NEWS Act of 2019

II Calendar No. 362 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2799 To require the Secretary of Energy and the Secretary of the Interior to establish a joint Nexus of Energy and Water Sustainability Office, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES NOVEMBER 6, 2019 Ms. MURKOWSKI introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources DECEMBER 17, 2019 Reported by Ms. MURKOWSKI, with an amendment [Omit the part struck through and insert the part printed in italic] A BILL To require the Secretary of Energy and the Secretary of the Interior to establish a joint Nexus of Energy and Water Sustainability Office, 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 ‘‘Nexus of Energy and 4 Water for Sustainability Act of 2019’’ or the ‘‘NEWS Act 5 of 2019’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:25 Dec 18, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2799.RS S2799 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 2799 RS SEC. 2. NEXUS OF ENERGY AND WATER FOR SUSTAIN- 1 ABILITY. 2 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 3 (1) ENERGY-WATER NEXUS.—The term ‘‘en- 4 ergy-water nexus’’ means the links between— 5 (A) the water needed to produce fuels, 6 electricity, and other forms of energy; and 7 (B) the energy needed to transport, re- 8 claim, and treat water and wastewater. 9 (2) INTERAGENCY COORDINATION COM- 10 MITTEE.—The term ‘‘Interagency Coordination 11 Committee’’ means the Committee on the Nexus of 12 Energy and Water for Sustainability (or the 13 ‘‘NEWS Committee’’) established under subsection 14 (b)(1). 15 (3) NEXUS OF ENERGY AND WATER SUSTAIN- 16 ABILITY OFFICE; NEWS OFFICE.—The term ‘‘Nexus 17 of Energy and Water Sustainability Office’’ or the 18 ‘‘NEWS Office’’ means an office located at the De- 19 partment of Energy and managed in cooperation 20 with the Department of the Interior pursuant to an 21 agreement between the 2 agencies to carry out lead- 22 ership and administrative functions for the Inter- 23 agency Coordination Committee. 24 (4) RD&D.—The term ‘‘RD&D’’ means re- 25 search, development, and demonstration. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:25 Dec 18, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2799.RS S2799 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 2799 RS (b) INTERAGENCY COORDINATION COMMITTEE.— 1 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 days 2 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec- 3 retary of Energy and the Secretary of the Interior 4 shall establish the joint NEWS Office and Inter- 5 agency Coordination Committee on the Nexus of En- 6 ergy and Water for Sustainability (or the ‘‘NEWS 7 Committee’’) to carry out the duties described in 8 paragraph (3). 9 (2) ADMINISTRATION.— 10 (A) CHAIRS.—The Secretary of Energy 11 and the Secretary of the Interior shall jointly 12 manage the NEWS Office and serve as co- 13 chairs of the Interagency Coordination Com- 14 mittee. 15 (B) MEMBERSHIP; STAFFING.—Member- 16 ship and staffing shall be determined by the co- 17 chairs. 18 (3) DUTIES.—The Interagency Coordination 19 Committee shall— 20 (A) serve as a forum for developing com- 21 mon Federal goals and plans on energy-water 22 nexus RD&D activities in coordination with the 23 National Science and Technology Council; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:25 Dec 18, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2799.RS S2799 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 2799 RS (B) not later than 1 year after the date of 1 enactment of this Act, and biennially thereafter, 2 issue a strategic plan on energy-water nexus 3 RD&D activities priorities and objectives; 4 (C) convene and promote coordination of 5 the activities of Federal departments and agen- 6 cies on energy-water nexus RD&D activities, in- 7 cluding the activities of— 8 (i) the Department of Energy; 9 (ii) the Department of the Interior; 10 (iii) the Corps of Engineers; 11 (iv) the Department of Agriculture; 12 (v) the Department of Defense; 13 (vi) the Department of State; 14 (vii) the Environmental Protection 15 Agency; 16 (viii) the Council on Environmental 17 Quality; 18 (ix) the National Institute of Stand- 19 ards and Technology; 20 (x) the National Oceanic and Atmos- 21 pheric Administration; 22 (xi) the National Science Foundation; 23 (xii) the Office of Management and 24 Budget; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:25 Dec 18, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2799.RS S2799 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 2799 RS (xiii) the Office of Science and Tech- 1 nology Policy; 2 (xiv) the National Aeronautics and 3 Space Administration; and 4 (xv) such other Federal departments 5 and agencies as the Interagency Coordina- 6 tion Committee considers appropriate; 7 (D)(i) coordinate and develop capabilities 8 and methodologies for data collection, manage- 9 ment, and dissemination of information related 10 to energy-water nexus RD&D activities from 11 and to other Federal departments and