Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act of 2021

117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 914 AN ACT To amend the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to reauthorize programs under those Acts, 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 2 † S 914 ES SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 1 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 2 ‘‘Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act of 3 2021’’. 4 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 5 this Act is as follows: 6 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Definition of Administrator. TITLE I—DRINKING WATER Sec. 101. Technical assistance and grants for emergencies affecting public water systems. Sec. 102. Drinking water State revolving loan funds. Sec. 103. Source water petition program. Sec. 104. Assistance for small and disadvantaged communities. Sec. 105. Reducing lead in drinking water. Sec. 106. Operational sustainability of small public water systems. Sec. 107. Midsize and large drinking water system infrastructure resilience and sustainability program. Sec. 108. Needs assessment for nationwide rural and urban low-income commu- nity water assistance. Sec. 109. Rural and low-income water assistance pilot program. Sec. 110. Lead contamination in school drinking water. Sec. 111. Indian reservation drinking water program. Sec. 112. Advanced drinking water technologies. Sec. 113. Cybersecurity support for public water systems. Sec. 114. State response to contaminants. Sec. 115. Annual study on boil water advisories. TITLE II—CLEAN WATER Sec. 201. Research, investigations, training, and information. Sec. 202. Wastewater efficiency grant pilot program. Sec. 203. Pilot program for alternative water source projects. Sec. 204. Sewer overflow and stormwater reuse municipal grants. Sec. 205. Clean water infrastructure resiliency and sustainability program. Sec. 206. Small and medium publicly owned treatment works circuit rider pro- gram. Sec. 207. Small publicly owned treatment works efficiency grant program. Sec. 208. Grants for construction and refurbishing of individual household de- centralized wastewater systems for individuals with low or mod- erate income. Sec. 209. Connection to publicly owned treatment works. Sec. 210. Clean water State revolving funds. Sec. 211. Water infrastructure and workforce investment. Sec. 212. Grants to Alaska to improve sanitation in rural and Native villages. Sec. 213. Water data sharing pilot program. Sec. 214. Final rating opinion letters. 3 † S 914 ES Sec. 215. Water infrastructure financing reauthorization. Sec. 216. Small and disadvantaged community analysis. Sec. 217. Stormwater infrastructure technology. Sec. 218. Water Reuse Interagency Working Group. Sec. 219. Advanced clean water technologies study. Sec. 220. Clean watersheds needs survey. Sec. 221. Water Resources Research Act amendments. Sec. 222. Enhanced aquifer use and recharge. SEC. 2. DEFINITION OF ADMINISTRATOR. 1 In this Act, the term ‘‘Administrator’’ means the Ad- 2 ministrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. 3 TITLE I—DRINKING WATER 4 SEC. 101. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND GRANTS FOR EMER- 5 GENCIES AFFECTING PUBLIC WATER SYS- 6 TEMS. 7 Section 1442 of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 8 U.S.C. 300j–1) is amended— 9 (1) in subsection (a), by adding at the end the 10 following: 11 ‘‘(11) COMPLIANCE EVALUATION.— 12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 13 the date of enactment of the Drinking Water and 14 Wastewater Infrastructure Act of 2021, the Admin- 15 istrator shall— 16 ‘‘(i) evaluate, based on the compliance data 17 found in the Safe Drinking Water Information 18 System of the Administrator, the compliance of 19 community water systems and wastewater sys- 20 tems with environmental, health, and safety re- 21 4 † S 914 ES quirements under this title, including water 1 quality sampling, testing, and reporting require- 2 ments; and 3 ‘‘(ii) submit to Congress a report describ- 4 ing trends seen as a result of the evaluation 5 under clause (i), including trends that dem- 6 onstrate how the characteristics of community 7 water systems and wastewater systems correlate 8 to trends in compliance or noncompliance with 9 the requirements described in that clause. 10 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENT.—To the extent prac- 11 ticable, in carrying out subparagraph (A), the Ad- 12 ministrator shall determine whether, in aggregate, 13 community water systems and wastewater systems 14 maintain asset management plans.’’; 15 (2) in subsection (b), in the first sentence— 16 (A) by inserting ‘‘(including an emergency 17 situation resulting from a cybersecurity event)’’ 18 after ‘‘emergency situation’’; and 19 (B) by inserting ‘‘, including a threat to 20 public health resulting from contaminants, such 21 as, but not limited to, heightened exposure to 22 lead in drinking water’’ after ‘‘public health’’; 23 (3) by striking subsection (d) and inserting the 24 following: 25 5 † S 914 ES ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 1 is authorized to be appropriated to carry out subsection 2 (b) $35,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 3 2026.’’; 4 (4) in subsection (e), by striking paragraph (5) 5 and inserting the following: 6 ‘‘(5) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 7 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Ad- 8 ministrator to carry out this subsection $15,000,000 9 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2026.’’; 10 (5) by redesignating subsection (f) as sub- 11 section (g); and 12 (6) by inserting after subsection (e) the fol- 13 lowing: 14 ‘‘(f) STATE-BASED NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS.— 15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator may 16 provide technical assistance consistent with the au- 17 thority provided under subsection (e) to State-based 18 nonprofit organizations that are governed by com- 19 munity water systems. 20 ‘‘(2) COMMUNICATION.—Each State-based non- 21 profit organization that receives funding under para- 22 graph (1) shall, before using that funding to under- 23 take activities to carry out this subsection, consult 24 6 † S 914 ES with the State in which the assistance is to be ex- 1 pended or otherwise made available.’’. 2 SEC. 102. DRINKING WATER STATE REVOLVING LOAN 3 FUNDS. 4 (a) DRINKING WATER STATE REVOLVING FUNDS 5 CAPITALIZATION GRANT REAUTHORIZATION.—Section 6 1452 of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300j– 7 12) is amended— 8 (1) in subsection (a)(4)(A), by striking ‘‘During 9 fiscal years 2019 through 2023, funds’’ and insert- 10 ing ‘‘Funds’’; 11 (2) in subsection (m)(1) — 12 (A) in subparagraph (B), by striking 13 ‘‘and’’; 14 (B) in subparagraph (C), by striking the 15 period at the end and inserting a semicolon; 16 and 17 (C) by adding at the end the following: 18 ‘‘(D) $2,400,000,000 for fiscal year 2022; 19 ‘‘(E) $2,750,000,000 for fiscal year 2023; 20 ‘‘(F) $3,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2024; 21 and 22 ‘‘(G) $3,250,000,000 for each of fiscal 23 years 2025 and 2026.’’; and 24 7 † S 914 ES (3) in subsection (q), by striking ‘‘2016 through 1 2021’’ and inserting ‘‘2022 through 2026’’. 2 (b) ASSISTANCE FOR DISADVANTAGED COMMU- 3 NITIES.—Section 1452(d) of the Safe Drinking Water Act 4 (42 U.S.C. 300j–12(d)) is amended— 5 (1) in paragraph (1)— 6 (A) by striking ‘‘Notwithstanding any’’ and 7 inserting the following: 8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding 9 any’’; 10 (B) in subparagraph (A) (as so des- 11 ignated), by inserting ‘‘, grants, negative inter- 12 est loans, other loan forgiveness, and through 13 buying, refinancing, or restructuring debt’’ 14 after ‘‘forgiveness of principal’’; and 15 (C) by adding at the end the following: 16 ‘‘(B) EXCLUSION.—A loan from a State 17 loan fund with an interest rate equal to or 18 greater than 0 percent shall not be considered 19 additional subsidization for purposes of this 20 subsection.’’; and 21 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking subparagraph 22 (B) and inserting the following: 23 ‘‘(B) to the extent that there are sufficient 24 applications for loans to communities described 25 8 † S 914 ES in paragraph (1), may not be less than 12 per- 1 cent.’’. 2 SEC. 103. SOURCE WATER PETITION PROGRAM. 3 Section 1454 of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 4 U.S.C. 300j–14) is amended— 5 (1) in subsection (a)— 6 (A) in paragraph (1)(A), in the matter 7 preceding clause (i), by striking ‘‘political sub- 8 division of a State,’’ and inserting ‘‘political 9 subdivision of a State (including a county that 10 is designated by the State to act on behalf of 11 an unincorporated area within that county, with 12 the agreement of that unincorporated area),’’; 13 (B) in paragraph (4)(D)(i), by inserting 14 ‘‘(including a county that is designated by the 15 State to act on behalf of an unincorporated 16 area within that county)’’ after ‘‘of the State’’; 17 and 18 (C) by adding at the end the following: 19 ‘‘(5) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Unless otherwise 20 provided within the agreement, an agreement be- 21 tween an unincorporated area and a county for the 22 county to submit a petition under paragraph (1)(A) 23 on behalf of the unincorporated area shall not au- 24 thorize the county to act on behalf of the unincor- 25 9 † S 914 ES porated area in any matter not within a program 1 under this section.’’; and 2 (2) in subsection (e), in the first sentence, by 3 striking ‘‘2021’’ and inserting ‘‘2026’’. 4 SEC. 104. ASSISTANCE FOR SMALL AND DISADVANTAGED 5 COMMUNITIES. 6 (a) EXISTING PROGRAMS.