Working Together Yields Good Results
When concerned citizens, local officials, and Members of Congress get together to work toward a common goal, positive results follow. That's exactly what has happened in the San Gabriel Valley, and is getting underway in the Inland Empire region, in an effort to ensure a safe, reliable, drinking water supply. The San Gabriel Basin Water Quality Authority (WQA) has become a model for local-federal partnerships and is a shining success symbol for the state and country.
Perchlorate, a harmful contaminant found in solid rocket fuel, was first discovered in the San Gabriel Valley in 1997. At that time, local, state, and federal officials joined together to gather the resources necessary to clean up and maintain a safe drinking water supply for more than 1.2 million residents in the area. Part of the approach was passage of H.R. 910, legislation I authored that created the San Gabriel Basin Restoration Fund and authorized a total of $85 million in federal dollars over five years. The federal dollars, together with funds collected from companies who share responsibility for the clean-up, are being used by the WQA to design, construct, and operate water quality projects to contain and treat groundwater contamination. Since its enactment in 2000, a total of $45 million has been appropriated by the federal government and $10 million more is set to be approved this year. In several facilities across the region, the clean up work is underway. For example, the Baldwin Park Operable Unit treats over 20,000 gallons of water per minute with state of the art technology to reduce and ultimately eliminate the plumes of contamination.
Earlier this year, I met with officials from the Inland Empire Perchlorate Regulatory Task Force. The Task Force, representing the water companies in Colton, Fontana, and Rialto are working on very challenging drinking water issues in this area. Through hard work and ongoing dialogue with federal agencies, they are making strides to ensure a safe drinking water supply for tens of thousands of San Bernardino County residents. The Department of Defense recently reached a memorandum of understanding with these Inland Empire water agencies which calls for all involved to coordinate technical, financial, environmental, and legislative resources to identify and clean up areas contaminated with perchlorate. As this work progresses, they will undoubtedly be looking to the WQA as an example of how to utilize local, state, and federal resources to improve the quality of life in their communities. I look forward to working with them as they move forward.
