II 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1933 

To amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to provide grants to small public 

drinking water systems. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

AUGUST 1, 2007 

Mr. REID (for himself, Mr. ENSIGN, Mrs. BOXER, Mr. BAUCUS, Mrs. MURRAY, Mrs. CLINTON, Mr. SANDERS, and Mr. CONRAD) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works 

A BILL 

To amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to provide grants 

to small public drinking water systems. 

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 ‘‘Small Community 

5 Drinking Water Funding Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

8 (1) in some cases, drinking water standards in 

9 effect and proposed as of the date of enactment of 

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1 this Act can place large financial burdens on public 

2 water systems, especially systems that serve fewer 

3 than a few thousand people; 

4 (2) some small public water systems have expe5 rienced water contamination problems that may pose 

6 a significant risk to the health of water consumers; 

7 (3) small communities are concerned about im8 proving drinking water quality; 

9 (4) the limited scientific, technical, and profes10 sional resources of many small communities make 

11 understanding and implementing regulatory require12 ments very difficult; 

13 (5) small communities often struggle to meet 

14 water quality standards because of difficulty in se15 curing funding; 

16 (6) small communities often lack a tax base or 

17 opportunities to benefit from economics of scale and 

18 therefore face very high per capita costs in improv19 ing drinking water quality; 

20 (7) the smallest public water systems, which 

21 serve fewer than 3,300 people, represent 85 percent 

22 of all public water systems; 

23 (8) small public water systems serving fewer 

24 than 10,000 people represent 94 percent of all public 

25 water systems; 

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1 (9) small communities would benefit from a 

2 grant program designed to provide funding for water 

3 quality projects without a substantial matching re4 quirement; and 

5 (10) Federal programs in effect as of the date 

6 of enactment of this Act do not adequately meet the 

7 needs of small communities with respect to public 

8 water systems. 

9 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to estab10 lish a program to provide grants to small public water sys11 tems to— 

12 (1) meet applicable national primary drinking 

13 water regulations under the Safe Drinking Water 

14 Act (42 U.S.C. 300f et seq.); 

15 (2) maintain water costs at a reasonable level 

16 for the communities served by small public water 

17 systems; and 

18 (3) obtain technical assistance to develop the 

19 capacity to sustain operations over the long term. 

20 SEC. 3. SMALL PUBLIC WATER SYSTEM ASSISTANCE PRO21 GRAM. 

22 (a) DEFINITION OF INDIAN TRIBE.—Section 

23 1401(14) of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 

24 300f(14)) is amended in the second sentence by striking 

25 ‘‘1452,’’ and inserting ‘‘1452 and part G,’’. 

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1 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—The Safe 

2 Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300f et seq.) is amended 

3 by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘PART G—SMALL PUBLIC WATER SYSTEM 

5 ASSISTANCE 

6 ‘‘SEC. 1471. DEFINITIONS. 

7 ‘‘In this part: 

8 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE ACTIVITY.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘eligible ac10 tivity’ means an activity concerning a small 

11 public water system (including obtaining tech12 nical assistance) that is carried out by an eligi13 ble entity for a purpose consistent with section 

14 1473(c)(1) or 1474(c)(1), as appropriate. 

15 ‘‘(B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘eligible ac16 tivity’ does not include any activity to increase 

17 the population served by a small public water 

18 system, except to the extent that the State 

19 under section 1473(b)(1) or the Administrator 

20 under section 1474(b)(1) determines an activity 

21 to be necessary to— 

22 ‘‘(i) achieve compliance with a na23 tional primary drinking water regulation; 

24 and 

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1 ‘‘(ii) provide a water supply to a pop2 ulation that, as of the date of enactment of 

3 this part, is not served by a safe public 

4 water system. 

5 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en6 tity’ means a small public water system that— 

7 ‘‘(A) is located in a State or an area gov8 erned by an Indian Tribe; and 

9 ‘‘(B)(i) if located in a State, serves a com10 munity that, under affordability criteria estab11 lished by the State under section 1452(d)(3), is 

12 determined by the State to be— 

13 ‘‘(I) a disadvantaged community; or 

14 ‘‘(II) a community the State expects 

15 to become a disadvantaged community as a 

16 result of carrying out an eligible activity; 

17 or 

18 ‘‘(ii) if located in an area governed by an 

19 Indian Tribe, serves a community that is deter20 mined by the Administrator, under criteria pub21 lished by the Administrator under section 

22 1452(d)(3) and in consultation with the Sec23 retary, to be— 

24 ‘‘(I) a disadvantaged community; or 

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1 ‘‘(II) a community the Administrator 

2 expects to become a disadvantaged commu3 nity as a result of carrying out an eligible 

4 activity. 

