II 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2346 

To establish an innovative water infrastructure workforce development 

program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 25, 2018 

Mr. BOOKER (for himself and Mrs. CAPITO) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and 

Public Works 

A BILL 

To establish an innovative water infrastructure workforce 

development program, 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. WATER INFRASTRUCTURE AND WORKFORCE 

4 INVESTMENT. 

5 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

6 (1) utilities and local governments invest sig7 nificant resources in planning, designing, con8 structing, operating, and maintaining water, waste9 water, and stormwater systems— 


dlhill on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 2346 IS

1 (A) to ensure a safe and reliable water 

2 supply for customers; and 

3 (B) to maintain public health, safety, and 

4 quality; 

5 (2) during the 10-year period beginning on the 

6 date of enactment of this Act, 30 of the largest 

7 water and wastewater utilities in the United States 

8 will— 

9 (A) invest $233,000,000,000 in operating 

10 and capital spending; and 

11 (B) support 289,000 jobs annually; 

12 (3) every $1,000,000,000 in Federal investment 

13 in water and wastewater infrastructure creates on 

14 average an estimated 16,000 jobs; 

15 (4) jobs in the water and wastewater sector, in16 cluding apprenticeship positions, can pay more than 

17 3 times the minimum wage; 

18 (5) the median age of water sector workers is 

19 48 years old, which is 6 years older than the na20 tional median age of workers; 

21 (6) water and wastewater utilities anticipate 

22 unprecedented workforce replacement needs over the 

23 10-year period described in paragraph (2) because 

24 37 percent of water utility workers and 31 percent 


dlhill on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 2346 IS

1 of wastewater utility workers will retire during that 

2 period; 

3 (7) during the period described in paragraph 

4 (6), workforce replacement needs in the water sector 

5 will exceed the 23-percent nationwide replacement 

6 need of the total workforce; and 

7 (8) water infrastructure projects and perma8 nent water utility jobs can offer access to stable, 

9 high-quality jobs with competitive wages and bene10 fits. 

11 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con12 gress that— 

13 (1) water and wastewater utilities provide a 

14 unique opportunity for access to stable, high-quality 

15 careers; 

16 (2) as water and wastewater utilities make crit17 ical investments in infrastructure, water and waste18 water utilities can invest in the development of local 

19 workers and local small businesses to strengthen 

20 communities and ensure a strong pipeline of skilled 

21 and diverse workers for today and tomorrow; and 

22 (3) to further the goal of ensuring a strong 

23 pipeline of skilled and diverse workers in the water 

24 and wastewater utilities sector, Congress urges— 


dlhill on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 2346 IS

1 (A) increased collaboration among Federal, 

2 State, and local governments; and 

3 (B) institutions of higher education, ap4 prentice programs, high schools, and other com5 munity-based organizations to align workforce 

6 training programs and community resources 

7 with water and wastewater utilities to accelerate 

8 career pipelines and provide access to workforce 

9 opportunities. 

10 (c) DEFINITION OF INTRACTABLE WATER SYS11 TEM.—In this section, the term ‘‘intractable water sys12 tem’’ means a community water system or a noncommu13 nity water system (as those terms are defined in section 

14 1401 of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300f)) 

15 that— 

16 (1) serves fewer than 1,000 individuals; and 

17 (2) the owner or operator of which— 

18 (A) is unable or unwilling to provide safe 

19 and adequate service to those individuals; 

20 (B) has abandoned or effectively aban21 doned the community water system or non22 community water system, as applicable; 

23 (C) has defaulted on a financial obligation 

24 relating to the community water system or non25 community water system, as applicable; 


dlhill on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 2346 IS

1 (D) fails to maintain the facilities of the 

2 community water system or noncommunity 

3 water system, as applicable, in a manner so as 

4 to prevent a potential public health hazard; or 

5 (E) is in significant noncompliance with 

6 the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300f 

7 et seq.) or any regulation promulgated pursuant 

8 to that Act. 

9 (d) INNOVATIVE WATER INFRASTRUCTURE WORK10 FORCE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM.— 

11 (1) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—The Administrator 

12 of the Environmental Protection Agency (referred to 

13 in this Act as the ‘‘Administrator’’) and the Sec14 retary of the Army (referred to in this Act as the 

15 ‘‘Secretary’’) shall establish a competitive grant pro16 gram to assist the development of innovative activi17 ties relating to workforce development in the water 

18 utility sector. 

19 (2) SELECTION OF GRANT RECIPIENTS.—In 

20 awarding grants under paragraph (1), the Adminis21 trator or the Secretary, as applicable, shall, to the 

22 maximum extent practicable, select— 

23 (A) water utilities that— 

24 (i) are geographically diverse; 


dlhill on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 2346 IS

1 (ii) address the workforce and human 

2 resources needs of large and small public 

3 water and wastewater utilities; 

4 (iii) address the workforce and human 

5 resources needs of urban and rural public 

6 water and wastewater utilities; 

7 (iv) advance training relating to con8 struction, utility operations, treatment and 

9 distribution, green infrastructure, customer 

10 service, maintenance, and engineering; and 

11 (v)(I) have a high retiring workforce 

12 rate; or 

13 (II) are located in areas with a high 

14 unemployment rate; or 

15 (B) intractable water systems. 

16 (3) USE OF FUNDS.—Grants awarded under 

17 paragraph (1) may be used for activities such as— 

18 (A) targeted internship, apprenticeship, 

19 preapprenticeship, and post-secondary bridge 

20 programs for mission-critical skilled trades, in 

21 collaboration with labor organizations, commu22 nity colleges, and other training and education 

23 institutions that provide— 

24 (i) on-the-job training; 

25 (ii) soft and hard skills development; 


dlhill on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
7 

•S 2346 IS

1 (iii) test preparation for skilled trade 

2 apprenticeships; or 

3 (iv) other support services to facilitate 

4 post-secondary success; 

5 (B) kindergarten through 12th grade and 

6 young adult education programs that— 

7 (i) educate young people about the 

8 role of water and wastewater utilities in 

9 the communities of the young people; 

10 (ii) increase the career awareness and 

11 exposure of the young people to water util12 ity careers through various work-based 

13 learning opportunities inside and outside 

14 the classroom; and 

15 (iii) connect young people to post-sec16 ondary career pathways related to water 

17 utilities; 

18 (C) regional industry and workforce devel19 opment collaborations to identify water utility 

20 employment needs, map existing career path21 ways, support the development of curricula, fa22 cilitate the sharing of resources, and coordinate 

23 candidate development, staff preparedness ef24 forts, and activities that engage and support— 

25 (i) water utilities employers; 


dlhill on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
8 

•S 2346 IS

1 (ii) educational and training institu2 tions; 

3 (iii) local community-based organiza4 tions; 

5 (iv) public workforce agencies; and 

6 (v) other related stakeholders; 

7 (D) integrated learning laboratories em8 bedded in high schools or other secondary edu9 cational institutions that provide students 

10 with— 

11 (i) hands-on, contextualized learning 

12 opportunities; 

13 (ii) dual enrollment credit for post14 secondary education and training pro15 grams; and 

16 (iii) direct connection to industry em17 ployers; and 

18 (E) leadership development, occupational 

19 training, mentoring, or cross-training programs 

20 that ensure that incumbent water and waste21 water utilities workers are prepared for higher22 level supervisory or management-level positions. 


dlhill on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
9 

•S 2346 IS

1 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

2 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are nec3 essary to carry out this Act. 

Æ 


dlhill on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS