[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3328 Introduced in House (IH)]
108th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3328
To amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to establish a program to provide
assistance to small communities for use in carrying out projects and
activities necessary to achieve or maintain compliance with drinking
water standards.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
October 16, 2003
Mrs. Wilson of New Mexico introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to establish a program to provide
assistance to small communities for use in carrying out projects and
activities necessary to achieve or maintain compliance with drinking
water standards.
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 ``Community Drinking Water Assistance
Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds that--
(1) drinking water standards proposed and in effect as of
the date of the enactment of this Act will place a large
financial burden on many public water systems, especially those
public water systems in rural communities serving small
populations;
(2) the limited scientific, technical, and professional
resources available in small communities complicate the
implementation of regulatory requirements;
(3) small communities often cannot afford to meet water
quality standards because of the expenses associated with
upgrading public water systems and training personnel to
operate and maintain the public water systems;
(4) small communities do not have a tax base for dealing
with the costs of upgrading their public water systems;
(5) small communities face high per capita costs in
improving drinking water quality;
(6) small communities would greatly benefit from a grant
program designed to provide funding for water quality projects;
(7) as of the date of the enactment of this Act, there is
no Federal program in effect that adequately meets the needs of
small, primarily rural communities with respect to public water
systems; and
(8) since new, more protective arsenic drinking water
standards proposed by the Clinton and Bush administrations,
respectively, are expected to be implemented in 2006, the grant
program established by the amendment made by this Act should be
implemented in a manner that ensures that the implementation of
those new standards is not delayed.
SEC. 3. ASSISTANCE FOR SMALL PUBLIC WATER SYSTEMS.
(a) Definition of Indian Tribe.--Section 1401(14) of the Safe
Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300f(14)) is amended in the second
sentence by striking ``1452,'' and inserting ``1452 and part G,''.
(b) Establishment of Program.--The Safe Drinking Water Act (42
U.S.C. 300f et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``PART G--ASSISTANCE FOR SMALL PUBLIC WATER SYSTEMS
``SEC. 1471. DEFINITIONS.
``In this part:
``(1) Eligible activity.--
``(A) In general.--The term `eligible activity'
means a project or activity concerning a small public
water system that is carried out by an eligible entity
to comply with drinking water standards.
``(B) Inclusions.--The term `eligible activity'
includes--
``(i) obtaining technical assistance; and
``(ii) training and certifying operators of
small public water systems.
``(C) Exclusion.--The term `eligible activity' does
not include any project or activity to increase the
population served by a small public water system,
except to the extent that the Administrator determines
such a project or activity to be necessary to--
``(i) achieve compliance with a national
primary drinking water regulation; and
``(ii) provide a water supply to a
population that, as of the date of the
enactment of this part, is not served by a safe
public water system.
``(2) Eligible entity.--The term `eligible entity' means a
small public water system that--
``(A) is located in a State or an area governed by
an Indian Tribe; and
``(B)(i) if located in a State, serves a community
that, under affordability criteria established by the
State under section 1452(d)(3), is determined by the
State to be--
``(I) a disadvantaged community; or
``(II) a community that may become a
disadvantaged community as a result of carrying
out an eligible activity; or
``(ii) if located in an area governed by an Indian
Tribe, serves a community that, under affordability
criteria published by the Administrator under section
1452(d)(3), is determined by the Administrator in
consultation with the Secretary to be--
``(I) a disadvantaged community; or
``(II) a community that may become a
disadvantaged community as a result of carrying
out an eligible activity.
``(3) Program.--The term `Program' means the small public
water system assistance program established under section
1472(a).
``(4) Secretary.--The term `Secretary' means the Secretary
of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of
the Indian Health Service.
``(5) Small public water system.--The term `small public
water system' means a public water system (whether a community
water system or a noncommunity water system) that serves--
``(A) a community with a population of not more
than 200,000 individuals; or
``(B) a public water system located in--
``(i) Bernalillo or Sandoval County, New
Mexico;
``(ii) Scottsdale, Arizona;
``(iii) Mesquite or Washoe County, Nevada;
or
``(iv) El Paso County, Texas.
