II 

Calendar No. 1036 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1933 

[Report No. 110–475] 

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, Mr. CONRAD, and Ms. KLOBUCHAR) 

introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 

Committee on Environment and Public Works 

SEPTEMBER 22 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 17), 2008 

Reported by Mrs. BOXER, without amendment 

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’’. 

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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

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

4 effect and proposed as of the date of enactment of 

5 this Act can place large financial burdens on public 

6 water systems, especially systems that serve fewer 

7 than a few thousand people; 

8 (2) some small public water systems have expe9 rienced water contamination problems that may pose 

10 a significant risk to the health of water consumers; 

11 (3) small communities are concerned about im12 proving drinking water quality; 

13 (4) the limited scientific, technical, and profes14 sional resources of many small communities make 

15 understanding and implementing regulatory require16 ments very difficult; 

17 (5) small communities often struggle to meet 

18 water quality standards because of difficulty in se19 curing funding; 

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

21 opportunities to benefit from economics of scale and 

22 therefore face very high per capita costs in improv23 ing drinking water quality; 

24 (7) the smallest public water systems, which 

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

26 of all public water systems; 

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1 (8) small public water systems serving fewer 

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

3 water systems; 

4 (9) small communities would benefit from a 

5 grant program designed to provide funding for water 

6 quality projects without a substantial matching re7 quirement; and 

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

9 of enactment of this Act do not adequately meet the 

10 needs of small communities with respect to public 

11 water systems. 

12 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to estab13 lish a program to provide grants to small public water sys14 tems to— 

15 (1) meet applicable national primary drinking 

16 water regulations under the Safe Drinking Water 

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

18 (2) maintain water costs at a reasonable level 

19 for the communities served by small public water 

20 systems; and 

21 (3) obtain technical assistance to develop the 

22 capacity to sustain operations over the long term. 

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1 SEC. 3. SMALL PUBLIC WATER SYSTEM ASSISTANCE PRO2 GRAM. 

3 (a) DEFINITION OF INDIAN TRIBE.—Section 

4 1401(14) of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 

5 300f(14)) is amended in the second sentence by striking 

6 ‘‘1452,’’ and inserting ‘‘1452 and part G,’’. 

7 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—The Safe 

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

9 by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘PART G—SMALL PUBLIC WATER SYSTEM 

11 ASSISTANCE 

12 ‘‘SEC. 1471. DEFINITIONS. 

13 ‘‘In this part: 

14 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE ACTIVITY.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘eligible ac16 tivity’ means an activity concerning a small 

17 public water system (including obtaining tech18 nical assistance) that is carried out by an eligi19 ble entity for a purpose consistent with section 

20 1473(c)(1) or 1474(c)(1), as appropriate. 

21 ‘‘(B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘eligible ac22 tivity’ does not include any activity to increase 

23 the population served by a small public water 

24 system, except to the extent that the State 

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

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

2 to be necessary to— 

3 ‘‘(i) achieve compliance with a na4 tional primary drinking water regulation; 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(ii) provide a water supply to a pop7 ulation that, as of the date of enactment of 

8 this part, is not served by a safe public 

9 water system. 

10 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en11 tity’ means a small public water system that— 

12 ‘‘(A) is located in a State or an area gov13 erned by an Indian Tribe; and 

14 ‘‘(B)(i) if located in a State, serves a com15 munity that, under affordability criteria estab16 lished by the State under section 1452(d)(3), is 

17 determined by the State to be— 

18 ‘‘(I) a disadvantaged community; or 

19 ‘‘(II) a community the State expects 

20 to become a disadvantaged community as a 

21 result of carrying out an eligible activity; 

22 or 

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

24 Indian Tribe, serves a community that is deter25 mined by the Administrator, under criteria pubmstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 lished by the Administrator under section 

2 1452(d)(3) and in consultation with the Sec3 retary, to be— 

4 ‘‘(I) a disadvantaged community; or 

5 ‘‘(II) a community the Administrator 

6 expects to become a disadvantaged commu7 nity as a result of carrying out an eligible 

8 activity. 

