Low-Income Water Customer Assistance Programs Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3293 To amend the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to establish programs to assist low-income households in maintaining access to drinking water and wastewater services, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 18, 2021 Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER (for herself, Mr. KATKO, Mrs. DINGELL, and Ms. TLAIB) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, and Ways and Means, for a period to be sub- sequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To amend the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to establish programs to assist low-income households in maintaining access to drinking water and wastewater services, 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 ‘‘Low-Income Water 4 Customer Assistance Programs Act of 2021’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:18 Jun 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3293.IH H3293 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3293 IH SEC. 2. LOW-INCOME DRINKING WATER ASSISTANCE PRO- 1 GRAM. 2 Part E of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 3 300j et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol- 4 lowing: 5 ‘‘SEC. 1459E. LOW-INCOME DRINKING WATER ASSISTANCE 6 PROGRAM. 7 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 8 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en- 9 tity’ means— 10 ‘‘(A) a community water system that is 11 owned or operated by a municipality, other than 12 a small community-serving water system; or 13 ‘‘(B) a State, with respect to a small com- 14 munity-serving water system located in the 15 State. 16 ‘‘(2) HOUSEHOLD.—The term ‘household’ 17 means any individual or group of individuals who 18 are living together as 1 economic unit. 19 ‘‘(3) LOCAL DRINKING WATER ACCESS PRO- 20 GRAM.—The term ‘local drinking water access pro- 21 gram’ means a program developed or implemented 22 by an eligible entity using a grant awarded under 23 this section. 24 ‘‘(4) LOW-INCOME HOUSEHOLD.—The term 25 ‘low-income household’ means a household— 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:18 Jun 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3293.IH H3293 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3293 IH ‘‘(A) in which 1 or more individuals are re- 1 ceiving— 2 ‘‘(i) assistance under a State program 3 funded under part A of title IV of the So- 4 cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.); 5 ‘‘(ii) supplemental security income 6 payments under title XVI of the Social Se- 7 curity Act (42 U.S.C. 1381 et seq.); 8 ‘‘(iii) supplemental nutrition assist- 9 ance program benefits under the Food and 10 Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et 11 seq.); or 12 ‘‘(iv) payments under— 13 ‘‘(I) section 1315, 1521, 1541, or 14 1542 of title 38, United States Code; 15 or 16 ‘‘(II) section 306 of the Veterans’ 17 and Survivors’ Pension Improvement 18 Act of 1978 (38 U.S.C. 1521 note; 19 Public Law 95–588); or 20 ‘‘(B) that has an income that— 21 ‘‘(i) as determined by the State in 22 which the household is located, does not 23 exceed the greater of— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:18 Jun 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3293.IH H3293 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3293 IH ‘‘(I) an amount equal to 150 per- 1 cent of the poverty level; and 2 ‘‘(II) an amount equal to 60 per- 3 cent of the State median income for 4 that State; or 5 ‘‘(ii) does not exceed an amount, de- 6 termined by an eligible entity receiving a 7 grant under this section, that— 8 ‘‘(I) is lower that the amount de- 9 scribed in clause (i); and 10 ‘‘(II) is greater than or equal to 11 110 percent of the poverty level. 12 ‘‘(5) POVERTY LEVEL.—The term ‘poverty 13 level’ means, with respect to a household in a State, 14 the income described in the poverty guidelines issued 15 by the Secretary of Health and Human Services 16 pursuant to section 673 of the Community Services 17 Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9902), as applicable to 18 the household. 19 ‘‘(6) SMALL COMMUNITY-SERVING WATER SYS- 20 TEM.—The term ‘small community-serving water 21 system’ means a community water system that pro- 22 vides drinking water services to a municipality with 23 a population of fewer than 10,000 residents, at least 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:18 Jun 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3293.IH H3293 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3293 IH 20 percent of whom are at or below the poverty 1 level. 2 ‘‘(7) STATE MEDIAN INCOME.—The term ‘State 3 median income’ has the meaning given that term in 4 section 2603 of the Low-Income Home Energy As- 5 sistance Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 8622). 6 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT.— 7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall es- 8 tablish a Federal low-income drinking water assist- 9 ance program to award grants to eligible entities to 10 develop and implement local drinking water access 11 programs to assist low-income households in main- 12 taining access to affordable drinking water. 13 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS FOR SMALL COMMUNITY- 14 SERVING WATER SYSTEMS.—In order for a State to 15 be eligible to receive a grant under this section for 16 a small community-serving water system, the State 17 and the small community-serving water system shall 18 enter into a memorandum of understanding, under 19 which the State shall— 20 ‘‘(A) submit to the Administrator an appli- 21 cation under paragraph (6) for the small com- 22 munity-serving water system; and 23 ‘‘(B) on receipt of a grant under this sec- 24 tion, develop and implement a local drinking 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:18 Jun 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3293.IH H3293 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3293 IH water access program for the small community- 1 serving water system. 2 ‘‘(3) LIMITATIONS.—A grant awarded under 3 this subsection— 4 ‘‘(A) shall not be used to replace funds for 5 any existing similar local program to assist low- 6 income households in maintaining access to af- 7 fordable drinking water; but 8 ‘‘(B) may be used to supplement or en- 9 hance such a local program. 10 ‘‘(4) TERM.—The term of a grant awarded 11 under this subsection shall be one year. 12 ‘‘(5) MINIMUM LOCAL PROGRAM REQUIRE- 13 MENTS.— 14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 15 months after the date of enactment of this sec- 16 tion, the Administrator shall develop, in con- 17 sultation with relevant stakeholders, the min- 18 imum requirements for a local drinking water 19 access program. 20 ‘‘(B) INCLUSIONS.—The local drinking 21 water access program requirements developed 22 under subparagraph (A) may include— 23 ‘‘(i) direct financial assistance; 24 ‘‘(ii) a lifeline rate; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:18 Jun 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3293.IH H3293 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 3293 IH ‘‘(iii) bill discounting; 1 ‘‘(iv) special hardship provisions; 2 ‘‘(v) a percentage-of-income payment 3 plan; 4 ‘‘(vi) water efficiency assistance, in- 5 cluding subsidizing the cost of the installa- 6 tion of water efficient fixtures or leak re- 7 pair work that is carried out or contracted 8 by a homeowner; or 9 ‘‘(vii) any other form of assistance 10 identified by the Administrator. 11 ‘‘(6) APPLICATION.—To receive a grant under 12 this subsection— 13 ‘‘(A) an eligible entity shall submit to the 14 Administrator an application that demonstrates 15 that— 16 ‘‘(i) the proposed local drinking water 17 access program meets the requirements de- 18 veloped under paragraph (5); and 19 ‘‘(ii) the proposed local drinking water 20 access program will treat households that 21 live in owner-occupied homes and house- 22 holds that live in rental housing equitably; 23 and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:18 Jun 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3293.IH H3293 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 3293 IH ‘‘(B) in the case of an eligible entity de- 1 scribed in subsection (a)(1)(A), the eligible enti- 2 ty shall submit to the Administrator an applica- 3 tion that demonstrates that— 4 ‘‘(i) the eligible entity has— 5 ‘‘(I) a long-term financial plan 6 based on an analysis of the rates the 7 applicable community water system 8 charges for drinking water services; 9 ‘‘(II) an asset management plan; 10 ‘‘(III) a capital improvement plan 11 with a period of not less than 20 12 years; 13 ‘‘(IV) a fiscal management plan; 14 or 15 ‘‘(V) another plan similar to the 16 plans described in clauses (i) through 17 (iv); 18 ‘‘(ii) a grant awarded under this sub- 19 section would support the efforts of the eli- 20 gible entity to generate the necessary funds 21 to achieve or maintain compliance with this 22 Act while mitigating the cost to low-income 23 households; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:18 Jun 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3293.IH H3293 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 3293 IH ‘‘(iii) the eligible entity has the capac- 1 ity to create and implement an effective 2 community outreach plan to inform low-in- 3 come households of the local drinking 4 water access program and assist with en- 5 rollment. 