II 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2658

To establish a Department of Energy National Laboratories water technology 

research and development program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 14, 2004

Mr. DOMENICI (for himself, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. CRAIG, Mr. BINGAMAN, and 

Mr. DURBIN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works 

A BILL

To establish a Department of Energy National Laboratories 

water technology research and development program, 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 ‘‘Department of Energy 

5 National Laboratories Water Technology Research and 

6 Development Act’’. 

7 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

8 The purpose of this Act is to establish within the De9 partment of Energy a program for research on and the 
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1 development of economically viable technologies that 

2 would— 

3 (1) substantially improve access to existing 

4 water resources; 

5 (2) promote improved access to untapped water 

6 resources; 

7 (3) facilitate the widespread commercialization 

8 of newly developed water supply technologies for use 

9 in real-world applications; 

10 (4) provide objective analyses of, and propose 

11 changes to, current water supply laws and policies 

12 relating to the implementation and acceptance of 

13 new water supply technologies developed under the 

14 program; and 

15 (5) facilitate collaboration among Federal agen16 cies in the conduct of research under this Act and 

17 otherwise provide for the integration of research on, 

18 and disclosure of information relating to, water sup19 ply technologies. 

20 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

21 In this Act: 

22 (1) ADVISORY PANEL.—The term ‘‘Advisory 

23 Panel’’ means the National Water Supply Tech24 nology Advisory Panel established under section 

25 5(a). 
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1 (2) INSTITUTE.—The term ‘‘Institute’’ means 

2 the National Water Supply Law and Policy Institute 

3 designated by section 8(a). 

4 (3) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘program’’ means 

5 the National Laboratories water technology research 

6 and development program established under section 

7 4(a). 

8 (4) PROGRAM COORDINATOR.—The term ‘‘Pro9 gram Coordinator’’ means the individual appointed 

10 to administer the program under section 4(c). 

11 (5) REGIONAL CENTER.—The term ‘‘Regional 

12 Center’’ means a Regional Center designated under 

13 subsection (b) or (e) of section 6. 

14 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

15 the Secretary of Energy. 

16 (7) WATER SUPPLY TECHNOLOGY.—The term 

17 ‘‘water supply technology’’ means a technology that 

18 is designed to improve water quality, make more ef19 ficient use of existing water resources, or develop po20 tential water resources, including technologies for— 

21 (A) reducing water consumption in the 

22 production or generation of energy; 

23 (B) desalination and related concentrate 

24 disposal; 

25 (C) water reuse; 
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1 (D) contaminant removal, such as toxics 

2 identified by the Environmental Portection 

3 Agency and new and emerging contaminants 

4 (including perchlorate and nitrates); 

5 (E) agriculture, industrial, and municipal 

6 efficiency; and 

7 (F) water monitoring and systems anal8 ysis. 

9 SEC. 4. NATIONAL LABORATORIES WATER TECHNOLOGY 

10 RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM. 

11 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall establish 

12 a National Laboratories water technology research and de13 velopment program for research on, and the development 

14 and commercialization of, water supply technologies. 

15 (b) PROGRAM LEAD LABORATORY.—The program 

16 shall be carried out by the National Laboratories, with 

17 Sandia National Laboratory designated as the lead labora18 tory for the program. 

19 (c) PROGRAM COORDINATOR.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall appoint 

21 an individual at Sandia National Laboratory as the 

22 Program Coordinator to administer the program. 

23 (2) DUTIES.—In carrying out the program, the 

24 Program Coordinator shall— 
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1 (A) establish budgetary and contracting 

2 procedures for the program; 

3 (B) perform administrative duties relating 

4 to the program; 

5 (C) provide grants under section 7; 

6 (D) conduct peer review of water supply 

7 technology proposals and research results; 

8 (E) establish procedures to determine 

9 which water supply technologies would most im10 prove water quality, make the most efficient use 

11 of existing water resources, and provide opti12 mum development of potential water resources; 

13 (F) coordinate budgets for water supply 

14 technology research at Regional Centers; 

15 (G) coordinate research carried out under 

16 the program, including research carried out by 

17 Regional Centers; 

18 (H) perform annual evaluations of research 

19 progress made by grant recipients and Regional 

20 Centers; 

21 (I) establish a water supply technology 

22 transfer program to identify, and facilitate com23 mercialization of, promising water supply tech24 nologies, including construction and implemen25 tation of demonstration facilities, partnerships 
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1 with industry consortia, and collaboration with 

2 other Federal programs; 

3 (J) establish procedures and criteria for 

4 the Advisory Panel to use in reviewing Regional 

5 Center performance; 

6 (K) widely distribute information on the 

7 program, including through research con8 ferences; and 

9 (L) implement cross-cutting research to 

10 develop sensor and monitoring systems for 

11 water and energy efficiency and management. 

12 SEC. 5. NATIONAL WATER SUPPLY TECHNOLOGY ADVISORY 

13 PANEL. 

14 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall establish 

15 an advisory panel, to be known as the ‘‘National Water 

16 Supply Technology Advisory Panel’’, to advise the Pro17 gram Coordinator on the direction of the program and fa18 cilitating the commercialization of the water supply tech19 nologies developed under the program. 

20 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—Members of the Advisory Panel 

21 shall— 

22 (1) have expertise in water supply technology; 

23 and 

24 (2) be representative of educational institutions, 

25 industry, States, local government, international
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1 water technology institutions, other Federal agen2 cies, and nongovernmental organizations. 

3 (c) ASSESSMENT RESPONSIBILITIES.—In addition to 

4 other responsibilities, the Advisory Panel shall— 

5 (1) periodically assess the performance of the 

6 National Laboratories and universities designated as 

7 Regional Centers under section 6; and 

8 (2) make recommendations to the Secretary for 

9 renewing the designation of Regional Centers. 

10 SEC. 6. REGIONAL CENTERS. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—A Regional Center shall— 

12 (1) consist of 1 National Laboratory designated 

13 under subsection (b) or (e), acting in partnership 

14 with 1 or more universities selected under subsection 

15 (c); and 

16 (2) be eligible for a grant under section 7(a) for 

17 the conduct of research on the specific water supply 

18 technologies identified under subsection (b) or (e). 

19 (b) INITIAL REGIONAL CENTERS.—There are des20 ignated as Regional Centers— 

21 (1) the Northeast Regional Center, consisting 

22 of the Brookhaven National Laboratory and any 

23 university partners selected under subsection (c), 

24 which shall conduct research on reducing water qual-
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1 ity impacts from power plant outfall and decentral2 ized (soft-path) water treatment; 

3 (2) the Central Atlantic Regional Center, con4 sisting of the National Energy Technology Labora5 tory and any university partners selected under sub6 section (c), which shall conduct research on pro7 duced water purification and use for power produc8 tion and water reuse for large cities; 

9 (3) the Southeast Regional Center, consisting of 

10 the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and any univer11 sity partners selected under subsection (c), which 

12 shall conduct research on— 

13 (A) shallow aquifer conjunctive water use; 

14 (B) energy reduction for sea water desali15 nation; and 

16 (C) membrane technology development; 

17 (4) the Midwest Regional Center, consisting of 

18 the Argonne National Laboratory and any university 

19 partners selected under subsection (c), which shall 

20 conduct research on— 

21 (A) water efficiency in manufacturing; and 

22 (B) energy reduction in wastewater treat23 ment; 

24 (5) the Central Regional Center, consisting of 

25 the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental 
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1 Laboratory and any university partners selected 

2 under subsection (c), which shall conduct research 

3 on— 

4 (A) cogeneration of nuclear power and 

5 water; 

6 (B) energy systems for pumping irrigation; 

7 and 

8 (C) watershed management; 

9 (6) the West Regional Center, consisting of the 

10 Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and any uni11 versity partners selected under subsection (c), which 

12 shall conduct research on conjunctive management 

13 of hydropower and mining water reuse, including 

14 separations processes; 

15 (7) the Southwest Regional Center, consisting 

16 of the Los Alamos National Laboratory and any uni17 versity partners selected under subsection (c), which 

18 shall conduct research on— 

19 (A) water for power production in arid en20 vironments; 

21 (B) energy reduction and waste disposal 

22 for brackish desalination; 

23 (C) high water and energy efficiency in 

24 arid agriculture; and 
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1 (D) transboundary water management; 

2 and 

3 (8) the Pacific Regional Center, consisting of 

4 the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and 

5 any university partners selected under subsection 

6 (c), which shall conduct research on— 

7 (A) point of use technology, water treat8 ment, and conveyance energy reduction; 

9 (B) co-located energy production and water 

10 treatment; and 

11 (C) water reuse for agriculture. 