5 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE STATE.—The term ‘eligible 

6 State’ means a State that has— 

7 ‘‘(A) adopted, and is implementing, an ap8 proved operator certification program under 

9 section 1419; and 

10 ‘‘(B) established affordability criteria 

11 under section 1452(d)(3) for use in identifying 

12 disadvantaged communities. 

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

14 the Small Public Water System Assistance Program 

15 established under section 1472(a). 

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

17 the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting 

18 through the Director of the Indian Health Service. 

19 ‘‘(6) SMALL PUBLIC WATER SYSTEM.—The 

20 term ‘small public water system’ means a public 

21 water system (including a community water system 

22 and a noncommunity water system) that serves a 

23 population of 10,000 or fewer. 

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1 ‘‘SEC. 1472. SMALL PUBLIC WATER SYSTEM ASSISTANCE 

2 PROGRAM. 

3 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than July 1, 2008, 

4 the Administrator shall establish within the Environ5 mental Protection Agency a Small Public Water System 

6 Assistance Program. 

7 ‘‘(b) DUTIES.—The head of the Program shall— 

8 ‘‘(1) in accordance with section 1474, establish 

9 and administer a small public water system assist10 ance program for, and provide grants to, eligible en11 tities located in areas governed by Indian Tribes, for 

12 use in carrying out eligible activities; 

13 ‘‘(2) identify, and prepare annual prioritized 

14 lists of, activities for eligible entities located in areas 

15 governed by Indian Tribes that are eligible for 

16 grants under section 1474; 

17 ‘‘(3) provide funds to States for use in estab18 lishing small public water system assistance pro19 grams under section 1473 that award grants to eli20 gible entities to carry out eligible activities; and 

21 ‘‘(4) prepare, and submit to the Administrator, 

22 the reports required under subsection (d). 

23 ‘‘(c) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.— 

24 ‘‘(1) STATES.— 

25 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara26 graphs (B) through (D) and paragraph (2)(A), 

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1 for each fiscal year, the Administrator, through 

2 the head of the Program, using the most recent 

3 available needs survey conducted by the Admin4 istrator under section 1452(h), shall allocate 

5 the funds made available to carry out the Pro6 gram for the fiscal year among eligible States 

7 based on the ratio that— 

8 ‘‘(i) the financial need associated with 

9 treatment projects for small public water 

10 systems in the State; bears to 

11 ‘‘(ii) the total financial need associ12 ated with treatment projects for all small 

13 public water systems in all States. 

14 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—Any 

15 additional financial needs of small public water 

16 systems associated with the cost of treatment 

17 projects needed to comply with a national pri18 mary drinking water regulation that is promul19 gated after the most recent needs survey con20 ducted under section 1452(h) shall be factored 

21 into the determination of financial need under 

22 clauses (i) and (ii) of subparagraph (A) for 

23 each fiscal year. 

24 ‘‘(C) MINIMUM ALLOCATION.—An alloca25 tion of funds to a State for a fiscal year under 

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1 subparagraph (A), taking into consideration 

2 any additional financial needs described in sub3 paragraph (B), shall be in an amount that is at 

4 least 1 percent of the amount of funds available 

5 for that fiscal year. 

6 ‘‘(D) REDISTRIBUTION IF NONUSE.—If a 

7 State does not qualify for, or fails to request, 

8 funds allocated to the State under subpara9 graph (A) in any fiscal year, the Administrator 

10 shall redistribute the funds among the States 

11 that— 

12 ‘‘(i) request funds for that fiscal year; 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(ii) are eligible to receive the funds 

15 under subparagraph (A) for that fiscal 

16 year. 

17 ‘‘(2) INDIAN TRIBES.— 

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

19 in accordance with subparagraph (B), 3 percent 

20 of the total amount of funds made available to 

21 carry out the Program for the fiscal year shall 

22 be allocated by the Administrator to provide 

23 grants to eligible entities that are located in 

24 areas governed by Indian Tribes through the 

25 program established under section 1474(a). 

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1 ‘‘(B) USE OF FUNDS.— 

2 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—For each fiscal 

3 year, the Administrator shall award, on a 

4 competitive basis, not less than 1.5 percent 

5 of the funds allocated under subparagraph 

6 (A) to nonprofit technical assistance orga7 nizations, to be used for the purposes of— 

8 ‘‘(I) assisting the Administrator 

9 in preparing the list required under 

10 section 1474(b) (including assisting 

11 the Administrator in identifying the 

12 highest priority eligible activities for 

13 eligible entities located in areas gov14 erned by Indian Tribes for which a 

15 grant under section 1474 may be 

16 used); 

17 ‘‘(II) assisting eligible entities lo18 cated in areas governed by Indian 

19 Tribes in— 

20 ‘‘(aa) assessing needs relat21 ing to eligible activities; and 

22 ‘‘(bb) identifying available 

23 sources of funding to meet the 

24 cost-sharing requirement of sec25 tion 1474(f)(1); and 

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1 ‘‘(III) assisting eligible entities 

2 located in areas governed by Indian 

3 Tribes that receive funding under sec4 tion 1474 in— 

5 ‘‘(aa) planning, imple6 menting, and maintaining eligible 

7 activities that are funded under 

8 that section; and 

9 ‘‘(bb) preparing reports re10 quired under section 1474(h). 

11 ‘‘(ii) CONSULTATION.—Each nonprofit 

12 technical assistance organization that re13 ceives funds under clause (i) shall consult 

14 with the Administrator, through the head 

15 of the program, before carrying out any 

16 activity for the purposes described in sub17 clauses (II)(aa) and (III)(aa) of that 

18 clause. 

19 ‘‘(iii) NO FUNDS FOR LOBBYING EX20 PENSES.—None of the funds made avail21 able to a nonprofit technical assistance or22 ganization under clause (i) shall be used to 

23 pay lobbying expenses. 

24 ‘‘(3) PROGRAM.—For each fiscal year, the Ad25 ministrator may use not more than 0.1 percent of 

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1 the funds made available to carry out the Program 

2 to pay reasonable costs incurred in the administra3 tion of the Program. 

4 ‘‘(d) REPORTS.—Not later than January 1, 2009, 

5 and annually thereafter through January 1, 2014, the Ad6 ministrator shall— 

7 ‘‘(1) submit, to the Committee on Energy and 

8 Commerce of the House of Representatives and the 

9 Committee on Environment and Public Works of the 

10 Senate, a report that, for the preceding fiscal year— 

11 ‘‘(A) lists the eligible activities for eligible 

12 entities, as prepared under sections 1473(b)(1) 

13 and 1474(b)(1), located in areas governed by 

14 Indian Tribes and in each State receiving funds 

15 under this part; 

16 ‘‘(B) identifies the number of grants 

17 awarded by each State, and by the Adminis18 trator to eligible entities located in areas gov19 erned by Indian Tribes, under this part; 

20 ‘‘(C) identifies each eligible entity that re21 ceived a grant to carry out an eligible activity; 

22 ‘‘(D) identifies the amount of each grant 

23 provided to an eligible entity to carry out an eli24 gible activity; and 

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1 ‘‘(E) describes each eligible activity funded 

2 by such a grant (including the status of the eli3 gible activity); and 

4 ‘‘(2) make the report under paragraph (1) 

5 available to the public. 

6 ‘‘SEC. 1473. STATE SMALL PUBLIC WATER SYSTEM ASSIST7 ANCE PROGRAMS. 

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to receive funding 

9 under this part, a State shall— 

10 ‘‘(1) be an eligible State; 

11 ‘‘(2) not later than July 1, 2008 (if funding is 

12 sought for fiscal year 2008) or not later than Sep13 tember 30 of any of fiscal years 2008 through 2014 

14 (if funding is sought for the following fiscal year), 

15 establish a small public water system assistance pro16 gram— 

17 ‘‘(A) under which the requirements of sub18 section (b), oversight, and related activities 

19 (other than financial administration) with re20 spect to the program are administered— 

21 ‘‘(i) in the case of a State that is ex22 ercising primary enforcement responsibility 

23 for public water systems, by the State 

24 agency having primary responsibility for 

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1 administration of the State program under 

2 section 1413; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a State that is not 

4 exercising primary enforcement authority 

5 for public water systems, by a State agen6 cy selected by the Governor of the State; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(B) that meets the requirements of this 

9 section; and 

10 ‘‘(3) for each fiscal year for which funding is 

11 sought under this section— 

12 ‘‘(A) in preparing an intended use plan 

13 under section 1452(b), after providing for pub14 lic review and comment, prepare an annual list 

15 of eligible activities for eligible entities in the 

16 State in accordance with subsection (b); and 

17 ‘‘(B) prepare and submit to the Adminis18 trator a request for the funding, by such date 

19 and in such form as the Administrator shall 

20 prescribe. 

21 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM PRIORITY REQUIREMENT.— 

22 ‘‘(1) LIST OF ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.—A small 

23 public water system assistance program established 

24 under subsection (a) shall, for each fiscal year for 

25 which funding is sought, identify, and, using the primstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 ority criteria described in paragraph (2) and consid2 ering the additional criteria described in paragraph 

3 (3), list in descending order of priority, eligible ac4 tivities for eligible entities in the State for which 

5 funds provided from a grant under this part may be 

6 used. 

7 ‘‘(2) PRIORITY CRITERIA.—In preparing the list 

8 under paragraph (1), a small public water system 

9 assistance program shall give priority for the use of 

10 grants to eligible activities that— 

11 ‘‘(A) address the most serious risk to 

12 human health; 

13 ‘‘(B) are necessary to ensure compliance 

14 with national primary water regulations appli15 cable to eligible entities under section 1412; 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(C) assist systems most in need, as cal18 culated on the basis of median household in19 come, under affordability criteria established by 

20 the State under section 1452(d)(3). 

21 ‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL CRITERIA.—In addition to 

22 the priority criteria described in paragraph (2), a 

23 small public water system assistance program shall, 

24 in preparing a list under paragraph (1), consider 

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1 ties that are to be carried out by communities that 

2 form management cooperatives (including manage3 ment cooperatives between systems that do not have 

4 connections). 

5 ‘‘(c) USE OF FUNDS.—Using any funds received by 

6 a State under this section for a fiscal year, in accordance 

7 with the list prepared under subsection (b), a small public 

8 water system assistance program established by the State 

9 under subsection (a)— 

10 ‘‘(1) shall provide to an eligible entity, on a 

11 cost-shared basis, a grant to be used for an eligible 

12 activity (including source water protection) the pur13 pose of which is compliance with national primary 

14 drinking water regulations applicable to the eligible 

15 entity under section 1412; 

16 ‘‘(2) shall— 

17 ‘‘(A) award, on a competitive basis, not 

18 less than 1.5 percent of the funds to nonprofit 

19 technical assistance organizations to be used for 

20 the purposes of— 

21 ‘‘(i) assisting the State in preparing 

22 the list required under subsection (b) (in23 cluding assisting the State in identifying 

24 the highest priority eligible activities for el25 igible entities located in the State for 

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1 which a grant under this section may be 

2 used); and 

3 ‘‘(ii) assisting eligible entities in— 

4 ‘‘(I) assessing needs relating to 

5 eligible activities; 

6 ‘‘(II) identifying available sources 

7 of funding to meet the cost-sharing 

8 requirement of subsection (f); and 

9 ‘‘(III) planning, implementing, 

10 and maintaining any eligible activities 

11 of the eligible entities that receive 

12 funding under this section; 

13 ‘‘(B) require each nonprofit technical as14 sistance organization that receives funds under 

15 subparagraph (A) to consult with the State, 

16 through the head of the small public water as17 sistance program, before carrying out any activ18 ity for the purposes described in subclauses (I) 

19 and (III) of subparagraph (A)(ii); and 

20 ‘‘(C) require that none of the funds made 

21 available to a nonprofit technical assistance or22 ganization under subparagraph (A) be used to 

23 pay lobbying expenses; and 

24 ‘‘(3) may use not to exceed 1 percent of the 

25 funds allocated to the State to pay reasonable costs 

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1 incurred in the administration of the small public 

2 water system assistance program. 

3 ‘‘(d) LIMITATION ON USE OF FUNDS.—For each fis4 cal year, not more than 5 percent of the funds received 

5 by an eligible entity under this section may be used to 

6 obtain technical assistance in planning, implementing, and 

7 maintaining eligible activities that are funded under this 

8 section. 

9 ‘‘(e) LIMITATION ON RECEIPT OF FUNDS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para11 graph (2), a grant under this section shall not be 

12 provided to an eligible entity that, as determined by 

13 the State— 

14 ‘‘(A) does not have the technical, manage15 rial, and financial capability to ensure compli16 ance with national primary drinking water reg17 ulations applicable to the eligible entity under 

18 section 1412; or 

19 ‘‘(B) is in significant noncompliance with 

20 any applicable national primary drinking water 

21 regulation. 

22 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION FOR RECEIPT OF GRANT.—An 

23 eligible entity described in paragraph (1) may re24 ceive a grant under this section only— 

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1 ‘‘(A) if the State determines that use of 

2 the grant will ensure compliance with national 

3 primary drinking water regulations applicable 

4 to the eligible entity under section 1412; 

5 ‘‘(B)(i) to restructure or consolidate the 

6 facility to achieve compliance with applicable 

7 national primary drinking water regulations; or 

8 ‘‘(ii) in a case in which restructuring or 

9 consolidation of the facility is not practicable, if 

10 the State determines that— 

11 ‘‘(I) the eligible entity has made a 

12 good faith effort to achieve compliance 

13 with applicable national primary drinking 

14 water regulations; and 

15 ‘‘(II) the eligible entity is adhering to 

16 an enforceable schedule for achieving those 

17 regulations; and 

18 ‘‘(C) in a case in which paragraph (1)(A) 

19 applies to an eligible entity, and the eligible en20 tity agrees to undertake feasible and appro21 priate changes in operations (including changes 

22 in ownership, management, accounting, rates, 

23 maintenance, consolidation, provision of an al24 ternative water supply, or other procedures), if 

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1 essary to ensure that the eligible entity has the 

2 technical, managerial, and financial capability 

3 to comply with applicable national primary 

4 drinking water regulations over the long term. 

5 ‘‘(3) REVIEW.—Before providing assistance 

6 under this section to an eligible entity that is in sig7 nificant noncompliance with any national primary 

8 drinking water regulation applicable to the eligible 

9 entity under section 1412, the State shall conduct a 

10 review to determine whether paragraph (1)(A) ap11 plies to the entity. 

12 ‘‘(f) COST SHARING.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 

14 ‘‘(A) LIMIT.—Except as provided in para15 graph (2), the share of the total cost of an eligi16 ble activity funded by a grant under this section 

17 shall not exceed 80 percent. 

18 ‘‘(B) USE OF OTHER FEDERAL FUNDS.— 

19 To pay the portion of an eligible activity that 

20 may not be funded by a grant under this sec21 tion, an eligible entity may use Federal finan22 cial assistance other than assistance received 

23 under this section. 

24 ‘‘(2) WAIVER OF COST-SHARING REQUIRE25 MENT.— 

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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara2 graph (B), a State may waive the requirement 

3 of an eligible entity to pay all or a portion of 

4 the share of an eligible activity that may not be 

5 funded by a grant under this section, based on 

6 a determination by the State that the eligible 

7 entity is unable to pay any or all of the share. 

8 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—For each fiscal year in 

9 which a State receives funding under this sec10 tion, the total amount of cost-share waivers 

11 provided by the State under subparagraph (A) 

12 shall not exceed 30 percent of the amount of 

13 funding received by the State for the fiscal year 

14 under section 1472(c)(1). 

15 ‘‘(g) UNOBLIGATED FUNDS.—Any funds not obli16 gated by the State for a purpose consistent with sub17 section (c) within 1 year after the date of the allocation 

18 of the funds by the Administrator under section 1472(c) 

19 shall be returned to the Administrator for reallocation 

20 under that section. 

21 ‘‘(h) REPORTS.—Not later than November 1 fol22 lowing each fiscal year in which a State receives funding 

23 under this section, the State shall— 

24 ‘‘(1) submit to the Administrator a report that, 

25 for the preceding fiscal year— 

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1 ‘‘(A) lists the eligible activities for eligible 

2 entities, as prepared under subsection (b); 

3 ‘‘(B) identifies the number of grants 

4 awarded by the State small public water system 

5 assistance program to eligible entities; 

6 ‘‘(C) identifies each eligible entity that re7 ceived a grant to carry out an eligible activity; 

8 ‘‘(D) identifies the amount of each grant 

9 provided to an eligible entity to carry out an eli10 gible activity; and 

11 ‘‘(E) describes each eligible activity funded 

12 by such grants (including the status of the eli13 gible activity); and 

14 ‘‘(2) make the report under paragraph (1) 

15 available to the public. 

