S.Amdt. 2900

SA 2900. Mr. CARDIN submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to
amendment SA 2875 proposed by Mr. Reid (for Mr. Tester) to the bill S.
3525, to protect and enhance opportunities for recreational hunting,
fishing, and shooting, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie
on the table; as follows:

At the end, add the following:

TITLE III--WATER INFRASTRUCTURE

SEC. 301. DEFINITIONS.

In this title:
(1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
(2) Hydrologic condition.--The term ``hydrologic
condition'' means the quality, quantity, or reliability of
the water resources of a region of the United States.
(3) Owner or operator of a water system.--
(A) In general.--The term ``owner or operator of a water
system'' means an entity (including a regional, State,
tribal, local, municipal, or private entity) that owns or
operates a water system.
(B) Inclusions.--The term ``owner or operator of a water
system'' includes--
(i) a non-Federal entity that has operational
responsibilities for a federally-, tribally-, or State-owned
water system; and
(ii) an entity established by an agreement between--

(I) an entity that owns or operates a water system; and
(II) at least 1 other entity.

(4) Water system.--The term ``water system'' means--
(A) a community water system (as defined in section 1401 of
the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300f));
(B) a treatment works (as defined in section 212 of the
Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1292)),
including a municipal separate storm sewer system (as such
term is used in that Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.));
(C) a decentralized wastewater treatment system for
domestic sewage;
(D) a groundwater storage and replenishment system;
(E) a system for transport and delivery of water for
irrigation or conservation; or
(F) a natural or engineered system that manages floodwater.

SEC. 302. WATER INFRASTRUCTURE RESILIENCY AND SUSTAINABILITY.

(a) Program.--The Administrator shall establish and
implement a program, to be known as the ``Water
Infrastructure Resiliency and Sustainability Program'', under
which the Administrator shall award grants for each of fiscal
years 2013 through 2017 to owners or operators of water
systems for the purpose of increasing the resiliency or
adaptability of the water systems to any ongoing or
forecasted changes (based on the best available research and
data) to the hydrologic conditions of a region of the United
States.
(b) Use of Funds.--As a condition on receipt of a grant
under this title, an owner or operator of a water system
shall agree to use the grant funds exclusively to assist in
the planning, design, construction, implementation,
operation, or maintenance of a program or project that meets
the purpose described in subsection (a) by--
(1) conserving water or enhancing water use efficiency,
including through the use of water metering and electronic
sensing and control systems to measure the effectiveness of a
water efficiency program;
(2) modifying or relocating existing water system
infrastructure made or projected to be significantly impaired
by changing hydrologic conditions;
(3) preserving or improving water quality, including
through measures to manage, reduce, treat, or reuse municipal
stormwater, wastewater, or drinking water;
(4) investigating, designing, or constructing groundwater
remediation, recycled water, or desalination facilities or
systems to serve existing communities;
(5) enhancing water management by increasing watershed
preservation and protection, such as through the use of
natural or engineered green infrastructure in the management,
conveyance, or treatment of water, wastewater, or stormwater;
(6) enhancing energy efficiency or the use and generation
of renewable energy in the management, conveyance, or
treatment of water, wastewater, or stormwater;
(7) supporting the adoption and use of advanced water
treatment, water supply management (such as reservoir
reoperation and water banking), or water demand management
technologies, projects, or processes (such as water reuse and
recycling, adaptive conservation pricing, and groundwater
banking) that maintain or increase water supply or improve
water quality;
(8) modifying or replacing existing systems or constructing
new systems for existing communities or land that is being
used for agricultural production to improve water supply,
reliability, storage, or conveyance in a manner that--
(A) promotes conservation or improves the efficiency of use
of available water supplies; and
(B) does not further exacerbate stresses on ecosystems or
cause redirected impacts by degrading water quality or
increasing net greenhouse gas emissions;

[[Page S6810]]

