Federal

Water Affordability, Transparency, Equity, and Reliability Act of 2023

Source: Congress.gov · 5,333 words in original text

What This Bill Does

This bill creates a new trust fund in the U.S. Treasury dedicated to funding water and sewer infrastructure projects. The bill raises corporate tax rates to generate money for the fund and directs how that money gets distributed to various water and drinking water programs across federal agencies. ##

Who It Affects

- Water utility companies and water system operators - States and local governments managing water systems - Households without access to safe drinking water - Workers in drinking water and wastewater sectors - Schools with aging water infrastructure - Low-income communities and communities of color - Native American tribal governments - Private property owners with contaminated wells - Rural residents relying on household water wells ##

Key Provisions

- Creates a Water Affordability, Transparency, Equity, and Reliability Trust Fund in the Treasury to receive appropriations based on increased federal revenues (Sec. 2(a)) - Increases the corporate tax rate from 21% to 24.5% for tax years beginning after December 31, 2022, to fund the trust (Sec. 2(b)) - Requires the Environmental Protection Agency to conduct a comprehensive study within one year on water affordability, discrimination, civil rights violations, and data collection gaps in water and sewer services nationwide (Sec. 3) - Allocates trust fund money to specific water programs including capitalization grants to states (42% for clean water, 42% for drinking water), grants for schools' drinking water infrastructure, and job training for water operators (Sec. 2(c)) - Allows states to use at least 50% of federal drinking water capitalization grants to provide subsidies (interest rate reductions or forgiveness) to low-income communities (Sec. 6) - Permits funding for purchasing privately owned water systems from willing or unwilling sellers and for canceling contracts with private water operators (Sec. 5 and Sec. 6) - Requires project labor agreements (formal agreements between employers and unions about wages and working conditions) on all water construction projects funded under the bill, to the maximum extent practicable (Sec. 8) - Establishes competitive grants for job training programs in drinking water and wastewater sectors, with at least 50% of funds prioritized for low-income workers in high-poverty areas (Sec. 9) ##

What Changes

If this bill becomes law, corporations would pay a higher federal income tax rate (24.5% instead of 21%), generating new federal revenue dedicated solely to water infrastructure. States would receive more federal money for water and sewer projects and would be required to spend at least half of drinking water grants on subsidies for low-income communities. Schools could receive federal grants to replace lead-contaminated water infrastructure. States would be allowed to use federal funds to purchase privately owned water systems. Water construction projects funded by the bill would need to include project labor agreements. The federal government would conduct a nationwide study on water affordability and discrimination in water service provision for the first time. ##

Important Definitions

- **Public water systems**: Community water systems that regularly serve the same population (Sec. 6) - **Covered entity**: A border state or a local government with jurisdiction over an eligible community in need of water assistance (Sec. 10) - **Lead service line**: A water pipe containing lead that connects a water main to a building (Sec. 6) - **Project labor agreements**: Agreements between employers and unions about wages, benefits, and working conditions for construction projects (Sec. 8) ##

Effective Date

The corporate tax rate increase applies to tax years beginning after December 31, 2022 (Sec. 2(b)). The Environmental Protection Agency must submit its study report to Congress not later than one year after the bill's enactment (Sec. 3). Water operator job training grants must be awarded not later than one year after the bill's enactment (Sec. 9).

