II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2210 

To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to prohibit sewage 

dumping into the Great Lakes, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 23, 2019 

Ms. DUCKWORTH (for herself and Mr. DURBIN) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and 

Public Works 

A BILL 

To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to prohibit sewage dumping into the Great Lakes, 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 ‘‘Great Lakes Water 

5 Protection Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. RESTRICTION ON WASTEWATER RELEASES INTO 

7 THE GREAT LAKES SYSTEM. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.— 


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1 (1) RESTRICTION.—Section 402 of the Federal 

2 Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1342) is 

3 amended by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(t) RESTRICTION ON WASTEWATER RELEASES INTO

5 THE GREAT LAKES SYSTEM.— 

6 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

7 ‘‘(A) BYPASS.—The term ‘bypass’ means, 

8 with respect to a treatment facility that dis9 charges into the Great Lakes System, an inten10 tional diversion of waste streams from any por11 tion of the treatment facility. 

12 ‘‘(B) GREAT LAKES SYSTEM.—The term 

13 ‘Great Lakes System’ has the meaning given 

14 the term in section 118(a)(3). 

15 ‘‘(C) TREATMENT FACILITY.—The term 

16 ‘treatment facility’ includes all wastewater 

17 treatment units used by a publicly owned treat18 ment works to meet secondary treatment stand19 ards or higher, as required to attain water qual20 ity standards, under any operating conditions. 

21 ‘‘(D) TREATMENT WORKS.—The term 

22 ‘treatment works’ has the meaning given the 

23 term in section 212. 

24 ‘‘(2) RESTRICTION.—A publicly owned treat25 ment works that discharges into the Great Lakes 


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1 System is prohibited from performing a bypass un2 less— 

3 ‘‘(A)(i) the bypass is unavoidable to pre4 vent loss of life, personal injury, or severe prop5 erty damage; 

6 ‘‘(ii) there is not a feasible alternative to 

7 the bypass, such as the use of auxiliary treat8 ment facilities, retention of untreated wastes, or 

9 maintenance during normal periods of equip10 ment downtime; and 

11 ‘‘(iii) the treatment works provides notice 

12 of the bypass in accordance with paragraph (4); 

13 or 

14 ‘‘(B) the bypass— 

15 ‘‘(i) does not cause effluent limitations 

16 to be exceeded; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) is for essential maintenance to 

18 ensure efficient operation of the treatment 

19 facility. 

20 ‘‘(3) LIMITATION.—The requirement of para21 graph (2)(A)(ii) is not satisfied if— 

22 ‘‘(A) adequate back-up equipment should 

23 have been installed in the exercise of reasonable 

24 engineering judgment to prevent the bypass; 

25 and 


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1 ‘‘(B) the bypass occurred during normal 

2 periods of equipment downtime or preventive 

3 maintenance. 

4 ‘‘(4) IMMEDIATE NOTICE REQUIREMENTS.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 

6 shall work with States having publicly owned 

7 treatment works subject to paragraph (2) to 

8 create immediate notice requirements in the 

9 event of a bypass or a combined sewer overflow 

10 that provide for the method, contents, and re11 quirements for public availability of the notice. 

12 ‘‘(B) MINIMUM INITIAL NOTICE REQUIRE13 MENTS.—At a minimum, the contents of the 

14 immediate notice under subparagraph (A) shall 

15 include— 

16 ‘‘(i) the exact dates and times of the 

17 bypass or combined sewer overflow; 

18 ‘‘(ii) the volume of the bypass or com19 bined sewer overflow; and 

20 ‘‘(iii) a description of any public ac21 cess areas impacted. 

22 ‘‘(C) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—The 

23 Administrator and States described in subpara24 graph (A) shall— 


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1 ‘‘(i) ensure that the minimum require2 ments under subparagraph (B) are con3 sistent for all those States; 

4 ‘‘(ii) establish follow-up notice require5 ments that provide a full description of 

6 each event (including water quality data), 

7 the cause, and plans to prevent reoccur8 rence; and 

9 ‘‘(iii) establish requirements for mak10 ing publicly available, including on the 

11 website of the Administrator, a list of each 

12 treatment works from which the Adminis13 trator or the State received a follow-up no14 tice, along with the information required 

15 under clause (ii) for each event that re16 quired a follow-up notice. 

