For Immediate Release                                                  Contact: Amanda Molk, 202-225-5256
September 25, 2003

Water and Power Subcommittee Approves CALFED Reauthorization

Ranking Member Grace Napolitano (D-CA38) and Chairman Ken Calvert (R-CA) convened a Water and Power Subcommittee markup today of H.R. 2828, the Water Supply, Reliability, and Environmental Improvement Act to reauthorize the CALFED program and other water technology programs throughout the nation.  The panel unanimously approved the bill, sending it to the full House Resources Committee for its consideration.  “This bill provides new opportunities to expand the development and use of innovative technologies to enhance water supplies and improve contamination in groundwater.  This is an important first step, and I will work with my colleagues to enact a bill that meets the needs of our constituents,” commented Napolitano.

The Subcommittee has held several legislative and oversight hearings to demonstrate the need to implement water desalination, recycling, reclamation and treatment programs for commercial and domestic purposes to expand the nation’s water supply.  “I share Chairman Calvert’s strong support for these innovative programs in Title I of the bill, which encourages the expansion of locally-driven programs,” the Congresswoman noted.

Congresswoman Napolitano also touched upon several unresolved issues in Title II of the bill, the portion of the bill dealing with CALFED, including:

• The role of the CALFED Record of Decision (ROD) in implementing all CALFED programs and activities.
• The amount of discretion the Interior Department should have to shift funds from one project to another.
• The role of “beneficiaries’ pay” and the need to implement consistent and effective “beneficiaries’ pay” language.
• The role of Congress to approve and disapprove proposed storage projects; and
• Water quality issues in the Bay-Delta and their impact on water deliveries to the Central Valley and Southern California.

“We can resolve these issues by working together in a bipartisan manner, as has been this Subcommittee’s practice,” explained Napolitano.  “I look forward to working together to craft a final bill that will meet the water needs of California and the rest of the nation,” she concluded.

Representative Grace F. Napolitano, 38th District of California
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