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1729 To establish a trust fund to provide for adequate funding for water and sewer infrastructure, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 22, 2023 Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN (for herself, Mr. KHANNA, Ms. OMAR, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. HUFFMAN, Mr. COHEN, Ms. JAYAPAL, Ms. TLAIB, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. NORTON, Mr. CONNOLLY, Mr. GALLEGO, Mr. NADLER, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. EVANS, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. PANETTA, Mr. RUPPERS- BERGER, Ms. SCANLON, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. BUSH, Ms. WILSON of Flor- ida, Ms. BROWN, Mr. VARGAS, Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. CARSON, Mr. POCAN, Mr. GOMEZ, Ms. MATSUI, Ms. OCASIO-COR- TEZ, Ms. SLOTKIN, Mr. KIM of New Jersey, Mr. BOWMAN, Ms. LEE of California, Ms. TITUS, Ms. BARRAGA´N, Mr. HIMES, Ms. JACOBS, Mr. MULLIN, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. GARCI´A of Illinois, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Ms. STEVENS, Ms. PRESSLEY, Ms. MENG, Mr. SCHIFF, Mrs. HAYES, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. CARTER of Louisiana, Mr. DESAULNIER, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Ms. STANSBURY, Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania, Mr. LIEU, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. CICILLINE, Ms. CROCKETT, Mr. HORSFORD, Mr. CARBAJAL, Ms. SEWELL, Mrs. MCCLELLAN, Mr. AUCHINCLOSS, Ms. TOKUDA, Mr. QUIGLEY, Mrs. CHERFILUS-MCCORMICK, and Ms. JACK- SON LEE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Com- mittees on Energy and Commerce, Ways and Means, Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Education and the Workforce, for a period to be subse- quently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To establish a trust fund to provide for adequate funding for water and sewer infrastructure, and for other purposes. VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:42 Apr 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H1729.IH H1729 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1729 IH 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 Affordability, Transparency, Equity, and Reli- 5 ability Act of 2023’’. 6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 7 this Act is as follows: 8 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Water Affordability, Transparency, Equity, and Reliability Trust Fund. Sec. 3. Report on affordability, discrimination and civil rights violations, public participation in regionalization, and data collection. Sec. 4. Household water well systems. Sec. 5. State water pollution control revolving funds. Sec. 6. Use of State revolving loan funds under the Safe Drinking Water Act. Sec. 7. Drinking water grant programs. Sec. 8. Labor provisions. Sec. 9. Water operator jobs training grants. Sec. 10. Drinking water assistance to colonias. SEC. 2. WATER AFFORDABILITY, TRANSPARENCY, EQUITY, 9 AND RELIABILITY TRUST FUND. 10 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter A of chapter 98 12 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by 13 adding at the end the following: 14 ‘‘SEC. 9512. WATER AFFORDABILITY, TRANSPARENCY, EQ- 15 UITY, AND RELIABILITY TRUST FUND. 16 ‘‘(a) CREATION OF TRUST FUND.—There is estab- 17 lished in the Treasury of the United States a trust fund 18 to be known as the ‘Water Affordability, Transparency, 19 Equity, and Reliability Trust Fund’ (referred to in this 20 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:42 Apr 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1729.IH H1729 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1729 IH section as the ‘Trust Fund’), consisting of such amounts 1 as may be appropriated or credited to such Trust Fund 2 as provided in this section or section 9602(b). 3 ‘‘(b) TRANSFERS TO FUND.— 4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There are hereby appro- 5 priated to the Trust Fund such amounts as the Sec- 6 retary from time to time estimates are equal to the 7 increase in Federal revenues attributable to the 8 amendment made by section 2(b) of the Water Af- 9 fordability, Transparency, Equity, and Reliability 10 Act of 2023. 11 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—The sum of the amounts 12 appropriated under paragraph (1) during any fiscal 13 year shall not exceed the larger of— 14 ‘‘(A) $35,000,000,000, and 15 ‘‘(B) one-twentieth of the sum of— 16 ‘‘(i) the 20-year need identified in the 17 most recent assessment conducted by the 18 Administrator of the Environmental Pro- 19 tection Agency in accordance with section 20 1452(h) of the Safe Drinking Water Act 21 (42 U.S.C. 300j–2(h)), plus 22 ‘‘(ii) the 20-year need identified in the 23 most recent needs survey submitted by the 24 Administrator pursuant to sections 205(a), 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:42 Apr 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1729.IH H1729 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1729 IH 516, and 609 of the Federal Water Pollu- 1 tion Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1285(a), 2 1375, 1389). 