IB 

Union Calendar No. 387 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 1497 

[Report No. 116–484] 

To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to reauthorize certain 

water pollution control programs, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 5, 2019 

Mr. DEFAZIO (for himself, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. YOUNG, and Mr. KATKO) 

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 

Transportation and Infrastructure 

SEPTEMBER 4, 2020 

Additional sponsors: Ms. BROWNLEY of California, Mr. HUFFMAN, Mr. 

LOWENTHAL, Mr. ROUDA, Mr. CARBAJAL, Mr. COHEN, Mr. LIPINSKI, 

Mr. LYNCH, Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New York, Ms. 

FINKENAUER, Ms. NORTON, Ms. MOORE, Ms. TITUS, Ms. CRAIG, Mr. 

MALINOWSKI, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. DEAN, Mr. DESAULNIER, Ms. 

ESCOBAR, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. GROTHMAN, Mr. HARDER of California, Mr. 

LAMB, Ms. SLOTKIN, Mr. TAKANO, Mrs. TRAHAN, Mr. WELCH, Mr. LARSEN of Washington, Ms. LEE of California, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Ms. 

MUCARSEL-POWELL, Ms. DAVIDS of Kansas, Ms. KUSTER of New Hampshire, Mr. BEYER, Mr. PHILLIPS, Mr. MCADAMS, Mr. RICHMOND, Mr. 

TRONE, Mr. CASTEN of Illinois, Mr. MORELLE, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. CASE, 

Ms. TORRES SMALL of New Mexico, Mr. KILDEE, Ms. WILSON of Florida, Mr. BRINDISI, Ms. TLAIB, Mr. SIRES, Mr. PAYNE, Mrs. AXNE, Mr. 

KIND, Mr. CARTWRIGHT, Mr. FITZPATRICK, and Mr. MOULTON

SEPTEMBER 4, 2020 

Reported with an amendment; committed to the Committee of the Whole 

House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed 


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A BILL 

To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to reauthorize certain water pollution control programs, and 

for other purposes. 


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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 ‘‘Water Quality Protec5 tion and Job Creation Act of 2019’’. 

6 SEC. 2. WASTEWATER INFRASTRUCTURE WORKFORCE IN7 VESTMENT. 

8 Section 104(g) of the Federal Water Pollution Control 

9 Act (33 U.S.C. 1254(g)) is amended— 

10 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘manpower’’ 

11 each place it appears and inserting ‘‘workforce’’; and 

12 (2) by amending paragraph (4) to read as fol13 lows: 

14 ‘‘(4) REPORT TO CONGRESS ON PUBLICLY OWNED

15 TREATMENT WORKS WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT.—Not 

16 later than 2 years after the date of enactment of the 

17 Water Quality Protection and Job Creation Act of 

18 2019, the Administrator shall submit to the Com19 mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the 

20 House of Representatives and the Committee on Envi21 ronment and Public Works of the Senate a report con22 taining— 

23 ‘‘(A) an assessment of the current and fu24 ture workforce needs for publicly owned treat25 ment works, including an estimate of the number 


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1 of future positions needed for such treatment 

2 works and the technical skills and education 

3 needed for such positions; 

4 ‘‘(B) a summary of actions taken by the 

5 Administrator, including Federal investments 

6 under this Act, that promote workforce develop7 ment to address such needs; and 

8 ‘‘(C) any recommendations of the Adminis9 trator to address such needs.’’. 

10 SEC. 3. STATE MANAGEMENT ASSISTANCE. 

11 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

12 106(a) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 

13 U.S.C. 1256(a)) is amended— 

14 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 

15 (1); and 

16 (2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol17 lowing: 

18 ‘‘(3) such sums as may be necessary for each of 

19 fiscal years 1991 through 2020; 

20 ‘‘(4) $240,000,000 for fiscal year 2021; 

21 ‘‘(5) $250,000,000 for fiscal year 2022; 

22 ‘‘(6) $260,000,000 for fiscal year 2023; 

23 ‘‘(7) $270,000,000 for fiscal year 2024; and 

24 ‘‘(8) $275,000,000 for fiscal year 2025;’’. 


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1 (b) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 106(e) of the 

2 Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1256(e)) 

3 is amended by striking ‘‘Beginning in fiscal year 1974 the’’ 

4 and inserting ‘‘The’’. 

5 SEC. 4. WATERSHED, WET WEATHER, AND RESILIENCY 

6 PROJECTS. 

7 (a) INCREASED RESILIENCE OF TREATMENT

8 WORKS.—Section 122(a)(6) of the Federal Water Pollution 

9 Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1274(a)(6)) is amended to read as 

10 follows: 

11 ‘‘(6) INCREASED RESILIENCE OF TREATMENT

12 WORKS.—Efforts— 

13 ‘‘(A) to assess future risks and 

14 vulnerabilities of publicly owned treatment 

15 works to manmade or natural disasters, includ16 ing extreme weather events and sea level rise; 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(B) to carry out the planning, designing, 

19 or constructing of projects, on a systemwide or 

20 areawide basis, to increase the resilience of pub21 licly owned treatment works through— 

22 ‘‘(i) the conservation of water or the 

23 enhancement of water use efficiency; 

24 ‘‘(ii) the enhancement of wastewater 

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1 creasing watershed preservation and protec2 tion, including through— 

3 ‘‘(I) the use of green infrastruc4 ture; or 

5 ‘‘(II) the reclamation and reuse of 

6 wastewater (including stormwater), 

7 such as through aquifer recharge zones; 

8 ‘‘(iii) the modification or relocation of 

9 an existing publicly owned treatment works 

10 at risk of being significantly impaired or 

11 damaged by a manmade or natural dis12 aster; or 

13 ‘‘(iv) the enhancement of energy effi14 ciency, or the use or generation of recovered 

15 or renewable energy, in the management, 

16 treatment, or conveyance of wastewater (in17 cluding stormwater).’’. 

18 (b) REQUIREMENTS; AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA19 TIONS.—Section 122 of the Federal Water Pollution Control 

20 Act (33 U.S.C. 1274) is amended by striking subsection (c) 

21 and inserting the following: 

22 ‘‘(c) REQUIREMENTS.—The requirements of section 

23 608 shall apply to any construction, alteration, mainte24 nance, or repair of treatment works receiving a grant under 

25 this section. 


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1 ‘‘(d) ASSISTANCE.—The Administrator shall use not 

2 less than 15 percent of the amounts appropriated pursuant 

3 to this section in a fiscal year to provide assistance to mu4 nicipalities with a population of less than 10,000, to the 

5 extent there are sufficient eligible applications. 

6 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

7 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

8 $110,000,000, to remain available until expended.’’. 

9 (c) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

10 (1) WATERSHED PILOT PROJECTS.—Section 122 

11 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 

12 1274) is amended— 

13 (A) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘WA14 TERSHED PILOT PROJECTS’’ and inserting 

15 ‘‘WATERSHED, WET WEATHER, AND RESIL16 IENCY PROJECTS’’; and 

17 (B) by striking ‘‘pilot’’ each place it ap18 pears. 

19 (2) WATER POLLUTION CONTROL REVOLVING

20 LOAN FUNDS.—Section 603(c)(7) of the Federal Water 

21 Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1383(c)(7)) is 

22 amended by striking ‘‘watershed’’. 


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1 SEC. 5. PILOT PROGRAM FOR ALTERNATIVE WATER 

2 SOURCE PROJECTS. 

3 (a) SELECTION OF PROJECTS.—Section 220(d) of the 

4 Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1300(d)) 

5 is amended— 

6 (1) by amending paragraph (1) to read as fol7 lows: 

8 ‘‘(1) LIMITATION ON ELIGIBILITY.—A project 

9 that has received construction funds under the Rec10 lamation Projects Authorization and Adjustment Act 

11 of 1992 shall not be eligible for grant assistance under 

12 this section.’’; and 

13 (2) by striking paragraph (2) and redesignating 

14 paragraph (3) as paragraph (2). 

