Water Justice Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 4033 To provide supplemental appropriations for safe and secure water, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JULY 25, 2019 Mr. KILDEE (for himself and Mrs. LAWRENCE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on the Budget, Ways and Means, Natural Re- sources, Agriculture, and Transportation and Infrastructure, 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 provide supplemental appropriations for safe and secure water, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Water Justice Act’’. 5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 6 this Act is as follows: 7 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:51 Aug 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H4033.IH H4033 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 4033 IH TITLE I—DRINKING WATER INFRASTRUCTURE EMERGENCY Sec. 101. Findings. Sec. 102. Definitions. Sec. 103. Supplemental appropriations for the drinking water infrastructure emergency. TITLE II—WATER ACCESSIBILITY AND AFFORDABILITY Sec. 201. Findings. Sec. 202. Drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater services assistance needs-based program. Sec. 203. Establishment of Federal grant program for drinking water treat- ment works operation and maintenance. TITLE III—INVESTMENTS IN NATIONWIDE WATER INFRASTRUCTURE AND SUSTAINABILITY Sec. 301. Findings. Sec. 302. Reclamation infrastructure finance and innovation pilot program. Sec. 303. Water recycling and reuse projects. Sec. 304. Mandatory spending for water infrastructure programs. Sec. 305. Expanding and increasing funding for rural individual and connected water systems programs. Sec. 306. Increased funding for water management improvement. Sec. 307. Water Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program. Sec. 308. Rural water supply program reauthorization. Sec. 309. Combating PFAS. Sec. 310. Multi-benefit projects to improve watershed health. TITLE I—DRINKING WATER 1 INFRASTRUCTURE EMERGENCY 2 SEC. 101. FINDINGS. 3 Congress finds that— 4 (1)(A) everyone has the right to clean and safe 5 drinking water and appropriate sanitation services; 6 and 7 (B) the Federal Government has the responsi- 8 bility to ensure that the rights described in subpara- 9 graph (A) are realized; 10 (2) the American Society of Civil Engineers as- 11 signed a ‘‘D’’ grade to the drinking water infrastruc- 12 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:51 Aug 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4033.IH H4033 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 4033 IH ture of the United States and the American Water 1 Works Association estimated that 2 $1,000,000,000,000 is necessary to maintain and ex- 3 pand service during the 25-year period beginning on 4 the date of enactment of this Act; 5 (3) deterioration and aging of the water infra- 6 structure of the United States has resulted in mil- 7 lions of people of the United States being exposed to 8 unsafe drinking water, including lead contamination; 9 (4) exposure to lead can cause serious health 10 problems, especially to young children and pregnant 11 women, including damage to the brain and nervous 12 system, kidney problems, and high blood pressure; 13 (5) the Government Accountability Office esti- 14 mates that 43 percent of school districts, serving 15 35,000,000 students, tested for lead in school drink- 16 ing water in 2016 or 2017; 17 (6) of the schools that tested for lead as de- 18 scribed in paragraph (5), an estimated 37 percent 19 found levels of lead above the threshold of the school 20 district for taking remedial action; 21 (7) according to the American Water Works As- 22 sociation, approximately 30 percent of surveyed com- 23 munity water systems in the United States reported 24 having some lead-containing service lines; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:51 Aug 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4033.IH H4033 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 4033 IH (8) the continuing emergency of drinking water 1 contamination in communities like Flint, Michigan, 2 demonstrates the severity of this crisis across the 3 United States; 4 (9) many rural areas across the United States 5 also face severe drinking water challenges, as the 6 community water systems serving small populations 7 in the United States often lack sufficient financial 8 and technical resources; 9 (10) boil water advisories are a daily occurrence 10 in the United States, and those advisories dispropor- 11 tionately impact small drinking water systems, with 12 some advisories in rural areas lasting for years; 13 (11) it is estimated that 13,000,000 households 14 in the United States rely on well water, with no Fed- 15 eral regulation or testing of contaminants; 16 (12) past appropriations for the Environmental 17 Protection Agency grant programs that address 18 school drinking water and drinking