S. 1005 (111th): Water Infrastructure Financing Act

Introduced:
May 07, 2009 (111th Congress, 2009–2010)
Sponsor:
Sen. Benjamin Cardin [D-MD]
Status:
Died (Reported by Committee)

The bill’s title was written by the bill’s sponsor. S. stands for Senate bill.

(About Ads | Go Ad-Free for $5)
Status

This bill was introduced on May 14, 2009, in a previous session of Congress, but was not enacted.

Progress
Introduced May 07, 2009
Referred to Committee May 07, 2009
Reported by Committee May 14, 2009
Cosponsors
6 cosponsors (3D, 2R, 1I) (show)
Committees

Senate Environment and Public Works

The committee chair determines whether a bill will move past the committee stage.

Full Title

A bill to amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act to improve water and wastewater infrastructure in the United States.

Summary

No summaries available.

Text

Read Bill Text »

Last updated May 07, 2009.
176 pages

Primary Source

View on THOMAS (The Library of Congress)

GovTrack gets most information from THOMAS, which is updated generally one day after events occur. Activity since the last update may not be reflected here.

Citation

Click a format for a citation suggestion:

GovTrack’s Bill Summary

We don’t have a summary available yet.

Library of Congress Summary

The summary below was written by the Congressional Research Service, which is a nonpartisan division of the Library of Congress.

