I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1729 

To establish a trust fund to provide for adequate funding for water and 

sewer infrastructure, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 22, 2023 

Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN (for herself, Mr. KHANNA, Ms. OMAR, Ms. MOORE

of Wisconsin, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. HUFFMAN, 

Mr. COHEN, Ms. JAYAPAL, Ms. TLAIB, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. 

NORTON, Mr. CONNOLLY, Mr. GALLEGO, Mr. NADLER, Ms. CLARKE of 

New York, Mr. EVANS, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. PANETTA, Mr. RUPPERSBERGER, Ms. SCANLON, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. BUSH, Ms. WILSON of Florida, Ms. BROWN, Mr. VARGAS, Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER, Ms. BONAMICI, 

Mr. CARSON, Mr. POCAN, Mr. GOMEZ, Ms. MATSUI, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Ms. SLOTKIN, Mr. KIM of New Jersey, Mr. BOWMAN, Ms. LEE of 

California, Ms. TITUS, Ms. BARRAGA ́N, Mr. HIMES, Ms. JACOBS, Mr. 

MULLIN, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. GARCI ́A of Illinois, Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ, 

Ms. STEVENS, Ms. PRESSLEY, Ms. MENG, Mr. SCHIFF, Mrs. HAYES, Mr. 

MCGOVERN, Mr. CARTER of Louisiana, Mr. DESAULNIER, Mr. SMITH of 

Washington, Ms. STANSBURY, Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania, Mr. LIEU, 

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. CICILLINE, Ms. CROCKETT, Mr. HORSFORD, Mr. 

CARBAJAL, Ms. SEWELL, Mrs. MCCLELLAN, Mr. AUCHINCLOSS, Ms. 

TOKUDA, Mr. QUIGLEY, Mrs. CHERFILUS-MCCORMICK, and Ms. JACKSON LEE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, Ways and Means, Agriculture, Natural 

Resources, and Education and the Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 

provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To establish a trust fund to provide for adequate funding 

for water and sewer infrastructure, and for other purposes. 


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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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Water Affordability, Transparency, Equity, and Reli6 ability Act of 2023’’. 

7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

8 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Water Affordability, Transparency, Equity, and Reliability Trust Fund. 

Sec. 3. Report on affordability, discrimination and civil rights violations, public 

participation in regionalization, and data collection. 

Sec. 4. Household water well systems. 

Sec. 5. State water pollution control revolving funds. 

Sec. 6. Use of State revolving loan funds under the Safe Drinking Water Act. 

Sec. 7. Drinking water grant programs. 

Sec. 8. Labor provisions. 

Sec. 9. Water operator jobs training grants. 

Sec. 10. Drinking water assistance to colonias. 

9 SEC. 2. WATER AFFORDABILITY, TRANSPARENCY, EQUITY, 

10 AND RELIABILITY TRUST FUND. 

11 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter A of chapter 98 

13 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by 

14 adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘SEC. 9512. WATER AFFORDABILITY, TRANSPARENCY, EQ16 UITY, AND RELIABILITY TRUST FUND. 

17 ‘‘(a) CREATION OF TRUST FUND.—There is estab18 lished in the Treasury of the United States a trust fund 

19 to be known as the ‘Water Affordability, Transparency, 

20 Equity, and Reliability Trust Fund’ (referred to in this 


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1 section as the ‘Trust Fund’), consisting of such amounts 

2 as may be appropriated or credited to such Trust Fund 

3 as provided in this section or section 9602(b). 

4 ‘‘(b) TRANSFERS TO FUND.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There are hereby appro6 priated to the Trust Fund such amounts as the Sec7 retary from time to time estimates are equal to the 

8 increase in Federal revenues attributable to the 

9 amendment made by section 2(b) of the Water Af10 fordability, Transparency, Equity, and Reliability 

11 Act of 2023. 

12 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—The sum of the amounts 

13 appropriated under paragraph (1) during any fiscal 

14 year shall not exceed the larger of— 

15 ‘‘(A) $35,000,000,000, and 

16 ‘‘(B) one-twentieth of the sum of— 

17 ‘‘(i) the 20-year need identified in the 

18 most recent assessment conducted by the 

19 Administrator of the Environmental Pro20 tection Agency in accordance with section 

21 1452(h) of the Safe Drinking Water Act 

22 (42 U.S.C. 300j–2(h)), plus 

23 ‘‘(ii) the 20-year need identified in the 

24 most recent needs survey submitted by the 

25 Administrator pursuant to sections 205(a), 


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1 516, and 609 of the Federal Water Pollu2 tion Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1285(a), 

3 1375, 1389). 

4 ‘‘(c) EXPENDITURES.—Amounts in the Trust Fund 

5 are available, without further appropriation and without 

6 fiscal year limitation, for the purposes described in section 

7 2(c) of the Water Affordability, Transparency, Equity, 

8 and Reliability Act of 2023.’’. 

9 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of 

10 parts for subchapter A of chapter 98 of such Code 

11 is amended by inserting after the item relating to 

12 section 9511 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 9512. Water Affordability, Transparency, Equity, and Reliability Trust 

Fund.’’. 

13 (b) INCREASE IN CORPORATE TAX RATE.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 11(b) of the Internal 

15 Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking ‘‘21’’ 

16 and inserting ‘‘24.5’’. 

17 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 

18 by this subsection shall apply to taxable years begin19 ning after December 31, 2022. 

