New River restoration program for the New River. The river starts in Mexicali, Mexico, flows north into the United States through Calexico, passes through the Imperial Valley, and drains into the Salton Sea.
In carrying out the program, the EPA must implement projects, plans, and initiatives for the New River supported by the California-Mexico Border Relations Council and provide grants and technical assistance for coordinating restoration and protection activities.

To direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to 
 establish a California New River restoration program to build on, and 
    help coordinate funding for, restoration and protection efforts 
           relating to the New River, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``California New River Restoration Act 
of 2021''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) the New River was born out of the Colorado River's 
        occasional flows into the Salton Sink and the erosion of the 
        New River channel which formed the deep river canyon between 
        1905 and 1907;
            (2) the New River starts in Mexicali, Mexico, flows north 
        into the United States through Calexico, passes through the 
        Imperial Valley and drains into the Salton Sea, roughly 66 
        miles north of the international boundary, and the sub-
        watershed covers approximately 750 square miles, with 63 
        percent of that in Mexico and 37 percent in the United States;
            (3) the New River has been widely recognized for its 
        significant water pollution problems, primarily because of 
        agricultural runoff, raw sewage, pesticides, and discharges of 
        wastes from domestic, agricultural, and industrial sources in 
        Mexico and the Imperial Valley;
            (4) by the 1980s, the New River acquired the reputation of 
        being one of the most polluted rivers in the United States, 
        with many of the pollutants posing serious human health hazards 
        to local populations, particularly those in Calexico and 
        Mexicali;
            (5) in 1992, the International Boundary Water Commission's 
        Treaty Minute No. 288 established a sanitation strategy for the 
        New River water quality problems at the international boundary 
        and divided the sanitation projects into two immediate repairs 
        projects, the Mexicali I and the Mexicali II, which totaled 
        about $50 million dollars and were funded by both countries 
        through the North American Development Bank;
            (6) in 1995, the Environmental Protection Agency provided 
        funds to the California Regional Water Quality Control Board to 
        monitor and document the water quality at the international 
        boundary on a monthly basis;
            (7) in the late 1990s, the United States and Mexico spent 
        $100 million (45 percent paid by Mexico and 55 percent paid by 
        the United States) to build the Las Arenitas and Zaragoza 
        Wastewater Treatment plants, and untreated New River water 
        passing through four microbial treatment cells at Las Arenitas 
        was then chlorinated and fed into a re-forestation project 
        along the desiccated Rio Hardy which stretches to the Sea of 
        Cortez;
            (8) a 10-year effort by community groups, lawyers, 
        regulatory agencies, and politicians addressed the problem at 
        the source by federally funding a new sewage treatment plant in 
        Mexicali and developing a site plan for the river on the United 
        States side;
            (9) in 2009, the State of California required the 
        California-Mexico Border Relations Council to create a 
        strategic plan to study, monitor, remediate, and enhance the 
        New River's water quality to protect human health and develop a 
        river parkway suitable for public use;
            (10) in 2012, the California-Mexico Border Relations 
        Council approved the strategic plan for the New River 
        Improvement Project prepared by the New River Improvement 
        Project Technical Advisory Committee;
            (11) in 2016, the New River Improvement Project Technical 
        Advisory Committee revised the recommended infrastructure of 
        the New River Improvement Project, and the State of California 
        appropriated $1.4 million to provide grants or contracts to 
        implement the necessary planning, design, environmental review, 
        and permitting work;
            (12) the revised New River Improvement Project includes the 
        installation of a large trash screen, a conveyance system, 
        aeration devices, a new pump station and managed wetlands; and
            (13) the existing and ongoing voluntary conservation 
        efforts at the New River necessitate improved efficiency and 
        cost effectiveness, as well as increased private-sector 
        investments and coordination of Federal and non-Federal 
        resources.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the 
        Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
            (2) Mexican.--The term ``Mexican'' refers to the Federal, 
        State, and local governments of the United Mexican States.
            (3) New river.--The term ``New River'' means the river that 
        starts in Mexicali, Mexico, flows north into the United States 
        through Calexico, passes through the Imperial Valley, and 
        drains into the Salton Sea.
            (4) Program.--The term ``program'' means the California New 
        River restoration program established under section 4.
            (5) Restoration and protection.--The term ``restoration and 
        protection'' means the conservation, stewardship, and 
        enhancement of habitat for fish and wildlife to preserve and 
        improve ecosystems and ecological processes on which they 
        depend.

SEC. 4. CALIFORNIA NEW RIVER RESTORATION PROGRAM ESTABLISHMENT.

