Great Lakes Water Protection Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2210 To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to prohibit sewage dumping into the Great Lakes, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JULY 23, 2019 Ms. DUCKWORTH (for herself and Mr. DURBIN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works A BILL To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to pro- hibit sewage dumping into the Great Lakes, 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 ‘‘Great Lakes Water 4 Protection Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. RESTRICTION ON WASTEWATER RELEASES INTO 6 THE GREAT LAKES SYSTEM. 7 (a) IN GENERAL.— 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:15 Aug 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2210.IS S2210 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 2210 IS (1) RESTRICTION.—Section 402 of the Federal 1 Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1342) is 2 amended by adding at the end the following: 3 ‘‘(t) RESTRICTION ON WASTEWATER RELEASES INTO 4 THE GREAT LAKES SYSTEM.— 5 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 6 ‘‘(A) BYPASS.—The term ‘bypass’ means, 7 with respect to a treatment facility that dis- 8 charges into the Great Lakes System, an inten- 9 tional diversion of waste streams from any por- 10 tion of the treatment facility. 11 ‘‘(B) GREAT LAKES SYSTEM.—The term 12 ‘Great Lakes System’ has the meaning given 13 the term in section 118(a)(3). 14 ‘‘(C) TREATMENT FACILITY.—The term 15 ‘treatment facility’ includes all wastewater 16 treatment units used by a publicly owned treat- 17 ment works to meet secondary treatment stand- 18 ards or higher, as required to attain water qual- 19 ity standards, under any operating conditions. 20 ‘‘(D) TREATMENT WORKS.—The term 21 ‘treatment works’ has the meaning given the 22 term in section 212. 23 ‘‘(2) RESTRICTION.—A publicly owned treat- 24 ment works that discharges into the Great Lakes 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:15 Aug 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2210.IS S2210 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 2210 IS System is prohibited from performing a bypass un- 1 less— 2 ‘‘(A)(i) the bypass is unavoidable to pre- 3 vent loss of life, personal injury, or severe prop- 4 erty damage; 5 ‘‘(ii) there is not a feasible alternative to 6 the bypass, such as the use of auxiliary treat- 7 ment facilities, retention of untreated wastes, or 8 maintenance during normal periods of equip- 9 ment downtime; and 10 ‘‘(iii) the treatment works provides notice 11 of the bypass in accordance with paragraph (4); 12 or 13 ‘‘(B) the bypass— 14 ‘‘(i) does not cause effluent limitations 15 to be exceeded; and 16 ‘‘(ii) is for essential maintenance to 17 ensure efficient operation of the treatment 18 facility. 19 ‘‘(3) LIMITATION.—The requirement of para- 20 graph (2)(A)(ii) is not satisfied if— 21 ‘‘(A) adequate back-up equipment should 22 have been installed in the exercise of reasonable 23 engineering judgment to prevent the bypass; 24 and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:15 Aug 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2210.IS S2210 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 2210 IS ‘‘(B) the bypass occurred during normal 1 periods of equipment downtime or preventive 2 maintenance. 3 ‘‘(4) IMMEDIATE NOTICE REQUIREMENTS.— 4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 5 shall work with States having publicly owned 6 treatment works subject to paragraph (2) to 7 create immediate notice requirements in the 8 event of a bypass or a combined sewer overflow 9 that provide for the method, contents, and re- 10 quirements for public availability of the notice. 11 ‘‘(B) MINIMUM INITIAL NOTICE REQUIRE- 12 MENTS.—At a minimum, the contents of the 13 immediate notice under subparagraph (A) shall 14 include— 15 ‘‘(i) the exact dates and times of the 16 bypass or combined sewer overflow; 17 ‘‘(ii) the volume of the bypass or com- 18 bined sewer overflow; and 19 ‘‘(iii) a description of any public ac- 20 cess areas impacted. 21 ‘‘(C) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—The 22 Administrator and States described in subpara- 23 graph (A) shall— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:15 Aug 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2210.IS S2210 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 2210 IS ‘‘(i) ensure that the minimum require- 1 ments under subparagraph (B) are con- 2 sistent for all those States; 3 ‘‘(ii) establish follow-up notice require- 4 ments that provide a full description of 5 each event (including water quality data), 6 the cause, and plans to prevent reoccur- 7 rence; and 8 ‘‘(iii) establish requirements for mak- 9 ing publicly available, including on the 10 website of the Administrator, a list of each 11 treatment works from which the Adminis- 12 trator or the State received a follow-up no- 13 tice, along with the information required 14 under clause (ii) for each event that re- 15 quired a follow-up notice. 16 ‘‘(5) IMPLEMENTATION.—Not later than 2 17 years after the date of enactment of this subsection, 18 the Administrator shall establish procedures to im- 19 plement this subsection.’’