,i  #aaeth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #cgie  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,september #ad1      
#bjag,mr4 ,vargas 7for himself and ,mr4 
,issa7 introduced the following bill2   
which was referred to the ,committee on 
,transportation and ,infrastructure1 and
 in addition to the ,committee on       
,foreign ,affairs1 for a period to be   
subsequently determined by the ,speaker1
 in each case for consideration of such 
provisions as fall within the           
jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
,a ,,bill  ,to direct the ,secretary of 
the ,army1 acting through the ,chief of 
,engineers1 to carry out a comprehensive
 protection and rehabilitation program  
for the ,tijuana ,river ,valley1 and for
 other purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this
 ,act may be cited as the ,tijuana      
,river ,valley ,comprehensive           
,protection and ,rehabilitation ,act of 
#bjag4  #b4 ,findings2 sense of         
,congress  7a7 ,findings ,congress finds
 that--  7#a7 the ,tijuana ,river       

,valley is a broad natural floodplain   
containing a variety of wetland and     
riparian areas2  7#b7 the ,tijuana      
,river ,valley is a small portion of the
 ,tijuana ,river's #a1gjj square miles  
of watershed2  7#c7 the ,tijuana        
,river's watershed area includes        
portions of south ,san ,diego ,county   
and northern ,baja ,california1 ,mexico2
  7#d7 the ,tijuana ,river ,valley      
,planning ,area is bounded by the city  
of ,imperial ,beach and the ,otay       
,mesa-,nestor community to the north1   
the ,san ,ysidro community to the east1 
,mexico to the south1 and ,border ,field
 ,state ,park and ,imperial ,beach to   
the west2  7#e7 near the coast is the   
most extensive salt marsh in southern   
,california1 which is preserved within  
the ,tijuana ,river ,national ,estuarine
 ,sanctuary2  7#f7 further inland1 the  
,tijuana ,river is vegetated with       
riparian habitat2  7#g7 the ,tijuana    
,river ,valley is bounded on the south  
by high mesas and deep canyons covered  

by chaparral1 sage scrub1 and           
grasslands2  7#h7 the floodplain of the 
,tijuana ,river ,valley currently       
contains a mixture of agricultural      
fields1 equestrian facilities1 rural    
housing1 riparian woodland1 and         
disturbed habitats2  7#i7 periodic rains
 in the region have produced flooding   
and cross-border flows of wastewater and
 sewage1 causing public health concerns 
as well as disruptions to the local     
tourist economy and military readiness2 
and  7#aj7 in ,february #bjag1 as       
reported in the ,transboundary ,bypass  
,flows into the ,tijuana ,river report  
released by the ,united ,states section 
of the ,international ,boundary and     
,water ,commission1 ,united ,states and 
,mexico1 approximately #bh million      
gallons of sewage was discharged into   
the ,tijuana ,river ,valley1 resulting  
in beach closures throughout the region4
  7b7 ,sense of ,congress ,it is the    
sense of ,congress that all pertinent   
,federal agencies1 in conjunction with  

their ,mexican counterparts1 should use 
all available resources to upgrade and  
enhance the physical infrastructure of  
the ,tijuana ,river ,valley to stop and 
manage all wastewater1 sewage1 trash1   
and sediment spills4  #c4 ,definitions  
,in this ,act1 the following definitions
 apply3 7#a7 ,mexican governments ,the  
term ,mexican governments means the     
,federal1 ,state1 and local governments 
of the ,united ,mexican ,states4  7#b7  
,restoration and protection ,the term   
restoration and protection means the    
conservation1 stewardship1 and          
enhancement of the physical             
infrastructure in both the ,united      
,states and ,mexico to prevent flooding 
and wastewater1 sewage1 trash1 and      
sediment spills in the ,tijuana ,river  
,valley4  7#c7 ,secretary ,the term     
,secretary means the ,secretary of the  
,army1 acting through the ,chief of     
,engineers4  7#d7 ,tijuana ,river       
,valley ,the term ,tijuana ,river       
,valley means the planning area in ,san 

,diego ,county bounded by the city of   
,imperial ,beach and the ,otay          
,mesa-,nestor community to the north1   
the ,san ,ysidro community to the east1 
,mexico to the south1 and ,border ,field
 ,state ,park and ,imperial ,beach to   
the west4  #d4 ,tijuana ,river ,valley  
comprehensive protection and            
rehabilitation program  7a7 ,in general 
,in accordance with the requirements of 
this section1 the ,secretary shall      
establish and carry out a comprehensive 
protection and rehabilitation program   
for the ,tijuana ,river ,valley4  7b7   
,coordination ,in establishing the      
program1 the ,secretary shall consult1  
as appropriate1 with-- 7#a7 the heads of
 ,federal agencies1 including--  7,a7   
the ,secretary of the ,interior2  7,b7  
the ,secretary of ,homeland ,security2  
7,c7 the ,administrator of ,general     
,services2  7,d7 the ,administrator of  
the ,environmental ,protection ,agency2 
7,e7 the ,secretary of ,state2  7,f7 the
 ,commissioner of ,u4,s4 ,customs and   

