II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4081 

To amend the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to establish 

a grant program to assist with the purchase, installation, and maintenance of point-of-entry and point-of-use drinking water quality improvement products, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 26, 2022 

Ms. BALDWIN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry 

A BILL 

To amend the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development 

Act to establish a grant program to assist with the 

purchase, installation, and maintenance of point-of-entry 

and point-of-use drinking water quality improvement 

products, 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 ‘‘Healthy Drinking 

5 Water Affordability Act’’ or the ‘‘Healthy H2O Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 


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1 (1) clean and safe drinking water is necessary 

2 to ensure public health and a vibrant economy; 

3 (2) communities that are dependent on private 

4 groundwater supplies to meet domestic drinking 

5 water needs, as well as those that continue to experi6 ence drinking water infrastructure challenges from 

7 public water supplies, including with infrastructure 

8 into and within households and living facilities, are 

9 disproportionately impacted by drinking water qual10 ity issues; 

11 (3) in many instances, those communities and 

12 their households have been adversely impacted by 

13 the presence of 1 or more naturally occurring and 

14 human-caused contaminants found in drinking 

15 water, such as lead, arsenic, nitrate, nitrite, and 

16 volatile organic compounds, as well as federally un17 regulated contaminants, including perfluoroalkyl and 

18 polyfluoroalkyl substances and hexavalent chromium 

19 (chrome–6), in local groundwater or other drinking 

20 water supplies; 

21 (4) public health organizations and institutions, 

22 such as the Centers for Disease Control and Preven23 tion, have cited giardia, enterovirus, radon, 

24 rotovirus, norovirus, shigella, campylobacter, sal25 monella, hepatitis A, cryptosporidium, and e. coli as 


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1 among the major diseases and contaminants that 

2 can be present in drinking water sources; 

3 (5) investments in projects to improve and sup4 port drinking water infrastructure are critically im5 portant to addressing water quality in the United 

6 States, but because those projects can typically take 

7 many years to complete, the current, and in some 

8 cases the ongoing, needs of communities impacted 

9 with immediate drinking water quality challenges 

10 cannot be or are not addressed in a timely manner; 

11 (6) as an interim measure (and in some cases 

12 in rural areas, for longer term or permanently), 

13 point-of-entry and point-of-use water quality im14 provement products are viable solutions to address 

15 drinking water contamination challenges for the peo16 ple of the United States; and 

17 (7) grants provided under this Act are intended 

18 to provide financial assistance for eligible grant re19 cipients (as defined in section 306F(a) of the Con20 solidated Farm and Rural Development Act (as 

21 added by section 3)) that voluntarily seek to improve 

22 the quality of the drinking water of eligible end 

23 users (as defined in that section), and not to dem24 onstrate that an eligible end user is in compliance 


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1 with a Federal, State, or local primary drinking 

2 water standard or regulation. 

3 SEC. 3. HEALTHY DRINKING WATER AFFORDABILITY AS4 SISTANCE PROGRAM. 

5 Subtitle A of the Consolidated Farm and Rural De6 velopment Act is amended by inserting after section 306E 

7 (7 U.S.C. 1926e) the following: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 306F. HEALTHY DRINKING WATER AFFORDABILITY 

9 ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. 

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

11 ‘‘(1) APPROVED INSTALLATION.—The term ‘ap12 proved installation’ means the installation of an eli13 gible drinking water quality improvement product or 

14 a certified filter component by a qualified third-party 

15 installer that— 

16 ‘‘(A) complies with all local and State reg17 ulations; and 

18 ‘‘(B) follows the installation instructions of 

19 the manufacturer. 

20 ‘‘(2) APPROVED MAINTENANCE.—The term ‘ap21 proved maintenance’ means required maintenance— 

22 ‘‘(A) performed on an eligible drinking 

23 water quality improvement product that in24 cludes maintenance and replacement of the cer25 tified filter component; 


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1 ‘‘(B) performed by a service technician 

2 who— 

3 ‘‘(i) is— 

4 ‘‘(I) professionally qualified, cer5 tified, or licensed as a water treat6 ment product maintenance profes7 sional, including a professional 

8 credentialed through a manufacturer 

9 or third party; 

10 ‘‘(II) operating under the super11 vision of a service technician described 

12 in subclause (I); 

13 ‘‘(III) a licensed plumber or a 

14 plumber operating under the super15 vision of a licensed plumbing con16 tractor; or 

17 ‘‘(IV) an individual who holds a 

18 license or certification related to water 

19 treatment technologies issued by a 

20 State; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) regularly completes continuing 

22 education on water treatment technology 

23 and other subjects that enhance the serv24 ices provided under this section; 


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1 ‘‘(C) that complies with all local and State 

2 regulations; and 

3 ‘‘(D) that follows the maintenance instruc4 tions of the manufacturer. 

