IIB 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 631 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 12, 2009 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and 

Public Works 

AN ACT 

To increase research, development, education, and technology 

transfer activities related to water use efficiency and 

conservation technologies and practices at the Environmental Protection Agency. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Water Use Efficiency 

3 and Conservation Research Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress finds the following: 

6 (1) Between 1950 and 2000, the United States 

7 population increased nearly 90 percent. In that same 

8 period, public demand for water increased 209 per9 cent. Americans now use an average of 100 gallons 

10 of water per person each day. This increased de11 mand has put additional stress on water supplies 

12 and distribution systems, threatening both human 

13 health and the environment. 

14 (2) Thirty-six States are anticipating local, re15 gional, or statewide water shortages by 2013. In ad16 dition, climate change related effects are expected to 

17 exacerbate already scarce water resources in many 

18 areas of the country. 

19 (3) The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate 

20 Change’s 2007 assessment states that water stored 

21 in glaciers and snow cover is projected to decline, re22 ducing water availability to one-sixth of the world’s 

23 population that relies upon meltwater from major 

24 mountain ranges. The Intergovernmental Panel on 

25 Climate Change also predicts droughts will become 


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1 more severe and longer lasting in a number of re2 gions. 

3 (4) Water conservation should be a national 

4 goal and the Environmental Protection Agency 

5 should work with nongovernmental partners to 

6 achieve that goal. The Environmental Protection 

7 Agency should support the research, development, 

8 and dissemination of technologies and processes that 

9 will achieve greater water use efficiency. 

10 (5) WaterSense is a voluntary public-private 

11 partnership program established by the Environ12 mental Protection Agency to promote water effi13 ciency by helping consumers identify water-efficient 

14 products and practices. The Environmental Protec15 tion Agency estimates that if all United States 

16 households installed water-efficient appliances, the 

17 country would save more than 3,000,000,000,000 

18 gallons of water and more than $17,000,000,000 per 

19 year. 

20 (6) The WaterSense program has developed a 

21 network of partners, and therefore can disseminate 

22 the results of research on technologies and processes 

23 that achieve greater water use efficiency. 


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1 SEC. 3. RESEARCH PROGRAM. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Administrator for 

3 Research and Development of the Environmental Protec4 tion Agency (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Assistant Ad5 ministrator’’) shall establish a research and development 

6 program consistent with the plan developed under section 

7 4 that promotes water use efficiency and conservation, in8 cluding— 

9 (1) technologies and processes that enable the 

10 collection, storage, treatment, and reuse of rain11 water, stormwater, and greywater; 

12 (2) water storage and distribution systems; 

13 (3) behavioral, social, and economic barriers to 

14 achieving greater water use efficiency; and 

15 (4) use of watershed planning directed toward 

16 water quality, conservation, and supply. 

17 (b) CONSIDERATIONS.—In planning and imple18 menting the program, the Assistant Administrator shall 

19 consider— 

20 (1) research needs identified by water resource 

21 managers, State and local governments, and other 

22 interested parties; and 

23 (2) technologies and processes likely to achieve 

24 the greatest increases in water use efficiency and 

25 conservation. 


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1 (c) MINORITY SERVING INSTITUTIONS.—In the exe2 cution of this program, the Assistant Administrator may 

3 award extramural grants to institutions of higher edu4 cation and shall encourage participation by Minority Serv5 ing Institutions. 

6 SEC. 4. STRATEGIC RESEARCH PLAN. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Administrator shall 

8 coordinate the development of a strategic research plan 

9 (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘plan’’) for the water use 

10 efficiency and conservation research and development pro11 gram established in section 3 with all other Environmental 

12 Protection Agency research and development strategic 

13 plans. 

14 (b) PLAN CONTENTS.—The plan shall— 

15 (1) outline research goals and priorities for a 

16 water use efficiency and conservation research agen17 da, including— 

18 (A) developing innovative water supply-en19 hancing processes and technologies; and 

20 (B) improving existing processes and tech21 nologies, including wastewater treatment, desa22 linization, and groundwater recharge and recov23 ery schemes; 

24 (2) identify current Federal research efforts on 

25 water that are directed toward meeting the goals of 


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1 improving water use efficiency, water conservation, 

2 or expanding water supply and describe how such ef3 forts are coordinated with the program established 

4 in section 3 in order to leverage resources and avoid 

5 duplication; and 

6 (3) consider and utilize, as appropriate, rec7 ommendations in reports and studies conducted by 

8 Federal agencies, the National Research Council, the 

9 National Science and Technology Council, or other 

10 entities in the development of the plan. 

11 (c) SCIENCE ADVISORY BOARD REVIEW.—The As12 sistant Administrator shall submit the plan to the Science 

13 Advisory Board of the Environmental Protection Agency 

14 for review. 