,border ,protection2 and  7,g7 the      
,director of the ,united ,states ,fish  
and ,wildlife ,service2  7#b7 the       
,united ,states ,commissioner1          
,international ,boundary and ,water     
,commission1 ,united ,states and        
,mexico2  7#c7 the ,border ,environment 
,cooperation ,commission2  7#d7 the     
,north ,american ,development ,bank2    
7#e7 the ,governor of ,california2  7#f7
 the ,california ,environmental         
,protection ,agency2  7#g7 the city of  
,imperial ,beach2  7#h7 the city of ,san
 ,diego2  7#i7 the county of ,san       
,diego2  7#aj7 the ,san ,diego ,regional
 ,water ,quality ,control ,board2  7#aa7
 the ,tijuana ,river ,national          
,estuarine ,research ,reserve2  7#ab7   
,mexican governments2 and  7#ac7 other  
public agencies and organizations with  
authority for the planning and          
implementation of conservation          
strategies relating to the ,tijuana     
,river ,valley in both the ,united      
,states and ,mexico4  7c7 ,purposes ,the

 purposes of the program include-- 7#a7 
coordinating restoration and protection 
activities among ,mexican1 ,federal1    
,state1 local1 and regional entities and
 conservation partners relating to the  
,tijuana ,river ,valley2 and  7#b7      
carrying out coordinated restoration and
 protection activities1 and providing   
for technical assistance1 relating to   
the ,tijuana ,river ,valley4  7d7       
,feasibility and technical assistance   
plan ,not later than #cfj days after the
 date of enactment of this ,act1 the    
,secretary shall develop a feasibility  
and technical assistance plan for       
updated wastewater infrastructure and   
flood preparedness in the ,tijuana      
,river ,valley4  7e7 ,grants and        
assistance  7#a7 ,in general ,in        
carrying out the program1 the ,secretary
 shall provide grants and technical     
assistance to ,state and local          
governments1 nonprofit organizations1   
and institutions of higher education1 in
 both the ,united ,states and ,mexico1  

to carry out the purposes of the        
program4  7#b7 ,criteria ,the           
,secretary1 in consultation with the    
organizations described in subsection   
7b71 shall develop criteria for         
providing grants and technical          
assistance under this subsection to     
ensure that such activities accomplish  
one or more of the purposes identified  
in subsection 7c7 and advance the       
implementation of priority actions or   
needs identified under the program4  7f7
 ,grant management services  7#a7 ,in   
general ,the ,secretary may enter into  
an agreement to manage the              
implementation of this section with the 
,north ,american ,development ,bank1 the
 ,border ,environment ,cooperation      
,commission1 or a similar organization  
that offers grant management services4  
7#b7 ,funding ,if the ,secretary enters 
into an agreement under paragraph 7#a71 
the organization selected shall-- 7,a7  
for each fiscal year1 receive amounts to
 carry out this section in an advance   

payment of the entire amount on ,october
 #a of that fiscal year or as soon as   
practicable thereafter2  7,b7 invest and
 reinvest those amounts for the benefit 
of the program2 and  7,c7 otherwise     
administer the implementation of this   
section to support partnerships between 
the public and private sectors in       
accordance with this section4  7g7 ,cost
 sharing ,the ,federal share of the cost
 of a project for which a grant is      
provided under this section may not     
exceed #ee percent of the total cost of 
the project4  7h7 ,priority ,in         
selecting projects to receive assistance
 under the program1 the ,secretary shall
 give priority to projects with matching
 funds from ,state and local governments
 or ,mexican governments4  7i7          
,authorization of appropriations ,there 
are authorized to be appropriated for   
each fiscal year such sums as may be    
necessary to carry out this section4    
#e4 ,monitoring and notifications  7a7  
,transboundary ,waterway ,alert ,system 

,using the systems of the ,international
 ,boundary and ,water ,commission1      
,united ,states and ,mexico1 the        
,secretary of ,state shall establish an 
updated and online system1 to be known  
as the ,transboundary ,waterway ,alert  
,system 7in this section referred to as 
the ,system71 to monitor1 warn1 and     
protect citizens of the ,united ,states 
from undue and avoidable harm from      
wastewater1 sewage1 trash1 and sediment 
spills and flooding for each major      
waterway along the ,united              
,states-,mexico border4  7b7 ,objectives
 ,the objectives of the ,system shall be
 to monitor all the waterways along the 
,united ,states-,mexico border--  7#a7  
to ensure updated and timely information
 on all water testing results1          
wastewater1 sewage1 trash1 and sediment 
spills1 and flood warnings2 and  7#b7 to
 ensure that such information is        
accessible and readily available to the 
public and government officials on the  
internet4  7c7 ,partnerships ,the       

,secretary of ,state may enter into     
cooperative agreements with institutions
 of higher education and ,mexican       
governments for the establishment and   
management of the ,system4  7d7         
,notification  7#a7 ,notification of    
,mexican governments ,the ,secretary of 
,state shall submit a diplomatic note to
 its ,mexican counterparts to provide   
information of a wastewater1 sewage1    
trash1 or sediment spill in the ,tijuana
 ,river ,valley upon the initial        
discovery of the spill4  7#b7           
,notification of ,united ,states local  
governments ,the ,secretary of ,state1  
acting through the ,united ,states      
,commissioner1 ,international ,boundary 
and ,water ,commission1 ,united ,states 
and ,mexico1 shall notify the city of   
,san ,diego1 the city of ,imperial      
,beach1 and the county of ,san ,diego   
upon initial discovery of a wastewater1 
sewage1 trash1 or sediment spill in the 
,tijuana ,river ,valley4