15 (b) COMMITTEE RESOLUTION PROCEDURE; ASSIST16 ANCE.—Section 220 of the Federal Water Pollution Control 

17 Act (33 U.S.C. 1300) is amended by striking subsection (e) 

18 and inserting the following: 

19 ‘‘(e) ASSISTANCE.—The Administrator shall use not 

20 less than 15 percent of the amounts appropriated pursuant 

21 to this section in a fiscal year to provide assistance to eligi22 ble entities for projects designed to serve fewer than 10,000 

23 individuals, to the extent there are sufficient eligible appli24 cations.’’. 


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1 (c) COST SHARING.—Section 220(g) of the Federal 

2 Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1300(g)) is amend3 ed— 

4 (1) by striking ‘‘The Federal share’’ and insert5 ing the following: 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para7 graph (2), the Federal share’’; and 

8 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(2) RECLAMATION AND REUSE PROJECTS.—For 

10 an alternative water source project that has received 

11 funds under the Reclamation Projects Authorization 

12 and Adjustment Act of 1992 (other than funds re13 ferred to in subsection (d)(1)), the total Federal share 

14 of the costs of the project shall not exceed 25 percent 

15 or $20,000,000, whichever is less.’’. 

16 (d) REQUIREMENTS.—Section 220 of the Federal 

17 Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1300) is amended 

18 by redesignating subsections (i) and (j) as subsections (j) 

19 and (k), respectively, and inserting after subsection (h) the 

20 following: 

21 ‘‘(i) REQUIREMENTS.—The requirements of section 

22 608 shall apply to any construction of an alternative water 

23 source project carried out using assistance made available 

24 under this section.’’. 


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1 (e) DEFINITIONS.—Section 220(j)(1) of the Federal 

2 Water Pollution Control Act (as redesignated by subsection 

3 (d) of this section) is amended by striking ‘‘or wastewater 

4 or by treating wastewater’’ and inserting ‘‘, wastewater, or 

5 stormwater or by treating wastewater or stormwater’’. 

6 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

7 220(k) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (as redes8 ignated by subsection (d) of this section) is amended by 

9 striking ‘‘$75,000,000 for fiscal years 2002 through 2004’’ 

10 and inserting ‘‘$150,000,000’’. 

11 SEC. 6. SEWER OVERFLOW AND STORMWATER REUSE MU12 NICIPAL GRANTS. 

13 Section 221 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act 

14 (33 U.S.C. 1301) is amended— 

15 (1) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘subsection 

16 (b),’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘this sec17 tion,’’; 

18 (2) in subsection (d)— 

19 (A) by striking ‘‘The Federal share’’ and in20 serting the following: 

21 ‘‘(1) FEDERAL SHARE.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

23 subparagraph (B), the Federal share’’; and 

24 (B) by striking ‘‘The non-Federal share’’ 

25 and inserting the following: 


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1 ‘‘(B) FINANCIALLY DISTRESSED COMMU2 NITIES.—The Federal share of the cost of activi3 ties carried out using amounts from a grant 

4 made to a financially distressed community 

5 under subsection (a) shall be not less than 75 

6 percent of the cost. 

7 ‘‘(2) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—The non-Federal 

8 share’’; 

9 (3) in subsection (e), by striking ‘‘section 513’’ 

10 and inserting ‘‘section 513, or the requirements of sec11 tion 608,’’; and 

12 (4) in subsection (f)— 

13 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘2020’’ 

14 and inserting ‘‘2025’’; and 

15 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(3) ASSISTANCE.—In carrying out subsection 

17 (a), the Administrator shall ensure that, of the 

18 amounts granted to municipalities in a State, not less 

19 than 20 percent is granted to municipalities with a 

20 population of less than 20,000, to the extent there are 

21 sufficient eligible applications.’’. 

22 SEC. 7. NATIONAL POLLUTANT DISCHARGE ELIMINATION 

23 SYSTEM. 

24 (a) TERMS.—Section 402(b)(1) of the Federal Water 

25 Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1342(b)(1)) is amended— 


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1 (1) by amending subparagraph (B) to read as 

2 follows: 

3 ‘‘(B) are for fixed terms— 

4 ‘‘(i) not exceeding 10 years, for a permit 

5 issued in accordance with subsection (t); and 

6 ‘‘(ii) not exceeding 5 years, for a permit not 

7 described in clause (i);’’; and 

8 (2) by redesignating subparagraph (D) as sub9 paragraph (E), and inserting after subparagraph (C) 

10 the following: 

11 ‘‘(D) do not continue in force beyond the last 

12 day of the fixed term, except as provided in subsection 

13 (k)(2); and’’. 

14 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—Section 402 of the Federal 

15 Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1342) is amend16 ed— 

17 (1) in subsection (k)— 

18 (A) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ before ‘‘Compliance 

19 with’’; 

20 (B) by striking ‘‘of (1)’’ and inserting ‘‘of 

21 (A)’’; 

22 (C) by striking ‘‘or (2)’’ and inserting ‘‘or 

23 (B)’’; and 

24 (D) by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(2) PERMIT RENEWAL OR REISSUANCE.—If a 

2 permittee applies to a State to renew or reissue a per3 mit under this section, in compliance with the ap4 proved State permit program under subsection (b), 

5 and the State does not make a final administrative 

6 disposition of the application by the last day of the 

7 term of the permit— 

8 ‘‘(A) not later than 30 days after such last 

9 day of the term of the permit, the State shall no10 tify the Administrator, the Committee on Trans11 portation and Infrastructure of the House of 

12 Representatives, and the Committee on Environ13 ment and Public Works of the Senate of such 

14 failure to make a final administrative disposi15 tion; 

16 ‘‘(B) if the State does not make a final ad17 ministrative disposition of the application by the 

18 date that is 180 days after the last day of the 

19 term of the permit, the Administrator shall make 

20 a final administrative disposition of the applica21 tion not later than 180 days after such date; and 

22 ‘‘(C) the permit shall continue in effect 

23 until the date on which a final administrative 

24 disposition of the application is made.’’; and 

25 (2) by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(t) EXTENDED TERM FOR CERTAIN PERMITS.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State with an approved 

3 permit program under subsection (b) may issue a 

4 permit under this section with a term authorized 

5 under subsection (b)(1)(B)(i) to an eligible munici6 pality for a covered discharge. 

7 ‘‘(2) REVIEW AND MODIFICATION OF PERMIT.— 

8 ‘‘(A) STATE ACTION.— 

9 ‘‘(i) REVIEW.—Not later than 60 days 

10 after a triggering event occurs with respect 

11 to a permit issued by a State pursuant to 

12 this subsection, the State shall review the 

13 permit and make publicly available a deter14 mination of whether any modifications to 

15 the permit are necessary to address the trig16 gering event. 

17 ‘‘(ii) MODIFICATION.—Not later than 

18 90 days after making publicly available a 

19 determination under clause (i) that modi20 fications to a permit are necessary, the 

21 State shall make such modifications in ac22 cordance with the requirements of this sec23 tion. 

24 ‘‘(B) EPA ACTION.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) REVIEW.—If a State fails to make 

2 publicly available a determination by the 

3 deadline required under subparagraph (A), 

4 the Administrator shall make publicly 

5 available such a determination not later 

6 than 30 days after such deadline. 

7 ‘‘(ii) MODIFICATION.—If a State fails 

8 to modify a permit by the deadline required 

9 under subparagraph (A), or if the Adminis10 trator makes publicly available under this 

11 subparagraph a determination that modi12 fications to a permit are necessary, the Ad13 ministrator shall make such modifications 

14 in accordance with the requirements of this 

15 section not later than 90 days after the 

16 deadline required under subparagraph (A), 

17 or 90 days after the date on which the Ad18 ministrator makes publicly available such 

19 determination under this subparagraph, as 

20 applicable. 

21 ‘‘(iii) EFFECT ON STATE AUTHOR22 ITY.—A permit modified by the Adminis23 trator under clause (ii) shall be considered 

24 to be a permit issued by the State for the 

25 purposes of permit administration, and 


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1 such modification shall not affect any other 

2 authority or responsibility of the State re3 lating to the permit. 

4 ‘‘(C) RIGHT OF ACTION.—A determination 

5 under this paragraph by a State or the Adminis6 trator of whether modifications to a permit are 

7 necessary to address a triggering event is a final 

8 agency action subject to judicial review in the 

9 same manner as a review under section 

10 509(b)(1). 

11 ‘‘(3) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

12 ‘‘(A) COVERED DISCHARGE.—The term ‘cov13 ered discharge’ means a discharge from a pub14 licly owned treatment works, which consists of 

15 municipal sewage treated, recycled, or reclaimed 

16 in accordance with this Act (and may include a 

17 municipal combined sewer overflow that is in 

18 compliance with the requirements of subsection 

19 (q))— 

20 ‘‘(i) into a navigable water that is not 

21 identified by the State issuing the permit 

22 under section 303(d) as impaired for a pol23 lutant specifically addressed by the permit; 

24 or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a discharge into a 

2 navigable water that is so identified, that is 

3 subject to, and in compliance with, permit 

4 limits that are consistent with— 

5 ‘‘(I) a judicial order or consent 

6 decree resolving an enforcement action 

7 related to such discharge under this 

8 Act; or 

9 ‘‘(II) for each such pollutant, any 

10 applicable approved total maximum 

11 daily load allocation, or, if no such ap12 proved allocation exists, any applicable 

13 water quality standard for the pollut14 ant (including any such standard as 

15 addressed in an integrated plan incor16 porated into a permit under subsection 

17 (s)). 

18 ‘‘(B) ELIGIBLE MUNICIPALITY.—The term 

19 ‘eligible municipality’ means a municipality 

20 with a history of compliance with this Act, as 

21 determined in accordance with standards estab22 lished by the Administrator. 

23 ‘‘(C) TRIGGERING EVENT.—The term ‘trig24 gering event’ means, with respect to a permit 

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1 lowing that happens after the date on which the 

2 permit is issued: 

3 ‘‘(i) The State receives information 

4 that there may be a cause for modification, 

5 as identified in section 122.62 of title 40, 

6 Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect on 

7 the date of enactment of this subsection), of 

8 the permit. 

9 ‘‘(ii) The State identifies under section 

10 303(d) the navigable water into which a 

11 discharge is permitted pursuant to the per12 mit as impaired for a pollutant known to 

13 be present in the discharge. 

14 ‘‘(iii) The Administrator approves a 

15 new or modified total maximum daily load 

16 that applies with respect to a pollutant 

17 known to be present in a discharge per18 mitted pursuant to the permit. 

19 ‘‘(iv) The Administrator or the State 

20 determines that— 

21 ‘‘(I) a pollutant known to be dis22 charged under the permit is directly 

23 related to the contamination of a water 

24 designated for use as a public water 


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1 supply source pursuant to section 303; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(II)(aa) the discharge of such 

4 pollutant is related to a violation of an 

5 applicable water quality standard; or 

6 ‘‘(bb) such pollutant is subject to 

7 a health advisory published by the Ad8 ministrator under section 

9 1412(b)(1)(F) of the Safe Drinking 

10 Water Act.’’. 

11 (c) IMPLEMENTATION RULE.— 

12 (1) DEADLINE.—Not later than 1 year after the 

13 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the 

14 Environmental Protection Agency shall publish in the 

15 Federal Register a rule to implement the amendments 

16 made by this section, including establishing standards 

17 for determining a history of compliance with the Fed18 eral Water Pollution Control Act for purposes of sec19 tion 402(t) of such Act (as added by this section). 

20 (2) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out this sub21 section, the Administrator shall consult with rep22 resentatives of States, municipalities (as such term is 

23 defined in section 502 of the Federal Water Pollution 

24 Control Act), and other stakeholders and interested 

25 parties. 


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1 SEC. 8. REPORTS TO CONGRESS. 

2 Section 516(b)(1) of the Federal Water Pollution Con3 trol Act (33 U.S.C. 1375(b)(1)) is amended— 

4 (1) by striking ‘‘, of the cost of construction’’ and 

5 inserting ‘‘, of (i) the cost of construction’’; and 

6 (2) by striking ‘‘each of the States;’’ and insert7 ing ‘‘each of the States, and (ii) the costs to imple8 ment measures necessary to address the resilience and 

9 sustainability of publicly owned treatment works to 

10 manmade or natural disasters;’’. 

11 SEC. 9. INDIAN TRIBES. 

12 Section 518(c) of the Federal Water Pollution Control 

13 Act (33 U.S.C. 1377(c)) is amended— 

14 (1) by striking paragraphs (1) and (2) and in15 serting the following: 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For each fiscal year, the Ad17 ministrator shall reserve, of the funds made available 

18 to carry out title VI (before allotments to the States 

19 under section 604(a)), the greater of— 

20 ‘‘(A) 2 percent of such funds; or 

21 ‘‘(B) $30,000,000. 

22 ‘‘(2) USE OF FUNDS.— 

23 ‘‘(A) GRANTS.—Funds reserved under this 

24 subsection shall be available only for grants to 

25 entities described in paragraph (3) for— 


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1 ‘‘(i) projects and activities eligible for 

2 assistance under section 603(c); and 

3 ‘‘(ii) training, technical assistance, 

4 and educational programs relating to the 

5 operation and management of treatment 

6 works eligible for assistance pursuant to sec7 tion 603(c). 

8 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—Not more than 

9 $2,000,000 of the reserved funds may be used for 

10 grants under subparagraph (A)(ii).’’; and 

11 (2) in paragraph (3)— 

12 (A) in the header, by striking ‘‘USE OF

13 FUNDS’’ and inserting ‘‘ELIGIBLE ENTITIES’’; 

14 and 

15 (B) by striking ‘‘for projects and activities 

16 eligible for assistance under section 603(c) to 

17 serve’’ and inserting ‘‘to’’. 

18 SEC. 10. CAPITALIZATION GRANTS. 

19 Section 602(b) of the Federal Water Pollution Control 

20 Act (33 U.S.C. 1382(b)) is amended— 

21 (1) in paragraph (13)(B)— 

22 (A) in the matter preceding clause (i), by 

23 striking ‘‘and energy conservation’’ and insert24 ing ‘‘and efficient energy use (including through 

25 the implementation of technologies to recapture 


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1 and reuse energy produced in the treatment of 

2 wastewater)’’; and 

3 (B) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘; and’’ and 

4 inserting a semicolon; 

5 (2) in paragraph (14), by striking the period at 

6 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’ ; and 

7 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(15) to the extent there are sufficient projects or 

9 activities eligible for assistance from the fund, with 

10 respect to funds for capitalization grants received by 

11 the State under this title and section 205(m) in each 

12 of fiscal years 2021 through 2025, the State will use 

13 not less than 15 percent of such funds for projects to 

14 address green infrastructure, water or energy effi15 ciency improvements, or other environmentally inno16 vative activities.’’. 

17 SEC. 11. WATER POLLUTION CONTROL REVOLVING LOAN 

18 FUNDS. 

19 Section 603(i) of the Federal Water Pollution Control 

20 Act (33 U.S.C. 1383(i)) is amended— 

21 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

22 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

23 (A), by striking ‘‘, including forgiveness of prin24 cipal and negative interest loans’’ and inserting 


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1 ‘‘(including in the form of forgiveness of prin2 cipal, negative interest loans, or grants)’’; and 

3 (B) in subparagraph (A)— 

4 (i) in the matter preceding clause (i), 

5 by striking ‘‘in assistance’’; and 

6 (ii) in clause (ii)(III), by striking ‘‘to 

7 such ratepayers’’ and inserting ‘‘to help 

8 such ratepayers maintain access to waste9 water and stormwater treatment services’’; 

10 and 

11 (2) by amending paragraph (3) to read as fol12 lows: 

13 ‘‘(3) SUBSIDIZATION AMOUNTS.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A State may use for 

15 providing additional subsidization in a fiscal 

16 year under this subsection an amount that does 

17 not exceed the greater of— 

18 ‘‘(i) 30 percent of the total amount re19 ceived by the State in capitalization grants 

20 under this title for the fiscal year; or 

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1 eys that exceed the amounts required to be 

2 so deposited under section 602(b)(2). 

3 ‘‘(B) MINIMUM.—For each of fiscal years 

4 2021 through 2025, to the extent there are suffi5 cient applications for additional subsidization 

6 under this subsection that meet the criteria 

7 under paragraph (1)(A), a State shall use for 

8 providing additional subsidization in a fiscal 

9 year under this subsection an amount that is not 

10 less than 10 percent of the total amount received 

11 by the State in capitalization grants under this 

12 title for the fiscal year.’’. 

13 SEC. 12. ALLOTMENT OF FUNDS. 

14 (a) FORMULA.—Section 604(a) of the Federal Water 

15 Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1384(a)) is amended by 

16 striking ‘‘each of fiscal years 1989 and 1990’’ and inserting 

17 ‘‘each fiscal year’’. 

18 (b) WASTEWATER INFRASTRUCTURE WORKFORCE DE19 VELOPMENT.—Section 604 of the Federal Water Pollution 

20 Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1384) is amended by adding at the 

21 end the following: 

22 ‘‘(d) WASTEWATER INFRASTRUCTURE WORKFORCE

23 DEVELOPMENT.—A State may reserve each fiscal year up 

24 to 1 percent of the sums allotted to the State under this 

25 section for the fiscal year to carry out workforce developVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:44 Sep 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00024 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H1497.RH H1497

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1 ment, training, and retraining activities described in sec2 tion 104(g).’’. 

3 SEC. 13. RESERVATION OF FUNDS FOR TERRITORIES OF 

4 THE UNITED STATES. 

5 Title VI of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act 

6 (33 U.S.C. 1381 et seq.) is amended by striking section 607 

7 and inserting the following: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 607. RESERVATION OF FUNDS FOR TERRITORIES OF 

9 THE UNITED STATES. 

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 

11 ‘‘(1) RESERVATION.—For each fiscal year, the 

12 Administrator shall reserve 1.5 percent of available 

13 funds, as calculated in accordance with paragraph 

14 (2). 

15 ‘‘(2) CALCULATION OF AVAILABLE FUNDS.—The 

16 amount of available funds shall be calculated by sub17 tracting the amount of any funds reserved under sec18 tion 518(c) from the amount of funds made available 

19 to carry out this title (before allotments to the States 

20 under section 604(a)). 

21 ‘‘(b) USE OF FUNDS.—Funds reserved under this sec22 tion shall be available only for grants to American Samoa, 

23 the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, 

24 Guam, and the Virgin Islands for projects and activities 

25 eligible for assistance under section 603(c). 


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1 ‘‘(c) LIMITATION.—American Samoa, the Common2 wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and the 

3 Virgin Islands may not receive funds allotted under section 

4 604(a).’’. 

5 SEC. 14. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

6 Title VI of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act 

7 (33 U.S.C. 1381 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

8 the following: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 609. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

10 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

11 this title the following sums: 

12 ‘‘(1) $2,400,000,000 for fiscal year 2021. 

13 ‘‘(2) $2,600,000,000 for fiscal year 2022. 

14 ‘‘(3) $2,800,000,000 for fiscal year 2023. 

15 ‘‘(4) $3,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2024. 

16 ‘‘(5) $3,200,000,000 for fiscal year 2025.’’. 

17 SEC. 15. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE BY MUNICIPAL OMBUDS18 MAN. 

19 Section 4(b)(1) of the Water Infrastructure Improve20 ment Act (42 U.S.C. 4370j(b)(1)) is amended to read as 

21 follows: 

22 ‘‘(1) technical and planning assistance to sup23 port municipalities, including municipalities that are 

24 rural, small, and tribal communities, in achieving 

25 and maintaining compliance with enforceable deadVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:44 Sep 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H1497.RH H1497

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1 lines, goals, and requirements of the Federal Water 

2 Pollution Control Act; and’’. 

3 SEC. 16. REPORT ON FINANCIAL CAPABILITY OF MUNICI4 PALITIES. 

5 (a) REVIEW.—The Administrator of the Environ6 mental Protection Agency shall conduct a review of existing 

7 implementation guidance of the Agency for evaluating the 

8 financial resources a municipality has available to imple9 ment the requirements of the Federal Water Pollution Con10 trol Act to determine whether, and if so, how, such guidance 

11 needs to be revised. 

12 (b) CONSIDERATIONS.—In conducting the review 

13 under subsection (a), the Administrator shall consider— 

14 (1) the report by the National Academy of Public 

15 Administration prepared for the Environmental Pro16 tection Agency entitled ‘‘Developing a New Frame17 work for Community Affordability of Clean Water 

18 Services’’, dated October 2017; 

19 (2) the report developed by the National Envi20 ronmental Justice Advisory Council entitled ‘‘EPA’s 

21 Role in Addressing the Urgent Water Infrastructure 

22 Needs of Environmental Justice Communities’’, dated 

23 August 2018, and made available on the website of 

24 the Administrator in March 2019; 


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1 (3) the report prepared for the American Water 

2 Works Association, the National Association of Clean 

3 Water Agencies, and the Water Environment Federa4 tion entitled ‘‘Developing a New Framework for 

5 Household Affordability and Financial Capability 

6 Assessment in the Water Sector’’, dated April 17, 

7 2019; 

8 (4) the recommendations of the Environmental 

9 Financial Advisory Board related to municipal fi10 nancial capability assessments, prepared at the re11 quest of the Administrator; and 

12 (5) any other information the Administrator 

13 considers appropriate. 

14 (c) ENGAGEMENT AND TRANSPARENCY.—In con15 ducting the review under subsection (a), the Administrator 

16 shall— 

17 (1) after providing public notice, consult with, 

18 and solicit advice and recommendations from, State 

19 and local governmental officials and other stake20 holders, including nongovernmental organizations; 

21 and 

22 (2) ensure transparency in the consultation proc23 ess. 

24 (d) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after the date 

25 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit 


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1 to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of 

2 the House of Representatives and the Committee on Envi3 ronment and Public Works of the Senate, and make publicly 

4 available, a report on the results of the review conducted 

5 under subsection (a), including any recommendations for 

6 revisions to the guidance. 

7 SEC. 17. REVIEW OF SECONDARY TREATMENT TECH8 NOLOGIES. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

10 (1) DEVELOPMENT OF DATA COLLECTION

11 MEANS.—Not later than 180 days after the date of en12 actment of this Act, the Administrator of the Envi13 ronmental Protection Agency shall publish in the Fed14 eral Register a notice to solicit public comment (in15 cluding the opportunity for public hearings and lis16 tening sessions) on the collection of data regarding the 

17 existing capabilities of publicly owned treatment 

18 works to reduce the effluent concentration of patho19 gens (or pathogen indicators) in the discharge of such 

20 treatment works, in order to determine an appro21 priate means to collect such data in a sufficient 

22 amount, and of a sufficient quality, to develop a rep23 resentational sample of such capabilities. 

24 (2) DATA COLLECTION.—Not later than 18 

25 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the 


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1 Administrator shall publish in the Federal Register 

2 the data collection means determined appropriate 

3 pursuant to paragraph (1) and initiate the collection 

4 of data using such means. 

5 (3) DETERMINATION ON SECONDARY TREATMENT

6 REGULATIONS.—Upon completion of data collection 

7 pursuant to paragraph (2), the Administrator shall 

8 make the data available to the public and make a de9 termination whether such data support a revision to 

10 the secondary treatment standard for pathogens (or 

11 pathogen indicators) pursuant to section 304(d)(1) of 

12 the Federal Water Pollution Control Act. 

13 (4) LIMITATION.—The Administrator may not 

14 propose or finalize any modifications to requirements 

15 pursuant to section 402 of the Federal Water Pollu16 tion Control Act related to wastewater blending, by17 pass, or peak wet weather discharges from publicly 

18 owned treatment works until after the date on which 

19 the Administrator makes a determination under 

20 paragraph (3). 

21 (b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

22 (1) BYPASS.—The term ‘‘bypass’’ has the mean23 ing given that term in section 122.41(m) of title 40, 

24 Code of Federal Regulations. 


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1 (2) TREATMENT WORKS.—The term ‘‘treatment 

2 works’’ has the meaning given that term in section 

3 212 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act. 


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Union Calendar No. 387 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 1497 

[Report No. 116–484] 

A BILL 

To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act 

grams, and for other purposes. to reauthorize certain water pollution control proSEPTEMBER 4, 2020 

Reported with an amendment; committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union 


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