I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1775 

To establish centers of excellence for innovative stormwater control 

infrastructure, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 14, 2015 

Ms. EDWARDS (for herself, Mr. CONNOLLY, Ms. NORTON, Ms. MOORE, Mr. 

DELANEY, Mr. CARTWRIGHT, Mr. CA ́RDENAS, Mr. HECK of Washington, 

Ms. CHU of California, Mr. ISRAEL, Mrs. LAWRENCE, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, 

Ms. ESTY, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. COHEN, Mr. PRICE of North Carolina, 

Mr. KILMER, Mr. RUSH, and Mr. QUIGLEY) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, 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 centers of excellence for innovative stormwater 

control infrastructure, 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 ‘‘Innovative Stormwater 

5 Infrastructure Act of 2015’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds that— 

3 (1) many water resources in the United States 

4 are declining, particularly in urban and agricultural 

5 areas; 

6 (2) the decline of water resources is the result 

7 of— 

8 (A) an increase in population, water con9 sumption, and impermeable surfaces; and 

10 (B) the negative effects of urbanization, 

11 commercial and industrial activities, and in12 creasing and persistent droughts; and 

13 (3) an October 2008 study by the National Re14 search Council found that some of the benefits of in15 novative stormwater control infrastructure include— 

16 (A) increased water supplies; 

17 (B) the creation of jobs; 

18 (C) cost savings; and 

19 (D) a reduction of stormwater runoff, sur20 face water discharge, stormwater pollution, and 

21 stormwater flows to protect and restore natural 

22 hydrology, meeting local conditions to the max23 imum extent feasible. 

24 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

25 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) CENTER.—The term ‘‘center’’ means a cen5 ter of excellence for innovative stormwater control 

6 infrastructure established under section 4(a). 

7 (3) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti8 ty’’ means— 

9 (A) a State, tribal, or local government; or 

10 (B) a local, regional, or other entity that 

11 manages stormwater, drinking water resources, 

12 or waste water resources. 

13 (4) ELIGIBLE INSTITUTION.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘eligible in15 stitution’’ means an institution of higher edu16 cation (as defined in section 101 of the Higher 

17 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001)), or a 

18 research institution, that has demonstrated ex19 cellence in innovative stormwater control infra20 structure by— 

21 (i) conducting research on innovative 

22 stormwater control infrastructure to deter23 mine the means by which innovative infra24 structure reduces stormwater runoff, enVerDate Sep 11 2014 07:23 Apr 15, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1775.IH H1775

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1 hances and protects drinking water 

2 sources, and improves water quality; 

3 (ii) developing and disseminating in4 formation regarding the means by which 

5 an organization can use innovative 

6 stormwater control infrastructure; 

7 (iii) providing technical assistance to 

8 an organization for an innovative 

9 stormwater control infrastructure project; 

10 (iv) developing best practices stand11 ards for innovative stormwater control in12 frastructure; 

13 (v) providing job training relating to 

14 innovative stormwater control infrastruc15 ture; 

16 (vi) developing course curricula for— 

17 (I) elementary schools (as defined 

18 in section 9101 of the Elementary and 

19 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

20 U.S.C. 7801)); 

21 (II) secondary schools (as defined 

22 in that section); 

23 (III) institutions of higher edu24 cation (as defined in section 101 of 


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1 the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

2 U.S.C. 1001)); or 

3 (IV) vocational schools; 

4 (vii) training students regarding inno5 vative stormwater control infrastructure; or 

6 (viii) providing information to the 

7 Federal Government or State, tribal, and 

8 local governments regarding the implemen9 tation of innovative stormwater control in10 frastructure. 

11 (B) ASSOCIATED DEFINITION.—For pur12 poses of subparagraph (A), the term ‘‘research 

13 institution’’ means an entity that is— 

14 (i) described in section 501(c)(3) of 

15 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; 

16 (ii) exempt from tax under section 

17 501(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

18 1986; and 

19 (iii) organized and operated for re20 search purposes. 

21 (5) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ 

22 has the meaning given the term in section 518(h) of 

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

24 1377(h)). 

25 (6) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means— 


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1 (A) each of the several States of the 

2 United States; 

3 (B) the District of Columbia; 

4 (C) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; 

5 (D) Guam; 

6 (E) American Samoa; 

7 (F) the Commonwealth of the Northern 

8 Mariana Islands; 

9 (G) the Federated States of Micronesia; 

10 (H) the Republic of the Marshall Islands; 

11 (I) the Republic of Palau; and 

12 (J) the United States Virgin Islands. 

13 (7) INNOVATIVE STORMWATER CONTROL INFRA14 STRUCTURE.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘innovative 

16 stormwater control infrastructure’’ means any 

17 green infrastructure stormwater management 

18 technique that— 

19 (i) uses natural systems or engineered 

20 systems that mimic natural processes to 

21 infiltrate, evapotranspire, or capture 

22 stormwater; and 

23 (ii) preserves, enhances, or mimics 

24 natural hydrology to protect or restore 

25 water quality. 


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1 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘innovative 

2 stormwater control infrastructure’’ includes— 

3 (i) methods that promote absorption, 

4 uptake, percolation, evapotranspiration, 

5 and filtration by soil and plant life; and 

6 (ii) the preservation or restoration 

7 of— 

8 (I) natural topography, including 

9 hills, plains, ravines, and shorelines; 

10 (II) interconnected networks of 

11 natural land that protect essential ec12 ological functions critical for water 

13 quality; 

14 (III) ecological function, includ15 ing forests, grasslands, and deserts; 

16 (IV) bodies of water, including 

17 lakes, flood plains, headwaters, and 

18 wetlands; and 

19 (V) native soil characteristics of 

20 composition, structure, and 

21 transmissivity. 

22 SEC. 4. CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE FOR INNOVATIVE 

23 STORMWATER CONTROL INFRASTRUCTURE. 

24 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF CENTERS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall pro2 vide grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible insti3 tutions to establish and maintain not less than 3, 

4 and not more than 5, centers of excellence for inno5 vative stormwater control infrastructure, to be lo6 cated in various regions throughout the United 

7 States. 

8 (2) GENERAL OPERATION.—Each center 

9 shall— 

10 (A) conduct research on innovative 

11 stormwater control infrastructure that is rel12 evant to the geographical region in which the 

13 center is located, including stormwater and 

14 sewer overflow reduction, other approaches to 

15 water resource enhancement, and other environ16 mental, economic, and social benefits; 

17 (B) develop manuals and establish industry 

18 standards on best management practices relat19 ing to State, tribal, local, and commercial inno20 vative stormwater control infrastructure for use 

21 by State, tribal, and local governments and the 

22 private sector; 

23 (C) develop and administer testing and 

24 evaluation protocols to measure and verify the 


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1 performance of stormwater infrastructure prod2 ucts and practices; 

3 (D) provide information regarding research 

4 conducted under subparagraph (A), manuals 

5 developed under subparagraph (B), and testing 

6 and evaluation performed under subparagraph 

7 (C) to the national electronic clearinghouse cen8 ter for publication on the Internet website es9 tablished under subsection (c) to provide to the 

10 Federal Government and State, tribal, and local 

11 governments and the private sector information 

12 regarding innovative stormwater control infra13 structure; 

14 (E) provide technical assistance to State, 

15 tribal, and local governments to assist with the 

16 construction, operation, and maintenance of in17 novative stormwater control infrastructure 

18 projects; 

19 (F) collaborate with institutions of higher 

20 education and private and public organizations 

21 in the geographical region in which the center 

22 is located on innovative stormwater control in23 frastructure research and technical assistance 

24 projects; 


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1 (G) assist institutions of higher education, 

2 secondary schools, and vocational schools to de3 velop innovative stormwater control infrastruc4 ture curricula; 

5 (H) provide training regarding innovative 

6 stormwater control infrastructure to institutions 

7 of higher education and professional schools; 

8 (I) evaluate regulatory and policy issues 

9 relating to innovative stormwater control infra10 structure; and 

11 (J) coordinate with the other centers to 

12 avoid duplication of efforts. 

13 (b) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a grant 

14 under this section, an eligible institution shall prepare and 

15 submit to the Administrator an application at such a time, 

16 in such form, and containing such information as the Ad17 ministrator may require. 

18 (c) NATIONAL ELECTRONIC CLEARINGHOUSE CEN19 TER.—Of the centers established under subsection (a)(1), 

20 one shall— 

21 (1) be designated as the ‘‘national electronic 

22 clearinghouse center’’; and 

23 (2) in addition to the other functions of that 

24 center— 


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1 (A) develop, operate, and maintain an 

2 Internet website and a public database that 

3 contain information relating to innovative 

4 stormwater control infrastructure; and 

5 (B) post to the website information from 

6 all centers. 

7 SEC. 5. INNOVATIVE STORMWATER CONTROL INFRASTRUC8 TURE PROJECT GRANTS. 

9 (a) GRANT AUTHORITY.—The Administrator shall 

10 provide grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible entities 

11 to carry out innovative stormwater control infrastructure 

12 projects in accordance with this section. 

13 (b) INNOVATIVE STORMWATER CONTROL INFRA14 STRUCTURE PROJECTS.— 

15 (1) PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT GRANTS.— 

16 The Administrator may make planning and develop17 ment grants under this section for the following 

18 projects: 

19 (A) Planning and designing innovative 

20 stormwater control infrastructure projects, in21 cluding engineering surveys, landscape plans, 

22 maps, and implementation plans. 

23 (B) Identifying and developing standards 

24 and revisions to local zoning, building, or other 


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1 local codes necessary to accommodate innova2 tive stormwater control infrastructure projects. 

3 (C) Identifying and developing fee struc4 tures to provide financial support for design, in5 stallation, and operations and maintenance of 

6 innovative stormwater control infrastructure. 

7 (D) Developing training and educational 

8 materials regarding innovative stormwater con9 trol infrastructure for distribution to— 

10 (i) individuals and entities with appli11 cable technical knowledge; and 

12 (ii) the public. 

13 (E) Developing an innovative stormwater 

14 control infrastructure portfolio standard pro15 gram described in section 6(e). 

16 (2) IMPLEMENTATION GRANTS.—The Adminis17 trator may make implementation grants under this 

18 section for the following projects: 

19 (A) Installing innovative stormwater con20 trol infrastructure. 

21 (B) Protecting or restoring interconnected 

22 networks of natural areas that protect water 

23 quality. 


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1 (C) Monitoring and evaluating the environ2 mental, economic, or social benefits of innova3 tive stormwater control infrastructure. 

4 (D) Implementing a best practices stand5 ard for an innovative stormwater control infra6 structure program. 

7 (E) Implementing an innovative 

8 stormwater control infrastructure portfolio 

9 standard program described in section 6(e). 

10 (c) APPLICATION.—Except as otherwise provided in 

11 this Act, to be eligible to receive a grant under this section, 

12 an eligible entity shall prepare and submit to the Adminis13 trator an application at such time, in such form, and con14 taining such information as the Administrator may re15 quire, including, as applicable— 

16 (1) a description of the innovative stormwater 

17 control infrastructure project; 

18 (2) a plan for monitoring the impacts of the in19 novative stormwater control infrastructure project 

20 on the water quality and quantity; 

21 (3) an evaluation of other environmental, eco22 nomic, and social benefits of the innovative 

23 stormwater control infrastructure project; and 


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1 (4) a plan for the long-term operation and 

2 maintenance of the innovative stormwater control in3 frastructure project. 

4 (d) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT FOR INNOVATIVE

5 STORMWATER CONTROL INFRASTRUCTURE PORTFOLIO

6 STANDARD PROJECT.—In addition to an application 

7 under subsection (c), a State or Indian tribe applying for 

8 a grant for an innovative stormwater control infrastruc9 ture portfolio standard program described in section 6(e) 

10 shall prepare and submit to the Administrator a schedule 

11 of increasing minimum percentages of the annual water 

12 to be managed using innovative stormwater control infra13 structure under the program. 

14 (e) PRIORITY.—In making grants under this section, 

15 the Administrator shall give priority to applications sub16 mitted on behalf of— 

17 (1) a community that— 

18 (A) has combined storm and sanitary sew19 ers in the collection system of the community; 

20 or 

21 (B) is a low-income or disadvantaged com22 munity, as determined by the Administrator; or 

23 (2) an eligible entity that will use not less than 

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1 income or disadvantaged community, as determined 

2 by the Administrator. 

3 (f) MAXIMUM AMOUNTS.— 

4 (1) PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT GRANTS.— 

5 (A) SINGLE GRANT.—The amount of a sin6 gle planning and development grant provided 

7 under this section shall be not more than 

8 $200,000. 

9 (B) AGGREGATE AMOUNT.—The total 

10 amount of all planning and development grants 

11 provided under this section for a fiscal year 

shall be not more than 1 12 ⁄3 of the total amount 

13 made available to carry out this section. 

14 (2) IMPLEMENTATION GRANTS.— 

15 (A) SINGLE GRANT.—The amount of a sin16 gle implementation grant provided under this 

17 section shall be not more than $3,000,000. 

18 (B) AGGREGATE AMOUNT.—The total 

19 amount of all implementation grants provided 

20 under this section for a fiscal year shall be not 

more than 2 21 ⁄3 of the total amount made avail22 able to carry out this section. 

