II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1485 

To provide for the advancement of energy-water efficiency research, 

development, and deployment activities. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 2, 2015 

Ms. BALDWIN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To provide for the advancement of energy-water efficiency 

research, development, and deployment activities. 

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 Efficiency Inno5 vation Act of 2015’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 

9 means the Department of Energy. 


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1 (2) INDUSTRIAL ASSESSMENT CENTER.—The 

2 term ‘‘Industrial Assessment Center’’ means a cen3 ter located at an institution of higher education 

4 that— 

5 (A) receives funding from the Department; 

6 (B) provides an in-depth assessment of 

7 small- and medium-sized manufacturer plant 

8 sites to evaluate the facilities, services, and 

9 manufacturing operations of the plant sites; 

10 and 

11 (C) identifies opportunities for potential 

12 savings for small- and medium-sized manufac13 turer plant sites from energy efficiency improve14 ments, waste minimization, pollution preven15 tion, and productivity improvement. 

16 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

17 the Secretary of Energy. 

18 SEC. 3. LEVERAGING EXISTING AGENCY PROGRAMS TO AD19 VANCE ENERGY-WATER EFFICIENCY. 

20 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

21 (1) through the Industrial Assessment Centers 

22 of the Department, the Department provides tech23 nical assistance to facilitate efficiency improvements 

24 at small- and medium-sized manufacturers while 

25 training engineering students for energy careers; 


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1 (2) the efficiency improvements described in 

2 paragraph (1) reduce energy demand, help manufac3 turers operate more competitively, and catalyze the 

4 use of new technologies and best practices; 

5 (3) water and wastewater treatment are energy6 intensive processes, and opportunities for efficiency 

7 upgrades can be limited by technical expertise, par8 ticularly at small utilities; and 

9 (4) through the Industrial Assessment Centers 

10 of the Department, the Department has recently en11 gaged with the Environmental Protection Agency in 

12 a pilot effort to target energy efficiency in water and 

13 wastewater treatment facilities. 

14 (b) EXPANSION OF TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The 

15 Secretary shall expand the Industrial Assessment Centers 

16 of the Department, working across Federal agencies as 

17 necessary— 

18 (1) to provide comparable assessment services 

19 to water and wastewater treatment facilities, includ20 ing systems that treat municipal, industrial, and ag21 ricultural waste; and 

22 (2) to equip the Directors of the Industrial As23 sessment Centers with the training and tools nec24 essary to provide technical assistance on energy sav25 ings to those facilities. 


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1 SEC. 4. FUNDING. 

2 The Secretary shall carry out this Act using unobli3 gated funds of the Department. 

Æ 


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