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[House Report 115-828]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

115th Congress    }                                {    Rept. 115-828
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session       }                                {           Part 1

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            INNOVATIVE STORMWATER INFRASTRUCTURE ACT OF 2018

                                _______
                                

 July 16, 2018.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

 Mr. Shuster, from the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 3906]

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page
Purpose of Legislation...........................................     2
Background and Need for Legislation..............................     2
Hearings.........................................................     2
Legislative History and Consideration............................     3
Committee Votes..................................................     3
Committee Oversight Findings.....................................     3
New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures and Congressional 
  Budget 
  Office Cost Estimate...........................................     3
Performance Goals and Objectives.................................     4
Advisory of Earmarks.............................................     4
Duplication of Federal Programs..................................     4
Disclosure of Directed Rule Makings..............................     4
Federal Mandate Statement........................................     4
Preemption Clarification.........................................     4
Advisory Committee Statement.....................................     5
Applicability of Legislative Branch..............................     5
Section-by-Section Analysis of Legislation.......................     5
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............     5
Correspondence...................................................     6

    The amendments are as follows:
  Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
following:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

  This Act may be cited as the ``Innovative Stormwater Infrastructure 
Act of 2018''.

SEC. 2. STORMWATER INFRASTRUCTURE FUNDING TASK FORCE.

  (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency 
shall establish a stormwater infrastructure funding task force composed 
of representatives of Federal, State, and local governments and private 
(including nonprofit) entities to conduct a study on, and develop 
recommendations to improve, the availability of public and private 
sources of funding for the construction, rehabilitation, and operation 
and maintenance of stormwater infrastructure to meet the requirements 
of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.).
  (b) Considerations.--In carrying out subsection (a), the task force 
shall--
          (1) identify existing Federal, State, and local public 
        sources and private sources of funding for stormwater 
        infrastructure; and
          (2) consider--
                  (A) how funding for stormwater infrastructure from 
                such sources has been made available, and utilized, in 
                each State to address stormwater infrastructure needs 
                identified pursuant to section 516(b)(1) of the Federal 
                Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1375(b)(1));
                  (B) how the source of funding affects the 
                affordability of the infrastructure (as determined 
                based on the considerations used to assess the 
                financial capability of municipalities under the 
                integrated planning guidelines described in the 
                Integrated Municipal Stormwater and Wastewater Planning 
                Approach Framework, issued by the Environmental 
                Protection Agency on June 5, 2012, and dated May, 
                2012), including consideration of the costs associated 
                with financing the infrastructure; and
                  (C) whether such sources of funding are sufficient to 
                support capital expenditures and long-term operation 
                and maintenance costs necessary to meet the stormwater 
                infrastructure needs of municipalities.
  (c) Report.--Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of 
this Act, the Administrator shall submit to Congress a report that 
describes the results of the study conducted, and the recommendations 
developed, under subsection (a).
  (d) State Defined.--In this section, the term ``State'' has the 
meaning given that term in section 502 of the Federal Water Pollution 
Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1362).

    Amend the title so as to read:
    A bill to direct the Administrator of the Environmental 
Protection Agency to establish a stormwater infrastructure 
funding task force, and for other purposes.

                         PURPOSE OF LEGISLATION

    H.R. 3906, as amended, directs the Environmental Protection 
Agency (EPA) to establish a stormwater infrastructure funding 
task force to study and develop recommendations to improve the 
availability of public and private sources of funding for 
stormwater infrastructure.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    Stormwater runoff is generated from rain and snowmelt 
events that flow over land or impervious surfaces, such as 
paved streets, parking lots, and building rooftops, into sewer 
systems and nearby waterbodies. Stormwater runoff can pick up 
and transport pollutants, and be a major source of pollution to 
those receiving waters. In order to protect and enhance water 
quality, communities control stormwater runoff through the 
installation and use of stormwater infrastructure. Many 
communities across the country face difficulties in funding 
projects to control stormwater runoff and mitigate stormwater 
pollution.

                                HEARINGS

    On March 9, 2017, the Subcommittee on Water Resources and 
Environment held a hearing titled ``Building a 21st Century 
Infrastructure for America: The Role of Federal Agencies in 
Water Infrastructure'' that addressed the role that EPA, 
through the Clean Water Act, plays in financing and addressing 
the nation's wastewater and stormwater infrastructure 
challenges.
    On May 18, 2017, the Subcommittee on Water Resources and 
Environment held a hearing titled ``Building a 21st Century 
Infrastructure for America: Improving Water Quality through 
Integrated Planning'' that addressed the financial concerns 
raised by municipalities in addressing local water quality 
challenges.

                 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY AND CONSIDERATION

    On October 2, 2017, Congressman Denny Heck (D-WA) 
introduced H.R. 3906. The bill was referred to the Committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the 
Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.
    As introduced, H.R. 3906 would have: (1) authorized EPA to 
provide Federal grants, on a competitive basis, to institutions 
of higher education and research institutions to establish 
centers of excellence for research on, and promotion of, 
innovative stormwater control infrastructure, and (2) directed 
the EPA Administrator to work with existing EPA offices, such 
as the Office of Water and the Office of Enforcement and 
Compliance, to promote the use of innovative stormwater control 
infrastructure in Clean Water Act permitting programs, planning 
efforts, research, technical assistance, and funding guidance.
    On June 26, 2018, the Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure met in open session to consider H.R. 3906. 
Congressman Garret Graves (R-LA) offered an amendment in the 
nature of a substitute to establish a stormwater infrastructure 
funding task force to study and develop recommendations to 
improve the availability of public and private sources of 
funding for stormwater infrastructure, which was adopted by 
voice vote. The Committee ordered the bill, as amended, to be 
reported favorably to the House by a voice vote with a quorum 
present.

                            COMMITTEE VOTES

    Clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives requires each committee report to include the 
total number of votes cast for and against on each record vote 
on a motion to report and on any amendment offered to the 
measure or matter, and the names of those members voting for 
and against. There were no recorded votes taken in connection 
with consideration of H.R. 3906.

                      COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS

    With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(1) of rule 
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the 
Committee's oversight findings and recommendations are 
reflected in this report.

  NEW BUDGET AUTHORITY AND TAX EXPENDITURES AND CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET 
                          OFFICE COST ESTIMATE

    With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(2) of rule 
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section 
308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 and with respect 
to requirements of clause (3)(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules 
of the House of Representatives and section 402 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has requested 
but not received a cost estimate for this bill from the 
Director of Congressional Budget Office. The Committee has 
requested but not received from the Director of the 
Congressional Budget Office a statement as to whether this bill 
contains any new budget authority, spending authority, credit 
authority, or an increase or decrease in revenues or tax 
expenditures. The Chairman of the Committee shall cause such 
estimate and statement to be printed in the Congressional 
Record upon its receipt by the Committee.

                    PERFORMANCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

    With respect to the requirement of clause 3(c)(4) of rule 
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the 
performance goal and objective of this legislation is to assist 
communities in finding available public and private sources of 
funding of stormwater infrastructure.

                          ADVISORY OF EARMARKS

    Pursuant to clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the House 
of Representatives, the Committee is required to include a list 
of congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited 
tariff benefits as defined in clause 9(e), 9(f), and 9(g) of 
rule XXI of the Rules of the House of Representatives. No 
provision in the bill includes an earmark, limited tax benefit, 
or limited tariff benefit under clause 9(e), 9(f), or 9(g) of 
rule XXI.

                    DUPLICATION OF FEDERAL PROGRAMS

    Pursuant to clause 3(c)(5) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, the Committee finds that no provision 
of H.R. 3906, as amended, establishes or reauthorizes a program 
of the federal government known to be duplicative of another 
federal program, a program that was included in any report from 
the Government Accountability Office to Congress pursuant to 
section 21 of Public Law 111-139, or a program related to a 
program identified in the most recent Catalog of Federal 
Domestic Assistance.

                  DISCLOSURE OF DIRECTED RULE MAKINGS

    Pursuant to section 3(i) of H. Res. 5, 115th Cong. (2017), 
the Committee finds that enacting H.R. 3906, as amended, does 
not direct the completion of a specific rule making within the 
meaning of section 551 of title 5, United States Code.

                       FEDERAL MANDATE STATEMENT

    An estimate of Federal mandates prepared by the Director of 
the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section 423 of the 
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (Public Law 104-4) was not made 
available to the Committee in time for the filing of this 
report. The Chairman of the Committee shall cause such estimate 
to be printed in the Congressional Record upon its receipt by 
the Committee.

                        PREEMPTION CLARIFICATION

    Section 423 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 
requires the report of any Committee on a bill or joint 
resolution to include a statement on the extent to which the 
bill or joint resolution is intended to preempt state, local, 
or tribal law. The Committee states that H.R. 3906, as amended, 
does not preempt any state, local, or tribal law.

                      ADVISORY COMMITTEE STATEMENT

    No advisory committees within the meaning of section 5(b) 
of the Federal Advisory Committee Act are created by this 
legislation.

                  APPLICABILITY OF LEGISLATIVE BRANCH

    The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to 
the terms and conditions of employment or access to public 
services or accommodations within the meaning of section 
102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act (Public Law 
104-1).

               SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF LEGISLATION

Section 1. Short title

    Section 1 is the short title of the bill, which is the 
``Innovative Stormwater Infrastructure Act of 2018''.

Section 2. Stormwater infrastructure funding task force

    Section 2 directs the Administrator of the EPA to establish 
a stormwater infrastructure funding task force to study and 
develop recommendations to improve the availability of public 
and private sources of funding for stormwater infrastructure. 
The task force would be composed of representatives of Federal, 
State, and local governments and private (including nonprofit) 
entities. The task force should consider how States address 
stormwater infrastructure needs, how the source of funding 
affects the affordability of the infrastructure, and whether 
such sources of funding are sufficient to support short and 
long term construction and operation and maintenance costs.

         CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED

    H.R. 3906, as amended, makes no changes in existing law.
   
   
   
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