I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3720 

To encourage water efficiency. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 8, 2015 

Mr. CARTWRIGHT (for himself, Ms. NORTON, Mrs. KIRKPATRICK, Mr. 

HUFFMAN, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Ms. TSONGAS, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. 

HONDA, Mr. TONKO, Ms. BORDALLO, Mr. THOMPSON of California, Mr. 

BLUMENAUER, Ms. MATSUI, Mr. GARAMENDI, Mr. TED LIEU of California, Mr. PETERS, Mr. CONNOLLY, Mr. PERLMUTTER, and Mrs. 

TORRES) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on 

Oversight and Government Reform, Armed Services, and Ways and 

Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 

each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To encourage water efficiency. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Water Advanced Tech5 nologies for Efficient Resource Use Act of 2015’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. WATERSENSE. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is established within the 

3 Environmental Protection Agency a WaterSense program 

4 to identify and promote water efficient products, buildings 

5 and landscapes, and services in order— 

6 (1) to reduce water use; 

7 (2) to reduce the strain on water, wastewater, 

8 and stormwater infrastructure; 

9 (3) to conserve energy used to pump, heat, 

10 transport, and treat water; and 

11 (4) to preserve water resources for future gen12 erations, 

13 through voluntary labeling of, or other forms of commu14 nications about, products, buildings and landscapes, and 

15 services that meet the highest water efficiency and per16 formance standards. 

17 (b) DUTIES.—The Administrator of the Environ18 mental Protection Agency shall— 

19 (1) promote WaterSense labeled products, 

20 buildings and landscapes, and services in the market 

21 place as the preferred technologies and services 

22 for— 

23 (A) reducing water use; and 

24 (B) ensuring product and service perform25 ance; 


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1 (2) work to enhance public awareness of the 

2 WaterSense label through public outreach, edu3 cation, water recycling and reuse technology re4 search and development, and other means; 

5 (3) establish and maintain performance stand6 ards so that products, buildings and landscapes, and 

7 services labeled with the WaterSense label perform 

8 as well or better than their less efficient counter9 parts; 

10 (4) publicize the importance of proper installa11 tion of WaterSense plumbing products by a 

12 WaterSense-certified or, if WaterSense certification 

13 guidelines do not exist, licensed plumber or mechan14 ical contractor, and the installation, maintenance, 

15 and audit of WaterSense irrigation systems by a 

16 WaterSense-certified irrigation professional to en17 sure optimal performance; 

18 (5) preserve the integrity of the WaterSense 

19 label; 

20 (6) regularly review and, when appropriate, up21 date WaterSense criteria for categories of products, 

22 buildings and landscapes, and services, at least once 

23 every four years; 

24 (7) to the maximum extent practicable, regu25 larly collect and make available to the public sumVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:12 Oct 14, 2015 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3720.IH H3720

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1 mary data on the production and relative market 

2 shares of WaterSense labeled products, buildings 

3 and landscapes, and services, at least annually; 

4 (8) to the maximum extent practicable, regu5 larly estimate and make available to the public the 

6 water and energy savings attributable to the use of 

7 WaterSense labeled products, buildings and land8 scapes, and services, at least annually; 

9 (9) solicit comments from interested parties and 

10 the public prior to establishing or revising a 

11 WaterSense category, specification, installation cri12 terion, or other criterion (or prior to effective dates 

13 for any such category, specification, installation cri14 terion, or other criterion); 

15 (10) provide reasonable notice to interested par16 ties and the public of any changes (including effec17 tive dates), on the adoption of a new or revised cat18 egory, specification, installation criterion, or other 

19 criterion, along with— 

20 (A) an explanation of changes; and 

21 (B) as appropriate, responses to comments 

22 submitted by interested parties; 

23 (11) provide appropriate lead time (as deter24 mined by the Administrator) prior to the applicable 

25 effective date for a new or significant revision to a 


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1 category, specification, installation criterion, or other 

2 criterion, taking into account the timing require3 ments of the manufacturing, marketing, training, 

4 and distribution process for the specific product, 

5 building and landscape, or service category ad6 dressed; and 

7 (12) identify and, where appropriate, implement 

8 other voluntary approaches, such as labeling water9 less devices that perform the same function as a 

10 water consuming product or encouraging reuse, rec11 lamation, and recycling technologies, in commercial, 

12 institutional, residential, municipal, and industrial 

13 sectors to improve water efficiency or lower water 

14 use while meeting the performance standards estab15 lished under paragraph (3). 

16 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

17 are authorized to be appropriated $7,500,000 for fiscal 

18 year 2016, $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2017, $20,000,000 

19 for fiscal year 2018, and $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2019 

20 and each year thereafter, adjusted for inflation, to carry 

21 out this section. 

22 SEC. 3. FEDERAL PROCUREMENT OF WATER EFFICIENT 

23 PRODUCTS. 

24 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 (1) AGENCY.—The term ‘‘agency’’ has the 

2 meaning given that term in section 7902(a) of title 

3 5, United States Code. 

4 (2) WATERSENSE PRODUCT OR SERVICE.—The 

5 term ‘‘WaterSense product or service’’ means a 

6 product or service that is rated for water efficiency 

7 under the WaterSense program. 

8 (3) WATERSENSE PROGRAM.—The term 

9 ‘‘WaterSense program’’ means the program estab10 lished by section 2 of this Act. 

11 (4) FEMP DESIGNATED PRODUCT.—The term 

12 ‘‘FEMP designated product’’ means a product that 

13 is designated under the Federal Energy Manage14 ment Program of the Department of Energy as 

15 being among the highest 25 percent of equivalent 

16 products for efficiency. 

17 (5) PRODUCT AND SERVICE.—The terms ‘‘prod18 uct’’ and ‘‘service’’ do not include any water con19 suming product or service designed or procured for 

20 combat or combat-related missions. The terms also 

21 exclude products or services already covered by the 

22 Federal procurement regulations established under 

23 section 553 of the National Energy Conservation 

24 Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 8259b). 


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1 (b) PROCUREMENT OF WATER EFFICIENT PROD2 UCTS.— 

3 (1) REQUIREMENT.—To meet the requirements 

4 of an agency for a water consuming product or serv5 ice, the head of the agency shall, except as provided 

6 in paragraph (2), procure— 

7 (A) a WaterSense product or service; or 

8 (B) a FEMP designated product. 

9 A WaterSense plumbing product should preferably, 

10 when possible, be installed by a WaterSense-certified 

11 or, if WaterSense certification guidelines do not 

12 exist, licensed plumber or mechanical contractor, 

13 and a WaterSense irrigation system should pref14 erably, when possible, be installed, maintained, and 

15 audited by a WaterSense-certified irrigation profes16 sional to ensure optimal performance. 

17 (2) EXCEPTIONS.—The head of an agency is 

18 not required to procure a WaterSense product or 

19 service or FEMP designated product under para20 graph (1) if the head of the agency finds in writing 

21 that— 

22 (A) a WaterSense product or service or 

23 FEMP designated product is not cost-effective 

24 over the life of the product, taking current and 


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1 future energy, water, and wastewater cost sav2 ings into account; or 

3 (B) no WaterSense product or service or 

4 FEMP designated product is reasonably avail5 able that meets the functional requirements of 

6 the agency. 

7 (3) PROCUREMENT PLANNING.—The head of an 

8 agency shall incorporate into the specifications for 

9 all procurements involving water consuming products 

10 and systems, including guide specifications, project 

11 specifications, and construction, renovation, and 

12 services contracts that include provision of water 

13 consuming products and systems, and into the fac14 tors for the evaluation of offers received for the pro15 curement, criteria used for rating WaterSense prod16 ucts and services and FEMP designated products. 

17 The head of an agency shall consider, to the max18 imum extent practicable, additional measures for re19 ducing agency water consumption, including water 

20 reuse, reclamation, and recycling technologies, leak 

21 detection and repair, and use of waterless products 

22 that perform similar functions to existing water-con23 suming products. 

24 (c) LISTING OF WATER EFFICIENT PRODUCTS IN

25 FEDERAL CATALOGS.—WaterSense products and services 


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1 and FEMP designated products shall be clearly identified 

2 and prominently displayed in any inventory or listing of 

3 products by the General Services Administration or the 

4 Defense Logistics Agency. The General Services Adminis5 tration and the Defense Logistics Agency shall supply only 

6 WaterSense products or FEMP designated products for 

7 all product categories covered by the WaterSense program 

8 or the Federal Energy Management Program, except in 

9 cases where the agency ordering a product specifies in 

10 writing that no WaterSense product or FEMP designated 

11 product is available to meet the buyer’s functional require12 ments, or that no WaterSense product or FEMP des13 ignated product is cost-effective for the intended applica14 tion over the life of the product, taking energy, water, and 

15 wastewater cost savings into account. 

16 (d) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 180 days after 

17 the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of 

18 the Environmental Protection Agency shall issue regula19 tions to carry out this section. 

20 SEC. 4. EARLY ADOPTER WATER EFFICIENT PRODUCTS IN21 CENTIVE PROGRAMS. 

22 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

23 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis24 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ25 mental Protection Agency. 


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1 (2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti2 ty’’ means a State government, local or county gov3 ernment, tribal government, wastewater or sewage 

4 utility, municipal water authority, energy utility, 

5 water utility, or nonprofit organization that meets 

6 the requirements of subsection (b). 

7 (3) INCENTIVE PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘incentive 

8 program’’ means a program for administering finan9 cial incentives for consumer purchase and installa10 tion of residential water efficient products and serv11 ices as described in subsection (b)(1). 

12 (4) RESIDENTIAL WATER EFFICIENT PRODUCT

13 OR SERVICE.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘residential 

15 water efficient product or service’’ means a 

16 product or service for a single-family or multi17 family residence or its landscape that is rated 

18 for water efficiency and performance— 

19 (i) by the WaterSense program; or 

20 (ii) by an incentive program and ap21 proved by the Administrator. 

