Healthy H2O Act

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 806 To amend the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to establish a grant program to assist with the purchase, installation, and mainte- nance of point-of-entry and point-of-use drinking water quality improve- ment products, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 15, 2023 Ms. BALDWIN (for herself, Ms. COLLINS, Ms. SMITH, Mrs. SHAHEEN, and Mr. KING) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry A BILL To amend the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to establish a grant program to assist with the purchase, installation, and maintenance of point-of-entry and point-of-use drinking water quality improvement products, 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 ‘‘Healthy Drinking 4 Water Affordability Act’’ or the ‘‘Healthy H2O Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds that— 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:47 Mar 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S806.IS S806 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 806 IS (1) clean and safe drinking water is necessary 1 to ensure public health and a vibrant economy; 2 (2) communities that are dependent on private 3 groundwater supplies to meet domestic drinking 4 water needs, as well as those that continue to experi- 5 ence drinking water infrastructure challenges from 6 public water supplies, including with infrastructure 7 into and within households and living facilities, are 8 disproportionately impacted by drinking water qual- 9 ity issues; 10 (3) in many instances, those communities and 11 their households have been adversely impacted by 12 the presence of 1 or more naturally occurring and 13 human-caused contaminants found in drinking 14 water, such as lead, arsenic, nitrate, nitrite, and 15 volatile organic compounds, as well as federally un- 16 regulated contaminants, including perfluoroalkyl and 17 polyfluoroalkyl substances and hexavalent chromium 18 (chrome-6), in local groundwater or other drinking 19 water supplies; 20 (4) public health organizations and institutions, 21 such as the Centers for Disease Control and Preven- 22 tion, have cited giardia, enterovirus, radon, 23 rotovirus, norovirus, shigella, campylobacter, sal- 24 monella, hepatitis A, cryptosporidium, and e. coli as 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:47 Mar 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S806.IS S806 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 806 IS among the major diseases and contaminants that 1 can be present in drinking water sources; 2 (5) investments in projects to improve and sup- 3 port drinking water infrastructure are critically im- 4 portant to addressing water quality in the United 5 States, but because those projects can typically take 6 many years to complete, the current, and in some 7 cases the ongoing, needs of communities impacted 8 with immediate drinking water quality challenges 9 cannot be or are not addressed in a timely manner; 10 (6) as an interim measure (and in some cases 11 in rural areas, for longer term or permanently), 12 point-of-entry and point-of-use water quality im- 13 provement products are viable solutions to address 14 drinking water contamination challenges for the peo- 15 ple of the United States; and 16 (7) grants provided under this Act are intended 17 to provide financial assistance for eligible grant re- 18 cipients (as defined in section 306F(a) of the Con- 19 solidated Farm and Rural Development Act (as 20 added by section 3)) that voluntarily seek to improve 21 the quality of the drinking water of eligible end 22 users (as defined in that section), and not to dem- 23 onstrate that an eligible end user is in compliance 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:47 Mar 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S806.IS S806 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 806 IS with a Federal, State, or local primary drinking 1 water standard or regulation. 2 SEC. 3. HEALTHY DRINKING WATER AFFORDABILITY AS- 3 SISTANCE PROGRAM. 4 Subtitle A of the Consolidated Farm and Rural De- 5 velopment Act is amended by inserting after section 306E 6 (7 U.S.C. 1926e) the following: 7 ‘‘SEC. 306F. HEALTHY DRINKING WATER AFFORDABILITY 8 ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. 9 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 10 ‘‘(1) APPROVED INSTALLATION.—The term ‘ap- 11 proved installation’ means the installation of an eli- 12 gible drinking water quality improvement product or 13 a certified filter component by a qualified third-party 14 installer that— 15 ‘‘(A) complies with all local and State reg- 16 ulations; and 17 ‘‘(B) follows the installation instructions of 18 the manufacturer. 19 ‘‘(2) APPROVED MAINTENANCE.