What This Bill Does
This bill lets the head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) give money and contracts to projects that use new technology to fix water problems. The bill creates a special fund to pay for these projects and requires the EPA to report yearly on how well they work.
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Who It Affects
* Colleges and universities
* Nonprofit organizations
* Private companies
* Individual researchers
* State and local government agencies
* The general public (who will have access to project results)
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Key Provisions
* The EPA creates a fund called the Water Quality and Environmental Innovation Fund that receives money each year from October 1, 2024 through September 30, 2028 (Sec. 4)
* The EPA can award grants and contracts to colleges, nonprofits, companies and individuals for projects using new technologies like artificial intelligence, robotics, or underwater farming to solve water quality problems (Sec. 5)
* Projects can address specific water threats including algal blooms, ocean acidification, plastic accumulation, flooding from sea-level rise, soil damage, and erosion (Sec. 5)
* All data, results and statistics from funded projects must be free and available to the public and government agencies (Sec. 5)
* The EPA must submit yearly reports to Congress describing which groups received money, what projects they did, and whether the projects worked (Sec. 6)
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What Changes
If this bill becomes law, the EPA gains the power to fund new water quality projects using cutting-edge technology. Communities will have access to free information about whether these new approaches actually solve water problems. A dedicated fund ensures money is available for these projects through 2028.
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Important Definitions
* **Artificial intelligence**: Defined by the National Artificial Intelligence Initiative Act of 2020
* **Quantum information science**: Defined by the National Quantum Initiative Act
* **Distributed ledger technology**: A shared record-keeping system (like blockchain) that multiple computers maintain together and update using agreed-upon rules
* **Eligible entity**: Colleges, nonprofits, or other U.S.-based groups the EPA approves, plus individuals and private companies the EPA approves for contracts
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Effective Date
Not specified in bill text
I
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 873
To authorize the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to
award grants and contracts for projects that use emerging technologies
to address threats to water quality, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 8, 2023
Mr. DONALDS (for himself and Mr. GOTTHEIMER) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infra-
structure, and in addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce,
and Science, Space, and Technology, for a period to be subsequently de-
termined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions
as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To authorize the Administrator of the Environmental Protec-
tion Agency to award grants and contracts for projects
that use emerging technologies to address threats to
water quality, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
3
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Water Quality and En-
4
vironmental Innovation Act’’.
5
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•HR 873 IH
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
1
Congress finds the following:
2
(1) Science, technology, and innovation are
3
major cornerstones of the economy of the United
4
States.
5
(2) Throughout the United States, there is a
6
growing momentum to address traditional and
7
emerging threats to the Nation’s water resources
8
through innovative technological approaches.
9
(3) Water quality continues to negatively im-
10
pact communities in the United States in a variety
11
of ways.
12
(4) Water quality improvement and protection
13
efforts pose a unique opportunity for private and
14
public innovators to develop lasting market-based so-
15
lutions.
16
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
17
It is the sense of Congress that—
18
(1) the Federal Government should support in-
19
novative solutions to address water quality in the
20
United States;
21
(2) forward-thinking applications of new and
22
existing technologies will be vital for the ability of
23
communities in the United States to treat and mon-
24
itor vital aquatic and environmental resources;
25
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•HR 873 IH
(3) supporting an innovative approach to ad-
1
dressing or avoiding water quality degradation will
2
ultimately result in positive changes pertaining to
3
water quality and environmental well-being;
4
(4) utilizing emerging technologies will spur
5
market-based innovation and will further amplify the
6
ongoing efforts to resolve water quality degradation;
7
and
8
(5) the Environmental Protection Agency and
9
State environmental agencies should prioritize the
10
use of emerging technologies, including artificial in-
11
telligence, quantum information science, distributed
12
ledger technology, mechanical harvesting, aquatic
13
muck dredging, living shorelines, living seawalls, ro-
14
botics,
nanotechnology,
environmental
DNA
15
(eDNA), and cultivation of aquatic species, such as
16
seaweed, seagrass, kelp, clams, oysters, and mussels,
17
when creating programs and solutions to address
18
water quality.
19
SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE WATER QUALITY AND EN-
20
VIRONMENTAL INNOVATION FUND.
21
(a) IN GENERAL.—There is established a fund, to be
22
known as the Water Quality and Environmental Innova-
23
tion Fund.
24
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•HR 873 IH
(b) TRANSFERS TO THE FUND.—On October 1 of
1
each of fiscal years 2024 through 2028, there shall be
2
transferred from the special account described in section
3
6501(e) of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of
4
1990 (42 U.S.C. 4370c(e)) to the Water Quality and En-
5
vironmental Innovation Fund, an amount that is equal to
6
the amount that the Administrator of the Environmental
7
Protection Agency determines will be collected in such fis-
8
cal year from fees and charges under the Motor Vehicle
9
and Engine Compliance Program of the Environmental
10
Protection Agency.