. 20 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 425 21 of division G of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 22 2016 (Public Law 114–113; 33 U.S.C. 1268 note) 23 is repealed. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:15 Aug 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2210.IS S2210 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 2210 IS (b) GREAT LAKES GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE DEVEL- 1 OPMENT GRANT PROGRAM.—Title V of the Federal Water 2 Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) is amend- 3 ed— 4 (1) by redesignating section 520 (33 U.S.C. 5 1251 note) as section 521; and 6 (2) by inserting after section 519 (33 U.S.C. 7 1377a) the following: 8 ‘‘SEC. 520. ESTABLISHMENT OF GREAT LAKES GREEN IN- 9 FRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT GRANT PRO- 10 GRAM. 11 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 12 ‘‘(1) GREAT LAKES STATES; GREAT LAKES SYS- 13 TEM.—The terms ‘Great Lakes States’ and ‘Great 14 Lakes System’ have the meanings given the terms in 15 section 118(a)(3). 16 ‘‘(2) GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE.—The term 17 ‘green infrastructure’ has the meaning given the 18 term in section 502. 19 ‘‘(3) LOW-INCOME COMMUNITY.—The term 20 ‘low-income community’ has the meaning given the 21 term in section 45D(e) of the Internal Revenue Code 22 of 1986. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:15 Aug 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2210.IS S2210 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •S 2210 IS ‘‘(4) PROGRAM.—The term ‘Program’ means 1 the Great Lakes Green Infrastructure Development 2 Grant Program established under subsection (b). 3 ‘‘(5) SMALL BUSINESS.—The term ‘small busi- 4 ness’ means a small business concern (as defined 5 under section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 6 U.S.C. 632)). 7 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—Not later than 8 1 year after the date of enactment of the Great Lakes 9 Water Protection Act, the Administrator shall establish a 10 grant program, to be known as the ‘Great Lakes Green 11 Infrastructure Grant Program’, under which the Adminis- 12 trator shall make grants to Great Lakes States to fund 13 programs and activities to develop green infrastructure 14 projects. 15 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION.— 16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each Great Lakes State 17 desiring a grant under the Program shall submit to 18 the Administrator an application at such time, in 19 such manner, and containing such information as 20 the Administrator may require. 21 ‘‘(2) ASSESSMENT OF NEED AND URGENCY.— 22 Each application under paragraph (1) shall include 23 an assessment of the relative need and urgency of 24 the applicable program or activity for which the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:15 Aug 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2210.IS S2210 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •S 2210 IS Great Lakes State desires a grant under the Pro- 1 gram, as compared to other programs and activities 2 for which the Great Lakes State desires a grant 3 under the Program during the same fiscal year, in- 4 cluding an explanation of the reasons for any deter- 5 mination of relative need and urgency. 6 ‘‘(d) ALLOCATION OF GRANT AWARDS.— 7 ‘‘(1) ALLOCATION AMONG GREAT LAKES 8 STATES.— 9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For each fiscal year, 10 in awarding grants under the Program, the Ad- 11 ministrator shall determine the maximum 12 amount that may be awarded to each Great 13 Lakes State based on the relative needs of each 14 Great Lakes State, as determined by the most 15 recent Clean Watersheds Needs Survey carried 16 out by the Administrator pursuant to section 17 516(b). 18 ‘‘(B) UNAWARDED AMOUNTS.—If the Sec- 19 retary does not award to a Great Lakes State 20 the maximum amount available to the Great 21 Lakes State under subparagraph (A) for a fis- 22 cal year, the Secretary shall make the remain- 23 ing amounts for that fiscal year available to the 24 Great Lakes State in subsequent fiscal years. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:15 Aug 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2210.IS S2210 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •S 2210 IS ‘‘(2) PRIORITY FOR CERTAIN PROJECTS.— 1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In awarding grants to 2 a Great Lakes State under the Program, the 3 Administrator shall give priority to applications 4 to fund programs and activities that present the 5 greatest need and urgency, as determined by 6 the Administrator. 7 ‘‘(B) CONSIDERATION OF STATE ASSESS- 8 MENT OF NEED AND URGENCY.—In making a 9 determination of need and urgency under sub- 10 paragraph (A), the Secretary shall take into 11 consideration each applicable assessment of rel- 12 ative need and urgency prepared by the Great 13 Lakes State under subsection (c)(2). 14 ‘‘(e) SUBGRANTS.