I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4039 

To require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to 

carry out a program to fund water infrastructure projects near the 

United States-Mexico border, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 25, 2019 

Mr. LEVIN of California (for himself, Mr. VARGAS, Mrs. DAVIS of California, 

and Mr. PETERS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the 

Committees on Energy and Commerce, and Foreign Affairs, 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 require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to carry out a program to fund water infrastructure projects near the United States-Mexico border, 

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 ‘‘Border Water Infra5 structure Improvement Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. U.S.-MEXICO BORDER WATER INFRASTRUCTURE 

2 PROGRAM. 

3 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

4 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis5 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ6 mental Protection Agency. 

7 (2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti8 ty’’ means a State, local government, Indian Tribe, 

9 or water or wastewater district, with jurisdiction 

10 over any area in the United States or Mexico that 

11 is located within 100 kilometers of the United 

12 States-Mexico border. 

13 (3) ELIGIBLE PROJECT.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘eligible 

15 project’’ means a project for the construction of 

16 a drinking water treatment or distribution facil17 ity, or a wastewater management facility, 

18 that— 

19 (i) addresses an existing human 

20 health or ecological issue; 

21 (ii) has an effect in the United States; 

22 (iii) with respect to a wastewater 

23 management facility the water discharged 

24 from which will flow, directly or indirectly, 

25 into the United States, is designed to meet 

26 relevant water quality standards in the 


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1 United States, including any such stand2 ards established under the Federal Water 

3 Pollution Control Act; 

4 (iv) is proposed by an eligible entity 

5 with legal authority to develop the project, 

6 provide the proposed drinking water or 

7 wastewater services, and obtain necessary 

8 financing; 

9 (v) will comply with relevant State 

10 and local environmental and other laws 

11 and regulations, including with respect to 

12 obtaining any necessary operating permits 

13 and licenses and complying with any other 

14 regulatory requirements related to land ac15 quisition and rights-of-way; and 

16 (vi) has the support of appropriate 

17 Federal and State agencies, including the 

18 Comision Nacional de Agua (also known as 

19 CONAGUA or the Mexican National 

20 Water Commission) and any appropriate 

21 State water utility, if located in Mexico. 

22 (B) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘eligible 

23 project’’ does not include a project— 

24 (i) for water supply; 


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1 (ii) that threatens ecosystems located 

2 in the United States, or that are located in 

3 both the United States and Mexico, if the 

4 project causes reductions in the flow of 

5 water; or 

6 (iii) to provide drinking water or 

7 wastewater services to new development. 

8 (b) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall carry out 

9 a program to provide assistance to eligible entities for ac10 tivities related to eligible projects, including feasibility 

11 studies, planning studies, environmental assessments, fi12 nancial analyses, community participation efforts, and ar13 chitectural, engineering, planning, design, and construc14 tion activities. 

15 (c) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out subsection (b), 

16 the Administrator shall consult with the North American 

17 Development Bank. 

18 (d) PROJECT SELECTION.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out subsection 

20 (b), the Administrator shall select projects to receive 

21 assistance under the program in accordance with 

22 paragraph (2) and any other criteria determined ap23 propriate by the Administrator. 


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1 (2) PRIORITIZATION.—In carrying out sub2 section (b), the Administrator shall prioritize 

3 projects that— 

4 (A) are likely to have the greatest positive 

5 effects relating to the environment, public 

6 health, or responding to unmet water supply 

7 needs; 

8 (B) will result in benefits on both sides of 

9 the United States-Mexico border; and 

10 (C) address the most urgent public health 

11 and environmental needs, as determined by the 

12 heads of the Regional offices for Regions 6 and 

13 9 of the Environmental Protection Agency. 

14 (e) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—The Administrator 

15 may set such terms and conditions on assistance provided 

16 under this section as the Administrator determines appro17 priate. 

18 (f) COST SHARE.— 

19 (1) REQUIREMENT FOR CERTAIN PROJECTS.— 

20 The Federal share of the cost of an eligible project 

21 located in Mexico shall be 50 percent. 

22 (2) EXEMPTION.—During the 5-year period be23 ginning on the date of enactment of this section, the 

24 Administrator may waive the requirement of para25 graph (1) if the Administrator, in consultation with 


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1 the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of 

2 Homeland Security, finds that the project will re3 duce negative health effects on Federal law enforce4 ment or Department of Defense personnel. 

5 (g) FUNDING.— 

6 (1) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

7 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Ad8 ministrator to carry out this section $150,000,000 

9 for each of fiscal years 2020 through 2024. 

10 (2) REGIONAL ALLOCATIONS.—The amounts 

11 made available to carry out this section shall be 

12 made available in equal amounts for use by the Re13 gional offices for Regions 6 and 9 of the Environ14 mental Protection Agency. 

Æ 


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