Low-Income Water Customer Assistance Programs Act of 2019

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2687 To amend the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to establish pilot programs to assist low-income households in maintaining access to sanitation services and drinking water, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES OCTOBER 23, 2019 Mr. CARDIN (for himself and Mr. WICKER) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works A BILL To amend the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to establish pilot programs to assist low-income households in maintaining access to sanitation services and drinking 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. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Low-Income Water 4 Customer Assistance Programs Act of 2019’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:20 Oct 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2687.IS S2687 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 2687 IS SEC. 2. LOW-INCOME DRINKING WATER ASSISTANCE PILOT 1 PROGRAM. 2 Part E of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 3 300j et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol- 4 lowing: 5 ‘‘SEC. 1459E. LOW-INCOME DRINKING WATER ASSISTANCE 6 PILOT PROGRAM. 7 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 8 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en- 9 tity’ means a municipality or public entity that owns 10 or operates a community water system. 11 ‘‘(2) HOUSEHOLD.—The term ‘household’ 12 means any individual or group of individuals who 13 are living together as 1 economic unit. 14 ‘‘(3) LOW-INCOME HOUSEHOLD.—The term 15 ‘low-income household’ means a household— 16 ‘‘(A) in which one or more individuals are 17 receiving— 18 ‘‘(i) assistance under a State program 19 funded under part A of title IV of the So- 20 cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.); 21 ‘‘(ii) supplemental security income 22 payments under title XVI of the Social Se- 23 curity Act (42 U.S.C. 1381 et seq.); 24 ‘‘(iii) supplemental nutrition assist- 25 ance program benefits under the Food and 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:39 Oct 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2687.IS S2687 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 2687 IS Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et 1 seq.); or 2 ‘‘(iv) payments under— 3 ‘‘(I) section 1315, 1521, 1541, or 4 1542 of title 38, United States Code; 5 or 6 ‘‘(II) section 306 of the Veterans’ 7 and Survivors’ Pension Improvement 8 Act of 1978 (38 U.S.C. 1521 note; 9 Public Law 95–588); or 10 ‘‘(B) that has an income that, as deter- 11 mined by the State in which the household is lo- 12 cated, does not exceed the greater of— 13 ‘‘(i) an amount equal to 150 percent 14 of the poverty level; and 15 ‘‘(ii) an amount equal to 60 percent of 16 the State median income for that State. 17 ‘‘(4) POVERTY LEVEL.—The term ‘poverty 18 level’ means, with respect to a household in a State, 19 the income poverty guidelines for the nonfarm popu- 20 lation of the United States, as prescribed by the Of- 21 fice of Management and Budget, as applicable to the 22 State. 23 ‘‘(5) SMALL COMMUNITY-SERVING ELIGIBLE 24 ENTITY.—The term ‘small community-serving eligi- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:20 Oct 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2687.IS S2687 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 2687 IS ble entity’ means an eligible entity that provides 1 drinking water services to a city, county, or munici- 2 pality with a population of fewer than 10,000 resi- 3 dents, at least 20 percent of whom are at or below 4 the Federal poverty level. 5 ‘‘(6) STATE MEDIAN INCOME.—The term ‘State 6 median income’ has the meaning given the term in 7 section 2603 of Public Law 97–35 (42 U.S.C. 8 8622). 9 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT.— 10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall es- 11 tablish a pilot program to award grants to not fewer 12 than 32 eligible entities in accordance with para- 13 graph (2) to develop and implement programs to as- 14 sist low-income households in maintaining access to 15 affordable drinking water. 16 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.— 17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 18 shall award grants under the pilot program de- 19 scribed in paragraph (1) to— 20 ‘‘(i) not fewer than 8 eligible entities 21 that provide drinking water services to a 22 population of 1,000,000 or more residents; 23 ‘‘(ii) not fewer than 8 eligible entities 24 that provide drinking water services to a 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:20 Oct 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2687.IS S2687 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 2687 IS population of 100,000 or more, but fewer 1 than 1,000,000, residents; 2 ‘‘(iii) not fewer than 8 eligible entities 3 that provide drinking water services to a 4 population of 10,000 or more, but fewer 5 than 100,000, residents; 6 ‘‘(iv) subject, as applicable, to sub- 7 paragraph (B), not fewer than 8 eligible 8 entities that provide drinking water serv- 9 ices to a population of fewer than 10,000 10 residents; and 11 ‘‘(v) not more than 2 eligible entities 12 in each State. 13 ‘‘(B) SMALL COMMUNITY-SERVING ELIGI- 14 BLE ENTITIES.—To be eligible to receive a 15 grant under the pilot program under this sub- 16 section, a small community-serving eligible enti- 17 ty shall enter into a memorandum of under- 18 standing with the State in which the small com- 19 munity-serving eligible entity is located, under 20 which the State shall— 21 ‘‘(i) submit to the Administrator an 22 application under paragraph (6) on behalf 23 of the small community-serving eligible en- 24 tity; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:20 Oct 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2687.IS S2687 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 2687 IS ‘‘(ii) on receipt of a grant under the 1 pilot program, administer the low-income 2 household assistance program developed by 3 the small community-serving eligible entity. 4 ‘‘(3) LIMITATIONS.— 5 ‘‘(A) USE.—A grant awarded under the 6 pilot program— 7 ‘‘(i) shall not be used to replace funds 8 for any existing similar program; but 9 ‘‘(ii) may be used to supplement or 10 enhance an existing program. 11 ‘‘(B) GRANTS UNDER MULTIPLE PRO- 12 GRAMS.—An eligible entity— 13 ‘‘(i) may apply for a grant under the 14 pilot program and under the low-income 15 wastewater assistance pilot program estab- 16 lished under section 124(b)(1) of the Fed- 17 eral Water Pollution Control Act; but 18 ‘‘(ii) may be awarded a grant under 19 only 1 of the programs described in clause 20 (i). 21 ‘‘(4) TERM.—The term of a grant awarded 22 under the pilot program shall be 5 years. 23 ‘‘(5) MINIMUM PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:20 Oct 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2687.IS S2687 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •S 2687 IS ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years 1 after the date of enactment of this section, the 2 Administrator shall develop, in consultation 3 with all relevant stakeholders, the minimum re- 4 quirements for a program carried out by an eli- 5 gible entity (or a State, on behalf of a small 6 community-serving eligible entity) using a grant 7 under this subsection. 8 ‘‘(B) INCLUSIONS.—The program require- 9 ments developed under subparagraph (A) may 10 include— 11 ‘‘(i) direct financial assistance; 12 ‘‘(ii) a lifeline rate; 13 ‘‘(iii) bill discounting; 14 ‘‘(iv) special hardship provisions; 15 ‘‘(v) a percentage-of-income payment 16 plan; or 17 ‘‘(vi) water efficiency assistance, in- 18 cluding direct installation of water efficient 19 fixtures and leak repair, which may be 20 completed through a contracted third 21 party. 22 ‘‘(C) ASSISTANCE EXEMPT FROM TAX- 23 ATION.—Notwithstanding any other provision of 24 law, assistance provided to a low-income house- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:20 Oct 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2687.IS S2687 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •S 2687 IS hold under a program carried out by an eligible 1 entity (or a State, on behalf of a small commu- 2 nity-serving eligible entity) using a grant under 3 this subsection shall be exempt from income tax 4 under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 5 ‘‘(6) APPLICATION.—To receive a grant under 6 this subsection, an eligible entity (or a State, on be- 7 half of a small community-serving eligible entity) 8 shall submit to the Administrator an application 9 that demonstrates that— 10 ‘‘(A) the proposed program of the eligible 11 entity or small community-serving eligible enti- 12 ty, as applicable, meets the requirements devel- 13 oped under paragraph (5)(A); 14 ‘‘(B) the proposed program of the eligible 15 entity or small community-serving eligible enti- 16 ty, as applicable, will treat owners and renters 17 equitably; 18 ‘‘(C) the eligible entity or small commu- 19 nity-serving eligible entity, as applicable, has, to 20 fund the activities necessary to achieve or main- 21 tain compliance with this Act— 22 ‘‘(i) a long-term financial plan based 23 on a rate analysis; 24 ‘‘(ii) an asset management plan; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:20 Oct 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2687.IS S2687 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •S 2687 IS ‘‘(iii) a capital improvement plan with 1 a period of not less than 20 years; 2 ‘‘(iv) a fiscal management plan; or 3 ‘‘(v) another plan similar to the plans 4 described in clauses (i) through (iv); 5 ‘‘(D) a grant awarded under this sub- 6 section would support the efforts of the eligible 7 entity or the small community-serving entity, as 8 applicable, to generate the necessary funds to 9 achieve or maintain compliance with this title 10 while mitigating the cost to low-income house- 11 holds; and 12 ‘‘(E) the eligible entity or the small com- 13 munity-serving