—The term ‘ap- 20 proved maintenance’ means required maintenance— 21 ‘‘(A) performed on an eligible drinking 22 water quality improvement product that in- 23 cludes maintenance and replacement of the cer- 24 tified filter component; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:47 Mar 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S806.IS S806 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 806 IS ‘‘(B) performed by a service technician 1 who— 2 ‘‘(i) is— 3 ‘‘(I) professionally qualified, cer- 4 tified, or licensed as a water treat- 5 ment product maintenance profes- 6 sional, including a professional 7 credentialed through a manufacturer 8 or third party; 9 ‘‘(II) operating under the super- 10 vision of a service technician described 11 in subclause (I); 12 ‘‘(III) a licensed plumber or a 13 plumber operating under the super- 14 vision of a licensed plumbing con- 15 tractor; or 16 ‘‘(IV) an individual who holds a 17 license or certification related to water 18 treatment technologies issued by a 19 State or local government; and 20 ‘‘(ii) regularly completes continuing 21 education on water treatment technology 22 and other subjects that enhance the serv- 23 ices provided under this section; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:47 Mar 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S806.IS S806 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 806 IS ‘‘(C) that complies with all local and State 1 regulations; and 2 ‘‘(D) that follows the maintenance instruc- 3 tions of the manufacturer. 4 ‘‘(3) CERTIFIED FILTER COMPONENT.—The 5 term ‘certified filter component’ means a replaceable 6 or replacement filter component— 7 ‘‘(A) for which approved maintenance can 8 be performed; and 9 ‘‘(B) that is certified by a third-party cer- 10 tifier as compliant with— 11 ‘‘(i) NSF P231; 12 ‘‘(ii) NSF/ANSI Standard 42, 44, 53, 13 55, 58, or 401; or 14 ‘‘(iii) another successor or relevant 15 consensus-based standard for drinking 16 water treatment units or systems that ad- 17 dresses health contaminant reduction, as 18 determined by the Secretary. 19 ‘‘(4) ELIGIBLE DRINKING WATER QUALITY IM- 20 PROVEMENT PRODUCT.—The term ‘eligible drinking 21 water quality improvement product’ means a point- 22 of-use or point-of-entry system— 23 ‘‘(A) incorporating a certified filter compo- 24 nent; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:47 Mar 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S806.IS S806 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 806 IS ‘‘(B) that is certified by a third-party cer- 1 tifier to meet standards described in paragraph 2 (3)(B)— 3 ‘‘(i) for material safety and perform- 4 ance; and 5 ‘‘(ii) to improve drinking water qual- 6 ity. 7 ‘‘(5) ELIGIBLE END USER.—The term ‘eligible 8 end user’ means a person or entity located in a rural 9 area (as defined in section 343(a)(13)(B)) that is— 10 ‘‘(A)(i) a homeowner; 11 ‘‘(ii) an individual lessee or renter of a 12 home, apartment, or other dwelling; 13 ‘‘(iii) a property owner of a multi-unit resi- 14 dential building with 25 or fewer owned, leased, 15 or rented dwelling units; 16 ‘‘(iv) a licensed child-care facility; or 17 ‘‘(v) an owned, leased, or rented facility; 18 and 19 ‘‘(B) supported by a finding of need 20 through— 21 ‘‘(i) a qualified water quality test 22 demonstrating the presence of 1 or more 23 health contaminants; or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:47 Mar 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S806.IS S806 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 806 IS ‘‘(ii) other documentation determined 1 to be satisfactory by the Secretary dem- 2 onstrating the presence of 1 or more 3 health contaminants. 4 ‘‘(6) ELIGIBLE GRANT RECIPIENT.—The term 5 ‘eligible grant recipient’ means— 6 ‘‘(A) an eligible end user; and 7 ‘‘(B) a nonprofit organization that uses a 8 grant provided under this section for the pur- 9 poses described in subsection (c)(2). 10 ‘‘(7) HEALTH CONTAMINANT.—The term 11 ‘health contaminant’ means— 12 ‘‘(A) a health contaminant found in drink- 13 ing water, including lead, arsenic, nitrate, ni- 14 trite, perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl sub- 15 stances, hexavalent chromium (chrome-6), and 16 volatile organic compounds; and 17 ‘‘(B) any other contaminant— 18 ‘‘(i) that can be reduced by an eligible 19 drinking water quality improvement prod- 20 uct or a certified filter component in ac- 21 cordance with the standards described in 22 paragraph (3)(B); and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:47 Mar 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S806.IS S806 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 806 IS ‘‘(ii)(I) with respect to which the Ad- 1 ministrator of the Environmental Protec- 2 tion Agency has established— 3 ‘‘(aa) a primary drinking water 4 regulation (as defined in section 1401 5 of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 6 U.S.C. 300f); 7 ‘‘(bb) a maximum contaminant 8 level goal established in accordance 9 with section 1412(b) of that Act (42 10 U.S.C. 300g–1(b)); or 11 ‘‘(cc) a health advisory issued 12 pursuant to section 1412(b)(1)(F) of 13 that Act (42 U.S.C. 300g– 14 1(b)(1)(F)); or 15 ‘‘(II) that is regulated by a State 16 agency. 