    (a) Establishment.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall establish a program to 
be known as the ``California New River restoration program''.
    (b) Duties.--In carrying out the program, the Administrator shall--
            (1) implement projects, plans, and initiatives for the New 
        River supported by the California-Mexico Border Relations 
        Council, and work in consultation with applicable management 
        entities, including representatives of the Calexico New River 
        Committee, the California-Mexico Border Relations Council, the 
        New River Improvement Project Technical Advisory Committee, the 
        Federal Government, State and local governments, and regional 
        and nonprofit organizations, to implement restoration and 
        protection activities relating to the New River;
            (2) undertake activities that--
                    (A) support the implementation of a shared set of 
                science-based restoration and protection activities 
                identified in accordance with paragraph (1);
                    (B) target cost-effective projects with measurable 
                results; and
                    (C) maximize conservation outcomes with no net gain 
                of Federal full-time equivalent employees; and
            (3) provide grants and technical assistance in accordance 
        with section 5.
    (c) Coordination.--In establishing the program, the Administrator 
shall consult, as appropriate, with--
            (1) the heads of Federal agencies, including--
                    (A) the Secretary of the Interior;
                    (B) the Secretary of Agriculture;
                    (C) the Secretary of Homeland Security;
                    (D) the Administrator of General Services;
                    (E) the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border 
                Protection;
                    (F) the Commissioner of the International Boundary 
                Water Commission; and
                    (G) the head of any other applicable agency;
            (2) the Governor of California;
            (3) the California Environmental Protection Agency;
            (4) the California State Water Resources Control Board;
            (5) the California Department of Water Resources;
            (6) the Colorado River Basin Regional Water Quality Control 
        Board;
            (7) the Imperial Irrigation District; and
            (8) other public agencies and organizations with authority 
        for the planning and implementation of conservation strategies 
        relating to the New River in both the United States and Mexico.
    (d) Purposes.--The purposes of the program include--
            (1) coordinating restoration and protection activities, 
        among Mexican, Federal, State, local, and regional entities and 
        conservation partners, relating to the New River; and
            (2) carrying out coordinated restoration and protection 
        activities, and providing for technical assistance relating to 
        the New River--
                    (A) to sustain and enhance fish and wildlife 
                habitat restoration and protection activities;
                    (B) to improve and maintain water quality to 
                support fish and wildlife, as well as the habitats of 
                fish and wildlife;
                    (C) to sustain and enhance water management for 
                volume and flood damage mitigation improvements to 
                benefit fish and wildlife habitat;
                    (D) to improve opportunities for public access to, 
                and recreation in and along, the New River consistent 
                with the ecological needs of fish and wildlife habitat;
                    (E) to maximize the resilience of natural systems 
                and habitats under changing watershed conditions;
                    (F) to engage the public through outreach, 
                education, and citizen involvement, to increase 
                capacity and support for coordinated restoration and 
                protection activities relating to the New River;
                    (G) to increase scientific capacity to support the 
                planning, monitoring, and research activities necessary 
                to carry out coordinated restoration and protection 
                activities; and
                    (H) to provide technical assistance to carry out 
                restoration and protection activities relating to the 
                New River.

SEC. 5. GRANTS AND ASSISTANCE.

    (a) In General.--In carrying out the program, the Administrator 
shall provide grants and technical assistance to State and local 
governments, nonprofit organizations, and institutions of higher 
education, in both the United States and Mexico, to carry out the 
purposes of the program.
    (b) Criteria.--The Administrator, in consultation with the 
organizations described in section 4(c), shall develop criteria for 
providing grants and technical assistance under this section to ensure 
that such activities accomplish one or more of the purposes identified 
in section 4(d)(2) and advance the implementation of priority actions 
or needs identified in the New River-wide strategy adopted under 
section 4(b)(2).
    (c) Cost Sharing.--
            (1) Federal share.--The Federal share of the cost of a 
        project for which a grant is provided under this section shall 
        not exceed 55 percent of the total cost of the activity, as 
        determined by the Administrator.
            (2) Non-federal share.--The non-Federal share of the cost 
        of a project for which a grant is provided under this section 
        may be provided in the form of an in-kind contribution of 
        services or materials.
    (d) Administration.--
            (1) In general.--The Administrator may enter into an 
        agreement to manage the implementation of this section with the 
        North American Development Bank or a similar organization that 
        offers grant management services.
            (2) Funding.--If the Administrator enters into an agreement 
        under paragraph (1), the organization selected shall--
                    (A) for each fiscal year, receive amounts to carry 
                out this section in an advance payment of the entire 
                amount on October 1, or as soon as practicable 
                thereafter, of that fiscal year;
                    (B) invest and reinvest those amounts for the 
                benefit of the program; and
                    (C) otherwise administer the implementation of this 
                section to support partnerships between the public and 
                private sectors in accordance with this Act.

SEC. 6. ANNUAL REPORTS.

    Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 
and annually thereafter, the Administrator shall submit to Congress a 
report on the implementation of this Act, including a description of 
each project that has received funding under this Act and the status of 
all such projects that are in progress on the date of submission of the 
report.
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