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[Senate Report 110-476]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

                                                      Calendar No. 1037
110th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session                                                     110-476

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            RURAL ALASKA NATIVE VILLAGE WATER AND SEWER BILL

                                _______
                                

  September 22 (legislative day, September 17), 2008.--Ordered to be 
                                printed

                                _______
                                

    Mrs. Boxer, from the Committee on Environment and Public Works, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 199]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Environment and Public Works, to which was 
referred a bill (S. 199) to amend the Safe Drinking Water Act 
Amendments of 1996 to modify the grant program to improve 
sanitation in rural and Native villages in the State of Alaska, 
reports favorably thereon and recommends the bill do pass.

                      Purposes of the Legislation

    S. 199 modifies, increases, and extends the existing grant 
program under the Safe Drinking Water Amendments Act of 1996 to 
help improve sanitation and water quality in rural and Native 
American villages in Alaska.

                    General Statement and Background

    In rural communities in Alaska, particularly in Native 
American villages, as many as one third of homes do not have 
indoor plumbing. To help address this critical public health 
and environmental problem, the Safe Drinking Water Amendments 
Act of 1996 included a grant program to build public water and 
wastewater systems to improve public health and sanitation in 
rural and Native villages in Alaska. This program has been 
successful over the years in helping to provide plumbing, 
sewers and other infrastructure.
    S. 199 increases and extends the authorization of 
appropriations for grants to Alaska through FY 2010 to help 
build this important infrastructure. It also requires the state 
of Alaska to report to the Administrator of the Environmental 
Protection Agency annually on project goals and expenditures 
for the grant program. The bill directs the Administrator to 
require Alaska to correct any deficiencies identified in the 
report, and prohibits expenditures for projects for which any 
such deficiencies are not corrected by an agreed upon deadline.

                      Section-by-Section Analysis

Section 1. Grants to Alaska to improve sanitation in rural and Native 
        villages

    Section 1 requires each applicant for grants under the Safe 
Drinking Water Act grant program to clearly identify the scope 
and the goal of the project for which funding is sought and how 
the funds will be used to meet the specific, stated goal of the 
project; requires the State of Alaska to submit an annual 
report to the Administrator of the Environmental Protection 
Agency describing: (1) the specific goals of each project, (2) 
how funds were used to meet the goal, and (3) whether the goals 
were met; requires the Administrator of the Environmental 
Protection Agency to require the State of Alaska to correct any 
deficiencies identified in any annual report; prohibits 
additional expenditures for that project if a deficiency in a 
project included in a report under subsection (f) is not 
corrected within a period of time agreed to by the 
Administrator and the State of Alaska; increases authorization 
for appropriations to $42,000,000 and extends that 
authorization to 2010.

                          Legislative History

    S. 199 was introduced by Senator Murkowski of Alaska on 
January 8, 2007. The bill was read twice and referred to the 
Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. The Committee 
met on July 31, 2008, when S. 199 was ordered favorably 
reported without amendment by voice vote.

                            Roll Call Votes

    There were no roll call votes on the bill. The Committee 
met on July 31, 2008, when S. 199 was ordered favorably 
reported without amendment by voice vote.

                      Regulatory Impact Statement

    In compliance with section 11(b) of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee makes evaluation of 
the regulatory impact of the reported bill. The Committee finds 
that as legislation modifying and expanding a grant program, 
the bill would not impose additional regulatory burdens.

                          Mandates Assessment

    In compliance with the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 
(Pub. L. 104-4), the Committee finds that, in accordance with 
the conclusions of the Congressional Budget Office, S. 199 
contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as 
defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would 
impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments.

                  Congressional Budget Office Estimate

S. 199--A bill to amend the Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1996 
        to modify the grant program to improve sanitation in rural and 
        native villages in the state of Alaska

    Summary: S. 199 would modify and extend the Environmental 
Protection Agency's (EPA's) grant program to improve sanitation 
in rural and native villages in Alaska. Under this bill, grants 
to the state of Alaska would be contingent on new performance 
standards, including state actions to ensure that applicants 
identify the scope and goals of proposed projects and explain 
how funding would be used to achieve those goals. This 
legislation also would authorize the appropriation of $42 
million for each of fiscal years 2009 and 2010 for EPA to 
provide grants to the state of Alaska. Assuming appropriation 
of the authorized amounts, CBO estimates that implementing S. 
199 would cost $84 million over the 2009-2013 period. Enacting 
S. 199 would not affect direct spending or revenues.
    S. 199 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) 
and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal 
governments.
    Estimated cost to the Federal Government: The estimated 
budgetary impact of S. 199 is shown in the following table. The 
costs of this legislation fall within budget function 300 
(natural resources and environment). For this estimate, CBO 
assumes that S. 199 will be enacted near the start of fiscal 
year 2009 and that the amounts authorized by the bill will be 
appropriated each year. Estimated outlays are based on 
historical spending patterns for similar programs.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                    By fiscal year, in millions of dollars--
                                                              --------------------------------------------------
                                                                2009    2010    2011    2012    2013   2009-2013
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                  CHANGES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION

Grants to Improve Sanitation in Rural and Native Villages in
 Alaska:
    Authorization Level......................................      42      42       0       0       0        84
    Estimated Outlays........................................      17      34      22       8       3        84
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Intergovernmental and private-sector impact: S. 199 
contains no intergovernmental mandates as defined in UMRA. The 
bill would extend an existing grant program for the state of 
Alaska to improve public water systems in rural and native 
villages. Any costs state, local, or tribal governments might 
incur, including matching funds, would result from complying 
with conditions of aid.
    Estimate prepared by: Federal Costs: Susanne S. Mehlman. 
Impact on State, Local, and Tribal Governments: Neil Hood. 
Impact on the Private Sector: Amy Petz.
    Estimate approved by: Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant 
Director for Budget Analysis.

                        Changes in Existing Law

    In compliance with section 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing 
Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by the bill 
as reported are shown as follows: Existing law proposed to be 
omitted is enclosed in [black brackets], new matter is printed 
in italic, existing law in which no change is proposed is shown 
in roman:

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

SAFE DRINKING WATER ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1996

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

SEC. 303. GRANTS TO ALASKA TO IMPROVE SANITATION IN RURAL AND NATIVE 
                    VILLAGES.

  (a) In General.--The Administrator of the Environmental 
Protection Agency may make grants to the State of Alaska for 
the benefit of rural and Native villages in Alaska to pay the 
Federal share of the cost of--
          (1) the development and construction of public water 
        systems and wastewater systems to improve the health 
        and sanitation conditions in the villages; and
          (2) training, technical assistance, and educational 
        programs relating to the operation and management of 
        sanitation services in rural and Native villages.
  (b) Federal Share.--The Federal share of the cost of the 
activities described in subsection (a) shall be 50 percent.
  (c) Administrative Expenses.--The State of Alaska may use an 
amount not to exceed 4 percent of any grant made available 
under this subsection for administrative expenses necessary to 
carry out the activities described in subsection (a).
  (d) Consultation With the State of Alaska.--The Administrator 
shall consult with the State of Alaska on a method of 
prioritizing the allocation of grants under subsection (a) 
according to the needs of, and relative health and sanitation 
conditions in, each eligible village.
  (e) Requirements.--As a condition of receiving a grant under 
this section, the State of Alaska shall--
          (1) require each applicant to clearly identify the 
        scope and the goal of the project for which funding is 
        sought and how the funds will be used to meet the 
        specific, stated goal of the project;
          (2) establish long-term goals for the program, 
        including providing water and sewer systems to Alaska 
        Native villages; and
          (3) carry out regular reviews of grantees to 
        determine if the stated scope and goals of each grant 
        are being met.
  (f) Reporting.--Not later than December 31 of the calendar 
year following the fiscal year in which this subsection is 
enacted, and annually thereafter, the State of Alaska shall 
submit to the Administrator of the Environmental Protection 
Agency a report describing the information obtained under 
subsection (e) during the fiscal year ending the preceding 
September 30, including--
          (1) the specific goals of each project;
          (2) how funds were used to meet the goal; and
          (3) whether the goals were met.
    (g) Review.--
          (1) In general.--The Administrator of the 
        Environmental Protection Agency shall require the State 
        of Alaska to correct any deficiencies identified in a 
        report under subsection (f).
          (2) Failure to correct or reach agreement.--
                  (A) In general.--If a deficiency in a project 
                included in a report under subsection (f) is 
                not corrected within a period of time agreed to 
                by the Administrator and the State of Alaska, 
                the Administrator shall not permit additional 
                expenditures for that project.
                  (B) Time agreement.--
                          (i) In general.--Not later than 180 
                        days after the date of submission to 
                        the Administrator of a report under 
                        subsection (f), the Administrator and 
                        the State of Alaska shall reach an 
                        agreement on a period of time referred 
                        to in subparagraph (A).
                          (ii) Failure to reach agreement.--If 
                        the State of Alaska and the 
                        Administrator fail to reach an 
                        agreement on the period of time to 
                        correct a deficiency in a project 
                        included in a report under subsection 
                        (f) by the deadline specified in clause 
                        (i), the Administrator shall not permit 
                        additional expenditures for that 
                        project.
    [(e)](h) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are 
authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 
[$40,000,000] $42,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2001 through 
[2005]2010.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

                                  
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