The Region : Water Cleanup Bill Backed
The state Assembly unanimously approved a resolution this week calling on President Clinton and Congress to enact a bill that aims to end gridlock over the cleanup of the severely polluted San Gabriel Basin, an underground water supply that provides drinking water to much of the area.
The resolution, authored by Assemblywoman Hilda L. Solis (D-El Monte), supports a bill by U.S. Rep. Esteban Torres (D-La Puente) that calls for businesses and industry that have been identified as polluters to voluntarily contract with federal environmental officials to share in the cleanup costs.
Although more than 300 polluters have been identified since the problem was discovered in 1979, getting anyone to pay has proved difficult. The bill is designed to avoid a spate of lawsuits by polluters who do not want to pay.
The bill by Torres is supported by local business organizations, the Sierra Club and U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.).
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