15 (d) REVISION.—The plan shall be revised and amend16 ed as needed to reflect current scientific findings and na17 tional research priorities. 

18 SEC. 5. TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER. 

19 The Assistant Administrator, building on the results 

20 of the activities of the program established under section 

21 3, shall— 

22 (1) facilitate the adoption of technology and 

23 processes to promote water use efficiency and con24 servation; and 


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1 (2) collect and disseminate information, includ2 ing the establishment of a publicly accessible clear3 inghouse, on technologies and processes to promote 

4 water use efficiency and conservation, including in5 formation on— 

6 (A) incentives and impediments to develop7 ment and commercialization; 

8 (B) best practices; and 

9 (C) anticipated increases in water use effi10 ciency and conservation resulting from the im11 plementation of specific technologies and proc12 esses. 

13 SEC. 6. ADVANCED WATER EFFICIENCY DEVELOPMENT 

14 PROJECTS. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—As part of the program under sec16 tion 3, the Assistant Administrator shall carry out at least 

17 4 projects under which the funding is provided for the in18 corporation into a building of the latest water use effi19 ciency and conservation technologies and designs. Funding 

20 for each project shall be provided only to cover incremental 

21 costs of water-use efficiency and conservation technologies. 

22 (b) CRITERIA.—Of the 4 projects described in sub23 section (a), at least 1 shall be for a residential building 

24 and at least 1 shall be for a commercial building. 


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1 (c) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The designs of buildings 

2 with respect to which funding is provided under subsection 

3 (a) shall be made available to the public, and such build4 ings shall be accessible to the public for tours and edu5 cational purposes. 

6 SEC. 7. REPORT. 

7 Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment 

8 of this Act, and once every 2 years thereafter, the Assist9 ant Administrator shall transmit to Congress a report 

10 which details the progress being made by the Environ11 mental Protection Agency with regard to— 

12 (1) water use efficiency and conservation re13 search projects initiated by the Agency; 

14 (2) development projects initiated by the Agen15 cy; 

16 (3) outreach and communication activities con17 ducted by the Agency concerning water use effi18 ciency and conservation; and 

19 (4) development and implementation of the 

20 plan. 

21 SEC. 8. WATER MANAGEMENT STUDY AND REPORT. 

22 (a) STUDY.— 

23 (1) REQUIREMENT.—The Administrator of the 

24 Environmental Protection Agency shall enter into an 

25 arrangement with the National Academy of Sciences 


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1 to complete a study of low impact and soft path 

2 strategies for management of water supply, waste3 water, and stormwater. 

4 (2) CONTENTS.—The study shall— 

5 (A) examine and compare the state of re6 search, technology development, and emerging 

7 practices in other developed and developing 

8 countries with those in the United States; 

9 (B) identify and evaluate relevant system 

10 approaches for comprehensive water manage11 ment, including the interrelationship of water 

12 systems with other major systems such as en13 ergy and transportation; 

14 (C) identify priority research and develop15 ment needs; and 

16 (D) assess implementation needs and bar17 riers. 

18 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the date 

19 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Envi20 ronmental Protection Agency shall transmit to the Com21 mittee on Science and Technology of the House of Rep22 resentatives and the Committee on Environment and Pub23 lic Works of the Senate a report on the key findings of 

24 the study conducted under subsection (a). The report shall 

25 evaluate challenges and opportunities and serve as a pracVerDate Nov 24 2008 02:35 Feb 13, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H631.RFS H631

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1 tical reference for water managers, planners, developers, 

2 scientists, engineers, non-governmental organizations, 

3 Federal agencies, and regulators by recommending innova4 tive and integrated solutions. 

5 (c) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section— 

6 (1) the term ‘‘low impact’’ means a strategy 

7 that manages rainfall at the source using uniformly 

8 distributed decentralized micro-scale controls to 

9 mimic a site’s predevelopment hydrology by using 

10 design techniques that infiltrate, filter, store, evapo11 rate, and detain runoff close to its source; and 

12 (2) the term ‘‘soft path’’ means a general 

13 framework that encompasses— 

14 (A) increased efficiency of water use; 

15 (B) integration of water supply, waste16 water treatment, and stormwater management 

17 systems; and 

18 (C) protection, restoration, and effective 

19 use of the natural capacities of ecosystems to 

20 provide clean water. 

21 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

22 are authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator of 

23 the Environmental Protection Agency for carrying out this 

24 section $1,000,000 for fiscal year 2010. 


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1 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 There are authorized to be appropriated to the As3 sistant Administrator for carrying out this Act 

4 $20,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2010 through 

5 2014. 

Passed the House of Representatives February 11, 

2009. 

Attest: LORRAINE C. MILLER, 

Clerk. 


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