entity, as applicable, has the ca- 14 pacity to create and implement an effective 15 community outreach plan to inform eligible cus- 16 tomers of the program and assist with enroll- 17 ment. 18 ‘‘(7) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this 19 subsection, the Administrator shall give priority to 20 eligible entities or small community-serving eligible 21 entities, as applicable— 22 ‘‘(A) that— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:20 Oct 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2687.IS S2687 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •S 2687 IS ‘‘(i) in addition to owning or oper- 1 ating community water systems, own or 2 operate one or more— 3 ‘‘(I) publicly owned treatment 4 works (as defined in section 212 of 5 the Federal Water Pollution Control 6 Act (33 U.S.C. 1292)); 7 ‘‘(II) municipal wastewater treat- 8 ment systems; or 9 ‘‘(III) municipal separate 10 stormwater sewer systems; and 11 ‘‘(ii) are subject to consent decrees re- 12 lating to compliance with the Federal 13 Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 14 1251 et seq.) for a facility described in 15 clause (i); 16 ‘‘(B) the residential customers of which 17 have experienced rate or fee increases for 18 wastewater, stormwater, or drinking water serv- 19 ices that is greater than or equal to 30 percent 20 during the 3-year period ending on the date of 21 enactment of this section; or 22 ‘‘(C) that— 23 ‘‘(i) develop an equivalent program, as 24 determined by the Administrator, that is 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:39 Oct 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2687.IS S2687 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •S 2687 IS administered separately by the eligible en- 1 tity or small community-serving eligible en- 2 tity, as applicable; or 3 ‘‘(ii) provide matching funds equal to 4 or greater than the amount of the grant 5 from— 6 ‘‘(I) the applicable State or unit 7 of local government; or 8 ‘‘(II) a State-sponsored nonprofit 9 organization or private entity. 10 ‘‘(8) LOWER INCOME LIMIT.—For purposes of 11 this section, an eligible entity (or a State, on behalf 12 of a small community-serving eligible entity) may 13 adopt an income limit that is lower than the limit 14 described in subsection (a)(3)(B), except that the el- 15 igible entity or State, respectively, may not exclude 16 a household from eligibility in a fiscal year based 17 solely on household income if that income is less 18 than 110 percent of the poverty level. 19 ‘‘(9) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In addition to any 21 other applicable Federal or agency-specific 22 grant reporting requirements, as a condition of 23 receiving a grant under this subsection, an eli- 24 gible entity (or a State, on behalf of a small 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:20 Oct 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2687.IS S2687 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •S 2687 IS community-serving eligible entity) shall submit 1 to the Administrator an annual report that 2 summarizes, in a manner determined by the 3 Administrator, the low-income household assist- 4 ance program developed by the eligible entity or 5 small community-serving eligible entity, as ap- 6 plicable, using the grant, including— 7 ‘‘(i) key features, including rate struc- 8 tures, rebates, discounts, and related ini- 9 tiatives that assist households, including— 10 ‘‘(I) budget billing; 11 ‘‘(II) bill timing; and 12 ‘‘(III) pretermination protections; 13 ‘‘(ii) sources of funding; 14 ‘‘(iii) eligibility criteria; 15 ‘‘(iv) participation rates by eligible 16 households; 17 ‘‘(v) the monetary benefit per partici- 18 pant; 19 ‘‘(vi) program costs; 20 ‘‘(vii) the demonstrable impacts of the 21 program on arrearage and service dis- 22 connection for residential customers, based 23 on data from before and after the imple- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:20 Oct 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2687.IS S2687 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 13 •S 2687 IS mentation of the pilot program, to the 1 maximum extent practicable; 2 ‘‘(viii) the outreach and stakeholder 3 process used by the eligible entity or small 4 community-serving eligible entity, as appli- 5 cable, to design the program, including— 6 ‘‘(I) the selection process for any 7 stakeholder committee members; and 8 ‘‘(II) the number and location of 9 community outreach events; 10 ‘‘(ix) the methods used to enroll cus- 11 tomers, including the outreach plan and 12 the status of implementation of that out- 13 reach plan; and 14 ‘‘(x) other relevant information re- 15 quired by the Administrator. 16 ‘‘(B) PUBLICATION.—The Administrator 17 shall publish each report submitted under sub- 18 paragraph (A). 19 ‘‘(c) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Administrator 20 shall provide technical assistance to each eligible entity, 21 and each State, [Text truncated for display. 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