(9) supporting practices and projects, such as improved
irrigation systems, water banking and other forms of water
transactions, groundwater recharge, stormwater capture,
groundwater conjunctive use, and reuse or recycling of
drainage water, to improve water quality or promote more
efficient water use on land that is being used for
agricultural production;
(10) reducing flood damage, risk, and vulnerability by--
(A) restoring floodplains, wetland, and upland integral to
flood management, protection, prevention, and response;
(B) modifying levees, floodwalls, and other structures
through setbacks, notches, gates, removal, or similar means
to facilitate reconnection of rivers to floodplains, reduce
flood stage height, and reduce damage to properties and
populations;
(C) providing for acquisition and easement of flood-prone
land and properties in order to reduce damage to property and
risk to populations; or
(D) promoting land use planning that prevents future
floodplain development;
(11) conducting and completing studies or assessments to
project how changing hydrologic conditions may impact the
future operations and sustainability of water systems; or
(12) developing and implementing measures to increase the
resilience of water systems and regional and hydrological
basins, including the Colorado River Basin, to rapid
hydrologic change or a natural disaster (such as tsunami,
earthquake, flood, or volcanic eruption).
(c) Application.--To seek a grant under this title, the
owner or operator of a water system shall submit to the
Administrator an application that--
(1) includes a proposal for the program, strategy, or
infrastructure improvement to be planned, designed,
constructed, implemented, or maintained by the water system;
(2) provides the best available research or data that
demonstrate--
(A) the risk to the water resources or infrastructure of
the water system as a result of ongoing or forecasted changes
to the hydrological system of a region, including rising sea
levels and changes in precipitation patterns; and
(B) the manner in which the proposed program, strategy, or
infrastructure improvement would perform under the
anticipated hydrologic conditions;
(3) describes the manner in which the proposed program,
strategy, or infrastructure improvement is expected--
(A) to enhance the resiliency of the water system,
including source water protection for community water
systems, to the anticipated hydrologic conditions; or
(B) to increase efficiency in the use of energy or water of
the water system; and
(4) describes the manner in which the proposed program,
strategy, or infrastructure improvement is consistent with an
applicable State, tribal, or local climate adaptation plan,
if any.
(d) Priority.--
(1) Water systems at greatest and most immediate risk.--In
selecting grantees under this title, subject to section
303(b), the Administrator shall give priority to owners or
operators of water systems that are, based on the best
available research and data, at the greatest and most
immediate risk of facing significant negative impacts due to
changing hydrologic conditions.
(2) Goals.--In selecting among applicants described in
paragraph (1), the Administrator shall ensure that, to the
maximum extent practicable, the final list of applications
funded for each year includes a substantial number that
propose to use innovative approaches to meet 1 or more of the
following goals:
(A) Promoting more efficient water use, water conservation,
water reuse, or recycling.
(B) Using decentralized, low-impact development
technologies and nonstructural approaches, including
practices that use, enhance, or mimic the natural
hydrological cycle or protect natural flows.
(C) Reducing stormwater runoff or flooding by protecting or
enhancing natural ecosystem functions.
(D) Modifying, upgrading, enhancing, or replacing existing
water system infrastructure in response to changing
hydrologic conditions.
(E) Improving water quality or quantity for agricultural
and municipal uses, including through salinity reduction.
(F) Providing multiple benefits, including to water supply
enhancement or demand reduction, water quality protection or
improvement, increased flood protection, and ecosystem
protection or improvement.
(e) Cost-sharing Requirement.--
(1) Federal share.--The share of the cost of any program,
strategy, or infrastructure improvement that is the subject
of a grant awarded by the Administrator to the owner or
operator of a water system under subsection (a) paid through
funds distributed under this title shall not exceed 50
percent of the cost of the program, strategy, or
infrastructure improvement.
(2) Calculation of non-federal share.--In calculating the
non-Federal share of the cost of a program, strategy, or
infrastructure improvement proposed by a water system in an
application submitted under subsection (c), the Administrator
shall--
(A) include the value of any in-kind services that are
integral to the completion of the program, strategy, or
infrastructure improvement, including reasonable
administrative and overhead costs; and
(B) not include any other amount that the water system
involved receives from the Federal Government.
(f) Report to Congress.--Not later than 3 years after the
date of enactment of this Act, and every 3 years thereafter,
the Administrator shall submit to Congress a report that--
(1) describes the progress in implementing this title; and
(2) includes information on project applications received
and funded annually under this title.

SEC. 303. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

(a) In General.--There is authorized to be appropriated to
carry out this title $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years
2013 through 2017.
(b) Reduction of Flood Damage, Risk, and Vulnerability.--Of
the amount made available to carry out this title for a
fiscal year, not more than 20 percent may be made available
to grantees for activities described in section 302(b)(10).
______