``SEC. 1472. SMALL PUBLIC WATER SYSTEM ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.
``(a) Establishment.--
``(1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
the enactment of this part, the Administrator shall establish a
program to provide grants to eligible entities for use in
carrying out eligible activities to comply with drinking water
standards.
``(2) Priority.--Subject to paragraph (3), the
Administrator shall award grants under the Program to eligible
entities based on--
``(A) first, the financial need of the community
for the grant assistance, as determined by the
Administrator; and
``(B) second, with respect to the community in
which the eligible entity is located, the per capita
cost of complying with drinking water standards, as
determined by the Administrator.
``(3) Small communities.--In making grants under this
section, the Administrator shall ensure that not less 20
percent of grant funds provided for each fiscal year are used
to carry out eligible activities in communities with a
population of less than 50,000 individuals.
``(b) Application Process.--
``(1) In general.--An eligible entity that seeks to receive
a grant under the Program shall submit to the Administrator, on
such form as the Administrator shall prescribe (not to exceed 3
pages in length), an application to receive the grant.
``(2) Components.--The application shall include--
``(A) a description of the eligible activities for
which the grant is needed;
``(B) a description of the efforts made by the
eligible entity, as of the date of submission of the
application, to comply with drinking water standards;
and
``(C) any other information required to be included
by the Administrator.
``(3) Review and approval of applications.--
``(A) In general.--On receipt of an application
under paragraph (1), the Administrator shall forward
the application to the Council.
``(B) Approval or disapproval.--Not later than 90
days after receiving the recommendations of the Council
under subsection (e) concerning an application, after
taking into consideration the recommendations, the
Administrator shall--
``(i) approve the application and award a
grant to the applicant; or
``(ii) disapprove the application.
``(C) Resubmission.--If the Administrator
disapproves an application under subparagraph (B)(ii),
the Administrator shall--
``(i) inform the applicant in writing of
the disapproval (including the reasons for the
disapproval); and
``(ii) provide to the applicant a deadline
by which the applicant may revise and resubmit
the application.
``(c) Cost Sharing.--
``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), the
Federal share of the cost of carrying out an eligible activity
using funds from a grant provided under the Program shall not
exceed 90 percent.
``(2) Waiver.--The Administrator may waive the requirement
to pay the non-Federal share of the cost of carrying out an
eligible activity using funds from a grant provided under the
Program if the Administrator determines that an eligible entity
is unable to pay, or would experience significant financial
hardship if required to pay, the non-Federal share.
``(d) Enforcement and Implementation of Standards.--
``(1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), the
Administrator shall not enforce any standard for drinking water
under this Act that takes effect after the date of the
enactment of this part (including any regulation promulgated
under this Act that takes effect after such date) against an
eligible entity during the period beginning on the date on
which the eligible entity submits an application for a grant
under the Program and ending, as applicable, on--
``(A) the deadline specified in subsection
(b)(3)(C)(ii), if the application is disapproved and
not resubmitted; or
``(B) the date that is 3 years after the date on
which the eligible entity receives a grant under this
part, if the application is approved.
``(2) Arsenic standards.--No standard for arsenic in
drinking water promulgated under this Act (including a standard
in any regulation promulgated before the date of enactment of
this part) shall be implemented or enforced by the
Administrator in any State until the earlier of January 1,
2006, or such date as the Administrator certifies to the
Congress that--
``(A) the Program has been implemented in the
State; and
``(B) the State has made substantial progress, as
determined by the Administrator in consultation with
the Governor of the State, in complying with drinking
water standards under this Act.
``(e) Role of Council.--The Council shall--
``(1) review applications for grants from eligible entities
received by the Administrator under subsection (b);
``(2) for each application, recommend to the Administrator
whether the application should be approved or disapproved; and
``(3) take into consideration priority lists developed by
States for the use of drinking water treatment revolving loan
funds under section 1452.
``SEC. 1473. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
``There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this part
$1,900,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2004 through 2009.''.
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