I 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5313 

To establish a trust fund to provide for adequate funding for water and 

sewer infrastructure. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 24, 2016 

Mr. CONYERS (for himself, Mrs. LAWRENCE, Ms. MOORE, Mrs. BUSTOS, Mr. 

GRIJALVA, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. POCAN, and Ms. SCHAKOWSKY) 

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

Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committees on 

Ways and Means 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 establish a trust fund to provide for adequate funding 

for water and sewer infrastructure. 

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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Water Affordability, Transparency, Equity, and Reli6 ability Act of 2016’’. 

7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

8 this Act is as follows: 


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Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Water Affordability, Transparency, Equity, and Reliability Trust Fund. 

Sec. 3. Report on affordability, discrimination and civil rights violations, public 

participation in regionalization, and data collection. 

Sec. 4. Technical assistance to rural and small municipalities and tribal governments. 

Sec. 5. Residential onsite sewage disposal system improvement. 

Sec. 6. State water pollution control revolving funds. 

Sec. 7. Use of State revolving loan funds under the Safe Drinking Water Act. 

Sec. 8. Drinking water grant programs. 

1 SEC. 2. WATER AFFORDABILITY, TRANSPARENCY, EQUITY, 

2 AND RELIABILITY TRUST FUND. 

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter A of chapter 98 

5 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by 

6 adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 9512. WATER AFFORDABILITY, TRANSPARENCY, EQ8 UITY, AND RELIABILITY TRUST FUND. 

9 ‘‘(a) CREATION OF TRUST FUND.—There is estab10 lished in the Treasury of the United States a trust fund 

11 to be known as the ‘Water Affordability, Transparency, 

12 Equity, and Reliability Trust Fund’ (referred to in this 

13 section as the ‘Trust Fund’), consisting of such amounts 

14 as may be appropriated or credited to such Trust Fund 

15 as provided in this section or section 9602(b). 

16 ‘‘(b) TRANSFERS TO FUND.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There are hereby appro18 priated to the Trust Fund such amounts as the Sec19 retary from time to time estimates are equal to the 


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1 increase in Federal revenues attributable to the ap2 plication of section 952(e). 

3 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—The sum of the amounts 

4 appropriated under paragraph (1) during any fiscal 

5 year shall not exceed $34,850,000,000. 

6 ‘‘(c) EXPENDITURES.—Amounts in the Trust Fund 

7 are available, without further appropriation and without 

8 fiscal year limitation, for the purposes described in section 

9 2(c) of the Water Affordability, Transparency, Equity, 

10 and Reliability Act of 2016.’’. 

11 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of 

12 parts for subchapter A of chapter 98 of such Code 

13 is amended by inserting after the item relating to 

14 section 9511 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 9512. Water Affordability, Transparency, Equity, and Reliability Trust 

Fund.’’. 

15 (b) IMPOSITION OF TAX.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 952 of the Internal 

17 Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the 

18 end the following: 

19 ‘‘(e) SPECIAL APPLICATION OF SUBPART.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

21 provision of this subpart, the term ‘subpart F in22 come’ means, in the case of any controlled foreign 

23 corporation, the income of such corporation derived 

24 from any foreign country. 


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1 ‘‘(2) APPLICABLE RULES.—Rules similar to the 

2 rules under the last sentence of subsection (a) and 

3 subsection (d) shall apply to this subsection.’’. 