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

10 State’ means a State that has— 

11 ‘‘(A) adopted, and is implementing, an ap12 proved operator certification program under 

13 section 1419; and 

14 ‘‘(B) established affordability criteria 

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

16 disadvantaged communities. 

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

18 the Small Public Water System Assistance Program 

19 established under section 1472(a). 

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

21 the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting 

22 through the Director of the Indian Health Service. 

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

24 term ‘small public water system’ means a public 

25 water system (including a community water system 

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1 and a noncommunity water system) that serves a 

2 population of 10,000 or fewer. 

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

4 PROGRAM. 

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

6 the Administrator shall establish within the Environ7 mental Protection Agency a Small Public Water System 

8 Assistance Program. 

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

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

11 and administer a small public water system assist12 ance program for, and provide grants to, eligible en13 tities located in areas governed by Indian Tribes, for 

14 use in carrying out eligible activities; 

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

16 lists of, activities for eligible entities located in areas 

17 governed by Indian Tribes that are eligible for 

18 grants under section 1474; 

19 ‘‘(3) provide funds to States for use in estab20 lishing small public water system assistance pro21 grams under section 1473 that award grants to eli22 gible entities to carry out eligible activities; and 

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

24 the reports required under subsection (d). 

25 ‘‘(c) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.— 

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1 ‘‘(1) STATES.— 

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara3 graphs (B) through (D) and paragraph (2)(A), 

4 for each fiscal year, the Administrator, through 

5 the head of the Program, using the most recent 

6 available needs survey conducted by the Admin7 istrator under section 1452(h), shall allocate 

8 the funds made available to carry out the Pro9 gram for the fiscal year among eligible States 

10 based on the ratio that— 

11 ‘‘(i) the financial need associated with 

12 treatment projects for small public water 

13 systems in the State; bears to 

14 ‘‘(ii) the total financial need associ15 ated with treatment projects for all small 

16 public water systems in all States. 

17 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—Any 

18 additional financial needs of small public water 

19 systems associated with the cost of treatment 

20 projects needed to comply with a national pri21 mary drinking water regulation that is promul22 gated after the most recent needs survey con23 ducted under section 1452(h) shall be factored 

24 into the determination of financial need under 

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

2 each fiscal year. 

3 ‘‘(C) MINIMUM ALLOCATION.—An alloca4 tion of funds to a State for a fiscal year under 

5 subparagraph (A), taking into consideration 

6 any additional financial needs described in sub7 paragraph (B), shall be in an amount that is at 

8 least 1 percent of the amount of funds available 

9 for that fiscal year. 

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

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

12 funds allocated to the State under subpara13 graph (A) in any fiscal year, the Administrator 

14 shall redistribute the funds among the States 

15 that— 

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

17 and 

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

19 under subparagraph (A) for that fiscal 

20 year. 

21 ‘‘(2) INDIAN TRIBES.— 

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

23 in accordance with subparagraph (B), 3 percent 

24 of the total amount of funds made available to 

25 carry out the Program for the fiscal year shall 

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1 be allocated by the Administrator to provide 

2 grants to eligible entities that are located in 

3 areas governed by Indian Tribes through the 

4 program established under section 1474(a). 

5 ‘‘(B) USE OF FUNDS.— 

6 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—For each fiscal 

7 year, the Administrator shall award, on a 

8 competitive basis, not less than 1.5 percent 

9 of the funds allocated under subparagraph 

10 (A) to nonprofit technical assistance orga11 nizations, to be used for the purposes of— 

12 ‘‘(I) assisting the Administrator 

13 in preparing the list required under 

14 section 1474(b) (including assisting 

15 the Administrator in identifying the 

16 highest priority eligible activities for 

17 eligible entities located in areas gov18 erned by Indian Tribes for which a 

19 grant under section 1474 may be 

20 used); 

21 ‘‘(II) assisting eligible entities lo22 cated in areas governed by Indian 

23 Tribes in— 

24 ‘‘(aa) assessing needs relat25 ing to eligible activities; and 

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1 ‘‘(bb) identifying available 

2 sources of funding to meet the 

3 cost-sharing requirement of sec4 tion 1474(f)(1); and 

5 ‘‘(III) assisting eligible entities 

6 located in areas governed by Indian 

7 Tribes that receive funding under sec8 tion 1474 in— 

9 ‘‘(aa) planning, imple10 menting, and maintaining eligible 

11 activities that are funded under 

12 that section; and 

13 ‘‘(bb) preparing reports re14 quired under section 1474(h). 