11
(c) EXPENDITURES.—Amounts in the Water Quality
12
and Environmental Innovation Fund—
13
(1) shall be available, as provided in appropria-
14
tions Acts, for awarding grants and contracts, and
15
for other expenses associated with administering
16
such awards, under section 5; and
17
(2) shall remain available until September 30,
18
2028.
19
SEC. 5. AWARDS FOR PROJECTS THAT USE EMERGING
20
TECHNOLOGIES TO ADDRESS THREATS TO
21
WATER QUALITY.
22
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator may award
23
grants and contracts to eligible entities in accordance with
24
this section.
25
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•HR 873 IH
(b) USE OF FUNDS.—
1
(1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity may use a
2
grant or contract awarded under this section to
3
carry out a project—
4
(A) that uses an emerging technology, in-
5
cluding artificial intelligence, quantum informa-
6
tion science, distributed ledger technology, me-
7
chanical harvesting, aquatic muck dredging, liv-
8
ing shorelines, living seawalls, robotics, nano-
9
technology, environmental DNA (eDNA), and
10
cultivation of aquatic species, such as seaweed,
11
seagrass, kelp, clams, oysters, and mussels, to
12
address threats to water quality; or
13
(B) for the research, development, or de-
14
sign of such an emerging technology to be used
15
to address threats to water quality.
16
(2) WATER
QUALITY
THREATS.—Threats to
17
water quality that may be addressed under a project
18
carried out using a grant or contract awarded under
19
this section include—
20
(A) acidification;
21
(B) the accumulation of plastics, trash,
22
and microplastics;
23
(C) hydrologic alterations, such as restrict-
24
ing tidal flow;
25
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•HR 873 IH
(D) nutrient release and eutrophication,
1
including harmful algal blooms;
2
(E) sea-level rise;
3
(F) waste carbon dioxide accumulations;
4
(G) adverse soil health conditions;
5
(H) erosion and sedimentation; and
6
(I) karst, sinkholes, and land subsidence.
7
(c) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—The Administrator may—
8
(1) award grants under this section to any in-
9
stitution of higher education, nonprofit organization,
10
or any other entity located or headquartered in the
11
United States that the Administrator determines ap-
12
propriate; and
13
(2) award contracts under this section to indi-
14
viduals or private for-profit companies that the Ad-
15
ministrator determines appropriate.
16
(d) REQUIREMENT.—Any results, including data and
17
statistics, from a project carried out using a grant or con-
18
tract awarded under this section shall be freely accessible
19
and useable by the public, including local, State, and Fed-
20
eral government entities.
21
SEC. 6. REPORT.
22
Not later than one year after the date of the enact-
23
ment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Adminis-
24
trator shall submit to the Committee on Environment and
25
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•HR 873 IH
Public Works of the Senate, the Committee on Commerce,
1
Science, and Transportation of the Senate, the Committee
2
on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representa-
3
tives, the Committee on Transportation and Infrastruc-
4
ture of the House of Representatives, and the Committee
5
on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Rep-
6
resentatives a report describing—
7
(1) additional benefits that may result from the
8
use of emerging technologies, including emerging
9
technologies described in section 5(b)(1)(A), to ad-
10
dress threats to water quality, compared to use of
11
existing technologies to address threats to water
12
quality;
13
(2) the recipients of the grants and contracts
14
awarded under this Act;
15
(3) the types and goals of projects carried out
16
using the grants and contracts awarded under this
17
Act;
18
(4) the effectiveness of such projects in achiev-
19
ing such goals; and
20
(5) any other information that the Adminis-
21
trator determines necessary.
22
SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.
23
In this Act:
24
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•HR 873 IH
(1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis-
1
trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ-
2
mental Protection Agency.
3
(2) ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE.—The term ‘‘ar-
4
tificial intelligence’’ has the meaning given such
5
term in section 5002 of the National Artificial Intel-
6
ligence Initiative Act of 2020 (15 U.S.C. 9401).
7
(3) DISTRIBUTED LEDGER TECHNOLOGY.—The
8
term ‘‘distributed ledger technology’’ means tech-
9
nology that enables the operation and use of distrib-
10
uted ledgers that—
11
(A) are shared across a set of distributed
12
nodes, including devices or processes, that par-
13
ticipate in a network and store a complete or
14
partial replica of the ledger;
15
(B) are synchronized between the nodes;
16
(C) have data appended to it by following
17
the ledger’s specified consensus mechanism;
18
(D) may be accessible to anyone (public)
19
or restricted to a subset of participants (pri-
20
vate); and
21
(E) may require participants to have au-
22
thorization
to
perform
certain
actions
23
(permissioned) or require no authorization
24
(permissionless).
25
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•HR 873 IH
(4) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti-
1
ty’’ means an entity described in section 5(c).
2
(5) QUANTUM
INFORMATION
SCIENCE.—The
3
term ‘‘quantum information science’’ has the mean-
4
ing given such term in section 2 of the National
5
Quantum Initiative Act (15 U.S.C. 8801).
6
Æ
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