3 ‘‘(c) EXPENDITURES.—Amounts in the Trust Fund 4 are available, without further appropriation and without 5 fiscal year limitation, for the purposes described in section 6 2(c) of the Water Affordability, Transparency, Equity, 7 and Reliability Act of 2023.’’. 8 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of 9 parts for subchapter A of chapter 98 of such Code 10 is amended by inserting after the item relating to 11 section 9511 the following new item: 12 ‘‘Sec. 9512. Water Affordability, Transparency, Equity, and Reliability Trust Fund.’’. (b) INCREASE IN CORPORATE TAX RATE.— 13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 11(b) of the Internal 14 Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking ‘‘21’’ 15 and inserting ‘‘24.5’’. 16 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 17 by this subsection shall apply to taxable years begin- 18 ning after December 31, 2022. 19 (c) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.—The Administrator of 20 the Environmental Protection Agency, the Secretary of 21 Agriculture, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, 22 and the Secretary of Labor shall allocate, for a fiscal year, 23 the funds available, at the beginning of such fiscal year, 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:42 Apr 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1729.IH H1729 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 1729 IH in the Water Affordability, Transparency, Equity, and Re- 1 liability Trust Fund, established by section 9512 of the 2 Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as follows: 3 (1) CLEAN WATER PROGRAMS.—Of such 4 amount, the Administrator shall make available— 5 (A) 0.5 percent for making grants under 6 section 104(b)(8) of the Federal Water Pollu- 7 tion Control Act; 8 (B) 1.5 percent for making grants under 9 section 106 of such Act (33 U.S.C. 1256); 10 (C) 2.5 percent for making grants under 11 section 226 of such Act; 12 (D) 2.5 percent for making grants under 13 section 319 of such Act (33 U.S.C. 1329); and 14 (E) 42 percent for making capitalization 15 grants under section 601 of such Act (33 16 U.S.C. 1381). 17 (2) SAFE DRINKING WATER FUNDING.—Of such 18 amount, the Administrator shall make available— 19 (A) 0.5 percent for providing technical as- 20 sistance under section 1442(e) of the Safe 21 Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300j–1(e)); 22 (B) 42 percent for making capitalization 23 grants under section 1452 of such Act (42 24 U.S.C. 300j–12); 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:42 Apr 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1729.IH H1729 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 1729 IH (C) 3 percent for making grants under sec- 1 tion 1465 of such Act; and 2 (D) 0.5 percent for making grants under 3 section 1456 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 300j–16) 4 and for making grants under section 307 of the 5 Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1996 6 (33 U.S.C. 1281 note). 7 (3) HOUSEHOLD WATER WELL SYSTEMS.—Of 8 such amount, the Secretary of Agriculture shall 9 make available 1 percent for making grants under 10 section 306E of the Consolidated Farm and Rural 11 Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1926e). 12 (4) COLONIAS.—Of such amount, the Secretary 13 of Agriculture shall make available 0.5 percent for 14 making grants under section 306C of the Consoli- 15 dated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 16 1926c) described in subsection (c) of such section. 17 (5) INDIAN HEALTH SERVICES.—Of such 18 amount, the Secretary of Health and Human Serv- 19 ices, acting through the Director of the Indian 20 Health Service, shall make available 3 percent for 21 making grants for the planning, design, construc- 22 tion, modernization, improvement, and renovation of 23 water, sewer, and solid waste sanitation facilities 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:42 Apr 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1729.IH H1729 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 1729 IH that are funded, in whole or part, by the Indian 1 Health Service— 2 (A) through, or provided for in, a contract 3 or compact with the Indian Health Service 4 under the Indian Self-Determination and Edu- 5 cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.); 6 (B) pursuant to section 7 of the Act of Au- 7 gust 5, 1954 (68 Stat. 674, chapter 658; 73 8 Stat. 267; 42 U.S.C. 2004a); or 9 (C) pursuant to section 302 of the Indian 10 Health Care Improvement Act (25 U.S.C. 11 1632). 12 (6) WATER OPERATORS JOB TRAINING 13 GRANTS.—Of such amount, the Secretary of Labor 14 shall make available 0.5 percent for providing job 15 training grants under section 414(f) of the American 16 Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act of 17 1988. 18 (d) PROHIBITION.—None of the funds allocated pur- 19 suant to subsection (c) may be used for any activity de- 20 scribed in paragraphs (1) through (5) of section 203(a) 21 of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act 22 of 1959 (29 U.S.C. 433(a)). 