4 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 

5 by this subsection shall apply to taxable years of for6 eign corporations beginning after the date of the en7 actment of this Act, and to taxable years of United 

8 States shareholders with or within which such tax9 able years of foreign corporations end. 

10 (c) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.—The Administrator of 

11 the Environmental Protection Agency shall allocate, for a 

12 fiscal year, the funds available, at the beginning of such 

13 fiscal year, in the Water Affordability, Transparency, Eq14 uity, and Reliability Trust Fund, established by section 

15 9512 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as follows: 

16 (1) CLEAN WATER PROGRAMS.—Of such 

17 amount, the Administrator shall make available— 

18 (A) 0.5 percent for making grants under 

19 section 104(b)(8) of the Federal Water Pollu20 tion Control Act; 

21 (B) 1.5 percent for making grants under 

22 section 106 of such Act (33 U.S.C. 1256); 

23 (C) 2.5 percent for making grants under 

24 section 222 of such Act; 


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1 (D) 2.5 percent for making grants under 

2 section 319 of such Act (33 U.S.C. 1329); and 

3 (E) 45 percent for making capitalization 

4 grants under section 601 of such Act (33 

5 U.S.C. 1381). 

6 (2) SAFE DRINKING WATER FUNDING.—Of such 

7 amount, the Administrator shall make available— 

8 (A) 0.5 percent for providing technical as9 sistance under section 1442(e) of the Safe 

10 Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300j–1(e)); 

11 (B) 44.5 percent for making capitalization 

12 grants under section 1452 of such Act (42 

13 U.S.C. 300j–12); and 

14 (C) 3 percent for making grants under sec15 tion 1465 of such Act. 

16 SEC. 3. REPORT ON AFFORDABILITY, DISCRIMINATION AND 

17 CIVIL RIGHTS VIOLATIONS, PUBLIC PARTICI18 PATION IN REGIONALIZATION, AND DATA 

19 COLLECTION. 

20 (a) STUDY.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the 

22 Environmental Protection Agency shall conduct a 

23 study on water and sewer services, in accordance 

24 with this subsection. 


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1 (2) AFFORDABILITY.—In conducting the study 

2 under paragraph (1), the Administrator shall study 

3 water affordability nationwide, including— 

4 (A) rates for water and sewer services, in5 creases in such rates during the ten-year period 

6 preceding such study, and water service dis7 connections due to unpaid water service 

8 charges; and 

9 (B) the effectiveness of funding under sec10 tion 1452 of the Safe Drinking Water Act and 

11 under section 601 of the Federal Water Pollu12 tion Control Act for promoting affordable, equi13 table, transparent, and reliable water and sewer 

14 service. 

15 (3) DISCRIMINATION AND CIVIL RIGHTS.—In 

16 conducting the study under paragraph (1), the Ad17 ministrator, in collaboration with the Civil Rights 

18 Division of the United States Department of Justice, 

19 shall study— 

20 (A) discriminatory practices of water and 

21 sewer service providers; and 

22 (B) violations by such service providers 

23 that receive Federal assistance of civil rights 

24 under title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 


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1 with regard to equal access to water and sewer 

2 services. 

3 (4) PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN REGIONALIZA4 TION.—In conducting the study under paragraph 

5 (1), the Administrator shall evaluate efforts to re6 gionalize public water systems, as defined in section 

7 1401 of the Safe Water Drinking Act, and sewer 

8 services with respect to public participation in— 

9 (A) the decision to undergo such regional10 ization; and 

11 (B) decisionmaking by the board of direc12 tors (or other governing body) of the entity that 

13 provides, or oversees or coordinates the provi14 sion of, water by the public water systems sub15 ject to such regionalization. 

16 (5) DATA COLLECTION.—In conducting the 

17 study under paragraph (1), the Administrator shall 

18 collect information, assess the availability of infor19 mation, and evaluate the methodologies used to col20 lect information, related to— 

21 (A) people living without water or sewer 

22 services; 

23 (B) water service disconnections due to un24 paid water service charges, including disconnec25 tions experienced by households containing chilVerDate Sep 11 2014 06:03 May 25, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5313.IH H5313

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1 dren, elderly persons, disabled persons, chron2 ically ill persons, or other vulnerable popu3 lations; and 

4 (C) disparate effects, on the basis of race, 

5 gender, or socioeconomic status, of water serv6 ice disconnections and the lack of public water 

7 service. 

