Border Water Infrastructure Improvement Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 4039 To require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to carry out a program to fund water infrastructure projects near the United States-Mexico border, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JULY 25, 2019 Mr. LEVIN of California (for himself, Mr. VARGAS, Mrs. DAVIS of California, and Mr. PETERS) 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 Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consider- ation of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To require the Administrator of the Environmental Protec- tion Agency to carry out a program to fund water infra- structure projects near the United States-Mexico border, 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 ‘‘Border Water Infra- 4 structure Improvement Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:59 Aug 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4039.IH H4039 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 4039 IH SEC. 2. U.S.-MEXICO BORDER WATER INFRASTRUCTURE 1 PROGRAM. 2 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 3 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis- 4 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ- 5 mental Protection Agency. 6 (2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti- 7 ty’’ means a State, local government, Indian Tribe, 8 or water or wastewater district, with jurisdiction 9 over any area in the United States or Mexico that 10 is located within 100 kilometers of the United 11 States-Mexico border. 12 (3) ELIGIBLE PROJECT.— 13 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘eligible 14 project’’ means a project for the construction of 15 a drinking water treatment or distribution facil- 16 ity, or a wastewater management facility, 17 that— 18 (i) addresses an existing human 19 health or ecological issue; 20 (ii) has an effect in the United States; 21 (iii) with respect to a wastewater 22 management facility the water discharged 23 from which will flow, directly or indirectly, 24 into the United States, is designed to meet 25 relevant water quality standards in the 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:59 Aug 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4039.IH H4039 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 4039 IH United States, including any such stand- 1 ards established under the Federal Water 2 Pollution Control Act; 3 (iv) is proposed by an eligible entity 4 with legal authority to develop the project, 5 provide the proposed drinking water or 6 wastewater services, and obtain necessary 7 financing; 8 (v) will comply with relevant State 9 and local environmental and other laws 10 and regulations, including with respect to 11 obtaining any necessary operating permits 12 and licenses and complying with any other 13 regulatory requirements related to land ac- 14 quisition and rights-of-way; and 15 (vi) has the support of appropriate 16 Federal and State agencies, including the 17 Comision Nacional de Agua (also known as 18 CONAGUA or the Mexican National 19 Water Commission) and any appropriate 20 State water utility, if located in Mexico. 21 (B) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘eligible 22 project’’ does not include a project— 23 (i) for water supply; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:59 Aug 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4039.IH H4039 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 4039 IH (ii) that threatens ecosystems located 1 in the United States, or that are located in 2 both the United States and Mexico, if the 3 project causes reductions in the flow of 4 water; or 5 (iii) to provide drinking water or 6 wastewater services to new development. 7 (b) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall carry out 8 a program to provide assistance to eligible entities for ac- 9 tivities related to eligible projects, including feasibility 10 studies, planning studies, environmental assessments, fi- 11 nancial analyses, community participation efforts, and ar- 12 chitectural, engineering, planning, design, and construc- 13 tion activities. 14 (c) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out subsection (b), 15 the Administrator shall consult with the North American 16 Development Bank. 17 (d) PROJECT SELECTION.— 18 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out subsection 19 (b), the Administrator shall select projects to receive 20 assistance under the program in accordance with 21 paragraph (2) and any other criteria determined ap- 22 propriate by the Administrator. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:59 Aug 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4039.IH H4039 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 4039 IH (2) PRIORITIZATION.—In carrying out sub- 1 section (b), the Administrator shall prioritize 2 projects that— 3 (A) are likely to have the greatest positive 4 effects relating to the environment, public 5 health, or responding to unmet water supply 6 needs; 7 (B) will result in benefits on both sides of 8 the United States-Mexico border; and 9 (C) address the most urgent public health 10 and environmental needs, as determined by the 11 heads of the Regional offices for Regions 6 and 12 9 of the Environmental Protection Agency. 13 (e) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—The Administrator 14 may set such terms and conditions on assistance provided 15 under this section as the Administrator determines appro- 16 priate. 17 (f) COST SHARE.— 18 (1) REQUIREMENT FOR CERTAIN PROJECTS.— 19 The Federal share of the cost of an eligible project 20 located in Mexico shall be 50 percent. 21 (2) EXEMPTION.—During the 5-year period be- 22 ginning on the date of enactment of this section, the 23 Administrator may waive the requirement of para- 24 graph (1) if the Administrator, in consultation with 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:59 Aug 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4039.IH H4039 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 4039 IH the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of 1 Homeland Security, finds that the project will re- 2 duce negative health effects on Federal law enforce- 3 ment or Department of Defense personnel. 4 (g) FUNDING.— 5 (1) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 6 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Ad- 7 ministrator to carry out this section $150,000,000 8 for each of fiscal years 2020 through 2024. 9 (2) REGIONAL ALLOCATIONS.—The amounts 10 made available to carry out this section shall be 11 made available in equal amounts for use by the Re- 12 gional offices for Regions 6 and 9 of the Environ- 13 mental Protection Agency. 14 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:59 Aug 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H4039.IH H4039 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS