Statement of John Keys, III

Commissioner

Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Department of the Interior

on H.R. 4739

before the

Subcommittee on Water and Power

Committee on Resources

House of Representatives

July 9, 2002

H.R. 4739 would authorize the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) to participate in the design, planning, and construction of, and land acquisition for, the City of Austin water reclamation project in the State of Texas. The authority provided in H.R. 4739 is an amendment to the Reclamation Projects Authorization and Adjustment Act, (Public Law 102-575), which limits the Federal share of project costs to 25 percent of the total project costs and restricts the Secretary from providing funding for the operation and maintenance of this project. While the Department strongly encourages local water recycling efforts, we must oppose authorizing this additional Federal recycling project for the reasons described below.

In 1992, Congress adopted, and the President signed, the Reclamation Projects Authorization and Adjustment Act (Public Law 102-575). Title XVI of this Act, the Reclamation Wastewater and Groundwater Study and Facilities Act, authorized the construction of five water reclamation and reuse projects. Four of these projects are in California and the fifth is in Arizona. The Secretary also was authorized to undertake a program to identify other water recycling opportunities throughout the 17 western United States, and to conduct appraisal level and feasibility level studies to determine if those opportunities are worthy of implementation. In addition, the Secretary was authorized to conduct research and to construct, operate, and maintain demonstration projects. The Bureau of Reclamation has been administering a grant program to fund these Title XVI activities since FY 1994.

In 1996, Public Law 104-266, the Reclamation Recycling and Water Conservation Act, was enacted. This Act amended Title XVI and authorized the Secretary to participate in the planning, design, and construction of 18 additional projects, including two desalination research and development projects. These new projects are distributed within five states, including California, Nevada, Utah, Texas, and New Mexico. Title XVI of P.L. 102-575 was further amended in 1998 by Public Law 105-321, to authorize a project in Salem, Oregon. Finally, Title XVI was amended twice in 2000, first by Public Law 106-544, to authorize a project in Sparks, Nevada, and then by Public Law 106-566, which provided the Secretary with general authority to conduct planning studies in the State of Hawaii. To date, Congress has provided funding to plan or construct 19 of these 25 specifically authorized projects. In addition, under the general authority of Title XVI, funding has been provided to identify and investigate, at the appraisal or feasibility level, eight potential water recycling projects, and to conduct three research and demonstration projects.

Municipal, industrial, domestic, and agricultural wastewater reuse efforts can assist states and local communities in solving contemporary water supply problems. However, the Department opposes authorizing additional construction projects in the absence of feasibility studies to determine whether these particular projects warrant Federal funding. In general, Reclamation places priority on funding new projects that: (1) are economically justified and environmentally acceptable in a watershed context; (2) are not eligible for funding under another Federal program; and (3) directly address Administration priorities for the Reclamation program, such as reducing the demand on existing Federal water supply facilities.

It should be noted that the Department, through the Bureau of Reclamation, has recently begun working with the City of Austin on an appraisal study of this proposed project. The appraisal study should be completed in less than one year from now. A feasibility study, if recommended as a result of the appraisal, has authority under the existing provisions of P.L. 102-575, Title XVI and would also be contingent upon funding availability. We recommend continuing these cooperative studies to prepare the necessary analyses and evaluations of the project prior to Congressional authorization for construction.

The Department also opposes enactment of this legislation because authorizing new construction projects is likely to place an additional burden on Reclamation's already tight budget. To date, Reclamation has been unable to provide the full authorized funding amounts for all but four of the water reclamation and reuse projects presently authorized by Title XVI. At current funding levels, it will take Reclamation more than 10 years to complete funding of the 25 currently authorized projects.

Finally, the Department opposes enactment of the provision in H.R. 4739 authorizing land acquisition prior to completion of a feasibility study. Federal contributions for land acquisition should await the outcome of a feasibility study.

In summary, the Department strongly encourages local water recycling efforts, and is engaged in numerous water reuse and recycling projects around the West. In fact, the Department has recently begun an appraisal study of the project described in H.R. 4739. However, for the reasons provided above, the Department cannot, at this time, support authorizing this new construction request.

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on H.R. 4739. This concludes my statement and I would be happy to answer any questions.