[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6088 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 6088
To amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to authorize grants for smart
water infrastructure technology, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
November 30, 2021
Mr. Gallego (for himself and Mr. Katko) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to authorize grants for smart
water infrastructure technology, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Water Infrastructure Modernization
Act''.
SEC. 2. PURPOSES.
The purposes of this Act are--
(1) to upgrade and modernize drinking water systems in the
United States, tackle new contaminants, and support drinking
water infrastructure across America;
(2) to support the modernization of drinking water
infrastructure and management systems to maintain reliable,
resilient, and affordable drinking water infrastructure and
ensure the protection of public health; and
(3) to encourage utilization of water efficient
technologies to address drought and prepare for the growing
strain population growth and climate change will have on
already over-allocated water supplies.
SEC. 3. SMART WATER INFRASTRUCTURE TECHNOLOGY FOR DRINKING WATER.
Section 1452 of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300j-12) is
amended--
(1) in subsection (m)(1), by striking ``subsections
(a)(2)(G) and (t)'' and inserting ``subsections (a)(2)(G), (t),
and (u)''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(u) Smart Water Infrastructure Technology.--
``(1) Grants.--Subject to the availability of
appropriations, the Administrator shall make direct grants to
the owners or operators of community water systems for purposes
of the planning, design, construction of, and operations
training relating to--
``(A) smart water network technologies that--
``(i) can identify water losses from
conveyance facilities in a nondestructive or
nondisruptive manner, including acoustic data
collection; and
``(ii) provide--
``(I) comprehensive data on
pipeline integrity that document the
presence of leaks or gas pockets; and
``(II) information on the extent of
such leaks or gas pockets, with an
emphasis on detecting weakness of,
vulnerability of, or damage to pipe
barrels, pipe joints, or other pipe
features;
``(B) real-time sensing technologies, including the
use of advanced analytics, that detect and alert
operators to leakages and pipeline bursts on a real-
time basis, including persistent sensor networks
capable of measuring--
``(i) acoustic signals;
``(ii) pressure transient; or
``(iii) water quality;
``(C) real-time decision support that integrates
sources of data about water distribution networks to
deliver common operations information relying on data
analytics that can improve operational decisionmaking,
including nonrevenue water loss, energy optimization,
and water quality improvement;
``(D) advanced metering infrastructure, including
meter data analytics and ratepayer technology--
``(i) to improve end user conservation; and
``(ii) in support of disadvantaged
communities;
``(E) resilient water supply projects that may
provide real-time monitoring of weather patterns and
impacts on water supply and flood protection reservoirs
and dams that enhance operations, including--
``(i) improved water supply reliability and
management;
``(ii) protection of natural resources,
including fisheries; and
``(iii) temperature control; and
``(F) innovative and alternative water supply
projects, including groundwater banking, that rely on
real-time data acquisition to support predictive
aquifer recharge through water reuse and stormwater
management capabilities.
``(2) Program implementation.--
``(A) Selection.--
``(i) Application.--The owner or operator
of a community water system seeking a grant
under paragraph (1) shall submit to the
Administrator an application at such time, in
such manner, and containing such information as
the Administrator may require.
``(ii) Guidance.--Not later than 30 days
after the date of enactment of this subsection,
the Administrator shall issue guidance to
owners and operators of community water systems
on how to submit an application under clause
(i).
``(iii) Selection.--Not later than 30 days
after the date on which the owner or operator
of a community water system seeking a grant
under paragraph (1) submits an application
under clause (i), the Administrator shall
determine whether to approve or deny the
application.
``(iv) Deficient applications.--If the
Administrator determines that an application
submitted under clause (i) is deficient, the
Administrator shall--
``(I) advise the applicant of the
deficiency; and
``(II) provide an opportunity for
the applicant to resubmit the
application.
``(B) Disbursement.--If the Administrator approves
an application under subparagraph (A)(iii), the
Administrator shall disburse grant funds not later than
60 days after the date of the determination.
``(3) Cost-share.--
``(A) In general.--Except as provided in
subparagraph (B), the non-Federal share of an activity
carried out using a grant under paragraph (1) shall be
25 percent.
``(B) Exception.--The Administrator may waive the
cost-share requirement under subparagraph (A) if the
grant recipient is or serves a disadvantaged community
(as defined in subsection (d)(3)).
``(4) Compliance with buy america.--Subsection (a)(4) shall
apply to grant funds under this subsection, without regard to
the fiscal year limitation in subparagraph (A) of that
subsection.
``(5) Report to congress.--
``(A) In general.--Not later than 180 days after
the date of enactment of this subsection, and not less
frequently than annually thereafter, the Administrator
shall submit to Congress a report that--
``(i) describes the projects awarded grants
under paragraph (1) during the applicable
reporting period; and
``(ii) includes any recommendations of the
Administrator to improve the ability of grants
under paragraph (1) to achieve the purposes
described in section 2 of the Water
Infrastructure Modernization Act of 2021.
``(B) Initial report.--The initial report required
under subparagraph (A) shall include a description of
the implementation of this subsection, including a
description of--
``(i) the projects approved for a grant
under paragraph (1);
``(ii) the projects denied a grant under
paragraph (1); and
``(iii) for the projects described in
clause (ii), a description of the reasons for
which each project was denied a grant.
``(6) Authorization of appropriations.--
``(A) In general.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this subsection $25,000,000
for the period of fiscal years 2023 through 2027, to
remain available until expended.
``(B) Set-asides.--
``(i) Rural communities.--Of the amounts
made available under subparagraph (A), the
Administrator shall use not more than 20
percent to make grants to owners and operators
of community water systems that serve a
population of not more than 10,000 individuals.
``(ii) Tribal communities.--Of the amounts
made available under subparagraph (A), the
Administrator shall use not less than 10
percent to make grants to owners and operators
of community water systems that serve Indian
Tribes.''.
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