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:42 Apr 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1729.IH H1729 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 1729 IH SEC. 3. REPORT ON AFFORDABILITY, DISCRIMINATION AND 1 CIVIL RIGHTS VIOLATIONS, PUBLIC PARTICI- 2 PATION IN REGIONALIZATION, AND DATA 3 COLLECTION. 4 (a) STUDY.— 5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the 6 Environmental Protection Agency shall conduct a 7 study on water and sewer services, in accordance 8 with this subsection. 9 (2) AFFORDABILITY.—In conducting the study 10 under paragraph (1), the Administrator shall study 11 water affordability nationwide, including— 12 (A) rates for water and sewer services, in- 13 creases in such rates during the ten-year period 14 preceding such study, and water service dis- 15 connections due to unpaid water service 16 charges; and 17 (B) the effectiveness of funding under sec- 18 tion 1452 of the Safe Drinking Water Act and 19 under section 601 of the Federal Water Pollu- 20 tion Control Act for promoting affordable, equi- 21 table, transparent, and reliable water and sewer 22 service. 23 (3) DISCRIMINATION AND CIVIL RIGHTS.—In 24 conducting the study under paragraph (1), the Ad- 25 ministrator, in collaboration with the Civil Rights 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:42 Apr 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1729.IH H1729 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 1729 IH Division of the United States Department of Justice, 1 shall study— 2 (A) discriminatory practices of water and 3 sewer service providers; 4 (B) discriminatory practices of State pro- 5 gram administrators in allocating funding; and 6 (C) violations by such service providers 7 and program administrators that receive Fed- 8 eral assistance of civil rights under title VI of 9 the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with regard to 10 equal access to water and sewer services. 11 (4) PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN REGIONALIZA- 12 TION.—In conducting the study under paragraph 13 (1), the Administrator shall evaluate efforts to re- 14 gionalize public water systems, as defined in section 15 1401(4) of the Safe Water Drinking Act (42 U.S.C. 16 300f(4)), and sewer services with respect to public 17 participation in— 18 (A) the decision to undergo such regional- 19 ization; and 20 (B) decision making by the board of direc- 21 tors (or other governing body) of the entity that 22 provides, or oversees or coordinates the provi- 23 sion of, water by the public water systems sub- 24 ject to such regionalization. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:42 Apr 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1729.IH H1729 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 1729 IH (5) DATA COLLECTION.—In conducting the 1 study under paragraph (1), the Administrator shall 2 collect information, assess the availability of infor- 3 mation, and evaluate the methodologies used to col- 4 lect information, related to— 5 (A) people living without water or sewer 6 services; 7 (B) water service disconnections due to un- 8 paid water service charges, including disconnec- 9 tions experienced by households containing chil- 10 dren, elderly persons, disabled persons, chron- 11 ically ill persons, or other vulnerable popu- 12 lations; 13 (C) tax liens and foreclosures due to un- 14 paid water service charges; and 15 (D) disparate effects, on the basis of race, 16 gender, or socioeconomic status, of water serv- 17 ice disconnections, tax liens and foreclosures 18 due to unpaid water service charges, and the 19 lack of public water service. 20 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 21 of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the En- 22 vironmental Protection Agency shall submit to Congress 23 a report that contains— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:42 Apr 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1729.IH H1729 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 1729 IH (1) the results of the study conducted under 1 subsection (a)(1); and 2 (2) recommendations for utility companies, 3 Federal agencies, and States relating to such results. 4 SEC. 4. HOUSEHOLD WATER WELL SYSTEMS. 5 Section 306E(d) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural 6 Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1926e(d)) is amended by 7 striking ‘‘$20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2019 8 through 2023’’ and inserting ‘‘$348,500,000 for each fis- 9 cal year’’. 10 SEC. 5. STATE WATER POLLUTION CONTROL REVOLVING 11 FUNDS. 12 (a) SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS.—Section 602(b) of 13 the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 14 1382(b)) is amended— 15 (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘will be made 16 to the State with funds to be made available’’ and 17 inserting ‘‘were made to the State with funds made 18 available for fiscal year 2021’’; 19 (2) in paragraph (13), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 20 end; 21 (3) in paragraph (14), by striking the period at 22 the end and inserting a sem [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]

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