I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7916 

To amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to provide grants for nitrate and 

arsenic reduction projects, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 9, 2024 

Mrs. TORRES of California (for herself and Mr. VALADAO) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to provide grants 

for nitrate and arsenic reduction projects, and for other 

purposes. 

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 ‘‘Removing Nitrate and 

5 Arsenic in Drinking Water Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. NITRATE AND ARSENIC REDUCTION GRANT PRO7 GRAM. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part E of the Safe Drinking 

9 Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300j et seq.) is amended by insert10 ing after section 1459G the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 1459H. NITRATE AND ARSENIC REDUCTION GRANT 

2 PROGRAM. 

3 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

4 ‘‘(1) ARSENIC REDUCTION PROJECT.—The term 

5 ‘arsenic reduction project’ means a project or activ6 ity the primary purpose of which is to reduce the 

7 concentration of arsenic in water for human con8 sumption. 

9 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en10 tity’ means— 

11 ‘‘(A) a community water system; 

12 ‘‘(B) a nontransient noncommunity water 

13 system; 

14 ‘‘(C) a qualified nonprofit organization 

15 with experience in nitrate or arsenic reduction, 

16 as determined by the Administrator; and 

17 ‘‘(D) a municipality or State, interstate, or 

18 intermunicipal agency, including a special-pur19 pose unit of local government. 

20 ‘‘(3) NITRATE REDUCTION PROJECT.—The 

21 term ‘nitrate reduction project’ means a project or 

22 activity the primary purpose of which is to reduce 

23 the concentration of nitrate in water for human con24 sumption. 

25 ‘‘(4) LOW-INCOME.—The term ‘low-income’, 

26 with respect to assistance under subsection (b)(4), 


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1 has such meaning as may be given the term by the 

2 Governor of the State in which the eligible entity is 

3 located, based upon the affordability criteria estab4 lished by the State under section 1452(d)(3). 

5 ‘‘(5) NONTRANSIENT NONCOMMUNITY WATER

6 SYSTEM.—The term ‘nontransient noncommunity 

7 water system’ means a noncommunity water system 

8 that regularly serves at least 25 of the same persons 

9 over a 6 month period, or more, per year. 

10 ‘‘(b) GRANT PROGRAM.— 

11 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Subject to the avail12 ability of appropriations, the Administrator shall es13 tablish a grant program to provide assistance to eli14 gible entities for nitrate or arsenic reduction projects 

15 in the United States. 

16 ‘‘(2) PRECONDITION.—As a condition of receipt 

17 of assistance under this subsection, an eligible entity 

18 shall take steps to identify— 

19 ‘‘(A) the source of nitrate or arsenic, as 

20 applicable, in the public water system that is 

21 subject to human consumption; and 

22 ‘‘(B) the means by which the proposed ni23 trate or arsenic reduction project would mean24 ingfully reduce the concentration of nitrate or 


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1 arsenic in water provided for human consump2 tion by the applicable public water system. 

3 ‘‘(3) PRIORITY APPLICATION.—In providing 

4 grants under this subsection, the Administrator shall 

5 give priority to an eligible entity that the Adminis6 trator determines, based on affordability criteria es7 tablished by the State under section 1452(d)(3), to 

8 be a disadvantaged community and— 

9 ‘‘(A) has not been in compliance with the 

10 maximum contaminant level of nitrate or ar11 senic, as applicable, at any time during the 3- 

12 year period preceding the date of submission of 

13 the application of such eligible entity; or 

14 ‘‘(B) proposes to address nitrate or arsenic 

15 levels, as applicable, in water for human con16 sumption at a school, daycare, or other facility 

17 that primarily serves children or other vulner18 able human subpopulation described in section 

19 1458(a)(1). 

20 ‘‘(4) LOW-INCOME ASSISTANCE.—An eligible en21 tity may use a grant provided under this subsection 

22 to purchase and install treatment technology that re23 duces the amount of nitrate or arsenic, as applica24 ble, in drinking water, with first priority given to as25 sisting disadvantaged communities based on the afVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:39 Apr 17, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7916.IH H7916

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1 fordability criteria established by the applicable 

2 State under section 1452(d)(3), low-income home3 owners, and landlords or property owners providing 

4 housing to low-income renters. 

5 ‘‘(c) LIMITATION ON USE OF FUNDS.—Not more 

6 than 4 percent of funds made available for grants under 

7 this section may be used to pay the administrative costs 

8 of the Administrator. 

9 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

10 is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section— 

11 ‘‘(1) $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2025; and 

12 ‘‘(2) $15,000,000 for each fiscal year there13 after.’’. 

14 (b) REVIEW.—The Administrator of the Environ15 mental Protection Agency shall conduct a review on the 

16 extent the nitrate and arsenic reduction grant program 

17 under the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300j et 

18 seq.), as added by subsection (a), takes into consideration 

19 equity to improve equity outcomes, including taking into 

20 consideration the diverse needs of economically disadvan21 taged and underserved populations. 

Æ 


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