water contami- 19 nation in high-risk communities are not sufficient to 20 address the tremendous need throughout the United 21 States; 22 (13) investments in infrastructure create jobs 23 while fulfilling critical needs in communities 24 throughout the United States; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:51 Aug 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4033.IH H4033 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 4033 IH (14) it is estimated that nearly 17,200,000 1 workers, about 12 percent of the United States 2 workforce, were employed in infrastructure jobs in 3 2018; 4 (15) infrastructure occupations often provide 5 more competitive and equitable wages in comparison 6 to all jobs nationally, consistently paying up to 30 7 percent more to workers at lower ends of the income 8 scale; 9 (16) the sixth national assessment by the Envi- 10 ronmental Protection Agency of drinking water in- 11 frastructure needs shows a total 20-year capital im- 12 provement need of $472,600,000,000 for public 13 water systems; 14 (17) emergency supplemental appropriations for 15 the Environmental Protection Agency, provided in 16 addition to other appropriations and not subject to 17 sequestration, will improve drinking water in schools 18 and high-risk communities and create jobs through- 19 out the United States without reducing funding for 20 other domestic priorities; 21 (18) appropriating $50,000,000,000 in fiscal 22 year 2020 for the Environmental Protection Agency, 23 and allowing the funds to remain available for 5 24 years, will enable States to begin to immediately ex- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:51 Aug 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4033.IH H4033 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 4033 IH pand investments in addressing drinking water 1 needs in schools and in high-risk communities 2 throughout the United States; 3 (19) a $50,000,000,000 investment in drinking 4 water infrastructure could create 1,250,000 jobs; 5 (20) an emergency supplemental appropriation 6 of $50,000,000,000 for the Environmental Protec- 7 tion Agency, to be made available in fiscal year 8 2020, and to remain available for 5 years, will allow 9 States to begin immediately to distribute funds to el- 10 igible schools and high-risk communities to develop 11 and implement plans to improve drinking water in- 12 frastructure, through accelerated and expanded re- 13 placement of lead-based service lines and other crit- 14 ical infrastructure improvements, ensuring an effi- 15 cient use of funds and timely job creation; 16 (21) emergency supplemental appropriations for 17 remediating the drinking water infrastructure emer- 18 gency in the United States can be leveraged— 19 (A) to create high-quality union jobs; and 20 (B) to expand minority-owned businesses 21 to support the next generation of water infra- 22 structure contractors; and 23 (22) an emergency supplemental appropriation 24 of $50,000,000,000 for the Environmental Protec- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:51 Aug 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4033.IH H4033 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •HR 4033 IH tion Agency would allow numerous communities to 1 address the water infrastructure needs of those com- 2 munities and begin to combat the crisis in the 3 United States. 4 SEC. 102. DEFINITIONS. 5 In this title: 6 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis- 7 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ- 8 mental Protection Agency. 9 (2) DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITY.—The term 10 ‘‘disadvantaged community’’ has the meaning given 11 the term in section 1452(d)(3) of the Safe Drinking 12 Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300j–12(d)(3)). 13 (3) HIGH-RISK COMMUNITY.—The term ‘‘high- 14 risk community’’ means— 15 (A) a disadvantaged community in which 16 drinking water has tested for levels of contami- 17 nants, such as lead, copper, mercury, organic 18 chemicals, and other substances, above the con- 19 taminant levels allowed under the applicable na- 20 tional primary drinking water regulations (as 21 defined in section 1401 of the Safe Drinking 22 Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300f)); or 23 (B) in States in which State drinking 24 water contaminant requirements are stricter 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:51 Aug 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4033.IH H4033 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •HR 4033 IH than the applicable national primary drinking 1 water regulations (as defined in section 1401 of 2 the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 3 300f)), a disadvantaged community in which 4 drinking water has tested for levels of contami- 5 nants at levels higher than allowed under the 6 applicable State contaminant requirement. 7 SEC. 103. SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE 8 DRINKING WATER INFRASTRUCTURE EMER- 9 GENCY. 10 Out of any funds in the Treasury not otherwise ap- 11 propriated, for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2020, 12 $50,000,000,000, to remain available until September 30, 13 2024, is appropriated to the Administrator for an addi- 14 tional amount for lead reduction investments through the 15 Environmental Protection Agency (including programs 16 such as the State response to contaminants grant program 17 under section 1459A(j) of the Safe Drinking Water Act 18 (42 U.S.C. 300j–19a(j)), the voluntary school and child 19 care program lead testing grant program under section 20 1464(d) of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300j– 21 24(d)), and the drinking water fountain replacement for 22 schools program under section 1465 of the Safe Drinking 23 Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300j–25)), or additional grant pro- 24 grams (either in existence or to be developed) for projects 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:51 Aug 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4033.IH H4033 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •HR 4033 IH that protect high-risk communities from lead contamina- 1 tion in drinking water; provide for technical assistance or 2 mitigation efforts; allow for replacement of lead-tainted in- 3 frastructure; provide funds for the purchase of filters cer- 4 tified by NSF International and the Water Quality Asso- 5 ciation for the removal of contaminants of concern in pub- 6 lic water systems; or address lead testing in school and 7 child care programs for which filtration of water systems 8 in those school and child care programs has already been 9 performed: Provided, That the amount under this heading 10 is designated by the Congress as an emergency require- 11 ment pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced 12 Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (2 13 U.S.C. 901(b)(2)(A)(i)), except that such amount shall be 14 available only if the President subsequently so designates 15 such amount and transmits such designation to Congress. 16 TITLE II—WATER ACCESSIBILITY 17 AND AFFORDABILITY 18 SEC. 201. FINDINGS. 19 Congress finds the following: 20 (1) Obtaining reliable and affordable water 21 service is becoming increasingly difficult due to 22 aging infrastructure, climate change, and population 23 changes. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:51 Aug 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4033.IH H4033 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •HR 4033 IH (2) Household water rates have increased by 1 approximately 41 percent since 2010. Over the last 2 several decades, the cost for drinking water and 3 wastewater services has risen much more rapidly 4 than other household expenses. 5 (3) According to the Environmental Protection 6 Agency, low-income households are particularly im- 7 pacted by water affordability challenges when drink- 8 ing water, wastewater, and stormwater rates are 9 raised. 10 (4) Across the United States, water and waste- 11 water bills have been increasing at more than twice 12 the rate of inflation for nearly 2 decades. Addition- 13 ally, incomes have barely kept up with inflation over 14 the same period. It is anticipated that rates for 15 water and wastewater services will continue to in- 16 crease to meet the need for billions of dollars of 17 overdue investment in our Nation’s water and waste- 18 water systems. 19 (5) The Environmental Protection Agency re- 20 ports that approximately 15 percent of residential 21 water customers nationally are low-income house- 22 holds that are constantly at risk of being unable to 23 pay their water bills. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:51 Aug 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4033.IH H4033 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •HR 4033 IH (6) Low-income households are 3 times more 1 likely than other households to have their utility 2 service disconnected for unpaid or overdue bills. 3 (7) An estimated 15,000,000 people in the 4 United States experienced a water shutoff in 2016 5 with the highest shutoff rates in lower-income cities 6 with higher rates of poverty and unemployment. 7 (8) In 2017, total appropriations to the Envi- 8 ronmental Protection Agency for water infrastruc- 9 ture were 35 percent lower than the corresponding 10 2001 appropriations (adjusted for inflation) despite 11 massive capital investments being needed for drink- 12 ing water and wastewater systems. 13 (9) Water accessibility is a fundamental ele- 14 ment of public health, safety, welfare, and security. 15 SEC. 202. DRINKING WATER, WASTEWATER, AND 16 STORMWATER SERVICES ASSISTANCE NEEDS- 17 BASED PROGRAM. 18 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 19 (1) ENVIRONMENTALLY AT-RISK HOUSE- 20 HOLD.—The ter [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]