7/15/2009. Reauthorizes the Clean Water Act State Revolving Fund (SRF) and the Sate Drinking Water Act SRF.
Title I - Water Pollution Infrastructure
Section 101 -
Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act [CWA]) to authorize the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish a competitive grant program to provide technical assistance to small and medium treatment works on wastewater and stormwater approaches.
Authorizes appropriations for FY2010-FY2014. Directs the Administrator to assist states in establishing simplified procedures for small systems (a system that serves a population of not more than 10,000 individuals) seeking technical assistance.
Section 102 -
Directs the Administrator to ensure that each laborer and mechanic employed by contractors and subcontractors on construction projects financed by financial assistance provided under the CWA revolving funds are paid in accordance with prevailing wage rates as determined under the Davis-Bacon Act.
Section 103 -
Expands the list of projects eligible for CWA SRF assistance.
Section 104 -
Authorizes states to extend the repayment period for a CWA SRF loan from the current limit of 20 years to the lessor of 30 years or the design life of the project to be financed with the proceeds.
Increases the state's allowable administrative costs.
Authorizes states to provide additional assistance, including loan forgiveness and loans with a negative interest, to disadvantaged communities (defined as communities with treatment works service areas or portions thereof that meet state affordability criteria).
Limits the total loan subsidy to not more than 30% of the state's capitalization grant for the fiscal year.
Authorizes the Administrator to publish information to assist states in establishing affordability criteria for purposes of identifying disadvantaged communities.
Authorizes states, in providing a loan for a project, to forgive repayment of a portion of the loan amount up to the percentage of the project that is devoted to alternative approaches to wastewater and stormwater controls.
Section 105 -
Sets forth a system for prioritizing projects eligible for CWA SRF assistance that requires states to:
(1) take into consideration appropriate chemical, physical, and biological data relating to water quality;
(2) ensure that funded projects are designed to achieve optimum water quality management;
(3) provide for public notice and opportunity to comment on priority projects; and
(4) provide biennially for the publication of summary descriptions of eligible projects.
Requires states to give greater weight to an application for assistance that contains:
(1) utility management best practices;
(2) approaches, other than a traditional wastewater approach, that treat or minimize sewage or urban stormwater discharges;
(3) a demonstration of consistency with watershed plans, water conservation and efficiency plans, and integrated water resource management plans;
(4) a proposal that demonstrates flexibility through alternative means to implement responsibilities; or
(5) projects that address adverse environmental conditions.
Section 106 -
Authorizes the governor of a state to: (1) reserve up to the greater of 33% of a CWA capitalization grant or 33% of a Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) capitalization grant; (2) add such reserved funds to any funds provided by an SDWA capitalization grant; (3) reserve for any year up to that amount from SDWA capitalization grants; and (4) add such reserved funds to any CWA funds provided to the state.
Section 107 -
Denies assistance to the owner or operator of a publicly-owned treatment works that has been in significant noncompliance with CWA requirements.
Section 108 -
Requires contracts that will be carried out using funds directly made available by a CWA capitalization grant for communities with populations of more than 10,000 individuals for program management, construction management, feasibility studies, preliminary engineering, design, engineering, surveying, mapping, or architectural or related services to be negotiated in the same manner as contracts for architectural and engineering services for public buildings or an equivalent state qualification-based requirement.
Section 109 -
Provides for the allocation of federal funds to CWA SRFs for FY2010-FY2014. Requires the Administrator to allocate 1.5% of funding to Indian tribes.
Section 110 -
Authorizes appropriations for CWA SRFs for FY2010-FY2014. Reserves specified funds for conducting needs surveys required by CWA.
Section 111 -
Makes funded sewer overflow control grant projects subject to the same requirements as a project that receives assistance from a CWA SRF. Authorizes appropriations for such grants for FY2010-FY2014. Requires the Administrator, in selecting municipalities applying for grants, to give additional priority to projects that involve the use of:
(1) nonstructural, low-impact development;
(2) water conservation, efficiency, or reuse, or
(3) other decentralized stormwater or wastewater approaches to minimize flows into the sewer system.
Requires the Administrator to provide grants in accordance with a needs survey of treatment works constructed with funds from such grants.
Section 112 -
Requires the Administrator to establish a grant program for watershed restoration through the protection or improvement of water quality. Sets forth criteria for project selection, distribution of funding, and cost sharing. Authorizes appropriations for FY2010-FY2014.
Title II - Safe Drinking Water Infrastructure
Section 201 -
Amends the SDWA to require the Administrator, in providing technical assistance to small public water systems to achieve and maintain compliance with primary drinking water regulations, to give priority to small system organizations that are qualified and will be the most effective at assisting small systems.
Requires the Administrator to provide grants to nonprofit organizations to provide technical assistance to communities and individuals regarding the design, operation, construction, and maintenance of household wells and small shared well-systems that provide drinking water.
Authorizes appropriations for such grants for FY2010-FY2014.
Section 202 -
Directs the Administrator to ensure that each laborer and mechanic employed by contractors and subcontractors on construction projects financed by SDWA SRFs are paid in accordance with prevailing wage rates as determined under the Davis-Bacon Act.
Section 203 -
Permits the use of SDWA SRFs for:
(1) planning, design, and preconstruction; and
(2) replacement or rehabilitation of aging treatment, storage, or distribution facilities of public water systems or capital projects (excluding any expenditure for operations and maintenance) to upgrade the security of public water systems.
Allows such funds to be used by a public water system as a source of revenue (restricted solely to interest earnings of the applicable fund) or security for payment of the principal and interest on revenue or general obligation bonds issued by the state to provide matching funds if the proceeds of the sale of the bonds will be deposited in the state loan fund.
Section 204 -
Establishes a priority system for the use of such funds.
Requires state intended use plans to provide that the state shall give greater weight to an application for assistance by a community water system that contains:
(1) utility management best practices;
(2) approaches, other than a traditional wastewater approach, that treat or minimize sewage or urban stormwater discharges;
(3) a demonstration of consistency with watershed plans;
(4) a watershed conservation plan; and