23 (g) FEDERAL SHARE.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para25 graph (3), the Federal share of a grant provided 


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1 under this section shall not exceed 65 percent of the 

2 total project cost. 

3 (2) CREDIT FOR IMPLEMENTATION GRANTS.— 

4 The Administrator shall credit toward the non-Fed5 eral share of the cost of an implementation project 

6 carried out under this section the cost of planning, 

7 design, and construction work completed for the 

8 project using funds other than funds provided under 

9 this Act. 

10 (3) EXCEPTION.—The Administrator may waive 

11 the Federal share limitation under paragraph (1) for 

12 an eligible entity that has adequately demonstrated 

13 financial need. 

14 SEC. 6. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY INNOVA15 TIVE STORMWATER CONTROL INFRASTRUC16 TURE PROMOTION. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall ensure 

18 that the Office of Water, the Office of Enforcement and 

19 Compliance, the Office of Research and Development, and 

20 the Office of Policy of the Environmental Protection Agen21 cy promote the use of innovative stormwater control infra22 structure in and coordinate the integration of innovative 

23 stormwater control infrastructure into permitting pro24 grams, planning efforts, research, technical assistance, 

25 and funding guidance. 


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1 (b) DUTIES.—The Administrator shall ensure that 

2 the Office of Water— 

3 (1) promotes the use of innovative stormwater 

4 control infrastructure in the programs of the Envi5 ronmental Protection Agency; 

6 (2) supports establishing public-private partner7 ships and other innovative financing mechanisms in 

8 the implementation of innovative stormwater control 

9 infrastructure; and 

10 (3) coordinates efforts to increase the use of in11 novative stormwater control infrastructure with— 

12 (A) other Federal departments and agen13 cies; 

14 (B) State, tribal, and local governments; 

15 and 

16 (C) the private sector. 

17 (c) REGIONAL INNOVATIVE STORMWATER CONTROL

18 INFRASTRUCTURE PROMOTION.—The Administrator shall 

19 direct each regional office of the Environmental Protection 

20 Agency, as appropriate based on local factors, to promote 

21 and integrate the use of innovative stormwater control in22 frastructure within the region that includes— 

23 (1) a plan for monitoring, financing, mapping, 

24 and designing the innovative stormwater control in25 frastructure; 


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1 (2) outreach and training regarding innovative 

2 stormwater control infrastructure implementation 

3 for State, tribal, and local governments, tribal com4 munities, and the private sector; and 

5 (3) the incorporation of innovative stormwater 

6 control infrastructure into permitting and other reg7 ulatory programs, codes, and ordinance development, 

8 including the requirements under consent decrees 

9 and settlement agreements in enforcement actions. 

10 (d) INNOVATIVE STORMWATER CONTROL INFRA11 STRUCTURE INFORMATION-SHARING.—The Administrator 

12 shall promote innovative stormwater control infrastructure 

13 information-sharing, including through an Internet 

14 website, to share information with, and provide technical 

15 assistance to, State, tribal, and local governments, tribal 

16 communities, the private sector, and the public regarding 

17 innovative stormwater control infrastructure approaches 

18 for— 

19 (1) reducing water pollution; 

20 (2) protecting water resources; 

21 (3) complying with regulatory requirements; 

22 and 

23 (4) achieving other environmental, public 

24 health, and community goals. 


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1 (e) INNOVATIVE STORMWATER CONTROL INFRA2 STRUCTURE PORTFOLIO STANDARD.—The Administrator, 

3 in collaboration with State, tribal, and local water resource 

4 managers, shall establish voluntary measurable goals, to 

5 be known as the ‘‘innovative stormwater control infra6 structure portfolio standard’’, to increase the percentage 

7 of annual water managed by eligible entities that use inno8 vative stormwater control infrastructure. 

9 SEC. 7. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 

10 Not later than September 30, 2017, the Adminis11 trator shall submit to Congress a report that includes, 

12 with respect to the period covered by the report— 

13 (1) a description of all grants provided under 

14 this Act; 

15 (2) a detailed description of— 

16 (A) the projects supported by those grants; 

17 and 

18 (B) the outcomes of those projects; 

19 (3) a description of the improvements in tech20 nology, environmental benefits, resources conserved, 

21 efficiencies, and other benefits of the projects funded 

22 under this Act; 

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1 frastructure for the centers, grants, and activities 

2 under this Act; and 

3 (5) a description of existing challenges con4 cerning the use of innovative stormwater control in5 frastructure. 

6 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

7 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

8 this Act such sums as are necessary for each of fiscal 

9 years 2016 through 2021. 

Æ 


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