agencies; 12 and 13 (ii) promote information exchange be- 14 tween Federal departments and agencies— 15 (I) to identify and document 16 Federal and non-Federal programs 17 and funding opportunities that sup- 18 port basic and applied RD&D pro- 19 posals to advance energy-water nexus 20 related science and technologies; 21 (II) to leverage existing programs 22 by encouraging joint solicitations, 23 block grants, and matching programs 24 with non-Federal entities; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:25 Dec 18, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2799.RS S2799 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 2799 RS (III) to identify opportunities for 1 domestic and international public-pri- 2 vate partnerships, innovative financ- 3 ing mechanisms, and information and 4 data exchange; 5 (E) promote the integration of energy- 6 water nexus considerations into existing Federal 7 water, energy, and other natural resource, in- 8 frastructure, and science programs at the na- 9 tional and regional levels and with programs 10 administered in partnership with non-Federal 11 entities; and 12 (F) not later than 1 year after the date of 13 enactment of this Act, issue a report on the po- 14 tential benefits and feasibility of establishing an 15 energy-water center of excellence within the Na- 16 tional Laboratories (as that term is defined in 17 section 2 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 18 U.S.C. 15801)). 19 (4) NO REGULATION.—Nothing in this sub- 20 section grants to the Interagency Coordination Com- 21 mittee the authority to promulgate regulations or set 22 standards. 23 (5) REVIEW; REPORT.—At the end of the 5- 24 year period beginning on the date on which the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:25 Dec 18, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2799.RS S2799 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •S 2799 RS Interagency Coordination Committee and NEWS Of- 1 fice are established, the NEWS Office shall— 2 (A) review the activities, relevance, and ef- 3 fectiveness of the Interagency Coordination 4 Committee; and 5 (B) submit to the Committee on Energy 6 and Natural Resources of the Senate and the 7 Committees on Science, Space, and Technology, 8 Energy and Commerce, and Natural Resources 9 of the House of Representatives a report that— 10 (i) describes the results of the review 11 conducted under subparagraph (A); and 12 (ii) includes a recommendation on 13 whether the Interagency Coordination 14 Committee should continue. 15 (c) CROSSCUT BUDGET.—Not later than 30 days 16 after the President submits the budget of the United 17 States Government under section 1105 of title 31, United 18 States Code, the co-chairs of the Interagency Coordination 19 Committee (acting through the NEWS Office) shall sub- 20 mit to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 21 of the Senate and the Committees on Science, Space, and 22 Technology, Energy and Commerce, and Natural Re- 23 sources of the House of Representatives, an interagency 24 budget crosscut report that displays at the program-, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:25 Dec 18, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2799.RS S2799 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •S 2799 RS project-, and activity-level for each of the Federal agencies 1 that carry out or support (including through grants, con- 2 tracts, interagency and intraagency transfers, and 3 multiyear and no-year funds) basic and applied RD&D ac- 4 tivities to advance the energy-water nexus related science 5 and technologies— 6 (1) the budget proposed in the budget request 7 of the President for the upcoming fiscal year; 8 (2) expenditures and obligations for the prior 9 fiscal year; and 10 (3) estimated expenditures and obligations for 11 the current fiscal year. 12 SEC. 3. SMART ENERGY AND WATER EFFICIENCY PILOT 13 PROGRAM. 14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle A of title IX of the En- 15 ergy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16191 et seq.) is 16 amended by adding at the end the following: 17 ‘‘SEC. 918. SMART ENERGY AND WATER EFFICIENCY PILOT 18 PROGRAM. 19 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 20 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en- 21 tity’ means— 22 ‘‘(A) a utility; 23 ‘‘(B) a municipality; 24 ‘‘(C) a water district; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:25 Dec 18, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2799.RS S2799 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •S 2799 RS ‘‘(D) an Indian tribe or Alaska Native vil- 1 lage; and 2 ‘‘(E) any other authority that provides 3 water, wastewater, or water reuse services. 4 ‘‘(2) SMART ENERGY AND WATER EFFICIENCY 5 PILOT PROGRAM.—The term ‘smart energy and 6 water efficiency pilot program’ or ‘pilot program’ 7 means the pilot program established under sub- 8 section (b). 9 ‘‘(b) SMART ENERGY AND WATER EFFICIENCY 10 PILOT PROGRAM.