12 (c) SELECTION OF UNIVERSITY PARTNERS.—Not 

13 later than 180 days after the date on which a National 

14 Laboratory is designated under subsection (b) or (e), each 

15 National Laboratory, in consultation with the Program 

16 Coordinator and the Advisory Panel, shall select a primary 

17 university partner and may nominate additional university 

18 partners. 

19 (d) OPERATIONAL PROCEDURES.—Not later than 1 

20 year after the date of enactment of this Act, a Regional 

21 Center designated by subsection (b) shall submit to the 

22 Program Coordinator operational procedures for the Re23 gional Center. 

24 (e) ADDITIONAL REGIONAL CENTERS.—Subject to 

25 approval by the Advisory Panel, the Program Coordinator 
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1 may, not sooner than 5 years after the date of enactment 

2 of this Act, designate not more than 4 additional Regional 

3 Centers if the Program Coordinator determines that there 

4 are additional water supply technologies that need to be 

5 researched. 

6 (f) PERIOD OF DESIGNATION.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—A designation by subsection 

8 (b) or under subsection (c) shall be for a period of 

9 5 years. 

10 (2) ASSESSMENT.—A Regional Center shall be 

11 subject to periodic assessments by the Program Co12 ordinator in accordance with procedures and criteria 

13 established under section 4(b)(2)(K)(i). 

14 (3) RENEWAL.—After the initial period under 

15 paragraph (1), a designation may be renewed for 

16 subsequent 5-year periods by the Program Coordi17 nator in accordance with procedures and criteria es18 tablished under section 4(b)(2)(K)(ii). 

19 (4) TERMINATION OR NONRENEWAL.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—Based on a periodic as21 sessment conducted under paragraph (2), in ac22 cordance with the procedures and criteria estab23 lished under section 4(b)(2)(K)(iii), and after 

24 review by the Advisory Panel, the Program Co25 ordinator may recommend that the Secretary 
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1 terminate or determine not to renew the des2 ignation of a Regional Center. 

3 (B) TERMINATION.—Following a rec4 ommendation for termination or nonrenewal by 

5 the Program Coordinator, the Secretary may 

6 terminate or choose not to renew the designa7 tion of a Regional Center. 

8 (g) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.—A Regional Center shall 

9 be administered by an executive director, subject to ap10 proval by the Program Coordinator. 

11 (h) PUBLICATION OF RESEARCH RESULTS.—A Re12 gional Center shall periodically publish the results of any 

13 research carried out under the program in appropriate 

14 peer-reviewed journals. 

15 SEC. 7. PROGRAM GRANTS. 

16 (a) BLOCK GRANTS TO REGIONAL CENTERS.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Program Coordinator 

18 shall, subject to the availability of appropriations, 

19 provide a block grant to a Regional Center for the 

20 conduct of research in the specific area identified for 

21 the Research Center under section 6(b). 

22 (2) DISTRIBUTION.—Of the amounts made 

23 available to a Regional Center under paragraph (1), 

24 50 percent shall be distributed to the university 

25 partners selected under section 6(c), in accordance
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1 with the operational procedures for the Regional 

2 Center developed under section 6(d). 

3 (3) COST-SHARING REQUIREMENT.—A National 

4 Laboratory or university partner that receives a 

5 grant provided under this subsection shall not be 

6 subject to a cost-sharing requirement. 

7 (b) GRANTS TO COLLABORATIVE INSTITUTIONS.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Program Coordinator 

9 shall provide competitive grants to eligible collabo10 rative institutions for water supply technology re11 search, development, and demonstration projects. 

12 (2) ELIGIBLE COLLABORATIVE INSTITU13 TIONS.—The following are eligible for grants under 

14 paragraph (1): 

15 (A) Nongovernmental organizations. 

16 (B) National Laboratories. 

17 (C) Private corporations. 

18 (D) Industry consortia. 

19 (E) Universities or university consortia. 

20 (F) International research consortia. 

21 (G) Any other entity with expertise in the 

22 conduct of research on water supply tech23 nologies. 

24 (3) DISTRIBUTION.—Of the amounts made 

25 available for grants under paragraph (1)— 
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1 (A) not less than 15 percent or more than 

2 25 percent shall be provided as block grants to 

3 nongovernmental organizations, which may be 

4 redistributed by the nongovernmental organiza5 tion to individual projects; 

6 (B) not less than 20 percent or more than 

7 30 percent shall be provided to National Lab8 oratories; 

9 (C) not less than 15 percent or more than 

10 25 percent shall be provided to support indi11 vidual projects that are recommended by at 

12 least 1 other Federal Agency; and 

13 (D) any amounts remaining after the dis14 tributions under subparagraphs (A) through 

15 (C) may be provided to support individual 

16 projects, as the Program Coordinator deter17 mines to be appropriate. 

18 (4) COST-SHARING REQUIREMENTS.— 

19 (A) GRANTS TO NONGOVERNMENTAL OR20 GANIZATIONS AND INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS.—

21 The non-Federal share of the total cost of any 

22 project assisted under subparagraphs (A) or (C) 

23 of paragraph (3) shall be 50 percent. 

24 (B) GRANTS TO NATIONAL LABORA25 TORIES.—A National Laboratory that receives a 
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1 grant under paragraph (3)(B) shall not be sub2 ject to a cost-sharing requirement. 

3 (C) GRANTS TO OTHER ENTITIES.—The 

4 non-Federal share of the total cost of any 

5 project assisted under paragraph (3)(D) shall 

6 be 25 percent. 

7 (5) TERM OF GRANT.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

9 subparagraph (B), a grant provided under 

10 paragraph (1) shall be for a term of 2 years. 

11 (B) RENEWAL.—The Program Coordinator 

12 may renew a grant for up to 2 additional years 

13 as the Program Coordinator determines to be 

14 appropriate. 

15 (6) TREATMENT OF FUNDS.—Amounts received 

16 under a grant provided to a non-Federal entity 

17 under this subsection shall be considered to be non18 Federal funds when used as matching funds by the 

19 non-Federal entity toward a Federal cost-shared 

20 project conducted under another program. 

21 (7) CRITERIA.—The Program Coordinator shall 

22 establish criteria for the submission and review of 

23 grant applications and the provision of grants under 

24 paragraph (1). 
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1 SEC. 8. NATIONAL WATER SUPPLY LAW AND POLICY INSTI2 TUTE. 

3 (a) DESIGNATION.—The Utton Center at the Univer4 sity of New Mexico Law School is designated as the Na5 tional Water Supply Law and Policy Institute. 

6 (b) DUTIES.—The Institute shall— 

7 (1) establish a database of existing water laws, 

8 regulations, and policy; 

9 (2) provide legal, regulatory, and policy alter10 natives to increase national and international water 

11 supplies; 

12 (3) consult with the Regional Centers, other 

13 participants in the program (including States), and 

14 other interested persons, on water law and policy 

15 and the effect of that policy on the development and 

16 commercialization of water supply technologies; and 

17 (4) conduct an annual water law and policy 

18 seminar to provide information on research carried 

19 out or funded by the Institute. 

20 (c) PARTNERSHIPS.—The Institute may enter into 

21 partnerships with other institutions to assist in carrying 

22 out the duties of the Institute under subsection (b). 

23 (d) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.—The Institute shall be 

24 administered by an executive director, to be appointed by 

25 the dean of the University of New Mexico Law School, 

26 in consultation with the Program Coordinator. 
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1 SEC. 9. REPORTS. 

2 (a) REPORTS TO PROGRAM COORDINATOR.—Any Re3 gional Center, National Laboratory, or collaborative insti4 tution that receives a grant under section 7 shall submit 

5 to the Program Coordinator an annual report on activities 

6 carried out using amounts made available under this Act 

7 during the preceding fiscal year. 

8 (b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 3 years 

9 after the date of enactment of this Act and each year 

10 thereafter, the Program Coordinator shall submit to the 

11 Secretary and Congress a report that describes the activi12 ties carried out under this Act. 

13 SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro15 priated to the Secretary for fiscal year 2005 and each sub16 sequent fiscal year— 

17 (1) for the administration of the program by 

18 the Program Coordinator and the construction of 

19 any necessary program facilities, $25,000,000; and 

20 (2) for research and development carried out 

21 under the program, $200,000,000. 

22 (b) ALLOCATION.—Of amounts made available under 

23 subsection (a)(2) for a fiscal year— 

24 (1) at least 15 percent shall be made available 

25 for the water supply technology transfer program es26 tablished under section 4(b)(2)(I); 
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1 (2) the lesser of $10,000,000 or 5 percent shall 

2 be made available for grants under section 7(a); 

3 (3) at least 30 percent shall be made available 

4 for grants to collaborative institutions under section 

5 7(b); and 

6 (4) the lesser of $10,000,000 or 5 percent shall 

7 be made available for the Institute.

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