8 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

9 of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the En10 vironmental Protection Agency shall submit to Congress 

11 a report that contains— 

12 (1) the results of the study conducted under 

13 subsection (a)(1); and 

14 (2) recommendations for utility companies, 

15 Federal agencies, and States relating to such results. 

16 SEC. 4. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO RURAL AND SMALL 

17 MUNICIPALITIES AND TRIBAL GOVERN18 MENTS. 

19 Section 104(b) of the Federal Water Pollution Con20 trol Act (33 U.S.C. 1254(b)) is amended— 

21 (1) in paragraph (6), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

22 end; 

23 (2) in paragraph (7), by striking the period at 

24 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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


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1 ‘‘(8) make grants to nonprofit organizations 

2 to— 

3 ‘‘(A) provide technical assistance to rural 

4 and small municipalities and tribal governments 

5 for the purpose of assisting, in consultation 

6 with the State in which the assistance is pro7 vided, such municipalities and governments in 

8 the planning, development, and acquisition of fi9 nancing for projects and activities eligible for 

10 assistance under section 603(c); 

11 ‘‘(B) provide technical assistance and 

12 training to rural and small municipalities and 

13 tribal governments responsible for publicly 

14 owned treatment works and decentralized 

15 wastewater treatment systems for the purpose 

16 of enabling such works and systems to protect 

17 water quality and achieve and maintain compli18 ance with the requirements of this Act; and 

19 ‘‘(C) disseminate information to rural and 

20 small municipalities, tribal governments, and 

21 municipalities that meet the affordability cri22 teria established under section 603(i)(2) by the 

23 State in which the municipality is located, that 

24 pertains to the planning, design, construction, 

25 and operation of publicly owned treatment 


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1 works and decentralized wastewater treatment 

2 systems.’’. 

3 SEC. 5. RESIDENTIAL ONSITE SEWAGE DISPOSAL SYSTEM 

4 IMPROVEMENT. 

5 Title II of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act 

6 (33 U.S.C. 1281 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

7 the following: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 222. RESIDENTIAL ONSITE SEWAGE DISPOSAL SYS9 TEMS. 

10 ‘‘Not later than the date that is 1 year after the date 

11 of the enactment of this section, the Administrator shall 

12 establish a grant program to make grants to users of a 

13 septic tank and drainage field for costs associated with 

14 repairing, replacing, or upgrading such tank and such 

15 field.’’. 

16 SEC. 6. STATE WATER POLLUTION CONTROL REVOLVING 

17 FUNDS. 

18 (a) SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS.—Section 602(b) of 

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

20 1382(b)) is amended— 

21 (1) in paragraph (13), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

22 end; 

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

24 the end and inserting a semicolon; and 

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


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1 ‘‘(15) the State will not provide financial assist2 ance using amounts from the fund for any project 

3 that will provide substantial direct benefits to new 

4 communities, lots, or subdivisions, other than a 

5 project to construct an advanced decentralized 

6 wastewater system; and 

7 ‘‘(16) the requirements of section 513 will apply 

8 to the construction of treatment works carried out in 

9 whole or in part with assistance made available by 

10 a State water pollution control revolving fund as au11 thorized under this title, or with assistance made 

12 available under section 205(m), or both, in the same 

13 manner as treatment works for which grants are 

14 made under this Act.’’. 

15 (b) PROJECTS AND ACTIVITIES ELIGIBLE FOR AS16 SISTANCE.—Section 603(c) of the Federal Water Pollution 

17 Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1383(c)) is amended— 

18 (1) in paragraph (10), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

19 end; 

20 (2) in paragraph (11)(B), by striking the period 

21 at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

23 ‘‘(12) to any municipality or intermunicipal, 

24 interstate, or State agency for— 


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1 ‘‘(A) purchasing from a willing or unwill2 ing seller a privately owned treatment works; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(B) expenses related to canceling a con5 tract for the operation or management of a 

6 publicly owned treatment works.’’. 

