Wastewater Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3218 To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to reauthorize certain water pollution control programs, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 13, 2021 Mr. ROUZER (for himself, Mr. GRAVES of Missouri, and Mr. YOUNG) intro- duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Trans- portation and Infrastructure A BILL To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to reau- thorize certain water pollution control programs, 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 ‘‘Wastewater Infrastruc- 4 ture Improvement Act of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. WASTEWATER INFRASTRUCTURE WORKFORCE IN- 6 VESTMENT. 7 Section 104(g) of the Federal Water Pollution Con- 8 trol Act (33 U.S.C. 1254(g)) is amended— 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:41 Jun 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3218.IH H3218 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3218 IH (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘manpower’’ 1 each place it appears and inserting ‘‘workforce’’; and 2 (2) by amending paragraph (4) to read as fol- 3 lows: 4 ‘‘(4) REPORT TO CONGRESS ON PUBLICLY 5 OWNED TREATMENT WORKS WORKFORCE DEVELOP- 6 MENT.—Not later than 2 years after the date of en- 7 actment of the Wastewater Infrastructure Improve- 8 ment Act of 2021, the Administrator shall submit to 9 the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 10 of the House of Representatives and the Committee 11 on Environment and Public Works of the Senate a 12 report containing— 13 ‘‘(A) an assessment of the current and fu- 14 ture workforce needs for publicly owned treat- 15 ment works, including an estimate of the num- 16 ber of future positions needed for such treat- 17 ment works and the technical skills and edu- 18 cation needed for such positions; 19 ‘‘(B) a summary of actions taken by the 20 Administrator, including Federal investments 21 under this Act, that promote workforce develop- 22 ment to address such needs; and 23 ‘‘(C) any recommendations of the Adminis- 24 trator to address such needs.’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:41 Jun 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3218.IH H3218 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3218 IH SEC. 3. STATE MANAGEMENT ASSISTANCE. 1 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 2 106(a) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 3 U.S.C. 1256(a)) is amended— 4 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 5 (1); and 6 (2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol- 7 lowing: 8 ‘‘(3) such sums as may be necessary for each 9 of fiscal years 1991 through 2021; 10 ‘‘(4) $240,000,000 for fiscal year 2022; 11 ‘‘(5) $250,000,000 for fiscal year 2023; 12 ‘‘(6) $260,000,000 for fiscal year 2024; 13 ‘‘(7) $270,000,000 for fiscal year 2025; and 14 ‘‘(8) $275,000,000 for fiscal year 2026;’’. 15 (b) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 106(e) of the 16 Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1256(e)) 17 is amended by striking ‘‘Beginning in fiscal year 1974 18 the’’ and inserting ‘‘The’’. 19 SEC. 4. WATERSHED, WET WEATHER, AND RESILIENCY 20 PROJECTS. 21 (a) INCREASED RESILIENCE OF TREATMENT 22 WORKS.—Section 122(a)(6) of the Federal Water Pollu- 23 tion Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1274(a)(6)) is amended to 24 read as follows: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:41 Jun 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3218.IH H3218 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3218 IH ‘‘(6) INCREASED RESILIENCE OF TREATMENT 1 WORKS.—Efforts— 2 ‘‘(A) to assess future risks and 3 vulnerabilities of publicly owned treatment 4 works to manmade or natural disasters, includ- 5 ing extreme weather events and sea level rise; 6 and 7 ‘‘(B) to carry out the planning, designing, 8 or constructing of projects, on a systemwide or 9 areawide basis, to increase the resilience of pub- 10 licly owned treatment works through— 11 ‘‘(i) the conservation of water or the 12 enhancement of water use efficiency; 13 ‘‘(ii) the enhancement of wastewater 14 (including stormwater) management by in- 15 creasing watershed preservation and pro- 16 tection, including through— 17 ‘‘(I) the use of green infrastruc- 18 ture; or 19 ‘‘(II) the reclamation and reuse 20 of wastewater (including stormwater), 21 such as through aquifer recharge 22 zones; 23 ‘‘(iii) the modification or relocation of 24 an existing publicly owned treatment works 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:41 Jun 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3218.IH H3218 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3218 IH at risk of being significantly impaired or 1 damaged by a manmade or natural dis- 2 aster; or 3 ‘‘(iv) the enhancement of energy effi- 4 ciency, or the use or generation of recov- 5 ered or renewable energy, in the manage- 6 ment, treatment, or conveyance of waste- 7 water (including stormwater).’’. 8 (b) REQUIREMENTS; AUTHORIZATION OF APPRO- 9 PRIATIONS.