— 11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall estab- 12 lish and carry out a smart energy and water effi- 13 ciency pilot program in accordance with this section. 14 ‘‘(2) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the smart en- 15 ergy and water efficiency pilot program is to award 16 grants to eligible entities to demonstrate unique, ad- 17 vanced, or innovative technology-based solutions that 18 will— 19 ‘‘(A) improve the net energy balance of 20 water, wastewater, and water reuse systems; 21 ‘‘(B) improve the net energy balance of 22 water, wastewater, and water reuse systems to 23 help communities across the United States 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:25 Dec 18, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2799.RS S2799 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •S 2799 RS make measurable progress in conserving water, 1 saving energy, and reducing costs; 2 ‘‘(C) support the implementation of inno- 3 vative and unique processes and the installation 4 of established advanced automated systems that 5 provide real-time data on energy and water; and 6 ‘‘(D) improve energy-water conservation 7 and quality and predictive maintenance through 8 technologies that utilize internet connected 9 technologies, including sensors, intelligent gate- 10 ways, and security embedded in hardware. 11 ‘‘(3) PROJECT SELECTION.— 12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 13 make competitive, merit-reviewed grants under 14 the pilot program to not less than 3, but not 15 more than 5, eligible entities. 16 ‘‘(B) SELECTION CRITERIA.—In selecting 17 an eligible entity to receive a grant under the 18 pilot program, the Secretary shall consider— 19 ‘‘(i) energy and cost savings; 20 ‘‘(ii) the uniqueness, commercial via- 21 bility, and reliability of the technology to 22 be used; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:25 Dec 18, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2799.RS S2799 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •S 2799 RS ‘‘(iii) the degree to which the project 1 integrates next-generation sensors soft- 2 ware, analytics, and management tools; 3 ‘‘(iv) the anticipated cost-effectiveness 4 of the pilot project through measurable en- 5 ergy savings, water savings or reuse, and 6 infrastructure costs averted; 7 ‘‘(v) whether the technology can be 8 deployed in a variety of geographic regions 9 and the degree to which the technology can 10 be implemented in a wide range of applica- 11 tions ranging in scale from small towns to 12 large cities, including tribal communities; 13 ‘‘(vi) whether the technology has been 14 successfully deployed elsewhere; 15 ‘‘(vii) whether the technology was 16 sourced from a manufacturer based in the 17 United States; and 18 ‘‘(viii) whether the project will be 19 completed in 5 years or less. 20 ‘‘(C) APPLICATIONS.— 21 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause 22 (ii), an eligible entity seeking a grant 23 under the pilot program shall submit to 24 the Secretary an application at such time, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:25 Dec 18, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2799.RS S2799 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •S 2799 RS in such manner, and containing such infor- 1 mation as the Secretary determines to be 2 necessary. 3 ‘‘(ii) CONTENTS.—An application 4 under clause (i) shall, at a minimum, in- 5 clude— 6 ‘‘(I) a description of the project; 7 ‘‘(II) a description of the tech- 8 nology to be used in the project; 9 ‘‘(III) the anticipated results, in- 10 cluding energy and water savings, of 11 the project; 12 ‘‘(IV) a comprehensive budget for 13 the project; 14 ‘‘(V) the names of the project 15 lead organization and any partners; 16 ‘‘(VI) the number of users to be 17 served by the project; 18 ‘‘(VII) a description of the ways 19 in which the proposal would meet per- 20 formance measures established by the 21 Secretary; and 22 ‘‘(VIII) any other information 23 that the Secretary determines to be 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:25 Dec 18, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2799.RS S2799 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 13 •S 2799 RS necessary to complete the review and 1 selection of a grant recipient. 2 ‘‘(4) ADMINISTRATION.— 3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 4 after the date of enactment of this section, the 5 Secretary shall select grant recipients under 6 this section. 7 ‘‘(B) EVALUATIONS.— 8 ‘‘(i) ANNUAL EVALUATIONS.—The 9 Secretary shall annually carry out an eval- 10 uation of each project for which a grant is 11 provided under this section that meets per- 12 formance measures and benchmarks devel- 13 oped by the Secretary, consistent with the 14 purposes of this section. 15 ‘‘(ii) REQUIREMENTS.—Consistent 16 with the performance measures and bench- 17 marks developed under clause (i), in car- 18 rying out an evaluation under that clause, 19 the Secretary shall— 20 ‘‘(I) evaluate the progre [Text truncated for display. 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