7 (c) INCREASING THE LIMIT OF ADDITIONAL SUB8 SIDIZATION BY THE STATE.—Section 603(i)(3)(B) of the 

9 Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 

10 1383(i)(3)(B)) is amended to read as follows: 

11 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL LIMITATION.—A State 

12 may use not more than 50 percent of the total 

13 amount received by the State in capitalization 

14 grants under this title for a fiscal year for pro15 viding additional subsidization under this sub16 section.’’. 

17 SEC. 7. USE OF STATE REVOLVING LOAN FUNDS UNDER 

18 THE SAFE DRINKING WATER ACT. 

19 Section 1452 of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 

20 U.S.C. 300j–12) is amended— 

21 (1) in subsection (a)— 

22 (A) in paragraph (2)— 

23 (i) by inserting ‘‘publicly owned, oper24 ated, and managed’’ before ‘‘community 

25 water systems’’; and 


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1 (ii) by striking ‘‘The funds shall not 

2 be used for the acquisition of real property 

3 or interests therein, unless the acquisition 

4 is integral to a project authorized by this 

5 paragraph and the purchase is from a will6 ing seller.’’ and inserting ‘‘The funds may 

7 also be used for purchasing from a willing 

8 or unwilling seller a privately owned com9 munity water system, or for the expenses 

10 related to canceling a contract for the op11 eration or management of a community 

12 water system.’’; and 

13 (B) by adding at the end the following new 

14 paragraph: 

15 ‘‘(4) EXCEPTION TO PUBLIC OWNERSHIP, OPER16 ATION, AND MANAGEMENT REQUIREMENT.—Not17 withstanding the first sentence of paragraph (2), 

18 public water systems which regularly serve fewer 

19 than 10,000 persons and which are not owned, oper20 ated, or managed by any person which owns, oper21 ates, or manages any other public water system may 

22 receive assistance under this section.’’; 

23 (2) in subsection (d)(2), by striking ‘‘30 per24 cent’’ and inserting ‘‘50 percent’’; 

25 (3) in subsection (g)(3)— 


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1 (A) in paragraph (B), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

2 the end; 

3 (B) in paragraph (C), by striking the pe4 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

5 (C) by inserting after subparagraph (C) 

6 the following: 

7 ‘‘(D) guidance to ensure affordable, equi8 table, transparent and reliable water and sewer 

9 service provision, to provide protections for 

10 households facing service disconnection due to 

11 unpaid water service charges, and to promote 

12 universal equal access to water and sewer serv13 ices.’’; and 

14 (4) in subsection (k)(1), by adding at the end 

15 the following: 

16 ‘‘(E) Provide assistance in the form of a 

17 grant to owners of private properties for the 

18 purpose of replacing lead service lines, as de19 fined in section 141.2 of title 40, Code of Fed20 eral Regulations, with service lines that are 

21 lead-free, as defined in section 1417(d).’’. 

22 SEC. 8. DRINKING WATER GRANT PROGRAMS. 

23 (a) SCHOOL DRINKING WATER IMPROVEMENT.— 

24 Section 1465 of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 

25 300j–24) is amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 1465. FEDERAL ASSISTANCE. 

2 ‘‘Not later than the date that is 1 year after the date 

3 of the enactment of this section, the Administrator shall 

4 establish a grant program to make grants to local edu5 cational agencies for costs associated with— 

6 ‘‘(1) installing, repairing, or replacing the infra7 structure necessary for drinking water coolers, 

8 drinking water fountains, or bottle filling stations; 

9 and 

10 ‘‘(2) testing the quality of drinking water at 

11 schools in such local education agency.’’. 

12 (b) TRIBAL DRINKING WATER.—Section 1452(i)(1) 

13 of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300j–12(i)(1)) 

14 is amended— 

15 (1) by striking ‘‘1 1/2’’ and inserting ‘‘Three’’; 

16 and 

17 (2) by striking ‘‘may’’ and inserting ‘‘shall’’. 

Æ 


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