6 ‘‘(7) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this 7 subsection, the Administrator shall give priority to 8 applications for local drinking water access pro- 9 grams with respect to which— 10 ‘‘(A) the owner or operator of the applica- 11 ble community water system— 12 ‘‘(i) owns or operates a— 13 ‘‘(I) treatment works (as defined 14 in section 212 of the Federal Water 15 Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 16 1292)) for municipal waste; or 17 ‘‘(II) a municipal separate storm 18 sewer system (as such term is used in 19 the Federal Water Pollution Control 20 Act); and 21 ‘‘(ii) is subject to a consent decree re- 22 lating to compliance with the Federal 23 Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:18 Jun 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3293.IH H3293 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 3293 IH 1251 et seq.) with respect to a treatment 1 works or system described in clause (i); 2 ‘‘(B) the residential customers of the appli- 3 cable community water system have experienced 4 rate or fee increases for drinking water services 5 or wastewater services (including stormwater 6 services) of 30 percent or more during the 3- 7 year period ending on the date of enactment of 8 this section; or 9 ‘‘(C) the eligible entity will provide match- 10 ing funds in an amount equal to or greater 11 than the amount of the grant. 12 ‘‘(8) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—As a condition of re- 14 ceiving a grant under this subsection, an eligi- 15 ble entity shall submit to the Administrator, in 16 a manner determined by the Administrator, in- 17 formation regarding the applicable local drink- 18 ing water access program, including— 19 ‘‘(i) key features, including rate struc- 20 tures, rebates, discounts, and related ini- 21 tiatives that assist low-income households, 22 including— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:18 Jun 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3293.IH H3293 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 3293 IH ‘‘(I) billing methods that average 1 rates over the course of a year, known 2 as ‘budget billing’; 3 ‘‘(II) bill timing; and 4 ‘‘(III) pretermination protections; 5 ‘‘(ii) sources of funding; 6 ‘‘(iii) eligibility criteria; 7 ‘‘(iv) participation rates by house- 8 holds; 9 ‘‘(v) the average amount of assistance 10 provided to participating households; 11 ‘‘(vi) program costs; 12 ‘‘(vii) the demonstrable impacts of the 13 program on arrearage and service dis- 14 connection for households, based on data 15 from before and after the implementation 16 of the program, to the maximum extent 17 practicable; and 18 ‘‘(viii) other relevant information re- 19 quired by the Administrator. 20 ‘‘(B) PUBLICATION.—The Administrator 21 shall publish a report that compiles and sum- 22 marizes the information submitted under sub- 23 paragraph (A). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:18 Jun 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3293.IH H3293 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 3293 IH ‘‘(9) ASSISTANCE EXEMPT FROM TAXATION.— 1 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, assist- 2 ance provided to a low-income household under a 3 local drinking water access program shall not be in- 4 cludible in the gross income of the recipient of such 5 assistance for purposes of the Internal Revenue 6 Code of 1986. 7 ‘‘(c) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Administrator 8 shall provide technical assistance to each eligible entity 9 that receives a grant under this section to ensure— 10 ‘‘(1) full implementation of the applicable local 11 drinking water access program; and 12 ‘‘(2) maximum enrollment of low-income house- 13 holds in the applicable local drinking water access 14 program, including through— 15 ‘‘(A) community outreach campaigns; or 16 ‘‘(B) coordination with local health depart- 17 ments to determine the eligibility of households 18 for assistance. 19 ‘‘(d) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the date 20 on which grant funds are first disbursed to an eligible enti- 21 ty under this section, and annually thereafter, the Admin- 22 istrator shall submit to Congress a report on the results 23 of the Federal program established under this section.’’. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:18 Jun 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3293.IH H3293 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 3293 IH SEC. 3. LOW-INCOME WASTEWATER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. 1 Title I of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act 2 (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 3 the following: 4 ‘‘SEC. 124. LOW-INCOME WASTEWATER ASSISTANCE PRO- 5 GRAM. 6 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 7 ‘‘(1) COVERED FACILITY.—The term ‘covered 8 facility’ means— 9 ‘‘(A) a treatment works for municipal 10 waste; or 11 ‘‘(B) a municipal separate storm sewer 12 system. 13 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en- 14 tity’ means— 15 ‘‘(A) a municipality that owns or operates 16 a covered facility, other than a small commu- 17 nity-serving wastewater facility; 18 ‘‘(B) 2 or more municipalities described in 19 subparagraph (A) that have entered into a part- 20 nership agreement or a cooperative agreement; 21 or 22 ‘‘(C) a State, with respect to a small com- 23 munity-serving wastewa [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]