[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1019 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1019
To amend the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to establish
an emergency preparedness and response technical assistance program to
assist entities that operate rural water or wastewater systems in
preparing for and responding to natural or manmade disasters.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 13, 2025
Ms. Cortez Masto (for herself and Mrs. Hyde-Smith) introduced the
following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to establish
an emergency preparedness and response technical assistance program to
assist entities that operate rural water or wastewater systems in
preparing for and responding to natural or manmade disasters.
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 ``Rural Water System Disaster
Preparedness and Assistance Act''.
SEC. 2. EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
PROGRAM.
Section 306(a) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act
(7 U.S.C. 1926(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(27) Emergency preparedness and response technical
assistance program.--
``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall establish an
emergency preparedness and response technical
assistance program to provide grants to eligible
entities to assist associations described in paragraph
(1) that operate rural water or wastewater systems in
preparing for and responding to natural or manmade
disasters, as determined by the Secretary.
``(B) Eligible entities.--An entity eligible to
receive a grant under subparagraph (A) is a nonprofit
organization that--
``(i) has demonstrated experience providing
emergency technical assistance for disaster
preparation, recovery, and response activities
to water and wastewater utilities nationwide;
and
``(ii) has the capacity to deploy personnel
that possess--
``(I) an active water or wastewater
system operators' license; or
``(II) knowledge of water and
wastewater utilities necessary to carry
out activities described in
subparagraph (C).
``(C) Eligible activities.--An eligible entity that
receives a grant under subparagraph (A) shall use the
grant--
``(i) to provide onsite personnel and
equipment to assist with water and wastewater
systems in the event of a disaster;
``(ii) to coordinate with statewide
emergency response networks to assist with
water and wastewater systems;
``(iii) to facilitate the development of
disaster action plans between associations
described in subparagraph (A), units of local
government, the Federal Emergency Management
Agency, and State emergency management
agencies;
``(iv) to improve resiliency and mitigation
planning with respect to water or wastewater
systems;
``(v) to provide geographic information
system mapping of water and wastewater systems;
``(vi) to prepare or update predisaster
vulnerability assessments, emergency response
plans, communication protocols, or hazard
recognition and evaluation skills with respect
to water and wastewater systems;
``(vii) to conduct preliminary damage
assessments of critical infrastructure in the
event of a disaster;
``(viii) to provide emergency services with
respect to water and wastewater systems to
restore service in the event of a disaster,
including--
``(I) pump and motor evaluation and
repair;
``(II) water disinfection and
flushing;
``(III) leak detection;
``(IV) line repair;
``(V) water main and valve
location;
``(VI) emergency power generation;
``(VII) bypass pumping;
``(VIII) water treatment; and
``(IX) maintaining safety measures;
``(ix) to address outstanding deficiencies
focused on resolving health-based regulatory,
operational, financial, and managerial
deficiencies that impact the sustainability of
water and wastewater systems;
``(x) to assist with application and
reporting requirements for Federal and State
agencies, including the Federal Emergency
Management Agency and insurance recovery
claims, with respect to water and wastewater
systems; and
``(xi) to provide for disaster preparation,
support, and response activities targeted to
disadvantaged communities that lack the
financial resources and human capital necessary
to adequately address significant health,
safety, or sanitary concerns with respect to
the water and wastewater systems of those
communities.
``(D) Use of funds.--
``(i) In general.--An eligible entity that
receives a grant under subparagraph (A) may use
the grant for salaries, supplies, and expenses
relating to the activities described in
subparagraph (C).
``(ii) Limitation.--Not more than 25
percent of the amount of a grant under
subparagraph (A) may be used to purchase or
reimburse the rental costs of appropriate
emergency equipment, as determined by the
Secretary.
``(E) Restriction.--An eligible entity that
receives a grant under subparagraph (A) may not use the
grant funds to pay for eligible activities for which
the eligible entity receives other Federal funds.
``(F) Authorization of appropriations.--There is
authorized to be appropriated to carry out this
paragraph $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025
through 2029.''.
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