22 Categories of water efficient products and serv23 ices may include faucets, irrigation technologies 

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1 vices, reuse, reclamation, and recycling tech2 nologies, toilets, and showerheads. 

3 (B) THIRD-PARTY CERTIFICATION.—A 

4 product shall not be treated as a residential 

5 water efficient product until after the product— 

6 (i) is tested by an accredited third7 party certifying body or laboratory in ac8 cordance with the WaterSense program; 

9 (ii) is certified by such body or labora10 tory as meeting the performance and effi11 ciency requirements of such program; and 

12 (iii) is authorized by such program to 

13 use its label. 

14 (5) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 

15 the several States of the United States, the District 

16 of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin 

17 Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Common18 wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. 

19 (6) WATERSENSE PROGRAM.—The term 

20 ‘‘WaterSense program’’ means the program estab21 lished by section 2 of this Act. 

22 (b) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—An entity shall be eligible 

23 to receive an allocation under subsection (c) if the entity— 

24 (1) establishes (or has established) an incentive 

25 program to provide rebates, vouchers, other financial 


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1 incentives, or direct installs to consumers for the 

2 purchase and installation of residential water effi3 cient products or services; 

4 (2) submits an application for the allocation at 

5 such time, in such form, and containing such infor6 mation as the Administrator may require; and 

7 (3) provides assurances satisfactory to the Ad8 ministrator that the entity will use the allocation to 

9 supplement, but not supplant, funds made available 

10 to carry out the incentive program. 

11 (c) AMOUNT OF ALLOCATIONS.—For each fiscal year, 

12 the Administrator shall determine the amount to allocate 

13 to each eligible entity to carry out subsection (d) taking 

14 into consideration— 

15 (1) the population served by the eligible entity 

16 in the most recent calendar year for which data are 

17 available; 

18 (2) the targeted population of the eligible enti19 ty’s incentive program, such as general households, 

20 low-income households, or first-time homeowners, 

21 and the probable effectiveness of the incentive pro22 gram for that population; 

23 (3) for existing programs, the effectiveness of 

24 the incentive program in encouraging the adoption 

25 of water efficient products and services; and 


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1 (4) any prior year’s allocation to the eligible en2 tity that remains unused. 

3 (d) USE OF ALLOCATED FUNDS.—Funds allocated to 

4 an entity under subsection (c) may be used to pay up to 

5 50 percent of the cost of establishing and carrying out 

6 an incentive program. 

7 (e) FIXTURE RECYCLING.—Entities are encouraged 

8 to promote or implement fixture recycling programs to 

9 manage the disposal of older fixtures replaced due to the 

10 incentive program under this section. 

11 (f) ISSUANCE OF REBATES.—Financial incentives 

12 may be provided to consumers that meet the requirements 

13 of the incentive program. The entity may issue all finan14 cial incentives directly to consumers or, with approval of 

15 the Administrator, delegate some or all financial incentive 

16 administration to other organizations including, but not 

17 limited to, local governments, municipal water authorities, 

18 and water utilities. The amount of a financial incentive 

19 shall be determined by the entity, taking into consider20 ation— 

21 (1) the amount of the allocation to the entity 

22 under subsection (c); 

23 (2) the amount of any Federal, State, or other 

24 organization’s tax or financial incentive available for 


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1 the purchase of the residential water efficient prod2 uct or service; 

3 (3) the amount necessary to change consumer 

4 behavior to purchase water efficient products and 

5 services; and 

6 (4) the consumer expenditures for onsite prepa7 ration, assembly, and original installation of the 

8 product. 

9 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

10 are authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator to 

11 carry out this section $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2016, 

12 $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2017, $150,000,000 for fis13 cal year 2018, $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2019, and 

14 $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2020. 

15 SEC. 5. EARLY ADOPTER WATER EFFICIENT PRODUCTS IN16 CENTIVE PROGRAMS. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part III of subchapter B of chap18 ter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended 

19 by inserting before section 140 the following new section: 

20 ‘‘SEC. 139F. EARLY ADOPTER WATER EFFICIENT PRODUCTS 

21 INCENTIVE PROGRAMS. 

22 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In the case of an individual, 

23 gross income does not include any amount received under 

24 an incentive program under section 4 of the Water AdVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:12 Oct 14, 2015 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3720.IH H3720

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1 vanced Technologies for Efficient Resource Use Act of 

2 2015. 

3 ‘‘(b) DENIAL OF DOUBLE BENEFIT.—Notwith4 standing any other provision of this subtitle, no deduction 

5 or credit shall be allowed for, or by reason of, any expendi6 ture to the extent of the amount excluded under sub7 section (a) for any amount which was provided with re8 spect to such expenditure. The adjusted basis of any prop9 erty shall be reduced by the amount excluded under sub10 section (a) which was provided with respect to such prop11 erty.’’. 

12 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of sec13 tions for part III of subchapter B of chapter 1 of such 

14 Code is amended by inserting before the item relating to 

15 section 140 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 139F. Early adopter water efficient products incentive programs.’’. 

16 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

17 this Act shall apply to taxable years beginning after the 

18 date of the enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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