—A Great Lakes State receiving a 15 grant under the Program may make subgrants to any en- 16 tity or individual in the Great Lakes State for programs 17 and activities to develop green infrastructure projects. 18 ‘‘(f) ALLOCATION OF GRANT FUNDS RECEIVED BY 19 GREAT LAKES STATES.— 20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Of any amounts awarded 21 to a Great Lakes State under the Program, the 22 Great Lakes State shall ensure that— 23 ‘‘(A) not less than 50 percent of those 24 amounts are used for— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:15 Aug 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2210.IS S2210 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •S 2210 IS ‘‘(i) capital expenditures relating to 1 green infrastructure projects, including any 2 expenses for cost estimates or project plan- 3 ning and design; and 4 ‘‘(ii) materials associated with capital 5 expenditures relating to green infrastruc- 6 ture projects, such as rain garden soils; 7 ‘‘(B) not less than 25 percent of those 8 amounts are used for operations and mainte- 9 nance of green infrastructure, including any ex- 10 penses for developing operations and mainte- 11 nance cost estimates; and 12 ‘‘(C) not more than 25 percent of those 13 amounts are used for green infrastructure 14 workforce training, except that, in the case of 15 a workforce training program that provides 16 dedicated maintenance labor for green infra- 17 structure, amounts expended for green infra- 18 structure workforce training may be considered 19 to be amounts expended for operations and 20 maintenance under subparagraph (B). 21 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION ON FUNDING FOR OPER- 22 ATIONS AND MAINTENANCE.—Each entity or indi- 23 vidual that receives amounts awarded to a Great 24 Lakes State under the Program may use the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:15 Aug 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2210.IS S2210 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •S 2210 IS amounts received by that entity or individual for op- 1 erations and maintenance of green infrastructure 2 under paragraph (1)(B) for a total period of not 3 more than 3 years. 4 ‘‘(3) SMALL BUSINESSES.— 5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A Great Lakes State 6 shall ensure that not less than 23 percent of 7 the total amount awarded to the Great Lakes 8 State under the Program is received by small 9 businesses or nonprofit organizations in the 10 Great Lakes State— 11 ‘‘(i) to construct green infrastructure 12 projects; or 13 ‘‘(ii) to operate and maintain green 14 infrastructure projects. 15 ‘‘(B) PERMISSIBLE ACTIVITIES.— 16 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The requirements 17 under subparagraph (A) may be satis- 18 fied— 19 ‘‘(I) by subgrants made to small 20 businesses or nonprofit organizations 21 by the Great Lakes State; 22 ‘‘(II) by contracts entered into by 23 small businesses or nonprofit organi- 24 zations (or labor unions representing 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:15 Aug 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2210.IS S2210 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •S 2210 IS the employees of small businesses or 1 nonprofit organizations) with the 2 Great Lakes State; and 3 ‘‘(III) by subcontracts entered 4 into by small businesses or nonprofit 5 organizations (or labor unions rep- 6 resenting the employees of small busi- 7 nesses or nonprofit organizations) 8 with the recipients of subgrants made 9 by the Great Lakes State. 10 ‘‘(4) PRIORITY FOR CERTAIN PROGRAMS AND 11 ACTIVITIES.—In selecting programs and activities to 12 be funded using amounts made available under this 13 section, a Great Lakes State shall give priority to 14 programs and activities that reduce or eliminate by- 15 passes (as defined in section 402(t)(1)) or combined 16 sewer overflows. 17 ‘‘(5) LOW-INCOME COMMUNITIES.—A Great 18 Lakes State is encouraged to use any amounts 19 awarded to the Great Lakes State under the Pro- 20 gram to fund green infrastructure projects located in 21 low-income communities. 22 ‘‘(g) COST SHARE.— 23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In awarding a grant to a 24 Great Lakes State under the Program for programs 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:15 Aug 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2210.IS S2210 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 13 •S 2210 IS and activities, the Administrator may require the 1 Great Lakes State to pay up to 50 percent of the 2 costs of the programs and activities funded by the 3 grant. 4 ‘‘(2) IN-KIND SUPPORT.—In-kind support for a 5 program or activity, including staff time, provided by 6 a Great Lakes State shall count toward the share of 7 costs required to be paid by the Great Lakes State 8 under paragraph (1). 9 ‘‘(h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 10 is authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator to 11 carry out this section $250,000,000 for each of fiscal 12 years 2021 through 2025, to remain available until ex- 13 pended.’’. 14 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:15 Aug [Text truncated for display. 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