(5) approaches to improve the sustainability of the system.
Requires each state to update a list of SDWA SRF projects that are eligible for assistance at least biannually (currently, periodically).
Section 205 -
Redefines "disadvantaged communities" for purposes of state subsidization to include portions of service areas of public water systems.
Section 206 -
Revises requirements for SDWA SRFs to: (1) increase the state's allowable administrative costs; (2) eliminate matching fund requirements; (3) permit states to transfer up to 33% of funding into an SDWA SRF.
Section 207 -
Allows the use of SDWA SRFs for implementation of source water protection plans.
Section 208 -
Authorizes funding for FY2010-FY2014 for the capitalization of SDWA SRFs.
Section 210 -
Requires the Administrator to establish a grant program to assist community water systems in meeting the requirements of the SDWA. Authorizes appropriations for FY2010-FY2014.
Section 211 -
Requires the Administrator to establish a grant program to provide assistance to a community water system, a system located in an area governed by an Indian Tribe, a nontransient noncommunity water system, a qualified nonprofit organization, or a local government or state for projects that reduce the level of lead in water for human consumption by:
(1) replacing publicly owned lead service lines;
(2) testing, planning, or conducting other relevant activities to identify and address conditions (including corrosion control) that contribute to increased lead levels in water for human consumption;
(3) providing assistance to low-income homeowners to replace privately owned service lines, pipes, fittings, or fixtures that contain lead; and
(4) providing consumer education regarding measures to reduce exposure to lead from drinking water or other sources.
Requires entities to:
(1) notify customers of the replacement of any publicly owned portion of the lead service line;
(2) offer to replace the privately owned portion of the lead service line at cost;
(3) recommend measures to avoid exposure to short-term increases in lead levels following a partial lead service line replacement; and
(4) demonstrate that the entity has considered multiple options for reducing lead in drinking water, including an evaluation of options for corrosion control.
Title III - Miscellaneous
Section 302 -
Requires the Administrator to:
(1) establish a grant program to provide grants to, and enter into contracts and cooperative agreements with, research institutions, institutions of higher education, National Laboratories, and other appropriate entities for research on, and development of the use of, innovative and alternative technologies to improve water quality, drinking water supply, or water use efficiency and conservation;
(2) develop a strategic research plan for the grant program;
(3) establish a nationwide demonstration grant program to promote innovations in technology and alternative approaches to water quality management or water supply or to reduce costs to municipalities of complying with the CWA and the SDWA;
(4) facilitate the adoption of technologies and processes to promote water use efficiency and conservation;
(5) collect and disseminate information regarding such technologies and processes;
(6) report to specified congressional committees on the results of such demonstration program; and
(7) enter into an arrangement with the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to study innovative, effective, and systematic approaches for the management of water supply, wastewater, and stormwater.
Authorizes appropriations for FY2010-FY2014. Authorizes the Administrator to provide extramural grants to institutions of higher education.
Section 303 -
Directs the Administrator to provide capitalization grants to eligible states to establish an agricultural watershed sustainability technology state revolving fund. Requires states with a revolving fund to provide loans to agricultural producers to design and construct agricultural pollution control projects. Authorizes appropriations.
Section 304 -
Requires the Administrator to: (1) identify and take necessary administrative actions to expedite and improve the application and review process for obtaining assistance from CWA and SDWA SRFs; and (2) evaluate, and submit recommendations to Congress to streamline and improve, the process used to develop and carry out the clean watershed needs survey.
Section 305 -
Requires the Administrator to:
(1) enter into an arrangement with NAS to study the means by which selected public water systems and treatment works meet the costs associated with operations, maintenance, capital replacement, and regulatory requirements; and
(2) report to Congress and make the results of such study available to publicly-owned treatment works and public water systems for use in determining, on a voluntary basis, whether new approaches may be implemented.
Authorizes appropriations for FY2010-FY2014.
Section 306 -
Authorizes the Administrator to carry out training programs, provide technical assistance, and disseminate information regarding effective utility management strategies. Authorizes appropriations for FY2010-FY2014.
Section 307 -
Establishes within EPA a WaterSense Program to identify and promote voluntary approaches to increase water efficiency in the United States to reduce the strain on water and wastewater infrastructure and conserve water resources for future generations through voluntary labeling, promotion, or other forms of communication regarding water efficient products, programs, processes, buildings, landscapes, facilities, and services that meet the highest water conservation and performance standards.
Requires the Administrator to report on the program activities.
Authorizes appropriations for FY2010-FY2014.
Section 308 -
Requires the Administrator to offer to enter into an arrangement with NAS to study the presence of pharmaceuticals and personal care products in U.S. waters. Directs NAS to: (1) identify the sources of such products; and (2) evaluate the associated risks and the technical, economic, and legal feasibility of methods to control, limit, treat, or prevent such presence.
Section 309 -
Requires the Administrator, for the purpose of updating the "Combined Sewer Overflows-Guidance for Financial Capability Assessment and Schedule Development," to: (1) collect and take into consideration information that can be used to assess the financial condition of permittees under the CWA; (2) consult with the affected states, municipalities, and other interested parties; and (3) conduct a public outreach process.

House Republican Conference Summary

The summary below was written by the House Republican Conference, which is the caucus of Republicans in the House of Representatives.

No summary available.

House Democratic Caucus Summary

The House Democratic Caucus does not provide summaries of bills.

So, yes, we display the House Republican Conference’s summaries when available even if we do not have a Democratic summary available. That’s because we feel it is better to give you as much information as possible, even if we cannot provide every viewpoint.

We’ll be looking for a source of summaries from the other side in the meanwhile.

The bill contains the following citations to other parts of U.S. law:

United States Code

The United States Code is the compilation of permanent laws enacted by Congress. Temporary and other non-permanent laws do not appear in the United States Code. (About half of the United States Code is the law itself, called positive law. The other half is merely a compilation of the laws but has no legal significance.)

Other Citations

  • 40 U.S.C. Chapter 11
  • 40 U.S.C. Chapter 31