17 ‘‘(5) IMPLEMENTATION.—Not later than 2 

18 years after the date of enactment of this subsection, 

19 the Administrator shall establish procedures to im20 plement this subsection.’’. 

21 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 425 

22 of division G of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 

23 2016 (Public Law 114–113; 33 U.S.C. 1268 note) 

24 is repealed. 


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1 (b) GREAT LAKES GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE DEVEL2 OPMENT GRANT PROGRAM.—Title V of the Federal Water 

3 Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) is amend4 ed— 

5 (1) by redesignating section 520 (33 U.S.C. 

6 1251 note) as section 521; and 

7 (2) by inserting after section 519 (33 U.S.C. 

8 1377a) the following: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 520. ESTABLISHMENT OF GREAT LAKES GREEN IN10 FRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT GRANT PRO11 GRAM. 

12 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

13 ‘‘(1) GREAT LAKES STATES; GREAT LAKES SYS14 TEM.—The terms ‘Great Lakes States’ and ‘Great 

15 Lakes System’ have the meanings given the terms in 

16 section 118(a)(3). 

17 ‘‘(2) GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE.—The term 

18 ‘green infrastructure’ has the meaning given the 

19 term in section 502. 

20 ‘‘(3) LOW-INCOME COMMUNITY.—The term 

21 ‘low-income community’ has the meaning given the 

22 term in section 45D(e) of the Internal Revenue Code 

23 of 1986. 


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1 ‘‘(4) PROGRAM.—The term ‘Program’ means 

2 the Great Lakes Green Infrastructure Development 

3 Grant Program established under subsection (b). 

4 ‘‘(5) SMALL BUSINESS.—The term ‘small busi5 ness’ means a small business concern (as defined 

6 under section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 

7 U.S.C. 632)). 

8 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—Not later than 

9 1 year after the date of enactment of the Great Lakes 

10 Water Protection Act, the Administrator shall establish a 

11 grant program, to be known as the ‘Great Lakes Green 

12 Infrastructure Grant Program’, under which the Adminis13 trator shall make grants to Great Lakes States to fund 

14 programs and activities to develop green infrastructure 

15 projects. 

16 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each Great Lakes State 

18 desiring a grant under the Program shall submit to 

19 the Administrator an application at such time, in 

20 such manner, and containing such information as 

21 the Administrator may require. 

22 ‘‘(2) ASSESSMENT OF NEED AND URGENCY.— 

23 Each application under paragraph (1) shall include 

24 an assessment of the relative need and urgency of 

25 the applicable program or activity for which the 


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1 Great Lakes State desires a grant under the Pro2 gram, as compared to other programs and activities 

3 for which the Great Lakes State desires a grant 

4 under the Program during the same fiscal year, in5 cluding an explanation of the reasons for any deter6 mination of relative need and urgency. 

7 ‘‘(d) ALLOCATION OF GRANT AWARDS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) ALLOCATION AMONG GREAT LAKES

9 STATES.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For each fiscal year, 

11 in awarding grants under the Program, the Ad12 ministrator shall determine the maximum 

13 amount that may be awarded to each Great 

14 Lakes State based on the relative needs of each 

15 Great Lakes State, as determined by the most 

16 recent Clean Watersheds Needs Survey carried 

17 out by the Administrator pursuant to section 

18 516(b). 

19 ‘‘(B) UNAWARDED AMOUNTS.—If the Sec20 retary does not award to a Great Lakes State 

21 the maximum amount available to the Great 

22 Lakes State under subparagraph (A) for a fis23 cal year, the Secretary shall make the remain24 ing amounts for that fiscal year available to the 

25 Great Lakes State in subsequent fiscal years. 


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1 ‘‘(2) PRIORITY FOR CERTAIN PROJECTS.— 

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In awarding grants to 

3 a Great Lakes State under the Program, the 

4 Administrator shall give priority to applications 

5 to fund programs and activities that present the 

6 greatest need and urgency, as determined by 

7 the Administrator. 

8 ‘‘(B) CONSIDERATION OF STATE ASSESS9 MENT OF NEED AND URGENCY.—In making a 

10 determination of need and urgency under sub11 paragraph (A), the Secretary shall take into 

12 consideration each applicable assessment of rel13 ative need and urgency prepared by the Great 

14 Lakes State under subsection (c)(2). 

15 ‘‘(e) SUBGRANTS.—A Great Lakes State receiving a 

16 grant under the Program may make subgrants to any en17 tity or individual in the Great Lakes State for programs 

18 and activities to develop green infrastructure projects. 

19 ‘‘(f) ALLOCATION OF GRANT FUNDS RECEIVED BY

20 GREAT LAKES STATES.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Of any amounts awarded 

22 to a Great Lakes State under the Program, the 

23 Great Lakes State shall ensure that— 

24 ‘‘(A) not less than 50 percent of those 

25 amounts are used for— 


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1 ‘‘(i) capital expenditures relating to 

2 green infrastructure projects, including any 

3 expenses for cost estimates or project plan4 ning and design; and 

5 ‘‘(ii) materials associated with capital 

6 expenditures relating to green infrastruc7 ture projects, such as rain garden soils; 

8 ‘‘(B) not less than 25 percent of those 

9 amounts are used for operations and mainte10 nance of green infrastructure, including any ex11 penses for developing operations and mainte12 nance cost estimates; and 

13 ‘‘(C) not more than 25 percent of those 

14 amounts are used for green infrastructure 

15 workforce training, except that, in the case of 

16 a workforce training program that provides 

17 dedicated maintenance labor for green infra18 structure, amounts expended for green infra19 structure workforce training may be considered 

20 to be amounts expended for operations and 

21 maintenance under subparagraph (B). 

22 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION ON FUNDING FOR OPER23 ATIONS AND MAINTENANCE.—Each entity or indi24 vidual that receives amounts awarded to a Great 

25 Lakes State under the Program may use the 


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1 amounts received by that entity or individual for op2 erations and maintenance of green infrastructure 

3 under paragraph (1)(B) for a total period of not 

4 more than 3 years. 

5 ‘‘(3) SMALL BUSINESSES.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A Great Lakes State 

7 shall ensure that not less than 23 percent of 

8 the total amount awarded to the Great Lakes 

9 State under the Program is received by small 

10 businesses or nonprofit organizations in the 

11 Great Lakes State— 

12 ‘‘(i) to construct green infrastructure 

13 projects; or 

14 ‘‘(ii) to operate and maintain green 

15 infrastructure projects. 

16 ‘‘(B) PERMISSIBLE ACTIVITIES.— 

17 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The requirements 

18 under subparagraph (A) may be satis19 fied— 

20 ‘‘(I) by subgrants made to small 

21 businesses or nonprofit organizations 

22 by the Great Lakes State; 

23 ‘‘(II) by contracts entered into by 

24 small businesses or nonprofit organi25 zations (or labor unions representing 


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1 the employees of small businesses or 

2 nonprofit organizations) with the 

3 Great Lakes State; and 

4 ‘‘(III) by subcontracts entered 

5 into by small businesses or nonprofit 

6 organizations (or labor unions rep7 resenting the employees of small busi8 nesses or nonprofit organizations) 

9 with the recipients of subgrants made 

10 by the Great Lakes State. 

11 ‘‘(4) PRIORITY FOR CERTAIN PROGRAMS AND

12 ACTIVITIES.—In selecting programs and activities to 

13 be funded using amounts made available under this 

14 section, a Great Lakes State shall give priority to 

15 programs and activities that reduce or eliminate by16 passes (as defined in section 402(t)(1)) or combined 

17 sewer overflows. 

18 ‘‘(5) LOW-INCOME COMMUNITIES.—A Great 

19 Lakes State is encouraged to use any amounts 

20 awarded to the Great Lakes State under the Pro21 gram to fund green infrastructure projects located in 

22 low-income communities. 

23 ‘‘(g) COST SHARE.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In awarding a grant to a 

25 Great Lakes State under the Program for programs 


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1 and activities, the Administrator may require the 

2 Great Lakes State to pay up to 50 percent of the 

3 costs of the programs and activities funded by the 

4 grant. 

5 ‘‘(2) IN-KIND SUPPORT.—In-kind support for a 

6 program or activity, including staff time, provided by 

7 a Great Lakes State shall count toward the share of 

8 costs required to be paid by the Great Lakes State 

9 under paragraph (1). 

10 ‘‘(h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

11 is authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator to 

12 carry out this section $250,000,000 for each of fiscal 

13 years 2021 through 2025, to remain available until ex14 pended.’’. 

Æ 


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