—Section 1459A of the 7 Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300j–19a) is amend- 8 ed— 9 (1) in subsection (b)(2)— 10 (A) in subparagraph (B), by striking 11 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 12 (B) in subparagraph (C), by striking the 13 period at the end and inserting a semicolon; 14 and 15 (C) by adding at the end the following: 16 ‘‘(D) the purchase of point-of-entry or 17 point-of-use filters and filtration systems that 18 are certified by a third party using science- 19 based test methods for the removal of contami- 20 nants of concern; 21 ‘‘(E) investments necessary for providing 22 accurate and current information about— 23 10 † S 914 ES ‘‘(i) the need for filtration and filter 1 safety, including proper use and mainte- 2 nance practices; and 3 ‘‘(ii) the options for replacing lead 4 service lines (as defined section 1459B(a)) 5 and removing other sources of lead in 6 water; and 7 ‘‘(F) entering into contracts, including con- 8 tracts with nonprofit organizations that have 9 water system technical expertise, to assist— 10 ‘‘(i) an eligible entity; or 11 ‘‘(ii) the State of an eligible entity, on 12 behalf of that eligible entity.’’; 13 (2) in subsection (c), in the matter preceding 14 paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘An eligible entity’’ and 15 inserting ‘‘Except for purposes of subsections (j) and 16 (m), an eligible entity’’; 17 (3) in subsection (g)(1), by striking ‘‘to pay not 18 less than 45 percent’’ and inserting ‘‘except as pro- 19 vided in subsection (l)(5) and subject to subsection 20 (h), to pay not less than 10 percent’’; 21 (4) by striking subsection (k) and inserting the 22 following: 23 11 † S 914 ES ‘‘(k) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 1 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out subsections 2 (a) through (j)— 3 ‘‘(1) $70,000,000 for fiscal year 2022; 4 ‘‘(2) $80,000,000 for fiscal year 2023; 5 ‘‘(3) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2024; 6 ‘‘(4) $120,000,000 for fiscal year 2025; and 7 ‘‘(5) $140,000,000 for fiscal year 2026.’’; and 8 (5) in subsection (l)— 9 (A) in paragraph (2)— 10 (i) by striking ‘‘The Administrator 11 may’’ and inserting ‘‘The Administrator 12 shall’’; and 13 (ii) by striking ‘‘fiscal years 2019 and 14 2020’’ and inserting ‘‘fiscal years 2022 15 through 2026’’; 16 (B) in paragraph (5), by striking 17 ‘‘$4,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2019 and 18 2020’’ and inserting ‘‘$25,000,000 for each of 19 fiscal years 2022 through 2026’’; 20 (C) by redesignating paragraph (5) as 21 paragraph (6); and 22 (D) by inserting after paragraph (4) the 23 following: 24 12 † S 914 ES ‘‘(5) FEDERAL SHARE FOR SMALL, RURAL, AND 1 DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES.— 2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara- 3 graph (B), with respect to a program or project 4 that serves an eligible entity and is carried out 5 using a grant under this subsection, the Fed- 6 eral share of the cost of the program or project 7 shall be 90 percent. 8 ‘‘(B) WAIVER.—The Administrator may 9 increase the Federal share under subparagraph 10 (A) to 100 percent if the Administrator deter- 11 mines that an eligible entity is unable to pay, 12 or would experience significant financial hard- 13 ship if required to pay, the non-Federal share.’’. 14 (b) CONNECTION TO PUBLIC WATER SYSTEMS.— 15 Section 1459A of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 16 300j–19a) is amended by adding at the end the following: 17 ‘‘(m) CONNECTION TO PUBLIC WATER SYSTEMS.— 18 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 19 ‘‘(A) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligi- 20 ble entity’ means— 21 ‘‘(i) an owner or operator of a public 22 water system that assists or is seeking to 23 assist eligible individuals with connecting 24 13 † S 914 ES the household of the eligible individual to 1 the public water system; or 2 ‘‘(ii) a nonprofit entity that assists or 3 is seeking to assist eligible individuals with 4 the costs associated with connecting the 5 household of the eligible individual to a 6 public water system. 7 ‘‘(B) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUAL.—The term 8 ‘eligible individual’ has the meaning given the 9 term in section 603(j) of the Federal Water 10 Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1383(j)). 11 ‘‘(C) PROGRAM.—The term ‘program’ 12 means the competitive grant program estab- 13 lished under paragraph (2). 14 ‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT.—Subject to the avail- 15 ability of appropriations, the Administrator shall es- 16 tablish a competitive grant program for the purpose 17 of improving the general welfare under which the 18 Administrator awards grants to eligible entities to 19 provide funds to assist eligible individuals in cov- 20 ering the costs incurred by the eligible individual in 21 connecting the household of the eligible individual to 22 a public water system. 23 ‘‘(3) APPLICATION.—An eligible entity seeking 24 a grant under the program shall submit to the Ad- 25 14 † S 914 ES ministrator an application at such time, in such 1 manner, and containing such information as the Ad- 2 ministrator may require. 3 ‘‘(4) VOLUNTARY CONNECTION.—Before pro- 4 viding funds to an eligible individual for the costs 5 described in paragraph (2), an eligible entity shall 6 ensure and certify to the Administrator that— 7 ‘‘(A) the eligible individual is voluntarily 8 seeking connection to the public water system; 9 ‘‘(B) if the eligible entity is not the [Text truncated for display. 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