17 ‘‘(8) IMPROVE DRINKING WATER QUALITY.— 18 The term ‘improve drinking water quality’ means to 19 improve the quality of the water supplied between its 20 source and human consumption by reducing or re- 21 moving 1 or more health contaminants. 22 ‘‘(9) QUALIFIED THIRD-PARTY INSTALLER.— 23 The term ‘qualified third-party installer’ means a 24 person who— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:47 Mar 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S806.IS S806 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 806 IS ‘‘(A) is— 1 ‘‘(i) a professionally qualified, cer- 2 tified, or licensed water treatment product 3 installation professional, including such a 4 professional credentialed through a manu- 5 facturer or third party; 6 ‘‘(ii) a licensed plumber or individual 7 who holds a license or certification related 8 to water treatment technologies issued by a 9 State or local government; or 10 ‘‘(iii) a company or plumbing con- 11 tractor employing individuals described in 12 clause (i) or (ii); and 13 ‘‘(B) regularly completes, or requires appli- 14 cable employees to complete, continuing edu- 15 cation on water treatment technology and other 16 subjects that enhance the services provided 17 under this section. 18 ‘‘(10) QUALIFIED WATER QUALITY TEST.—The 19 term ‘qualified water quality test’ means a baseline 20 analysis of the bacterial and chemical characteristics 21 of concern from a drinking water sample collected at 22 the point of consumption and tested by a laboratory 23 certified to conduct water quality testing— 24 ‘‘(A) that is provided to— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:47 Mar 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S806.IS S806 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •S 806 IS ‘‘(i) the Secretary; and 1 ‘‘(ii) as applicable— 2 ‘‘(I) a person seeking a grant 3 under this section; 4 ‘‘(II) an eligible end user receiv- 5 ing a grant under this section; or 6 ‘‘(III) an eligible grant recipient 7 receiving a grant under this section 8 and any eligible end users served by 9 the eligible grant recipient; and 10 ‘‘(B) that includes information that pro- 11 vides— 12 ‘‘(i) guidance on test interpretation, 13 including whether the bacteria or chemical 14 characteristic of concern meets or exceeds 15 a prescribed health-based contaminant 16 level; and 17 ‘‘(ii) sources and citations that eligible 18 grant recipients, independent third-party 19 organizations and institutions, and govern- 20 ment agencies may review and consult— 21 ‘‘(I) to determine available eligi- 22 ble drinking water quality improve- 23 ment products for addressing detected 24 contaminants; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:47 Mar 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S806.IS S806 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •S 806 IS ‘‘(II) to evaluate efficacy across 1 eligible drinking water quality im- 2 provement products. 3 ‘‘(11) THIRD-PARTY CERTIFIER.—The term 4 ‘third-party certifier’ means an independent certifi- 5 cation body accredited to ISO Standard 17065, 6 ‘Conformity assessment — Requirements for bodies 7 certifying products, processes and services’, by an 8 entity domiciled in the United States that is a signa- 9 tory to the International Accreditation Forum Multi- 10 lateral Recognition Arrangement, such as the Water 11 Quality Association, NSF International, the Inter- 12 national Association of Plumbing and Mechanical 13 Officials, and the International Code Council Eval- 14 uation Service. 15 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—Not later than 16 120 days after the date of enactment of this section, the 17 Secretary shall promulgate regulations to establish, and 18 shall carry out, a clean drinking water program, to be 19 known as the ‘Healthy Drinking Water Affordability As- 20 sistance Program’ or the ‘Healthy H2O Program’, to pro- 21 vide grants to eligible grant recipients to improve drinking 22 water quality of eligible end users. 23 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBLE USES OF GRANTS.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:47 Mar 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S806.IS S806 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 13 •S 806 IS ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A grant under this section 1 shall be used, as directed by the Secretary, for— 2 ‘‘(A) the purchase of an eligible drinking 3 water quality improvement product or a re- 4 placement certified filter component; 5 ‘‘(B) the approved installation by a quali- 6 fied third-party installer of an eligible drinking 7 water quality improvement product; 8 ‘‘(C) the purchase and approved installa- 9 tion by a qualified third-party installer of a re- 10 placement certified filter component; 11 ‘‘(D) the approved maintenance of an eligi- 12 ble drinking water quality impr [Text truncated for display. 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