—Section 122 of the Federal Water Pollution 10 Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1274) is amended by striking sub- 11 section (c) and inserting the following: 12 ‘‘(c) REQUIREMENTS.—The requirements of section 13 608 shall apply to any construction, alteration, mainte- 14 nance, or repair of treatment works receiving a grant 15 under this section. 16 ‘‘(d) ASSISTANCE.—The Administrator shall use not 17 less than 15 percent of the amounts appropriated pursu- 18 ant to this section in a fiscal year to provide assistance 19 to municipalities with a population of less than 10,000, 20 to the extent there are sufficient eligible applications. 21 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 22 is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 23 $110,000,000, to remain available until expended.’’. 24 (c) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:41 Jun 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3218.IH H3218 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3218 IH (1) WATERSHED PILOT PROJECTS.—Section 1 122 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 2 U.S.C. 1274) is amended— 3 (A) in the section heading, by striking 4 ‘‘WATERSHED PILOT PROJECTS’’ and insert- 5 ing ‘‘WATERSHED, WET WEATHER, AND RE- 6 SILIENCY PROJECTS’’; and 7 (B) by striking ‘‘pilot’’ each place it ap- 8 pears. 9 (2) WATER POLLUTION CONTROL REVOLVING 10 LOAN FUNDS.—Section 603(c)(7) of the Federal 11 Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1383(c)(7)) 12 is amended by striking ‘‘watershed’’. 13 SEC. 5. PILOT PROGRAM FOR ALTERNATIVE WATER 14 SOURCE PROJECTS. 15 (a) SELECTION OF PROJECTS.—Section 220(d) of 16 the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 17 1300(d)) is amended— 18 (1) by amending paragraph (1) to read as fol- 19 lows: 20 ‘‘(1) LIMITATION ON ELIGIBILITY.—A project 21 that has received construction funds under the Rec- 22 lamation Projects Authorization and Adjustment Act 23 of 1992 shall not be eligible for grant assistance 24 under this section.’’; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:41 Jun 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3218.IH H3218 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 3218 IH (2) by striking paragraph (2) and redesignating 1 paragraph (3) as paragraph (2). 2 (b) COMMITTEE RESOLUTION PROCEDURE; ASSIST- 3 ANCE.—Section 220 of the Federal Water Pollution Con- 4 trol Act (33 U.S.C. 1300) is amended by striking sub- 5 section (e) and inserting the following: 6 ‘‘(e) ASSISTANCE.—The Administrator shall use not 7 less than 15 percent of the amounts appropriated pursu- 8 ant to this section in a fiscal year to provide assistance 9 to eligible entities for projects designed to serve fewer than 10 10,000 individuals, to the extent there are sufficient eligi- 11 ble applications.’’. 12 (c) COST SHARING.—Section 220(g) of the Federal 13 Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1300(g)) is 14 amended— 15 (1) by striking ‘‘The Federal share’’ and insert- 16 ing the following: 17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para- 18 graph (2), the Federal share’’; and 19 (2) by adding at the end the following: 20 ‘‘(2) RECLAMATION AND REUSE PROJECTS.— 21 For an alternative water source project that has re- 22 ceived funds under the Reclamation Projects Author- 23 ization and Adjustment Act of 1992 (other than 24 funds referred to in subsection (d)(1)), the total 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:41 Jun 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3218.IH H3218 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 3218 IH Federal share of the costs of the project shall not 1 exceed 25 percent or $20,000,000, whichever is 2 less.’’. 3 (d) REQUIREMENTS.—Section 220 of the Federal 4 Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1300) is amended 5 by redesignating subsections (i) and (j) as subsections (j) 6 and (k), respectively, and inserting after subsection (h) the 7 following: 8 ‘‘(i) REQUIREMENTS.—The requirements of section 9 608 shall apply to any construction of an alternative water 10 source project carried out using assistance made available 11 under this section.’’. 12 (e) DEFINITIONS.—Section 220(j)(1) of the Federal 13 Water Pollution Control Act (as redesignated by sub- 14 section (d) of this section) is amended by striking ‘‘or 15 wastewater or by treating wastewater’’ and inserting ‘‘, 16 wastewater, or stormwater or by treating wastewater or 17 stormwater’’. 18 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 19 220(k) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (as re- 20 designated by subsection (d) of this section) is amended 21 by striking ‘‘$75,000,000 for fiscal years 2002 through 22 2004’’ and inserting ‘‘$150,000,000’’. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:41 Jun 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3218.IH H3218 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 3218 IH SEC. 6. SEWER OVERFLOW AND STORMWATER REUSE MU- 1 NICIPAL GRANTS. 2 Section 221 of the Federal Water Pollution Control 3 Act (33 U.S.C. 1301) is amended— 4 (1) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘subsection 5 (b),’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘this sec- 6 tion,’’; 7 (2) in subsection (d)— 8 (A) by striking ‘‘The Federal share’’ and 9 inserting the following: 10 ‘‘(1) FEDERAL SHARE.— 11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 12 subparagraph (B), the Federal share’’; and 13 (B) by striking ‘‘The non-Federal share’’ 14 and inserting the following: 15 ‘‘(B) FINANCIALLY DISTRESSED COMMU- 16 NITIES.—The Federal share of the cost of ac- 17 tivities carried out using amounts from a grant 18 made to a financially distressed community 19 under subsection (a) shall be not less than 75 20 percent of the cost. 21 ‘‘(2) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—The non-Federal 22 share’’; 23 (3) in subsection (e), by striking ‘‘section 513’’ 24 and inserting ‘‘section 513, or the requirements of 25 section 608,’’; and 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:41 Jun 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3218.IH H3218 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 3218 IH (4) in subsection (f)— 1 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘2020’’ 2 and inserting ‘‘2026’’; and 3 (B) by adding at the end the following: 4 ‘‘(3) ASSISTANCE.—In carrying out subsection 5 (a), the Administrator shall ensure that, of the 6 amounts granted to municipalities in a State, not 7 less than 20 percent is granted to municipalities 8 with a population of less than 20,000, to the extent 9 there are sufficient eligible applications.’’. 10 SEC. 7. NATIONAL POLLUTANT DISCHARGE ELIMINATION 11 SYSTEM PERMIT TERM. 12 Section 402(b)(1)(B) of the Federal Water Pollution 13 Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1342(b)(1)(B)) is amended to read 14 as follows: 15 ‘‘(B) are for fixed terms— 16 ‘‘(i) not exceeding 10 years, for a permit 17 issued to a State or municipality; and 18 ‘‘(ii) not exceeding 5 years, for a permit 19 issued to any person not described in clause (i); 20 and’’. 21 SEC. 8. REPORTS TO CONGRESS. 22 Section 516(b)(1) of the Federal Water Pollution 23 Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1375(b)(1)) is amended— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:41 Jun 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3218.IH H3218 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 3218 IH (1) by striking ‘‘, of the cost of construction’’ 1 and inserting ‘‘, of (i) the cost of construction’’; and 2 (2) by striking ‘‘each of the States;’’ and insert- 3 ing ‘‘each of the States, and (ii) the costs to imple- 4 ment measures necessary to address the resilience 5 and sustainability of publicly owned treatment works 6 to manmade or natural disasters;’’. 7 SEC. 9. INDIAN TRIBES. 8 Section 518(c) of the Federal Water Pollution Con- 9 trol Act (33 U.S.C. 1377(c)) is amended— 10 (1) by striking paragraphs (1) and (2) and in- 11 serting the following: 12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For each fiscal year, the 13 Administrator shall reserve, of the funds made avail- 14 able to carry out title VI (before allotments to the 15 States under section 604(a)), the greater of— 16 ‘‘(A) 2 percent of such funds; or 17 ‘‘(B) $30,000,000. 18 ‘‘(2) USE OF FUNDS.— 19 ‘‘(A) GRANTS.—Funds reserved under this 20 subsection shall be available only for grants to 21 entities described in paragraph (3) for— 22 ‘‘(i) projects and activities eligible for 23 assistance under section 603(c); and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:41 Jun 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3218.IH H3218 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 3218 IH ‘‘(ii) training, technical assistance, 1 and educational programs relating to the 2 operation and management of treatment 3 works eligible for assistance pursuant to 4 section 603(c). 5 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—Not more than 6 $2,000,000 of the reserved funds may be used 7 for grants under subparagraph (A)(ii).’’; and 8 (2) in paragraph (3)— 9 (A) in the header, by striking ‘‘USE OF 10 FUNDS’’ and inserting ‘‘ELIGIBLE ENTITIES’’; 11 and 12 (B) by striking ‘‘for projects and activities 13 eligible for assistance under section 603(c) to 14 serve’’ and inserting ‘‘to’’. 15 SEC. 10. CAPITALIZATION GRANTS. 16 Section 602(b) of the Federal Water Pollution Con- 17 trol Act (33 U.S.C. 1382(b)) is amended— 18 (1) in paragraph (13)(B)— 19 (A) in the matter preceding clause (i), by 20 striking ‘‘and energy conservation’’ and insert- 21 ing ‘‘and efficient energy use (such as through 22 the implementation of technologies to recapture 23 and reuse energy produced in the treatment of 24 wastewater)’’; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:41 Jun 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3218.IH H3218 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 3218 IH (B) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘; and’’ and 1 inserting a semicolon; 2 (2) in paragraph (14), by striking the period a [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]