STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS -- (Senate - September 24, 2009)
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By Mr. REID (for himself and Mr. Ensign):
S. 1711. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide tax incentives for making homes more water-efficient, for building new water-efficient homes, for public water conservation, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Finance.
Mr. REID. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce three pieces of legislation: the Water Efficiency and Conservation Investment Act, S. 1711, the Water Efficiency, Conservation and Adaptation Act, S. 1712, and the Water Efficiency via Carbon Harvesting and Restoration Act, S. 1713.
Water is our world's most precious and important limited natural resource--access to water is vital for every person and life form on this planet. Albert Szent-Gyorgyi, a Hungarian Nobel Prize winning doctor, once said that ``water is life's mater and matrix, mother and medium. There is no life without water.''
While Nevada is blessed with beautiful desert landscapes and tremendous clean energy resources, we are not blessed with abundant water supplies. That is why I am introducing legislation together with my friend Senator ENSIGN and others that will: encourage Americans to use water more efficiently; ensure that future generations have access to adequate supplies of clean water; and convert water stealing invasive weeds to sequestered carbon and clean-burning fuels.
A lengthy drought is taking its toll on the Colorado River Basin states, especially Nevada, Arizona, and California. More than 30 million people rely on water from the Colorado River, which supplies Southern Nevada with 90 percent of its water. Water levels at Lake Mead, where water used by 1.9 million Nevadans is stored, have dropped by roughly 100 feet. If the drought in the Southwest continues the lake could dry up in the next 12 years, according to a study by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
Growing population, rising water demand, climate change induced disruptions to the water cycle, aging infrastructure, and water disputes all necessitate early action so the water resources we rely on today can be enjoyed by the next generation.
Even without considering the effects of climate change, the U.S. Global Change Research Program has identified many serious water supply conflicts in the Colorado River Basin states by 2025. Factoring in the USGCRP's projection that precipitation runoff will decrease in the Southwest by up to 40 percent in some areas over the next half century as a result of a changing climate, it is clear that immediate and constant attention is and will be necessary to address these water supply problems.
Legislation is urgently needed to promote greater water efficiency and create better financing options for improving our infrastructure to save, recycle and reuse water. Strong tax incentives to make our homes and yards more water efficient and to increase investments in extending the life of our existing water supplies will help secure water scarce regions against the economic and health catastrophes that would occur if their water supplies were to run dry.
We need to invest meaningfully in planning for, adapting to and mitigating the effects of climate change on water supplies and water infrastructure with which Nevadans are becoming all too familiar. It is important that we start planning right away for a more secure water supply future.
Investing in water efficiency and adapting our water systems to a changing climate not only prepares us for the future, it also can save consumers hundreds of dollars on their water bills. Additionally, adequate funding for the legislation I am introducing today could create tens of thousands of jobs. A $1 million direct investment in water efficiency is estimated to create between 15 and 22 jobs--more than double the jobs created by coal or oil investments.
Together, the Water Efficiency and Conservation Investment Act and the Water Efficiency, Conservation and Adaptation Act provide the right balance of tax incentives, financing and grant programs to begin formulating a national strategy to address these pressing needs and ensure that current and future Nevadans will have greater and more sustainable economic growth opportunities.
The Water Efficiency via Carbon Harvesting and Restoration Act also helps protect our water resources, and does much more. Invasive weeds and dangerous fuels buildup in Western landscapes have become recipes for disaster on a seemingly annual basis. The Bureau of Land Management has estimated that a single acre of salt cedar robs our watersheds of nearly a million gallons of water each year. The National Park Service has found that the infestation at Lake Mead National Recreation Area alone covers almost 7,000 acres. Removing the salt cedar from this one area would restore enough water to satisfy the needs of 72,000 Las Vegas residents.
At the same time, expansion of pinyon and juniper now covers up to 9 million acres of the public lands in the Great Basin, forming dense thickets impenetrable to most wildlife, and creating enormous wildland fire hazards.
Using biochar production technology, we can restore these impacted landscapes, while producing valuable products that can help address climate change through long term carbon sequestration, benefit agriculture and the environment by reducing the need for chemical fertilizers, and produce cleaner-burning fuels to help meet our Nation's energy needs. All of this can be achieved while saving billions of gallons of water, reducing the risks of hotter and more difficult to extinguish wildfires, and creating rural economic development opportunities.
Let me offer a brief description of how biochar technology works: the
woody material in invasive plants is heated in the absence of oxygen to produce biochar, as well as bio-oil and syngas which can then be used to power the production process. Biochar is nearly pure carbon, and when applied to landscapes and agricultural fields it has long-lasting benefits. It significantly improves soil quality, decreases fertilizer runoff, and increases plant health and crop yields. Studies have found that biochar is stable for hundreds if not thousands of years, keeping this carbon from being released into the atmosphere where it would contribute to climate change.
These bills will do much to extend the life of our water resources in the face of growing water demand and climate disruptions, while improving the health of ecosystems. Under these bills, Nevadans would have new options to save money on their water bills and new ways to make money by eliminating water-hungry invasive species. And, the low-cost financing options that will help communities adapt to drought and water scarcity due to global climate change will ensure sustainable economic growth and stimulate more green job creation.
As these bills move through the legislative process, I look forward to working with my colleagues to ensure that adequate attention is paid to the tremendous work our Nation must do so that future generations may enjoy a more secure and predictable clean water future.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the RECORD.
There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows:
S. 1711
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By Mr. REID (for himself, Mrs. BOXER, and Mr. CARDIN):
S. 1712. A bill to promote water efficiency, conservation, and adaptation, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the RECORD.
There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows:
S. 1712
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By Mr. REID (for himself, Mr. BAUCUS, Mr. HATCH, Mr. TESTER, and Mr. UDALL of New Mexico):
S. 1713. A bill to establish loan guarantee programs to develop biochar technology using excess plant biomass, to establish biochar demonstration projects on public land, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the RECORD.
There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows:
S. 1713
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