5 ‘‘(3) CERTIFIED FILTER COMPONENT.—The 

6 term ‘certified filter component’ means a replaceable 

7 or replacement filter component— 

8 ‘‘(A) for which approved maintenance can 

9 be performed; and 

10 ‘‘(B) that is certified by a third-party cer11 tifier as compliant with— 

12 ‘‘(i)(I) NSF/ANSI Standard 53, 

13 ‘Drinking Water Treatment Units—Health 

14 Effects’; 

15 ‘‘(II) NSF/ANSI Standard 58, ‘Re16 verse Osmosis Drinking Water Treatment 

17 Systems’; or 

18 ‘‘(III) another successor or relevant 

19 ANSI standard for drinking water treat20 ment units or systems that addresses 

21 health contaminant reduction, as deter22 mined by the Secretary; or 

23 ‘‘(ii) a standard that is similar to a 

24 standard described in clause (i) or more 


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1 protective of human health than that 

2 standard, as determined by the Secretary. 

3 ‘‘(4) ELIGIBLE DRINKING WATER QUALITY IM4 PROVEMENT PRODUCT.—The term ‘eligible drinking 

5 water quality improvement product’ means a point6 of-use or point-of-entry system— 

7 ‘‘(A) incorporating a certified filter compo8 nent; and 

9 ‘‘(B) that is certified by a third-party cer10 tifier to meet standards recognized by the 

11 American National Standards Institute— 

12 ‘‘(i) for material safety and perform13 ance; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) to improve drinking water qual15 ity. 

16 ‘‘(5) ELIGIBLE END USER.—The term ‘eligible 

17 end user’ means a person that is— 

18 ‘‘(A)(i) a homeowner; 

19 ‘‘(ii) an individual lessee or renter of a 

20 home, apartment, or other dwelling; 

21 ‘‘(iii) a property owner of a multi-unit resi22 dential building with 25 or fewer owned, leased, 

23 or rented dwelling units; 

24 ‘‘(iv) a licensed child-care facility; or 


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1 ‘‘(v) an owned, leased, or rented facility; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(B) supported by a finding of need 

4 through— 

5 ‘‘(i) a qualified water quality test 

6 demonstrating the presence of 1 or more 

7 health contaminants; or 

8 ‘‘(ii) other documentation determined 

9 to be satisfactory by the Secretary dem10 onstrating the presence of 1 or more 

11 health contaminants. 

12 ‘‘(6) ELIGIBLE GRANT RECIPIENT.—The term 

13 ‘eligible grant recipient’ means— 

14 ‘‘(A) an eligible end user; and 

15 ‘‘(B) a nonprofit organization or govern16 ment entity that uses a grant provided under 

17 this section for the purposes described in sub18 section (c)(2). 

19 ‘‘(7) HEALTH CONTAMINANT.—The term 

20 ‘health contaminant’ means— 

21 ‘‘(A) a health contaminant found in drink22 ing water, including lead, arsenic, nitrate, ni23 trite, perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl sub24 stances, hexavalent chromium (chrome–6), and 

25 volatile organic compounds; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) any other contaminant with the po2 tential to be detrimental to human health, as 

3 determined by the Secretary following the op4 portunity for public comment. 

5 ‘‘(8) IMPROVE DRINKING WATER QUALITY.— 

6 The term ‘improve drinking water quality’ means to 

7 improve the quality of the water supplied between its 

8 source and human consumption by significantly re9 ducing or removing 1 or more health contaminants. 

10 ‘‘(9) QUALIFIED THIRD-PARTY INSTALLER.— 

11 The term ‘qualified third-party installer’ means a 

12 person who— 

13 ‘‘(A) is— 

14 ‘‘(i) a professionally qualified, cer15 tified, or licensed water treatment product 

16 installation professional, including such a 

17 professional credentialed through a manu18 facturer or third party; 

19 ‘‘(ii) a licensed plumber or individual 

20 who holds a license or certification related 

21 to water treatment technologies issued by a 

22 State; or 

23 ‘‘(iii) a company or plumbing con24 tractor employing individuals described in 

25 clause (i) or (ii); and 


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1 ‘‘(B) regularly completes, or requires appli2 cable employees to complete, continuing edu3 cation on water treatment technology and other 

4 subjects that enhance the services provided 

5 under this section. 

6 ‘‘(10) QUALIFIED WATER QUALITY TEST.—The 

7 term ‘qualified water quality test’ means a baseline 

8 analysis of the bacterial and chemical characteristics 

9 of concern from a drinking water sample collected at 

10 the point of consumption and tested by a laboratory 

11 certified to conduct water quality testing— 

12 ‘‘(A) that is provided to— 

13 ‘‘(i) the Secretary; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) as applicable— 

15 ‘‘(I) a person seeking a grant 

16 under this section; 

17 ‘‘(II) an eligible end user receiv18 ing a grant under this section; or 

19 ‘‘(III) an eligible grant recipient 

20 receiving a grant under this section 

21 and any eligible end users served by 

22 the eligible grant recipient; and 

23 ‘‘(B) that includes information that pro24 vides— 


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1 ‘‘(i) guidance on test interpretation, 

2 including whether the bacteria or chemical 

3 characteristic of concern meets or exceeds 

4 a prescribed health-based contaminant 

5 level; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) sources and citations that eligible 

7 grant recipients, independent third-party 

8 organizations and institutions, and govern9 ment agencies may review and consult— 

10 ‘‘(I) to determine available eligi11 ble drinking water quality improve12 ment products for addressing detected 

13 contaminants; and 

14 ‘‘(II) to evaluate efficacy across 

15 eligible drinking water quality im16 provement products. 

17 ‘‘(11) THIRD-PARTY CERTIFIER.—The term 

18 ‘third-party certifier’ means an independent certifi19 cation body accredited by the American National 

20 Standards Institute, such as the Water Quality As21 sociation, NSF International, and the International 

22 Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials. 

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

24 120 days after the date of enactment of this section, the 

25 Secretary shall promulgate regulations to establish, and 


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1 shall carry out, a clean drinking water program, to be 

2 known as the ‘Healthy Drinking Water Affordability As3 sistance Program’ or the ‘Healthy H2O Program’, to pro4 vide grants to eligible grant recipients to improve drinking 

5 water quality of eligible end users. 

6 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBLE USES OF GRANTS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A grant under this section 

8 shall be used, as directed by the Secretary, for— 

9 ‘‘(A) the purchase of an eligible drinking 

10 water quality improvement product or a re11 placement certified filter component; 

12 ‘‘(B) the approved installation by a quali13 fied third-party installer of an eligible drinking 

14 water quality improvement product; 

15 ‘‘(C) the purchase and approved installa16 tion by a qualified third-party installer of a re17 placement certified filter component; 

18 ‘‘(D) the approved maintenance of an eligi19 ble drinking water quality improvement prod20 uct; or 

21 ‘‘(E) qualified water quality tests to sup22 port products and services described in sub23 paragraphs (A) through (D). 

24 ‘‘(2) NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS AND GOVERN25 MENT ENTITIES.—A nonprofit organization or govVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:16 Apr 26, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4081.IS S4081

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1 ernment entity that receives a grant under this sec2 tion shall use the grant, in a manner consistent with 

3 the uses described in paragraph (1) and as directed 

4 by the Secretary— 

5 ‘‘(A) to offer qualified water quality tests 

6 for eligible end users on a voluntary basis; 

7 ‘‘(B) to facilitate the analysis of qualified 

8 water quality test results for eligible end users; 

9 ‘‘(C) to assist an eligible end user in deter10 mining the response options available and sup11 porting the selection by the eligible end user of 

12 a response that best fits the needs of the eligi13 ble end user, informed by— 

14 ‘‘(i) a qualified water quality test; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) an understanding of the relevant 

16 plumbing systems and environmental fac17 tors that will impact point-of-use or point18 of-entry water safety; 

19 ‘‘(D) to coordinate or facilitate the ap20 proved installation by a qualified third-party in21 staller of the eligible drinking water quality im22 provement product selected by an eligible end 

23 user; 

24 ‘‘(E) to optimize the rate at which eligible 

25 drinking water quality improvement products 


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1 are operating as intended for public health out2 comes by reducing the burden and cost of ongo3 ing testing and system maintenance; and 

4 ‘‘(F) to accelerate the deployment and on5 going utilization of technological innovation 

6 that— 

7 ‘‘(i) improves drinking water quality; 

8 ‘‘(ii) improves health outcomes; 

9 ‘‘(iii) reduces purchase and mainte10 nance costs of treatment solutions; 

11 ‘‘(iv) increases public awareness of 

12 water quality issues and treatment options; 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(v) contributes to continuous im15 provement in the provision of solutions to 

16 improve drinking water quality by the pub17 lic and private sectors. 

18 ‘‘(d) AMOUNT OF GRANT LIMITATION.—The amount 

19 of a grant under this section shall not exceed the reason20 able costs, as determined by the Secretary, of the purposes 

21 described in subsection (c) for which the grant is provided. 

22 ‘‘(e) GRANT ADMINISTRATOR.—The Secretary shall 

23 appoint an officer or employee of the Department of Agri24 culture to administer and manage grants provided under 

25 this section. 


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1 ‘‘(f) GRANT ALLOCATION.—In providing grants 

2 under this section to eligible grant recipients, the Sec3 retary shall allocate funds and make grants available in 

4 a manner that— 

5 ‘‘(1) responds to a range of water quality chal6 lenges; 

7 ‘‘(2) improves local and regional capacity to re8 spond to contamination; and 

9 ‘‘(3) ensures reasonable access to funds for— 

10 ‘‘(A) eligible end users seeking a grant 

11 under this section; and 

12 ‘‘(B) nonprofit organizations and govern13 ment entities seeking a grant under this sec14 tion. 

15 ‘‘(g) REPORTS.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

16 of enactment of this section, and not less frequently than 

17 annually thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to Con18 gress, and make publicly available, a report— 

19 ‘‘(1) identifying ongoing barriers to universal 

20 safe drinking water prior to and after filtration or 

21 other treatment; 

22 ‘‘(2) analyzing conditions impacting eligible 

23 grant recipients, including— 

24 ‘‘(A) sources of contamination or degrada25 tion of water resources, especially groundwater 


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1 resources or upstream resources that recharge 

2 stores of drinking water; 

3 ‘‘(B) trends in bioaccumulation and at4 tenuation of contaminants and nutrients; and 

5 ‘‘(C) impacts of infrastructure materials, 

6 crop and land management practices, waste 

7 management, and other factors that impact 

8 drinking water quantity and quality; 

9 ‘‘(3) providing a comprehensive analysis of— 

10 ‘‘(A) technologies available to and pur11 chased by eligible grant recipients; and 

12 ‘‘(B) the emerging safe drinking water 

13 needs of rural and other homeowners, renters, 

14 residential multi-unit property owners, licensed 

15 child-care facilities, and other groups, as deter16 mined by the Secretary; 

17 ‘‘(4) that includes information describing— 

18 ‘‘(A) the types of treatment systems and 

19 filter components used under the program es20 tablished under this section; 

21 ‘‘(B) the number of qualified water quality 

22 tests conducted under the program established 

23 under this section; 


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1 ‘‘(C) emerging and changing trends relat2 ing to steps taken to ensure safe drinking water 

3 in communities and households; and 

4 ‘‘(D) trends relating to the availability and 

5 use of eligible drinking water quality improve6 ment products, including— 

7 ‘‘(i) affordability at purchase and 

8 through the lifecycle of the products; 

9 ‘‘(ii) consistency of operation as in10 tended by the manufacturer and installer, 

11 including effectiveness across systems and 

12 technologies at achieving stated health pro13 tections; and 

14 ‘‘(iii) lifecycle product performance, 

15 energy use, and environmental impact; 

16 ‘‘(5) providing recommendations regarding the 

17 best methods to increase access to— 

18 ‘‘(A) grants under this section; and 

19 ‘‘(B) the products and services described in 

20 subsection (c); 

21 ‘‘(6) that incorporates input from relevant— 

22 ‘‘(A) nongovernmental organizations; and 

23 ‘‘(B) certification institutions that oversee 

24 the criteria for products and training of instal25 lation and maintenance professionals; and 


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1 ‘‘(7) the purposes of which are— 

2 ‘‘(A) to improve data on health contami3 nants in drinking water; 

4 ‘‘(B) to provide educational resources on 

5 water testing and water quality improvement 

6 products and services to eligible grant recipients 

7 with drinking water contamination issues; and 

8 ‘‘(C) to collect information that improves 

9 understanding of water testing and water qual10 ity improvement products and services, includ11 ing their associated health and economic bene12 fits. 

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

14 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary such 

15 sums as are necessary to carry out this section for each 

16 of fiscal years 2023 through 2027.’’. 

Æ 


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