16 ‘‘SEC. 1474. SMALL PUBLIC WATER SYSTEM ASSISTANCE 

17 PROGRAM FOR INDIAN TRIBES. 

18 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than July 1, 2008, 

19 the Administrator shall establish a small public water sys20 tem assistance program for Indian Tribes, through which 

21 eligible entities located in areas governed by the Indian 

22 Tribe may receive grants for eligible activities under this 

23 part. 

24 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM PRIORITY REQUIREMENT.— 

25 ‘‘(1) LIST OF ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.— 

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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, 

2 acting through the head of the small public 

3 water system assistance program for Indian 

4 Tribes, in consultation with the Secretary, shall, 

5 for each fiscal year, identify, and, using the pri6 ority criteria described in paragraph (2) and 

7 considering the additional criteria described in 

8 paragraph (3), list in descending order of pri9 ority, eligible activities for eligible entities lo10 cated in areas governed by Indian Tribes for 

11 which funds provided from a grant under this 

12 part may be used. 

13 ‘‘(B) COORDINATION.— 

14 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—To the maximum 

15 extent practicable, the Administrator shall 

16 ensure that the list under subparagraph 

17 (A) is coordinated with any needs assess18 ment conducted under section 1452(i)(4). 

19 ‘‘(ii) ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATION.— 

20 Any additional financial needs of small 

21 public water systems located in areas gov22 erned by Indian Tribes that are associated 

23 with the cost of complying with a national 

24 primary drinking water regulation that is 

25 promulgated after the most recent needs 

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1 survey conducted under section 1452(i)(4) 

2 shall be factored into the determination of 

3 financial need for, and prioritization of, eli4 gible activities under this section. 

5 ‘‘(2) PRIORITY CRITERIA.—In preparing the list 

6 under paragraph (1), the Administrator shall give 

7 priority for the use of grants to eligible activities 

8 that— 

9 ‘‘(A) address the most serious risk to 

10 human health; 

11 ‘‘(B) are necessary to ensure compliance 

12 with national primary water regulations appli13 cable to eligible entities under section 1412; 

14 and 

15 ‘‘(C) assist systems most in need, as cal16 culated on the basis of median household in17 come, under affordability criteria published by 

18 the Administrator under section 1452(d)(3). 

19 ‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL CRITERIA.—In addition to 

20 the priority criteria described in paragraph (2), the 

21 Administrator shall, in preparing a list under para22 graph (1), consider giving additional priority to any 

23 listed eligible activities that are to be carried out by 

24 communities that form management cooperatives 

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1 (including management cooperatives between sys2 tems that do not have connections). 

3 ‘‘(c) USE OF FUNDS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Using funds allocated 

5 under section 1472(c)(2)(A), the small public water 

6 system assistance program established under sub7 section (a) shall provide to an eligible entity located 

8 in an area governed by an Indian Tribe, on a cost9 shared basis, a grant to be used for an eligible activ10 ity (including source water protection) the purpose 

11 of which is compliance with national primary drink12 ing water regulations applicable to the eligible entity 

13 under section 1412. 

14 ‘‘(2) ALLOCATION OF GRANT FUNDING.—For 

15 each fiscal year, taking into consideration the fund16 ing allocation under section 1472(c)(2)(A) for the 

17 fiscal year, the head of the small public water assist18 ance program established under subsection (a), in 

19 consultation with the Secretary, shall provide grants 

20 under paragraph (1) for the maximum number of el21 igible activities for which the funding allocation 

22 makes assistance available, based on the priority as23 signed by the Administrator to eligible activities 

24 under subsection (b). 

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1 ‘‘(d) LIMITATION ON USE OF FUNDS.—For each fis2 cal year, not more than 5 percent of the funds received 

3 by an eligible entity under this section may be used to 

4 obtain technical assistance in planning, implementing, and 

5 maintaining eligible activities that are funded under this 

6 section. 

7 ‘‘(e) LIMITATION ON RECEIPT OF FUNDS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para9 graph (2), a grant under this section shall not be 

10 provided to an eligible entity that, as determined by 

11 the Administrator— 

12 ‘‘(A) does not have the technical, manage13 rial, and financial capability to ensure compli14 ance with national primary drinking water reg15 ulations applicable to the eligible entity under 

16 section 1412; or 

17 ‘‘(B) is in significant noncompliance with 

18 any applicable national primary drinking water 

19 regulation. 

20 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION FOR RECEIPT OF GRANT.—An 

21 eligible entity described in paragraph (1) may re22 ceive a grant under this section only— 

23 ‘‘(A) if the Administrator determines that 

24 use of the grant will ensure compliance with namstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 tional primary drinking water regulations appli2 cable to the eligible entity under section 1412; 

3 ‘‘(B)(i) to restructure or consolidate the 

4 facility to achieve compliance with applicable 

5 national primary drinking water regulations; or 

6 ‘‘(ii) in a case in which restructuring or 

7 consolidation of the facility is not practicable, if 

8 the Administrator determines that— 

9 ‘‘(I) the eligible entity has made a 

10 good faith effort to achieve compliance 

11 with applicable national primary drinking 

12 water regulations; and 

13 ‘‘(II) the eligible entity is adhering to 

14 an enforceable schedule for achieving those 

15 regulations; and 

16 ‘‘(C) in a case in which paragraph (1)(A) 

17 applies to an eligible entity, and the eligible en18 tity agrees to undertake feasible and appro19 priate changes in operations (including changes 

20 in ownership, management, accounting, rates, 

21 maintenance, consolidation, provision of an al22 ternative water supply, or other procedures), if 

23 the Administrator determines that the measures 

24 are necessary to ensure that the eligible entity 

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1 pability to comply with applicable national pri2 mary drinking water regulations over the long 

3 term. 

4 ‘‘(3) REVIEW.—Before providing assistance 

5 under this section to an eligible entity that is in sig6 nificant noncompliance with any national primary 

7 drinking water regulation applicable to the eligible 

8 entity under section 1412, the Administrator shall 

9 conduct a review to determine whether paragraph 

10 (1)(A) applies to the entity. 

11 ‘‘(f) COST SHARING.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 

13 ‘‘(A) LIMIT.—Except as provided in para14 graph (2), the share of the total cost of an eligi15 ble activity funded by a grant under this section 

16 shall not exceed 80 percent. 

17 ‘‘(B) USE OF OTHER FEDERAL FUNDS.— 

18 To pay the portion of an eligible activity that 

19 may not be funded by a grant under this sec20 tion, an eligible entity may use Federal finan21 cial assistance other than assistance received 

22 under this section. 

23 ‘‘(2) WAIVER OF COST-SHARING REQUIRE24 MENT.— 

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

2 may waive the requirement of an eligible entity 

3 to pay all or a portion of the share of eligible 

4 activity that may not be funded by a grant 

5 under this section based on a determination by 

6 the Administrator that the eligible entity is un7 able to pay any or all of the share. 

8 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—For each fiscal year, 

9 the total amount of cost-share waivers provided 

10 by the Administrator under subparagraph (A) 

11 shall not exceed 30 percent of the amount of 

12 funding allocated to eligible entities located in 

13 areas governed by Indian Tribes for the fiscal 

14 year under section 1472(c)(2)(A). 

15 ‘‘(g) UNOBLIGATED FUNDS.—Any funds not obli16 gated by the small public water system assistance program 

17 established under subsection (a) for a purpose consistent 

18 with section 1472(c)(2)(B) and subsection (c) within 1 

19 year after the date of allocation of the funds by the Ad20 ministrator under section 1472(c)(2)(A) shall be returned 

21 to the Administrator for reallocation under that section. 

22 ‘‘(h) REPORTS.—Not later than November 1 fol23 lowing each fiscal year in which an Indian Tribe receives 

24 funding under this section, the Indian Tribe shall submit 

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1 to the Administrator a report that, for the preceding fiscal 

2 year— 

3 ‘‘(1) identifies the number of grants awarded to 

4 eligible entities located in areas governed by the In5 dian Tribe; 

6 ‘‘(2) identifies each such eligible entity that re7 ceived a grant to carry out an eligible activity; 

8 ‘‘(3) identifies the amount of each grant pro9 vided to such an eligible entity to carry out an eligi10 ble activity; and 

11 ‘‘(4) describes each eligible activity funded by 

12 such grants (including the status of the eligible ac13 tivity). 

14 ‘‘SEC. 1475. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

15 ‘‘There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

16 this part $750,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 

17 through 2014.’’. 

Æ 

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