Water-Energy Technology Demonstration and Deployment Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 4228 To provide for the demonstration and deployment of water-energy technologies, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JULY 20, 2020 Ms. MCSALLY introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources A BILL To provide for the demonstration and deployment of water- energy technologies, 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 ‘‘Water-Energy Tech- 4 nology Demonstration and Deployment Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 In this Act: 7 (1) CENTER.—The term ‘‘Center’’ means the 8 Western Water Resilience Center established under 9 section 4(a). 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:19 Jul 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4228.IS S4228 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 4228 IS (2) ELIGIBLE DESALINATION PROJECT.—The 1 term ‘‘eligible desalination project’’ means a desali- 2 nation or salinity reduction facility or project— 3 (A) to which the Bureau of Reclamation 4 holds title; 5 (B) that is operated by the Bureau of Rec- 6 lamation; or 7 (C) with respect to which the Bureau of 8 Reclamation is providing financial assistance. 9 (3) ELIGIBLE ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROJECT.— 10 The term ‘‘eligible energy efficiency project’’ means 11 the design, study, construction, expansion, upgrade, 12 or capital repair of a water delivery system to reduce 13 energy consumption associated with water delivery. 14 (4) ELIGIBLE REUSE PROJECT.—The term ‘‘eli- 15 gible reuse project’’ means a non-Federal water 16 reuse and recycling facility or project that contrib- 17 utes water to a region served by 1 or more projects 18 of the Bureau of Reclamation. 19 (5) NATIONAL LABORATORY.—The term ‘‘Na- 20 tional Laboratory’’ has the meaning given the term 21 in section 2 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 22 U.S.C. 15801). 23 (6) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘program’’ means 24 the pilot program established under section 3(a)(1). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:19 Jul 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4228.IS S4228 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 4228 IS (7) RECLAMATION STATE.—The term ‘‘Rec- 1 lamation State’’ has the meaning given the term in 2 section 4014 of the Water Infrastructure Improve- 3 ments for the Nation Act (43 U.S.C. 390b note; 4 Public Law 114–322). 5 (8) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 6 the Secretary of the Interior. 7 (9) SELECTED PROJECT.—The term ‘‘selected 8 project’’ means an eligible desalination project, eligi- 9 ble reuse project, or eligible energy efficiency project 10 selected for the program under section 3(b). 11 SEC. 3. WATER-ENERGY TECHNOLOGY DEPLOYMENT PILOT 12 PROGRAM. 13 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 14 (1) IN GENERAL.—To advance Federal energy- 15 water nexus research, technology development, pol- 16 icy, and other goals by combining the resources of 17 the Department of the Interior and Department of 18 Energy, the Secretary, in consultation with the Sec- 19 retary of Energy, shall establish within the Bureau 20 of Reclamation a pilot program that provides for the 21 participation of the Secretary of Energy in selected 22 projects, in accordance with paragraph (2). 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:19 Jul 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4228.IS S4228 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 4228 IS (2) PARTICIPATION OF SECRETARY OF ENERGY 1 IN SELECTED PROJECTS.—The Secretary of Energy 2 shall participate in a selected project by— 3 (A) identifying research and programs at 4 the Department of Energy (including the Na- 5 tional Laboratories) applicable to the selected 6 project; 7 (B) contributing funds to carry out the se- 8 lected project; or 9 (C) carrying out modeling, planning, de- 10 signing, or construction activities with respect 11 to the selected project. 12 (3) AGREEMENT.—The Secretary and the Sec- 13 retary of Energy shall enter into an agreement de- 14 scribing the responsibilities of the Secretary and the 15 Secretary of Energy, respectively, with respect to, 16 and the sources of funding for, each selected project. 17 (4) REQUIRED CONSULTATION.—The Secretary 18 shall consult with the Secretary of Energy with re- 19 spect to any activities carried out by the Secretary 20 of Energy under the program. 21 (b) SELECTION OF PROJECTS FOR PROGRAM.— 22 (1) ELIGIBLE DESALINATION PROJECTS.— 23 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall se- 24 lect not fewer than 2, but not more than 5, eli- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:19 Jul 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4228.IS S4228 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 4228 IS gible desalination projects for the program that 1 the Secretary determines would— 2 (i) benefit from the participation of 3 the Secretary of Energy; and 4 (ii) advance the objectives of existing 5 research and development, technology com- 6 mercialization, or grant programs being 7 carried out by the Secretary of Energy (in- 8 cluding at the National Laboratories) by— 9 (I) lowering energy costs; 10 (II) increasing the amount or ef- 11 ficiency of salt removal; 12 (III) reducing salt discharge into 13 waterways; 14 (IV) improving water supply reli- 15 ability; or 16 (V) demonstrating a new tech- 17 nology or process. 18 (B) INCLUSIONS.—Of the eligible desalina- 19 tion projects selected under subparagraph 20 (A)— 21 (i) not less than 1 shall be an eligible 22 desalination project conducted in the upper 23 Colorado River Basin that— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:19 Jul 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4228.IS S4228 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 4228 IS (I) is authorized under the Colo- 1 rado River Basin Salinity Control Act 2 (43 U.S.C. 1571 et seq.); and 3 (II) uses zero liquid discharge 4 technology to remove naturally occur- 5 ring salinity from entering a Colorado 6 River Tributary; and 7 (ii) not less than 1 shall be an eligible 8 desalination project conducted in the lower 9 Colorado River Basin that— 10 (I)(aa) is authorized under the 11 Colorado River Basin Salinity Control 12 Act (43 U.S.C. 1571 et seq.); and 13 (bb) processes water to remove 14 salt and returns the water to the 15 main-stem of the Colorado River; or 16 (II) would provide similar 17 amounts of water to support Colorado 18 River drought contingency operations, 19 consistent with the Colorado River 20 Drought Contingency Plan Authoriza- 21 tion Act (Public Law 116–14; 133 22 Stat. 850), by improving efficiency in 23 deliveries of Colorado River water, 24 consistent with the treaty obligation 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:19 Jul 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4228.IS S4228 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 4228 IS of the United States to Mexico under 1 the Agreement approving Minute 242 2 of the International Boundary and 3 Water Commission setting forth a 4 permanent and definitive solution to 5 the international problem of the salin- 6 ity of the Colorado River, entered into 7 force August 30, 1973 (24 UST 8 1968; TIAS 7708). 