Smart Energy and Water Efficiency Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2019 To provide for a smart water resource management pilot program. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 2, 2019 Mr. MCNERNEY (for himself and Mr. KINZINGER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology A BILL To provide for a smart water resource management pilot program. 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 ‘‘Smart Energy and 4 Water Efficiency Act of 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. SMART ENERGY AND WATER EFFICIENCY PILOT 6 PROGRAM. 7 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 8 (1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti- 9 ty’’ means— 10 (A) a utility; 11 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:05 Apr 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2019.IH H2019 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2019 IH (B) a municipality; 1 (C) a water district; and 2 (D) any other authority that provides 3 water, wastewater, or water reuse services. 4 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 5 the Secretary of Energy. 6 (3) SMART ENERGY AND WATER EFFICIENCY 7 PILOT PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘smart energy and 8 water efficiency pilot program’’ or ‘‘pilot program’’ 9 means the pilot program established under sub- 10 section (b). 11 (b) SMART ENERGY AND WATER EFFICIENCY PILOT 12 PROGRAM.— 13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 14 and carry out a smart energy and water efficiency 15 management pilot program in accordance with this 16 section. 17 (2) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the smart en- 18 ergy and water efficiency pilot program is to award 19 grants to eligible entities to demonstrate advanced 20 and innovative technology-based solutions that will— 21 (A) increase and improve the energy effi- 22 ciency of water, wastewater, and water reuse 23 systems to help communities across the United 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:05 Apr 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2019.IH H2019 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2019 IH States make significant progress in conserving 1 water, saving energy, and reducing costs; 2 (B) support the implementation of innova- 3 tive processes and the installation of advanced 4 automated systems that provide real-time data 5 on energy and water; and 6 (C) improve energy and water conserva- 7 tion, water quality, and predictive maintenance 8 of energy and water systems, through the use 9 of internet-connected technologies, including 10 sensors, intelligent gateways, and security em- 11 bedded in hardware. 12 (3) PROJECT SELECTION.— 13 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 14 make competitive, merit-reviewed grants under 15 the pilot program to not less than 3, but not 16 more than 5, eligible entities. 17 (B) SELECTION CRITERIA.—In selecting an 18 eligible entity to receive a grant under the pilot 19 program, the Secretary shall consider— 20 (i) energy and cost savings anticipated 21 to result from the project; 22 (ii) the innovative nature, commercial 23 viability, and reliability of the technology 24 to be used; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:05 Apr 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2019.IH H2019 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2019 IH (iii) the degree to which the project 1 integrates next-generation sensors, soft- 2 ware, hardware, analytics, and manage- 3 ment tools; 4 (iv) the anticipated cost-effectiveness 5 of the pilot project in terms of energy effi- 6 ciency savings, water savings or reuse, and 7 infrastructure costs averted; 8 (v) whether the technology can be de- 9 ployed in a variety of geographic regions 10 and the degree to which the technology can 11 be implemented on a smaller or larger 12 scale, including whether the technology can 13 be implemented by each type of eligible en- 14 tity; 15 (vi) whether the technology has been 16 successfully deployed elsewhere; 17 (vii) whether the technology is sourced 18 from a manufacturer based in the United 19 States; and 20 (viii) whether the project will be com- 21 pleted in 5 years or less. 22 (C) APPLICATIONS.— 23 (i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause 24 (ii), an eligible entity seeking a grant 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:05 Apr 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2019.IH H2019 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2019 IH under the pilot program shall submit to 1 the Secretary an application at such time, 2 in such manner, and containing such infor- 3 mation as the Secretary determines to be 4 necessary. 5 (ii) CONTENTS.—An application under 6 clause (i) shall, at a minimum, include— 7 (I) a description of the project; 8 (II) a description of the tech- 9 nology to be used in the project; 10 (III) the anticipated results, in- 11 cluding energy and water savings, of 12 the project; 13 (IV) a comprehensive budget for 14 the project; and 15 (V) the number of households or 16 customers to be served by the project. 17 (4) ADMINISTRATION.— 18 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 300 19 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 20 the Secretary shall select grant recipients under 21 this section. 22 (B) EVALUATIONS.—The Secretary shall 23 annually for 5 years carry out an evaluation of 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:05 Apr 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2019.IH H2019 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2019 IH each project for which a grant is provided 1 under this section that— 2 (i) evaluates the progress and impact 3 of the project; and 4 (ii) assesses the degree to which the 5 project is meeting the goals of the pilot 6 program. 7 (C) TECHNICAL AND POLICY ASSIST- 8 ANCE.—On the request of a grant recipient, the 9 Secretary shall provide technical and policy as- 10 sistance to the grant recipient to carry out the 11 project. 12 (D) BEST PRACTICES.—The Secretary 13 shall make available to the public— 14 (i) a copy of each evaluation carried 15 out under subparagraph (B); and 16 (ii) a description of any best practices 17 identified by the Secretary as a result of 18 those evaluations. 19 (E) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later 20 than 5 years after the establishment of the pro- 21 gram, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a 22 report containing the results of each evaluation 23 carried out under subparagraph (B). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:05 Apr 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2019.IH H2019 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2019 IH (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 1 authorized to be appropriated $15,000,000 to carry out 2 this section, to remain available until expended. 3 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:05 Apr 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2019.IH H2019 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS