I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8885 

To provide incentives for the purchase of water-efficient products, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 7, 2020 

Mr. CARTWRIGHT (for himself, Mr. HUFFMAN, Ms. NORTON, and Mr. GRIJALVA) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committees on Oversight and 

Reform, and Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 

as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To provide incentives for the purchase of water-efficient 

products, 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 ‘‘Water Advanced Tech5 nologies for Efficient Resource Use Act of 2020’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 


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1 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis2 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ3 mental Protection Agency. 

4 (2) AGENCY.—The term ‘‘agency’’ has the 

5 meaning given such term in section 7902(a) of title 

6 5, United States Code. 

7 (3) COVERED CONSUMER.—The term ‘‘covered 

8 consumer’’ means an individual served by an eligible 

9 entity. 

10 (4) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti11 ty’’ means— 

12 (A) a State, local, or Tribal government; 

13 (B) a drinking water utility or wastewater 

14 utility; 

15 (C) a municipal water authority or a re16 gional water authority; or 

17 (D) a nonprofit organization. 

18 (5) INCENTIVE.—The term ‘‘incentive’’ in19 cludes— 

20 (A) rebates, vouchers, and other financial 

21 incentives; and 

22 (B) the direct installation of a WaterSense 

23 product. 


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1 (6) NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.—The term 

2 ‘‘nonprofit organization’’ means an organization 

3 that— 

4 (A) is described in section 501(c)(3) of the 

5 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 

6 501(c)(3)); and 

7 (B) is exempt from taxation under section 

8 501(a) of such Code. 

9 (7) PRODUCT.—The term ‘‘product’’ means a 

10 product, building, landscape, facility, process, or 

11 service. 

12 (8) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 

13 the several States of the United States, the District 

14 of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin 

15 Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Common16 wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. 

17 (9) WATERSENSE PRODUCT.—The term 

18 ‘‘WaterSense product’’ means a product that is cer19 tified to display the WaterSense label under the 

20 WaterSense program established under section 324B 

21 of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42 

22 U.S.C. 6294b). 

23 SEC. 3. FEDERAL PROCUREMENT OF WATERSENSE PROD24 UCTS. 

25 (a) PROCUREMENT.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para2 graph (2), in procuring any water-consuming prod3 uct, the head of an agency shall procure a 

4 WaterSense product. 

5 (2) EXCEPTIONS.—Paragraph (1) does not 

6 apply if— 

7 (A) with respect to the type of water-con8 suming product being procured, the head of an 

9 agency finds, in writing, that— 

10 (i) no WaterSense product is cost-ef11 fective over the life of such type of prod12 uct, taking current and future water and 

13 wastewater cost savings into account; or 

14 (ii) no WaterSense product of such 

15 type is reasonably available to meet the 

16 functional requirements of the agency; or 

17 (B) the water-consuming product being 

18 procured is designed for use in combat or com19 bat-related missions. 

20 (b) INSTALLATION AND MAINTENANCE.—As applica21 ble, the head of an agency that procures a WaterSense 

22 product under subsection (a)(1) shall use a certified pro23 fessional (including a licensed plumber or a licensed me24 chanical contractor, as appropriate) to install and main25 tain such product. 


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1 (c) MEASURES TO REDUCE WATER CONSUMP2 TION.—The head of each agency shall consider adopting 

3 measures to reduce agency water consumption, including 

4 such measures as the use of— 

5 (1) water reuse, reclamation, or recycling tech6 nology; 

7 (2) water leak detection technology; and 

8 (3) products that— 

9 (A) do not consume water; and 

10 (B) perform similar functions as com11 parable water-consuming products. 

12 (d) LISTING OF WATERSENSE PRODUCTS.—The Ad13 ministrator of General Services shall clearly identify and 

14 prominently display, in a listing of water-consuming prod15 ucts, WaterSense products. 

16 (e) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 180 days after 

17 the date of enactment of this section, the Administrator 

18 of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Director 

19 of the Office of Management and Budget shall issue regu20 lations to carry out this section. 

21 SEC. 4. INCENTIVES FOR THE PURCHASE OF WATERSENSE 

22 PRODUCTS. 

23 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator of the En24 vironmental Protection Agency shall establish a program 

25 to provide grants to eligible entities to provide incentives 


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1 to covered consumers for the purchase of a WaterSense 

2 product. 

3 (b) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive a grant 

4 under this section, an eligible entity shall— 

5 (1) submit an application to the Administrator 

6 at such time, in such form, and containing such in7 formation as the Administrator may require; and 

8 (2) provide assurances, which the Administrator 

9 determines are satisfactory, that the eligible entity 

10 will use such grant to supplement, but not supplant, 

11 other incentives that are available to a covered con12 sumer for the purchase of a WaterSense product. 

13 (c) EVALUATION CRITERIA FOR APPLICATIONS.—In 

14 evaluating an application submitted under subsection 

15 (b)(1), the Administrator shall consider— 

16 (1) the population served by the eligible entity 

17 in the most recent calendar year for which data are 

18 available; 

19 (2) the estimated effect of providing incentives 

20 to such population; 

21 (3) if the eligible entity previously received a 

22 grant under this section— 

23 (A) the degree to which the use of such 

24 grant encouraged the purchase of WaterSense 

25 products; and 


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1 (B) whether there are amounts of such 

2 grant that remain unused; and 

3 (4) whether the eligible entity promotes or im4 plements a program to recycle or manage the dis5 posal of any products that are replaced as a result 

6 of the provision of incentives under this section. 

7 (d) USE OF GRANT.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity that re9 ceives a grant under this section shall— 

10 (A) use such grant to provide incentives to 

11 covered consumers that purchase a WaterSense 

12 product; or 

13 (B) with approval from the Administrator, 

14 provide some, or all, of such grant to another 

15 eligible entity for use in accordance with sub16 paragraph (A). 

17 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—Not more than 

18 50 percent of each grant provided under this section 

19 may be used to pay for the administrative cost of 

20 providing incentives in accordance with paragraph 

21 (1). 

22 (3) INCENTIVE AMOUNTS.—With respect to re23 bates, vouchers, and other such financial incentives, 

24 an eligible entity shall determine the amount to pro25 vide based on the following: 


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1 (A) The amount of the grant provided to 

2 the eligible entity under this section. 

3 (B) The amount of any other incentives 

4 that are available to a covered consumer for the 

5 purchase of a WaterSense product. 

6 (C) The estimated amount necessary to en7 courage a covered consumer to purchase a 

8 WaterSense product. 

9 (D) As applicable, the costs to a covered 

10 consumer for onsite preparation, assembly, and 

11 installation of a WaterSense product. 

12 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

13 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this sec14 tion— 

15 (1) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2021; 

16 (2) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2022; 

17 (3) $150,000,000 for fiscal year 2023; 

18 (4) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2024; and 

19 (5) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2025. 

20 SEC. 5. EXCLUSION FROM GROSS INCOME OF AMOUNTS RE21 CEIVED AS INCENTIVES FOR THE PURCHASE 

22 OF WATERSENSE PRODUCTS. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part III of subchapter B of chap24 ter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended 

25 by inserting before section 140 the following new section: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 139I. INCENTIVES FOR THE PURCHASE OF 

2 WATERSENSE PRODUCTS. 

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In the case of an individual, 

4 gross income does not include any amount received as an 

5 incentive under section 3 of the Water Advanced Tech6 nologies for Efficient Resource Use Act of 2020. 

7 ‘‘(b) DENIAL OF DOUBLE BENEFIT.— 

8 ‘‘(1) DEDUCTIONS AND CREDITS.—No deduc9 tion or credit under this subtitle shall be allowed for 

10 any expenditure with respect to which any amount 

11 excluded under subsection (a) was provided. 

12 ‘‘(2) BASIS ADJUSTMENT.—The adjusted basis 

13 of any property with respect to which an amount ex14 cluded under subsection (a) is provided shall be re15 duced by the amount so excluded.’’. 

16 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of sec17 tions for part III of subchapter B of chapter 1 of such 

18 Code is amended by inserting before the item relating to 

19 section 140 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 139I. Incentives for the purchase of WaterSense products.’’. 

20 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

21 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 

22 the date of the enactment of this section. 


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1 SEC. 6. MODIFICATIONS TO INCOME EXCLUSION FOR CON2 SERVATION SUBSIDIES. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (a) of section 136 of 

4 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended— 

5 (1) by striking ‘‘any subsidy provided’’ and in6 serting ‘‘any subsidy— 

7 ‘‘(1) provided’’, 

8 (2) by striking the period at the end and insert9 ing a comma, and 

10 (3) by adding at the end the following new 

11 paragraphs: 

12 ‘‘(2) provided (directly or indirectly) by a public 

13 utility to a customer, or by a State or local govern14 ment to a resident of such State or locality, for the 

15 purchase or installation of any water conservation or 

16 efficiency measure, or 

17 ‘‘(3) provided (directly or indirectly) by a storm 

18 water management provider to a customer, or by a 

19 State or local government to a resident of such State 

20 or locality, for the purchase or installation of any 

21 storm water management measure.’’. 

22 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

23 (1) DEFINITION OF WATER CONSERVATION OR

24 EFFICIENCY MEASURE AND STORM WATER MANAGE25 MENT MEASURE.—Section 136(c) of the Internal 

26 Revenue Code of 1986 is amended— 


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1 (A) by striking ‘‘ENERGY CONSERVATION

2 MEASURE’’ in the heading thereof and inserting 

3 ‘‘DEFINITIONS’’, 

4 (B) by striking ‘‘IN GENERAL’’ in the 

5 heading of paragraph (1) and inserting ‘‘EN6 ERGY CONSERVATION MEASURE’’, and 

7 (C) by redesignating paragraph (2) as 

8 paragraph (4) and by inserting after paragraph 

9 (1) the following: 

10 ‘‘(2) WATER CONSERVATION OR EFFICIENCY

11 MEASURE.—For purposes of this section, the term 

12 ‘water conservation or efficiency measure’ means any 

13 evaluation of water use, or any installation or modi14 fication of property, the primary purpose of which is 

15 to reduce consumption of water or to improve the 

16 management of water demand with respect to one or 

17 more dwelling units. 

18 ‘‘(3) STORM WATER MANAGEMENT MEASURE.— 

19 For purposes of this section, the term ‘storm water 

20 management measure’ means any installation or 

21 modification of property primarily designed to re22 duce or manage amounts of storm water with re23 spect to one or more dwelling units.’’. 

24 (2) DEFINITION OF PUBLIC UTILITY.—Section 

25 136(c)(4) of such Code (as redesignated by paraVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:12 Dec 15, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8885.IH H8885

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1 graph (1)(C)) is amended by striking subparagraph 

2 (B) and inserting the following: 

3 ‘‘(B) PUBLIC UTILITY.—The term ‘public 

4 utility’ means a person engaged in the sale of 

5 electricity, natural gas, or water to residential, 

6 commercial, or industrial customers for use by 

7 such customers. 

8 ‘‘(C) STORM WATER MANAGEMENT PRO9 VIDER.—The term ‘storm water management 

10 provider’ means a person engaged in the provi11 sion of storm water management measures to 

12 the public. 

13 ‘‘(D) PERSON.—For purposes of subpara14 graphs (B) and (C), the term ‘person’ includes 

15 the Federal Government, a State or local gov16 ernment or any political subdivision thereof, or 

17 any instrumentality of any of the foregoing.’’. 

18 (3) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.— 

19 (A) The heading of section 136 of such 

20 Code is amended— 

21 (i) by inserting ‘‘AND WATER’’ after 

22 ‘‘ENERGY’’, and 

23 (ii) by striking ‘‘PROVIDED BY PUB24 LIC UTILITIES’’. 


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1 (B) The item relating to section 136 in the 

2 table of sections of part III of subchapter B of 

3 chapter 1 of such Code is amended— 

4 (i) by inserting ‘‘and water’’ after 

5 ‘‘energy’’, and 

6 (ii) by striking ‘‘provided by public 

7 utilities’’. 

8 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

9 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 

10 the date of enactment of this section. 

11 (d) NO INFERENCE.—Nothing in this section or the 

12 amendments made by this section shall be construed to 

13 create any inference with respect to the proper tax treat14 ment of any subsidy received directly or indirectly from 

15 a public utility, a storm water management provider, or 

16 a State or local government for any water conservation 

17 measure or storm water management measure before the 

18 date of the enactment of this section. 

Æ 


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