15 ‘‘(ii) CONSULTATION.—Each nonprofit 

16 technical assistance organization that re17 ceives funds under clause (i) shall consult 

18 with the Administrator, through the head 

19 of the program, before carrying out any 

20 activity for the purposes described in sub21 clauses (II)(aa) and (III)(aa) of that 

22 clause. 

23 ‘‘(iii) NO FUNDS FOR LOBBYING EX24 PENSES.—None of the funds made avail25 able to a nonprofit technical assistance ormstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 ganization under clause (i) shall be used to 

2 pay lobbying expenses. 

3 ‘‘(3) PROGRAM.—For each fiscal year, the Ad4 ministrator may use not more than 0.1 percent of 

5 the funds made available to carry out the Program 

6 to pay reasonable costs incurred in the administra7 tion of the Program. 

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

9 and annually thereafter through January 1, 2014, the Ad10 ministrator shall— 

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

12 Commerce of the House of Representatives and the 

13 Committee on Environment and Public Works of the 

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

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

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

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

18 Indian Tribes and in each State receiving funds 

19 under this part; 

20 ‘‘(B) identifies the number of grants 

21 awarded by each State, and by the Adminis22 trator to eligible entities located in areas gov23 erned by Indian Tribes, under this part; 

24 ‘‘(C) identifies each eligible entity that re25 ceived a grant to carry out an eligible activity; 

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

2 provided to an eligible entity to carry out an eli3 gible activity; and 

4 ‘‘(E) describes each eligible activity funded 

5 by such a grant (including the status of the eli6 gible activity); and 

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

8 available to the public. 

9 ‘‘SEC. 1473. STATE SMALL PUBLIC WATER SYSTEM ASSIST10 ANCE PROGRAMS. 

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

12 under this part, a State shall— 

13 ‘‘(1) be an eligible State; 

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

15 sought for fiscal year 2008) or not later than Sep16 tember 30 of any of fiscal years 2008 through 2014 

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

18 establish a small public water system assistance pro19 gram— 

20 ‘‘(A) under which the requirements of sub21 section (b), oversight, and related activities 

22 (other than financial administration) with re23 spect to the program are administered— 

24 ‘‘(i) in the case of a State that is ex25 ercising primary enforcement responsibility 

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1 for public water systems, by the State 

2 agency having primary responsibility for 

3 administration of the State program under 

4 section 1413; and 

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

6 exercising primary enforcement authority 

7 for public water systems, by a State agen8 cy selected by the Governor of the State; 

9 and 

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

11 section; and 

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

13 sought under this section— 

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

15 under section 1452(b), after providing for pub16 lic review and comment, prepare an annual list 

17 of eligible activities for eligible entities in the 

18 State in accordance with subsection (b); and 

19 ‘‘(B) prepare and submit to the Adminis20 trator a request for the funding, by such date 

21 and in such form as the Administrator shall 

22 prescribe. 

23 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM PRIORITY REQUIREMENT.— 

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

25 public water system assistance program established 

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

2 which funding is sought, identify, and, using the pri3 ority criteria described in paragraph (2) and consid4 ering the additional criteria described in paragraph 

5 (3), list in descending order of priority, eligible ac6 tivities for eligible entities in the State for which 

7 funds provided from a grant under this part may be 

8 used. 

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

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

11 assistance program shall give priority for the use of 

12 grants to eligible activities that— 

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

14 human health; 

15 ‘‘(B) are necessary to ensure compliance 

16 with national primary water regulations appli17 cable to eligible entities under section 1412; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(C) assist systems most in need, as cal20 culated on the basis of median household in21 come, under affordability criteria established by 

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

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

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

25 small public water system assistance program shall, 

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

2 giving additional priority to any listed eligible activi3 ties that are to be carried out by communities that 

4 form management cooperatives (including manage5 ment cooperatives between systems that do not have 

6 connections). 

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

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

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

10 water system assistance program established by the State 

11 under subsection (a)— 

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

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

14 activity (including source water protection) the pur15 pose of which is compliance with national primary 

16 drinking water regulations applicable to the eligible 

17 entity under section 1412; 

18 ‘‘(2) shall— 

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

20 less than 1.5 percent of the funds to nonprofit 

21 technical assistance organizations to be used for 

22 the purposes of— 

23 ‘‘(i) assisting the State in preparing 

24 the list required under subsection (b) (in25 cluding assisting the State in identifying 

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1 the highest priority eligible activities for el2 igible entities located in the State for 

3 which a grant under this section may be 

4 used); and 

5 ‘‘(ii) assisting eligible entities in— 

6 ‘‘(I) assessing needs relating to 

7 eligible activities; 

8 ‘‘(II) identifying available sources 

9 of funding to meet the cost-sharing 

10 requirement of subsection (f); and 

11 ‘‘(III) planning, implementing, 

12 and maintaining any eligible activities 

13 of the eligible entities that receive 

14 funding under this section; 

15 ‘‘(B) require each nonprofit technical as16 sistance organization that receives funds under 

17 subparagraph (A) to consult with the State, 

18 through the head of the small public water as19 sistance program, before carrying out any activ20 ity for the purposes described in subclauses (I) 

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

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

23 available to a nonprofit technical assistance or24 ganization under subparagraph (A) be used to 

25 pay lobbying expenses; and 

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

2 funds allocated to the State to pay reasonable costs 

3 incurred in the administration of the small public 

4 water system assistance program. 

5 ‘‘(d) LIMITATION ON USE OF FUNDS.—For each fis6 cal year, not more than 5 percent of the funds received 

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

8 obtain technical assistance in planning, implementing, and 

9 maintaining eligible activities that are funded under this 

10 section. 

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

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para13 graph (2), a grant under this section shall not be 

14 provided to an eligible entity that, as determined by 

15 the State— 

16 ‘‘(A) does not have the technical, manage17 rial, and financial capability to ensure compli18 ance with national primary drinking water reg19 ulations applicable to the eligible entity under 

20 section 1412; or 

21 ‘‘(B) is in significant noncompliance with 

22 any applicable national primary drinking water 

23 regulation. 

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

2 eligible entity described in paragraph (1) may re3 ceive a grant under this section only— 

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

5 the grant will ensure compliance with national 

6 primary drinking water regulations applicable 

7 to the eligible entity under section 1412; 

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

9 facility to achieve compliance with applicable 

10 national primary drinking water regulations; or 

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

12 consolidation of the facility is not practicable, if 

13 the State determines that— 

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

15 good faith effort to achieve compliance 

16 with applicable national primary drinking 

17 water regulations; and 

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

19 an enforceable schedule for achieving those 

20 regulations; and 

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

22 applies to an eligible entity, and the eligible en23 tity agrees to undertake feasible and appro24 priate changes in operations (including changes 

25 in ownership, management, accounting, rates, 

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1 maintenance, consolidation, provision of an al2 ternative water supply, or other procedures), if 

3 the State determines that the measures are nec4 essary to ensure that the eligible entity has the 

5 technical, managerial, and financial capability 

6 to comply with applicable national primary 

7 drinking water regulations over the long term. 

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

9 under this section to an eligible entity that is in sig10 nificant noncompliance with any national primary 

11 drinking water regulation applicable to the eligible 

12 entity under section 1412, the State shall conduct a 

13 review to determine whether paragraph (1)(A) ap14 plies to the entity. 

15 ‘‘(f) COST SHARING.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 

17 ‘‘(A) LIMIT.—Except as provided in para18 graph (2), the share of the total cost of an eligi19 ble activity funded by a grant under this section 

20 shall not exceed 80 percent. 

