I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2019 

To provide for a smart water resource management pilot program. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 2, 2019 

Mr. MCNERNEY (for himself and Mr. KINZINGER) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 

A BILL 

To provide for a smart water resource management pilot 

program. 

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 ‘‘Smart Energy and 

5 Water Efficiency Act of 2019’’. 

6 SEC. 2. SMART ENERGY AND WATER EFFICIENCY PILOT 

7 PROGRAM. 

8 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

9 (1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti10 ty’’ means— 

11 (A) a utility; 


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1 (B) a municipality; 

2 (C) a water district; and 

3 (D) any other authority that provides 

4 water, wastewater, or water reuse services. 

5 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

6 the Secretary of Energy. 

7 (3) SMART ENERGY AND WATER EFFICIENCY

8 PILOT PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘smart energy and 

9 water efficiency pilot program’’ or ‘‘pilot program’’ 

10 means the pilot program established under sub11 section (b). 

12 (b) SMART ENERGY AND WATER EFFICIENCY PILOT

13 PROGRAM.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 

15 and carry out a smart energy and water efficiency 

16 management pilot program in accordance with this 

17 section. 

18 (2) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the smart en19 ergy and water efficiency pilot program is to award 

20 grants to eligible entities to demonstrate advanced 

21 and innovative technology-based solutions that will— 

22 (A) increase and improve the energy effi23 ciency of water, wastewater, and water reuse 

24 systems to help communities across the United 


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1 States make significant progress in conserving 

2 water, saving energy, and reducing costs; 

3 (B) support the implementation of innova4 tive processes and the installation of advanced 

5 automated systems that provide real-time data 

6 on energy and water; and 

7 (C) improve energy and water conserva8 tion, water quality, and predictive maintenance 

9 of energy and water systems, through the use 

10 of internet-connected technologies, including 

11 sensors, intelligent gateways, and security em12 bedded in hardware. 

13 (3) PROJECT SELECTION.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

15 make competitive, merit-reviewed grants under 

16 the pilot program to not less than 3, but not 

17 more than 5, eligible entities. 

18 (B) SELECTION CRITERIA.—In selecting an 

19 eligible entity to receive a grant under the pilot 

20 program, the Secretary shall consider— 

21 (i) energy and cost savings anticipated 

22 to result from the project; 

23 (ii) the innovative nature, commercial 

24 viability, and reliability of the technology 

25 to be used; 


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1 (iii) the degree to which the project 

2 integrates next-generation sensors, soft3 ware, hardware, analytics, and manage4 ment tools; 

5 (iv) the anticipated cost-effectiveness 

6 of the pilot project in terms of energy effi7 ciency savings, water savings or reuse, and 

8 infrastructure costs averted; 

9 (v) whether the technology can be de10 ployed in a variety of geographic regions 

11 and the degree to which the technology can 

12 be implemented on a smaller or larger 

13 scale, including whether the technology can 

14 be implemented by each type of eligible en15 tity; 

16 (vi) whether the technology has been 

17 successfully deployed elsewhere; 

18 (vii) whether the technology is sourced 

19 from a manufacturer based in the United 

20 States; and 

21 (viii) whether the project will be com22 pleted in 5 years or less. 

23 (C) APPLICATIONS.— 

24 (i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause 

25 (ii), an eligible entity seeking a grant 


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1 under the pilot program shall submit to 

2 the Secretary an application at such time, 

3 in such manner, and containing such infor4 mation as the Secretary determines to be 

5 necessary. 

6 (ii) CONTENTS.—An application under 

7 clause (i) shall, at a minimum, include— 

8 (I) a description of the project; 

9 (II) a description of the tech10 nology to be used in the project; 

11 (III) the anticipated results, in12 cluding energy and water savings, of 

13 the project; 

14 (IV) a comprehensive budget for 

15 the project; and 

16 (V) the number of households or 

17 customers to be served by the project. 

18 (4) ADMINISTRATION.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 300 

20 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 

21 the Secretary shall select grant recipients under 

22 this section. 

23 (B) EVALUATIONS.—The Secretary shall 

24 annually for 5 years carry out an evaluation of 


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1 each project for which a grant is provided 

2 under this section that— 

3 (i) evaluates the progress and impact 

4 of the project; and 

5 (ii) assesses the degree to which the 

6 project is meeting the goals of the pilot 

7 program. 

8 (C) TECHNICAL AND POLICY ASSIST9 ANCE.—On the request of a grant recipient, the 

10 Secretary shall provide technical and policy as11 sistance to the grant recipient to carry out the 

12 project. 

13 (D) BEST PRACTICES.—The Secretary 

14 shall make available to the public— 

15 (i) a copy of each evaluation carried 

16 out under subparagraph (B); and 

17 (ii) a description of any best practices 

18 identified by the Secretary as a result of 

19 those evaluations. 

20 (E) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later 

21 than 5 years after the establishment of the pro22 gram, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a 

23 report containing the results of each evaluation 

24 carried out under subparagraph (B). 


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1 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

2 authorized to be appropriated $15,000,000 to carry out 

3 this section, to remain available until expended. 

Æ 


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