Date: 2009-10-29
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Madam Speaker. I rise today in support of the conference report on H.R. 2996. the Interior. Environment. and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for FY2010. This legislation provides a 17 percent increase over FY09 levels for critical programs that protect our public health and environment. Among other provisions. the legislation provides $605 million for the Superfund program which will assist sites across the country clean up hazardous substances. including potentially the San Jacinto River Waste Pits site. It also provides $3 million to fund four new centers of excellence to study toxin and chemical impacts on children. Madam Speaker. I would also like to highlight two important projects I requested funding for in this bill. but unfortunately. did not receive mention in the final conference report. The first is the Mickey Leland National Urban Air Toxics Research Center to continue air quality public health research on air toxics in urban areas as directed by the. U.S. Congress. The Center is a 501(c)(3) institution authorized by Congress in the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990. The individual FY2010 Interior and Environment Appropriations bills approved by both the House and Senate included language recognizing the significant contributions made by the Center in the understanding of the human health effects due to exposure to air toxics. Further. the House legislation encouraged EPA to consider allocating funding for the Center in EPAs budget. The EPA has gone through a deliberative process during the past four months to review the qualifications and research contributions todate made by the Center and as a result. has recommended that funding for the Center be included in the agencys FY2011 budget. Funding air toxics research through the Center is consistent with the congressional intent and supports the Administrations stated objective of expanding research and efforts to address the human health effects of air toxics. I am concerned the final conference report did not reaffirm the importance of the Centers work to our country. Americans want to know whether they are at risk from pollutants in the air that they breathe. People who live near sources of air toxics such as major roadways. industrial facilities. or small businesses. are often especially concerned about their risk. The Center is conducting The Houston Exposure to Air Toxics Study. HEATS. which is an ongoing project designed to study the relationship between personal exposuresthe air people breathe as they go about their daily activitiesand fixed site monitored concentrations of air toxics by measuring personal. residential indoor. and outdoor concentrations. Federal support for the Center is critical to ensure this research continues and I hope to continue working with the chairman. EPA. and OMB to get funding for this research in the budget as Congress intended when it created the Center. We also sought funding funding for a 6year Capital Improvement Project that will rehabilitate and upgrade the city of Baytown. Texass wastewater and water infrastructure to comply with federal and state regulations. maintain its condition and reliability and save costs. The city has implemented an asset management program to assess equipment condition. optimize work practices and ensure funding remains in place to sustain infrastructure improvements over time. The funding we requested under the State and Tribal Assistance Grant would help rehabilitate portions of the Central District Wastewater Treatment Plant to include elevation of redesign of critical components to reduce the storm surge impacts suffered during Hurricane Ike. These include the influent lift station. blower building. administration/laboratory building. and grit removal process. The internal piping needs to be replaced to improve energy and operating efficiency. along with the chlorine contact basin and plant pumping/ transfer systems. Installation of poststorm emergency power systems are also a part of this effort. This is an important project to help Baytown recover from damage caused by Hurricane Ike. and overall to upgrade their wastewater system. and I look forward to working the Chair as we move forward to find assistance for this project. I also want to express some reservation and guidance to EPA as it works to carry out a study in the bill "on the relationship between hydraulic fracturing and drinking water. using a credible approach that relies on the best available science. as well as independent sources of information." I understand the concerns and desire to adequately protect the environment when developing our domestic resources. Hydraulic fracturing is a welltested technology that has been used to develop energy for over 60 years. First used in 1947. hydraulic fracturing has become a standard practice for improving the process of natural energy extraction. The practice involves the pumping of fluid into wells at high pressure to create fractures in rock formations that allow for complete production of oil. Hydraulic fracturing is responsible for about 30 percent of our domestic recoverable oil and natural gas. About 90 percent of currently operating wells use this technology. Hydraulic fracturing. as used to produce natural gas from shale formations. has created new opportunities for clean energy and employment without causing environmental damage. Recent studies on fracturing conducted by the Environmental Protection Agency in 2004 found no confirmed evidence of contamination of drinking water. The study concluded that the injection of hydraulic fracturing fluids poses "little or no threat" to humans or the environment. EPA. The EPA did not find a single incident of the contamination of drinking water wells by hydraulic fracturing fluid injection. Just like EPAs prior study. the new study in H.R. 2996 should be conducted using a systematic. scientific approach that assures transparency. validity and accuracy. The study should be based on accepted quality assurance guidelines in order to ensure that the information on which the study is based is of sufficient quality to support the studys conclusions. It should be properly peerreviewed by qualified experts in accordance with standard practices. and should also draw on the expertise of those both inside and outside the Federal Government who can contribute relevant information to a high quality study. These contributors should include the Department of Energy and the U.S. Geological Survey as well as the state regulators who have many years of experience with hydraulic fracturing. This study should eventually be made available for review and comment by interested members of the public prior to being finalized. At the same time. since we have already studied hydraulic fracturing. it would be prudent for any proposed study to fully take into account other studies that have already been undertaken by Federal or State governmental agencies. councils. commissions or advisory committees. For example. given the significant effort associated with the Agencys prior 2004 study. it would certainly be prudent to fully consider this study in undertaking any further examination of hydraulic fracturing. Finally. and perhaps most importantly. the study should be based on wellrecognized principles of risk assessment to determine whether there is any realistic risk that individuals may be exposed to substances used in the hydraulic fracturing process at levels that could possibly be considered harmful. Madam Speaker. I believe that a targeted study of hydraulic fracturing is the most efficient way to use our resources to accomplish the goals of this study. We need to continue to develop our domestic energy resources. including cleanburning natural gas. A focused approach to the study will allow us to address concerns about hydraulic fracturing while facilitating the continued use of this critical technology.