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

22 To pay the portion of an eligible activity that 

23 may not be funded by a grant under this sec24 tion, an eligible entity may use Federal finanmstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 cial assistance other than assistance received 

2 under this section. 

3 ‘‘(2) WAIVER OF COST-SHARING REQUIRE4 MENT.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara6 graph (B), a State may waive the requirement 

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

8 the share of an eligible activity that may not be 

9 funded by a grant under this section, based on 

10 a determination by the State that the eligible 

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

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

13 which a State receives funding under this sec14 tion, the total amount of cost-share waivers 

15 provided by the State under subparagraph (A) 

16 shall not exceed 30 percent of the amount of 

17 funding received by the State for the fiscal year 

18 under section 1472(c)(1). 

19 ‘‘(g) UNOBLIGATED FUNDS.—Any funds not obli20 gated by the State for a purpose consistent with sub21 section (c) within 1 year after the date of the allocation 

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

23 shall be returned to the Administrator for reallocation 

24 under that section. 

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1 ‘‘(h) REPORTS.—Not later than November 1 fol2 lowing each fiscal year in which a State receives funding 

3 under this section, the State shall— 

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

5 for the preceding fiscal year— 

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

7 entities, as prepared under subsection (b); 

8 ‘‘(B) identifies the number of grants 

9 awarded by the State small public water system 

10 assistance program to eligible entities; 

11 ‘‘(C) identifies each eligible entity that re12 ceived a grant to carry out an eligible activity; 

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

14 provided to an eligible entity to carry out an eli15 gible activity; and 

16 ‘‘(E) describes each eligible activity funded 

17 by such grants (including the status of the eli18 gible activity); and 

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

20 available to the public. 

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

22 PROGRAM FOR INDIAN TRIBES. 

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

24 the Administrator shall establish a small public water sys25 tem assistance program for Indian Tribes, through which 

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1 eligible entities located in areas governed by the Indian 

2 Tribe may receive grants for eligible activities under this 

3 part. 

4 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM PRIORITY REQUIREMENT.— 

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

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

7 acting through the head of the small public 

8 water system assistance program for Indian 

9 Tribes, in consultation with the Secretary, shall, 

10 for each fiscal year, identify, and, using the pri11 ority criteria described in paragraph (2) and 

12 considering the additional criteria described in 

13 paragraph (3), list in descending order of pri14 ority, eligible activities for eligible entities lo15 cated in areas governed by Indian Tribes for 

16 which funds provided from a grant under this 

17 part may be used. 

18 ‘‘(B) COORDINATION.— 

19 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—To the maximum 

20 extent practicable, the Administrator shall 

21 ensure that the list under subparagraph 

22 (A) is coordinated with any needs assess23 ment conducted under section 1452(i)(4). 

24 ‘‘(ii) ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATION.— 

25 Any additional financial needs of small 

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1 public water systems located in areas gov2 erned by Indian Tribes that are associated 

3 with the cost of complying with a national 

4 primary drinking water regulation that is 

5 promulgated after the most recent needs 

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

7 shall be factored into the determination of 

8 financial need for, and prioritization of, eli9 gible activities under this section. 

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

11 under paragraph (1), the Administrator shall give 

12 priority for the use of grants to eligible activities 

13 that— 

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

15 human health; 

16 ‘‘(B) are necessary to ensure compliance 

17 with national primary water regulations appli18 cable to eligible entities under section 1412; 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(C) assist systems most in need, as cal21 culated on the basis of median household in22 come, under affordability criteria published by 

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

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

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

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1 Administrator shall, in preparing a list under para2 graph (1), consider giving additional priority to any 

3 listed eligible activities that are to be carried out by 

4 communities that form management cooperatives 

5 (including management cooperatives between sys6 tems that do not have connections). 

7 ‘‘(c) USE OF FUNDS.— 

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

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

10 system assistance program established under sub11 section (a) shall provide to an eligible entity located 

12 in an area governed by an Indian Tribe, on a cost13 shared basis, a grant to be used for an eligible activ14 ity (including source water protection) the purpose 

15 of which is compliance with national primary drink16 ing water regulations applicable to the eligible entity 

17 under section 1412. 

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

19 each fiscal year, taking into consideration the fund20 ing allocation under section 1472(c)(2)(A) for the 

21 fiscal year, the head of the small public water assist22 ance program established under subsection (a), in 

23 consultation with the Secretary, shall provide grants 

24 under paragraph (1) for the maximum number of el25 igible activities for which the funding allocation 

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1 makes assistance available, based on the priority as2 signed by the Administrator to eligible activities 

3 under subsection (b). 

4 ‘‘(d) LIMITATION ON USE OF FUNDS.—For each fis5 cal year, not more than 5 percent of the funds received 

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

7 obtain technical assistance in planning, implementing, and 

8 maintaining eligible activities that are funded under this 

9 section. 

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

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para12 graph (2), a grant under this section shall not be 

13 provided to an eligible entity that, as determined by 

14 the Administrator— 

15 ‘‘(A) does not have the technical, manage16 rial, and financial capability to ensure compli17 ance with national primary drinking water reg18 ulations applicable to the eligible entity under 

19 section 1412; or 

20 ‘‘(B) is in significant noncompliance with 

21 any applicable national primary drinking water 

22 regulation. 

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

24 eligible entity described in paragraph (1) may re25 ceive a grant under this section only— 

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1 ‘‘(A) if the Administrator determines that 

2 use of the grant will ensure compliance with na3 tional primary drinking water regulations appli4 cable 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 Administrator 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 

25 the Administrator determines that the measures 

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1 are necessary to ensure that the eligible entity 

2 has the technical, managerial, and financial ca3 pability to comply with applicable national pri4 mary drinking water regulations over the long 

5 term. 

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

7 under this section to an eligible entity that is in sig8 nificant noncompliance with any national primary 

9 drinking water regulation applicable to the eligible 

10 entity under section 1412, the Administrator shall 

11 conduct a review to determine whether paragraph 

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

13 ‘‘(f) COST SHARING.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 

15 ‘‘(A) LIMIT.—Except as provided in para16 graph (2), the share of the total cost of an eligi17 ble activity funded by a grant under this section 

18 shall not exceed 80 percent. 

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

20 To pay the portion of an eligible activity that 

21 may not be funded by a grant under this sec22 tion, an eligible entity may use Federal finan23 cial assistance other than assistance received 

24 under this section. 

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1 ‘‘(2) WAIVER OF COST-SHARING REQUIRE2 MENT.— 

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

4 may waive the requirement of an eligible entity 

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

6 activity that may not be funded by a grant 

7 under this section based on a determination by 

8 the Administrator that the eligible entity is un9 able to pay any or all of the share. 

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

11 the total amount of cost-share waivers provided 

12 by the Administrator under subparagraph (A) 

13 shall not exceed 30 percent of the amount of 

14 funding allocated to eligible entities located in 

15 areas governed by Indian Tribes for the fiscal 

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

17 ‘‘(g) UNOBLIGATED FUNDS.—Any funds not obli18 gated by the small public water system assistance program 

19 established under subsection (a) for a purpose consistent 

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

21 year after the date of allocation of the funds by the Ad22 ministrator under section 1472(c)(2)(A) shall be returned 

23 to the Administrator for reallocation under that section. 

24 ‘‘(h) REPORTS.—Not later than November 1 fol25 lowing each fiscal year in which an Indian Tribe receives 

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1 funding under this section, the Indian Tribe shall submit 

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

3 year— 

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

5 eligible entities located in areas governed by the In6 dian Tribe; 

7 ‘‘(2) identifies each such eligible entity that re8 ceived a grant to carry out an eligible activity; 

9 ‘‘(3) identifies the amount of each grant pro10 vided to such an eligible entity to carry out an eligi11 ble activity; and 

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

13 such grants (including the status of the eligible ac14 tivity). 

15 ‘‘SEC. 1475. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

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

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

18 through 2014.’’. 

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Calendar No. 1036 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1933 

[Report No. 110–475] 

A BILL 

To amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to provide 

grants to small public drinking water systems. 

SEPTEMBER 22 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 17), 2008 

Reported without amendment 

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