Findings; purposes

(a) Findings Congress finds that— (1) the New River was born out of— (A) occasional flows of the Colorado River into the Salton Sink; and (B) the erosion of the New River channel, which formed the deep river canyon between 1905 and 1907; (2) the New River— (A) starts in Mexicali, Mexico; (B) flows north into the United States through Calexico; (C) passes through the Imperial Valley; and (D) drains into the Salton Sea approximately 66 miles north of the international boundary; (3) the sub-watershed of the New River covers approximately 750 square miles, of which 63 percent is in Mexico and 37 percent is in the United States; (4) the New River has been widely recognized for significant water pollution problems, primarily because of agricultural runoff, raw sewage, pesticides, and discharges of wastes from domestic, agricultural, and industrial sources in Mexico and the Imperial Valley; (5) by the 1980s, the New River acquired the reputation of being 1 of the most polluted rivers in the United States, with many pollutants in the New River posing serious human health hazards to local populations, particularly in Calexico and Mexicali; (6) in 1992, Minute 288 of the International Boundary and Water Commission— (A) established a sanitation strategy for the water quality problems of the New River at the international border; and (B) divided sanitation projects into 2 immediate repair projects, the Mexicali I and Mexicali II, that— (i) totaled approximately $50,000,000; and (ii) were funded by both the United States and Mexico through the North American Development Bank; (7) in 1995, the Environmental Protection Agency provided funds to the California Regional Water Quality Control Board to monitor and document the water quality at the international boundary on a monthly basis; (8) in the late 1990s— (A) the United States and Mexico spent $100,000,000 (of which 45 percent was paid by Mexico and 55 percent was paid by the United States) to build the Las Arenitas and Zaragoza wastewater treatment plants; and (B) after the construction of those plants, untreated water from the New River was passed through 4 microbial treatment cells at the Las Arenitas wastewater treatment plant, which was then chlorinated and fed into a reforestation project along the desiccated Rio Hardy, which stretches to the Sea of Cortez; (9) a 10-year effort by community groups, lawyers, regulatory agencies, and politicians addressed the problem of water quality in the New River at the source by— (A) federally funding a new sewage treatment plant in Mexicali; and (B) developing a site plan for the portion of the New River in the United States; (10) in 2009, the State of California required the California-Mexico Border Relations Council— (A) to create a water quality plan to study, monitor, remediate, and enhance the water quality of the New River to protect human health; and (B) to develop a river parkway suitable for public use; (11) in 2012, the California-Mexico Border Relations Council approved the strategic plan for the New River Improvement Project that was prepared by the New River Improvement Project Technical Advisory Committee; (12) in 2016, the New River Improvement Project Technical Advisory Committee revised the recommended infrastructure of the New River Improvement Project, and the State of California appropriated $1,400,000 to provide grants or contracts to carry out the necessary planning, design, environmental review, and permitting work; (13) the revised New River Improvement Project includes the installation of a large trash screen, a conveyance system, aeration devices, a new pump station, and managed wetlands; and (14) the existing and ongoing voluntary conservation efforts at the New River necessitate improved efficiency and cost effectiveness, increased private sector investments, and coordination of Federal and non-Federal resources. (b) Purposes The purposes of this title include— (1) coordinating water quality restoration and protection activities relating to the New River among Mexican, Federal, State, local, and regional entities and conservation partners; and (2) carrying out coordinated restoration and protection activities relating to the New River and providing technical assistance for those activities— (A) to sustain and enhance fish and wildlife habitat restoration and protection activities; (B) to improve and maintain water quality to support fish and wildlife, as well as the habitats of fish and wildlife; (C) to sustain and enhance water management for volume and flood damage mitigation improvements to benefit fish and wildlife habitat; (D) to improve opportunities for public access to, and recreation in and along, the New River consistent with the ecological needs of fish and wildlife habitat; (E) to maximize the resilience of natural systems and habitats under changing watershed conditions; (F) to engage the public through outreach, education, and citizen involvement to increase capacity and support for coordinated water quality restoration and protection activities relating to the New River; (G) to increase scientific capacity to support the planning, monitoring, and research activities necessary to carry out coordinated water quality restoration and protection activities relating to the New River; and (H) to provide technical assistance to carry out water quality restoration and protection activities relating to the New River.