II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 806 

To amend the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to establish 

a grant program to assist with the purchase, installation, and maintenance of point-of-entry and point-of-use drinking water quality improvement products, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 15, 2023 

Ms. BALDWIN (for herself, Ms. COLLINS, Ms. SMITH, Mrs. SHAHEEN, and Mr. 

KING) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry 

A BILL 

To amend the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development 

Act to establish a grant program to assist with the 

purchase, installation, and maintenance of point-of-entry 

and point-of-use drinking water quality improvement 

products, 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 ‘‘Healthy Drinking 

5 Water Affordability Act’’ or the ‘‘Healthy H2O Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 


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1 (1) clean and safe drinking water is necessary 

2 to ensure public health and a vibrant economy; 

3 (2) communities that are dependent on private 

4 groundwater supplies to meet domestic drinking 

5 water needs, as well as those that continue to experi6 ence drinking water infrastructure challenges from 

7 public water supplies, including with infrastructure 

8 into and within households and living facilities, are 

9 disproportionately impacted by drinking water qual10 ity issues; 

11 (3) in many instances, those communities and 

12 their households have been adversely impacted by 

13 the presence of 1 or more naturally occurring and 

14 human-caused contaminants found in drinking 

15 water, such as lead, arsenic, nitrate, nitrite, and 

16 volatile organic compounds, as well as federally un17 regulated contaminants, including perfluoroalkyl and 

18 polyfluoroalkyl substances and hexavalent chromium 

19 (chrome-6), in local groundwater or other drinking 

20 water supplies; 

21 (4) public health organizations and institutions, 

22 such as the Centers for Disease Control and Preven23 tion, have cited giardia, enterovirus, radon, 

24 rotovirus, norovirus, shigella, campylobacter, sal25 monella, hepatitis A, cryptosporidium, and e. coli as 


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1 among the major diseases and contaminants that 

2 can be present in drinking water sources; 

3 (5) investments in projects to improve and sup4 port drinking water infrastructure are critically im5 portant to addressing water quality in the United 

6 States, but because those projects can typically take 

7 many years to complete, the current, and in some 

8 cases the ongoing, needs of communities impacted 

9 with immediate drinking water quality challenges 

10 cannot be or are not addressed in a timely manner; 

11 (6) as an interim measure (and in some cases 

12 in rural areas, for longer term or permanently), 

13 point-of-entry and point-of-use water quality im14 provement products are viable solutions to address 

15 drinking water contamination challenges for the peo16 ple of the United States; and 

17 (7) grants provided under this Act are intended 

18 to provide financial assistance for eligible grant re19 cipients (as defined in section 306F(a) of the Con20 solidated Farm and Rural Development Act (as 

21 added by section 3)) that voluntarily seek to improve 

22 the quality of the drinking water of eligible end 

23 users (as defined in that section), and not to dem24 onstrate that an eligible end user is in compliance 


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1 with a Federal, State, or local primary drinking 

2 water standard or regulation. 

3 SEC. 3. HEALTHY DRINKING WATER AFFORDABILITY AS4 SISTANCE PROGRAM. 

5 Subtitle A of the Consolidated Farm and Rural De6 velopment Act is amended by inserting after section 306E 

7 (7 U.S.C. 1926e) the following: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 306F. HEALTHY DRINKING WATER AFFORDABILITY 

9 ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. 

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

11 ‘‘(1) APPROVED INSTALLATION.—The term ‘ap12 proved installation’ means the installation of an eli13 gible drinking water quality improvement product or 

14 a certified filter component by a qualified third-party 

15 installer that— 

16 ‘‘(A) complies with all local and State reg17 ulations; and 

18 ‘‘(B) follows the installation instructions of 

19 the manufacturer. 

20 ‘‘(2) APPROVED MAINTENANCE.—The term ‘ap21 proved maintenance’ means required maintenance— 

22 ‘‘(A) performed on an eligible drinking 

23 water quality improvement product that in24 cludes maintenance and replacement of the cer25 tified filter component; 


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1 ‘‘(B) performed by a service technician 

2 who— 

3 ‘‘(i) is— 

4 ‘‘(I) professionally qualified, cer5 tified, or licensed as a water treat6 ment product maintenance profes7 sional, including a professional 

8 credentialed through a manufacturer 

9 or third party; 

10 ‘‘(II) operating under the super11 vision of a service technician described 

12 in subclause (I); 

13 ‘‘(III) a licensed plumber or a 

14 plumber operating under the super15 vision of a licensed plumbing con16 tractor; or 

17 ‘‘(IV) an individual who holds a 

18 license or certification related to water 

19 treatment technologies issued by a 

20 State or local government; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) regularly completes continuing 

22 education on water treatment technology 

23 and other subjects that enhance the serv24 ices provided under this section; 


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1 ‘‘(C) that complies with all local and State 

2 regulations; and 

3 ‘‘(D) that follows the maintenance instruc4 tions of the manufacturer. 

5 ‘‘(3) CERTIFIED FILTER COMPONENT.—The 

6 term ‘certified filter component’ means a replaceable 

7 or replacement filter component— 

8 ‘‘(A) for which approved maintenance can 

9 be performed; and 

10 ‘‘(B) that is certified by a third-party cer11 tifier as compliant with— 

12 ‘‘(i) NSF P231; 

13 ‘‘(ii) NSF/ANSI Standard 42, 44, 53, 

14 55, 58, or 401; or 

15 ‘‘(iii) another successor or relevant 

16 consensus-based standard for drinking 

17 water treatment units or systems that ad18 dresses health contaminant reduction, as 

19 determined by the Secretary. 

20 ‘‘(4) ELIGIBLE DRINKING WATER QUALITY IM21 PROVEMENT PRODUCT.—The term ‘eligible drinking 

22 water quality improvement product’ means a point23 of-use or point-of-entry system— 

24 ‘‘(A) incorporating a certified filter compo25 nent; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) that is certified by a third-party cer2 tifier to meet standards described in paragraph 

3 (3)(B)— 

4 ‘‘(i) for material safety and perform5 ance; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) to improve drinking water qual7 ity. 

8 ‘‘(5) ELIGIBLE END USER.—The term ‘eligible 

9 end user’ means a person or entity located in a rural 

10 area (as defined in section 343(a)(13)(B)) that is— 

11 ‘‘(A)(i) a homeowner; 

12 ‘‘(ii) an individual lessee or renter of a 

13 home, apartment, or other dwelling; 

14 ‘‘(iii) a property owner of a multi-unit resi15 dential building with 25 or fewer owned, leased, 

16 or rented dwelling units; 

17 ‘‘(iv) a licensed child-care facility; or 

18 ‘‘(v) an owned, leased, or rented facility; 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(B) supported by a finding of need 

21 through— 

22 ‘‘(i) a qualified water quality test 

23 demonstrating the presence of 1 or more 

24 health contaminants; or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) other documentation determined 

2 to be satisfactory by the Secretary dem3 onstrating the presence of 1 or more 

4 health contaminants. 

5 ‘‘(6) ELIGIBLE GRANT RECIPIENT.—The term 

6 ‘eligible grant recipient’ means— 

7 ‘‘(A) an eligible end user; and 

8 ‘‘(B) a nonprofit organization that uses a 

9 grant provided under this section for the pur10 poses described in subsection (c)(2). 

11 ‘‘(7) HEALTH CONTAMINANT.—The term 

12 ‘health contaminant’ means— 

13 ‘‘(A) a health contaminant found in drink14 ing water, including lead, arsenic, nitrate, ni15 trite, perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl sub16 stances, hexavalent chromium (chrome-6), and 

17 volatile organic compounds; and 

18 ‘‘(B) any other contaminant— 

19 ‘‘(i) that can be reduced by an eligible 

20 drinking water quality improvement prod21 uct or a certified filter component in ac22 cordance with the standards described in 

23 paragraph (3)(B); and 


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1 ‘‘(ii)(I) with respect to which the Ad2 ministrator of the Environmental Protec3 tion Agency has established— 

4 ‘‘(aa) a primary drinking water 

5 regulation (as defined in section 1401 

6 of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 

7 U.S.C. 300f); 

8 ‘‘(bb) a maximum contaminant 

9 level goal established in accordance 

10 with section 1412(b) of that Act (42 

11 U.S.C. 300g–1(b)); or 

12 ‘‘(cc) a health advisory issued 

13 pursuant to section 1412(b)(1)(F) of 

14 that Act (42 U.S.C. 300g– 

15 1(b)(1)(F)); or 

16 ‘‘(II) that is regulated by a State 

17 agency. 

18 ‘‘(8) IMPROVE DRINKING WATER QUALITY.— 

19 The term ‘improve drinking water quality’ means to 

20 improve the quality of the water supplied between its 

21 source and human consumption by reducing or re22 moving 1 or more health contaminants. 

23 ‘‘(9) QUALIFIED THIRD-PARTY INSTALLER.— 

24 The term ‘qualified third-party installer’ means a 

25 person who— 


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1 ‘‘(A) is— 

2 ‘‘(i) a professionally qualified, cer3 tified, or licensed water treatment product 

4 installation professional, including such a 

5 professional credentialed through a manu6 facturer or third party; 

7 ‘‘(ii) a licensed plumber or individual 

8 who holds a license or certification related 

9 to water treatment technologies issued by a 

10 State or local government; or 

11 ‘‘(iii) a company or plumbing con12 tractor employing individuals described in 

13 clause (i) or (ii); and 

14 ‘‘(B) regularly completes, or requires appli15 cable employees to complete, continuing edu16 cation on water treatment technology and other 

17 subjects that enhance the services provided 

18 under this section. 

19 ‘‘(10) QUALIFIED WATER QUALITY TEST.—The 

20 term ‘qualified water quality test’ means a baseline 

21 analysis of the bacterial and chemical characteristics 

22 of concern from a drinking water sample collected at 

23 the point of consumption and tested by a laboratory 

24 certified to conduct water quality testing— 

25 ‘‘(A) that is provided to— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the Secretary; and 

2 ‘‘(ii) as applicable— 

3 ‘‘(I) a person seeking a grant 

4 under this section; 

5 ‘‘(II) an eligible end user receiv6 ing a grant under this section; or 

7 ‘‘(III) an eligible grant recipient 

8 receiving a grant under this section 

9 and any eligible end users served by 

10 the eligible grant recipient; and 

11 ‘‘(B) that includes information that pro12 vides— 

13 ‘‘(i) guidance on test interpretation, 

14 including whether the bacteria or chemical 

15 characteristic of concern meets or exceeds 

16 a prescribed health-based contaminant 

17 level; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) sources and citations that eligible 

19 grant recipients, independent third-party 

20 organizations and institutions, and govern21 ment agencies may review and consult— 

22 ‘‘(I) to determine available eligi23 ble drinking water quality improve24 ment products for addressing detected 

25 contaminants; and 


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1 ‘‘(II) to evaluate efficacy across 

2 eligible drinking water quality im3 provement products. 

4 ‘‘(11) THIRD-PARTY CERTIFIER.—The term 

5 ‘third-party certifier’ means an independent certifi6 cation body accredited to ISO Standard 17065, 

7 ‘Conformity assessment — Requirements for bodies 

8 certifying products, processes and services’, by an 

9 entity domiciled in the United States that is a signa10 tory to the International Accreditation Forum Multi11 lateral Recognition Arrangement, such as the Water 

12 Quality Association, NSF International, the Inter13 national Association of Plumbing and Mechanical 

14 Officials, and the International Code Council Eval15 uation Service. 

16 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—Not later than 

17 120 days after the date of enactment of this section, the 

18 Secretary shall promulgate regulations to establish, and 

19 shall carry out, a clean drinking water program, to be 

20 known as the ‘Healthy Drinking Water Affordability As21 sistance Program’ or the ‘Healthy H2O Program’, to pro22 vide grants to eligible grant recipients to improve drinking 

23 water quality of eligible end users. 

24 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBLE USES OF GRANTS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A grant under this section 

2 shall be used, as directed by the Secretary, for— 

3 ‘‘(A) the purchase of an eligible drinking 

4 water quality improvement product or a re5 placement certified filter component; 

6 ‘‘(B) the approved installation by a quali7 fied third-party installer of an eligible drinking 

8 water quality improvement product; 

9 ‘‘(C) the purchase and approved installa10 tion by a qualified third-party installer of a re11 placement certified filter component; 

12 ‘‘(D) the approved maintenance of an eligi13 ble drinking water quality improvement prod14 uct; or 

15 ‘‘(E) qualified water quality tests to sup16 port products and services described in sub17 paragraphs (A) through (D). 

18 ‘‘(2) NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS.—A nonprofit 

19 organization that receives a grant under this section 

20 shall use the grant, in a manner consistent with the 

21 uses described in paragraph (1) and as directed by 

22 the Secretary— 

23 ‘‘(A) to offer qualified water quality tests 

24 for eligible end users on a voluntary basis; 


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1 ‘‘(B) to facilitate the analysis of qualified 

2 water quality test results for eligible end users; 

3 ‘‘(C) to assist an eligible end user in deter4 mining the response options available and sup5 porting the selection by the eligible end user of 

6 a response that best fits the needs of the eligi7 ble end user, informed by— 

8 ‘‘(i) a qualified water quality test; and 

9 ‘‘(ii) an understanding of the relevant 

10 plumbing systems and environmental fac11 tors that will impact point-of-use or point12 of-entry water safety; and 

13 ‘‘(D) to coordinate or facilitate the ap14 proved installation by a qualified third-party in15 staller of the eligible drinking water quality im16 provement product selected by an eligible end 

17 user. 

18 ‘‘(d) GRANT LIMITATIONS.— 

19 ‘‘(1) AMOUNT.—The amount of a grant under 

20 this section shall not exceed the reasonable costs, as 

21 determined by the Secretary, of the purposes de22 scribed in subsection (c) for which the grant is pro23 vided. 

24 ‘‘(2) INCOME.—No grant provided under this 

25 section shall be used to assist an eligible end user 


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1 who is a member of a household the members of 

2 which have a combined income, or an eligible end 

3 user with business income, for the most recent 12- 

4 month period for which the information is available, 

5 that is more than 150 percent of the median non6 metropolitan household income for the State or terri7 tory in which the eligible end user resides, according 

8 to the most recent decennial census of the United 

9 States. 

10 ‘‘(e) GRANT ADMINISTRATOR.—The Secretary shall 

11 appoint an officer or employee of the Department of Agri12 culture to administer and manage grants provided under 

13 this section. 

14 ‘‘(f) GRANT ALLOCATION.—In providing grants 

15 under this section to eligible grant recipients, the Sec16 retary shall allocate funds and make grants available in 

17 a manner that— 

18 ‘‘(1) responds to a range of water quality chal19 lenges; 

20 ‘‘(2) prioritizes funding to eligible end-users the 

21 sources of drinking water of which are private wells; 

22 ‘‘(3) improves local and regional capacity to re23 spond to contamination; and 

24 ‘‘(4) ensures reasonable access to funds for— 


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1 ‘‘(A) eligible end users seeking a grant 

2 under this section; and 

3 ‘‘(B) nonprofit organizations seeking a 

4 grant under this section. 

5 ‘‘(g) REPORTS.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

6 of enactment of this section, and not less frequently than 

7 annually thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to Con8 gress, and make publicly available, a report— 

9 ‘‘(1) identifying ongoing barriers to universal 

10 safe drinking water prior to and after filtration or 

11 other treatment; 

12 ‘‘(2) analyzing conditions impacting eligible 

13 grant recipients, including— 

14 ‘‘(A) sources of contamination or degrada15 tion of water resources, especially groundwater 

16 resources or upstream resources that recharge 

17 stores of drinking water; 

18 ‘‘(B) trends in bioaccumulation and at19 tenuation of contaminants and nutrients; and 

20 ‘‘(C) impacts of infrastructure materials, 

21 crop and land management practices, waste 

22 management, and other factors that impact 

23 drinking water quantity and quality; 

24 ‘‘(3) providing a comprehensive analysis of— 


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1 ‘‘(A) technologies available to and pur2 chased by eligible grant recipients; and 

3 ‘‘(B) the emerging safe drinking water 

4 needs of rural and other homeowners, renters, 

5 residential multi-unit property owners, licensed 

6 child-care facilities, and other groups, as deter7 mined by the Secretary; 

8 ‘‘(4) that includes information describing— 

9 ‘‘(A) the types of treatment systems and 

10 filter components used under the program es11 tablished under this section; 

12 ‘‘(B) the number of qualified water quality 

13 tests conducted under the program established 

14 under this section; 

15 ‘‘(C) emerging and changing trends relat16 ing to steps taken to ensure safe drinking water 

17 in communities and households; and 

18 ‘‘(D) trends relating to the availability and 

19 use of eligible drinking water quality improve20 ment products, including— 

21 ‘‘(i) affordability at purchase and 

22 through the lifecycle of the products; 

23 ‘‘(ii) consistency of operation as in24 tended by the manufacturer and installer, 

25 including effectiveness across systems and 


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1 technologies at achieving stated health pro2 tections; and 

3 ‘‘(iii) lifecycle product performance, 

4 energy use, and environmental impact; 

5 ‘‘(5) providing recommendations regarding the 

6 best methods to increase access to— 

7 ‘‘(A) grants under this section; and 

8 ‘‘(B) the products and services described in 

9 subsection (c); 

10 ‘‘(6) that incorporates input from relevant— 

11 ‘‘(A) nongovernmental organizations; and 

12 ‘‘(B) certification institutions that oversee 

13 the criteria for products and training of instal14 lation and maintenance professionals; and 

15 ‘‘(7) the purposes of which are— 

16 ‘‘(A) to improve data on health contami17 nants in drinking water; 

18 ‘‘(B) to provide educational resources on 

19 water testing and water quality improvement 

20 products and services to eligible grant recipients 

21 with drinking water contamination issues; 

22 ‘‘(C) to collect information that improves 

23 understanding of water testing and water qual24 ity improvement products and services, includVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:47 Mar 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00018 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S806.IS S806

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1 ing their associated health and economic bene2 fits; and 

3 ‘‘(D) to increase public awareness of water 

4 quality issues and treatment options. 

5 ‘‘(h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

6 is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry 

7 out this section $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 

8 through 2028.’’. 

Æ 


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