9 (2) ELIGIBLE ENERGY EFFICIENCY 10 PROJECTS.—The Secretary shall select not more 11 than 5 eligible energy efficiency projects for the pro- 12 gram that the Secretary determines would— 13 (A) benefit from the participation of the 14 Secretary of Energy; and 15 (B) advance the objectives of existing re- 16 search and development, technology commer- 17 cialization, or grant programs being carried out 18 by the Secretary of Energy (including at the 19 National Laboratories) by— 20 (i) improving the efficiency of existing 21 surface or groundwater pumps; 22 (ii) developing or improving a surface 23 water conveyance that reduces surface or 24 groundwater pumping; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:19 Jul 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4228.IS S4228 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 4228 IS (iii) reducing energy use needed for 1 water treatment; 2 (iv) demonstrating a new technology 3 or process; or 4 (v) incorporating energy generation 5 into water conveyance systems. 6 (3) ELIGIBLE REUSE PROJECTS.—The Sec- 7 retary shall select not more than 5 eligible reuse 8 projects for the program that the Secretary deter- 9 mines would— 10 (A) benefit from the participation of the 11 Secretary of Energy; and 12 (B) advance the objectives of existing re- 13 search and development, technology commer- 14 cialization, or grant programs being carried out 15 by the Secretary of Energy (including at the 16 National Laboratories) by— 17 (i) lowering energy costs; 18 (ii) improving water supply reliability; 19 or 20 (iii) demonstrating— 21 (I) a new technology or process; 22 or 23 (II) a combination of new and ex- 24 isting technologies or processes. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:19 Jul 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4228.IS S4228 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 4228 IS (4) SUBMISSION OF LIST OF SELECTED 1 PROJECTS.—As soon as practicable after the date of 2 completion of the selection process under paragraphs 3 (1) through (3), the Secretary shall submit a list of 4 the selected projects to— 5 (A) the Secretary of Energy; 6 (B) the Committee on Natural Resources 7 of the House of Representatives; 8 (C) the Committee on Energy and Com- 9 merce of the House of Representatives; and 10 (D) the Committee on Energy and Natural 11 Resources of the Senate. 12 (c) FUNDING.— 13 (1) USE OF EXISTING FUNDS.—Out of any 14 amounts made available to the Secretary and the 15 Secretary of Energy that are not otherwise obli- 16 gated, the Secretary and the Secretary of Energy, 17 respectively, shall use such sums as are necessary to 18 carry out this section. 19 (2) TREATMENT OF FUNDS CONTRIBUTED BY 20 THE SECRETARY OF ENERGY.—Amounts contributed 21 by the Secretary of Energy to a selected project 22 under paragraph (1) shall be nonreimbursable. 23 (3) TREATMENT OF FUNDS CONTRIBUTED BY 24 SECRETARY.—Amounts contributed by the Secretary 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:19 Jul 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4228.IS S4228 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 4228 IS to a selected project under paragraph (1) shall be 1 reimbursed in accordance with any applicable con- 2 tract or agreement. 3 (d) EFFECT.—Nothing in this section— 4 (1) creates, impairs, alters, or supersedes a 5 Federal or State water right or interstate compact; 6 or 7 (2) affects or modifies any authorized purpose 8 of a selected project. 9 SEC. 4. WESTERN WATER RESILIENCE CENTER. 10 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 days after 11 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary and the 12 Secretary of Energy shall enter into a partnership with 13 1 or more institutions of higher education to establish a 14 center to conduct research on the development, commer- 15 cialization, and deployment of innovations in water and 16 energy technologies, to be known as the ‘‘Western Water 17 Resilience Center’’. 18 (b) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—The Center shall con- 19 duct research on— 20 (1) data collection, modeling, and advanced 21 data analytics of precipitation, runoff, and water re- 22 sources at the regional level; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:19 Jul 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4228.IS S4228 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 4228 IS (2) the development of technology and systems 1 that improve management and assist in the develop- 2 ment of water infrastructure; 3 (3) addressing— 4 (A) Tribal water supply and quality; and 5 (B) any other factors that affect the reli- 6 able access of Indian Tribes to water resources; 7 and 8 (4) the establishment of a, or a partnership 9 with an existing, water technology accelerator that— 10 (A) would bring water innovations to mar- 11 ket by addressing multiple phases of technology 12 development, including validation, development, 13 startup, and scaling; and 14 (B) has an emphasis on binational collabo- 15 ration between the United States and Middle 16 Eastern countries, such as Israel. 17 (c) PRIORITY.—In entering into a partnership under 18 subsection (a), the Secretary and the Secretary of Energy 19 shall give priority to a partnership with an institution of 20 higher education that— 21 (1) has experience conducting research on water 22 scarcity issues; 23 (2) is located in a Reclamation State; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:19 Jul 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4228.IS S4228 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 4228 IS (3) has an established background of coordi- 1 nating with Indian Tribes on water issues; and 2 (4) is located in a State that has an established 3 presence in Israel for the promotion of trade. 4 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:19 Jul 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S4228.IS S4228 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS