I

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 3539

To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to allow certain privately

owned public treatment works to be treated as publicly owned treatment

works, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

NOVEMBER 18, 1993

Mr. MENENDEZ introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on Public Works and Transportation

A BILL

To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to allow

certain privately owned public treatment works to be

treated as publicly owned treatment works, 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 ‘‘Municipal Wastewater

5 Treatment Facility Private Investment Act of 1993’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 Congress finds that—
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1 (1) municipal wastewater treatment construc2 tion needs exceed $100,000,000,000;

3 (2) Federal assistance for State revolving loan

4 programs will provide funding for only a portion of

5 the municipal wastewater treatment facilities;

6 (3) increasing the amount of funds invested by

7 the private sector in municipal wastewater treatment

8 facilities would—

9 (A) help address the funding shortfall re10 ferred to in paragraph (2);

11 (B) stimulate economic growth;

12 (C) lead to an increase in the construction

13 of wastewater treatment facilities and jobs;

14 (D) result in a cleaner environment; and

15 (E) provide a greater degree of fiscal flexi16 bility for local governments; and

17 (4) the most effective way to encourage an in18 crease in the level of involvement of the private sec19 tor in the provision of municipal wastewater services

20 is to provide for the uniform regulation of municipal

21 wastewater treatment plants without regard to

22 whether the wastewater treatment plants are pub23 licly owned or under the control of a public and

24 private partnership.
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1 SEC. 3. PUBLICLY OWNED TREATMENT WORKS DEFINED.

2 Section 502 of the Federal Water Pollution Control

3 Act (33 U.S.C. 1362) is amended by adding at the end

4 the following new paragraphs:

5 ‘‘(21) As used in titles I, III, and IV, and this title,

6 the term ‘publicly owned treatment works’ means a device

7 or system used in the collection, storage, treatment, recy8 cling, or reclamation of municipal wastewater (or a mix9 ture of municipal wastewater and industrial wastes of a

10 liquid nature) with respect to which all or part of the

11 device or system—

12 ‘‘(A) was constructed and is owned or operated

13 by a State or municipality;

14 ‘‘(B) was constructed, owned, or operated by a

15 State or municipality and the ownership has been

16 transferred (in whole or in part) to a private entity

17 that is a regulated utility or that has in effect a con18 tract with a State or municipality to receive munici19 pal wastewater (or a mixture of municipal

20 wastewater and industrial wastes of a liquid nature)

21 from sewers, pipes, or other conveyances, if the facil22 ity is used in a manner prescribed in the matter pre23 ceding subparagraph (A) by the private entity; or

24 ‘‘(C) is owned or operated by a private entity

25 that is a regulated utility or that has in effect a con26 tract with a State or municipality to receive munici-
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1 pal wastewater (or a mixture of municipal

2 wastewater and industrial wastes of a liquid nature)

3 from sewers, pipes, or other conveyances within a

4 service area that would otherwise be served by the

5 State or municipality, if the facility is used in a

6 manner prescribed in the matter preceding subpara7 graph (A).

8 ‘‘(22) The term ‘regulated utility’ means a person,

9 firm, or corporation with respect to which—

10 ‘‘(A) a State water pollution control agency

11 grants a license to own or operate (or both) a

12 wastewater treatment facility; and

13 ‘‘(B) a State regulates the fees or other charges

14 of the utility.’’.

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