Statements On Introduced Bills And Joint Resolutions

Floor Speech

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By Mr. WYDEN:

S. 1573. A bill to amend the Reclamation Wastewater and Groundwater Study and Facilities Act to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to participate in the city of Hermiston, Oregon, water recycling and reuse project, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, today I am introducing legislation to provide more clean water for the City of Hermiston, for irrigators in the area and for the Umatilla River. It is good for farmers, fish and in-stream flows.

My legislation amends the Reclamation Wastewater and Groundwater Study and Facilities Act--P.L. 102-575--to authorize the City of Hermiston, OR, to participate in what is known as the Title XVI water reclamation program. This long-standing U.S. Bureau of Reclamation program encourages the reclamation and use of municipal, industrial and agricultural waste water. In this case, the City of Hermiston will treat municipal waste water and deliver it to a local irrigation district--the West Extension Irrigation District--for agricultural use. My bill is a companion bill to legislation already introduced for this same purpose in the House of Representatives by Representative Greg Walden, H.R. 2714. As with other Title XVI projects, this legislation would authorize the Bureau to assist the City in developing this project and provide a cost-share of 25 percent for the project.

The current Hermiston Water Plant discharges ``Class C'' water that can be used only for a limited amount of off-project pastureland irrigation or discharged into the Umatilla River. Beginning in December 2010, a new National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System limit will go into effect, changing the water temperature and pollutants requirements of treated water being put back into the river. Although the city is currently in compliance, once the new limits take effect, the city's current plant will not allow the city to meet the new requirements. As a result, the city will need to construct a new treatment plant, but it would still have difficulty meeting the water temperature requirements.

An upgrade of the plant would not only bring the city into compliance with the new discharge requirements, but it would increase the quality of the recycled water output from ``Class C'' water to ``Class A'' water, making it suitable for all irrigation needs, not just pastureland. Further, the proposed new plant would be configured to discharge its treated water to the West Extension Irrigation District, a Bureau of Reclamation-supported irrigation project. This will significantly increase the amount of water available to the District and will have a beneficial, long-term impact on a regional farming community that faces dwindling water supplies. Acreage available to utilize the city's recycled water discharge would increase from roughly 550 acres to nearly 11,000 acres.

Finally, by ending the discharge of warmer, lower quality water into the Umatilla River, the project will improve the habitat for wildlife and fish in the River, especially for endangered and threatened species. I am pleased that the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, which has fishing rights in the Umatilla River, supports the city's efforts in this regard.

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