20 (c) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.—The Administrator of 

21 the Environmental Protection Agency, the Secretary of 

22 Agriculture, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, 

23 and the Secretary of Labor shall allocate, for a fiscal year, 

24 the funds available, at the beginning of such fiscal year, 


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1 in the Water Affordability, Transparency, Equity, and Re2 liability Trust Fund, established by section 9512 of the 

3 Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as follows: 

4 (1) CLEAN WATER PROGRAMS.—Of such 

5 amount, the Administrator shall make available— 

6 (A) 0.5 percent for making grants under 

7 section 104(b)(8) of the Federal Water Pollu8 tion Control Act; 

9 (B) 1.5 percent for making grants under 

10 section 106 of such Act (33 U.S.C. 1256); 

11 (C) 2.5 percent for making grants under 

12 section 226 of such Act; 

13 (D) 2.5 percent for making grants under 

14 section 319 of such Act (33 U.S.C. 1329); and 

15 (E) 42 percent for making capitalization 

16 grants under section 601 of such Act (33 

17 U.S.C. 1381). 

18 (2) SAFE DRINKING WATER FUNDING.—Of such 

19 amount, the Administrator shall make available— 

20 (A) 0.5 percent for providing technical as21 sistance under section 1442(e) of the Safe 

22 Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300j–1(e)); 

23 (B) 42 percent for making capitalization 

24 grants under section 1452 of such Act (42 

25 U.S.C. 300j–12); 


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1 (C) 3 percent for making grants under sec2 tion 1465 of such Act; and 

3 (D) 0.5 percent for making grants under 

4 section 1456 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 300j–16) 

5 and for making grants under section 307 of the 

6 Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1996 

7 (33 U.S.C. 1281 note). 

8 (3) HOUSEHOLD WATER WELL SYSTEMS.—Of 

9 such amount, the Secretary of Agriculture shall 

10 make available 1 percent for making grants under 

11 section 306E of the Consolidated Farm and Rural 

12 Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1926e). 

13 (4) COLONIAS.—Of such amount, the Secretary 

14 of Agriculture shall make available 0.5 percent for 

15 making grants under section 306C of the Consoli16 dated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 

17 1926c) described in subsection (c) of such section. 

18 (5) INDIAN HEALTH SERVICES.—Of such 

19 amount, the Secretary of Health and Human Serv20 ices, acting through the Director of the Indian 

21 Health Service, shall make available 3 percent for 

22 making grants for the planning, design, construc23 tion, modernization, improvement, and renovation of 

24 water, sewer, and solid waste sanitation facilities 


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1 that are funded, in whole or part, by the Indian 

2 Health Service— 

3 (A) through, or provided for in, a contract 

4 or compact with the Indian Health Service 

5 under the Indian Self-Determination and Edu6 cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.); 

7 (B) pursuant to section 7 of the Act of Au8 gust 5, 1954 (68 Stat. 674, chapter 658; 73 

9 Stat. 267; 42 U.S.C. 2004a); or 

10 (C) pursuant to section 302 of the Indian 

11 Health Care Improvement Act (25 U.S.C. 

12 1632). 

13 (6) WATER OPERATORS JOB TRAINING

14 GRANTS.—Of such amount, the Secretary of Labor 

15 shall make available 0.5 percent for providing job 

16 training grants under section 414(f) of the American 

17 Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act of 

18 1988. 

19 (d) PROHIBITION.—None of the funds allocated pur20 suant to subsection (c) may be used for any activity de21 scribed in paragraphs (1) through (5) of section 203(a) 

22 of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act 

23 of 1959 (29 U.S.C. 433(a)). 


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1 SEC. 3. REPORT ON AFFORDABILITY, DISCRIMINATION AND 

2 CIVIL RIGHTS VIOLATIONS, PUBLIC PARTICI3 PATION IN REGIONALIZATION, AND DATA 

4 COLLECTION. 

5 (a) STUDY.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the 

7 Environmental Protection Agency shall conduct a 

8 study on water and sewer services, in accordance 

9 with this subsection. 

10 (2) AFFORDABILITY.—In conducting the study 

11 under paragraph (1), the Administrator shall study 

12 water affordability nationwide, including— 

13 (A) rates for water and sewer services, in14 creases in such rates during the ten-year period 

15 preceding such study, and water service dis16 connections due to unpaid water service 

17 charges; and 

18 (B) the effectiveness of funding under sec19 tion 1452 of the Safe Drinking Water Act and 

20 under section 601 of the Federal Water Pollu21 tion Control Act for promoting affordable, equi22 table, transparent, and reliable water and sewer 

23 service. 

24 (3) DISCRIMINATION AND CIVIL RIGHTS.—In 

25 conducting the study under paragraph (1), the Ad26 ministrator, in collaboration with the Civil Rights 


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1 Division of the United States Department of Justice, 

2 shall study— 

3 (A) discriminatory practices of water and 

4 sewer service providers; 

5 (B) discriminatory practices of State pro6 gram administrators in allocating funding; and 

7 (C) violations by such service providers 

8 and program administrators that receive Fed9 eral assistance of civil rights under title VI of 

10 the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with regard to 

11 equal access to water and sewer services. 

12 (4) PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN REGIONALIZA13 TION.—In conducting the study under paragraph 

14 (1), the Administrator shall evaluate efforts to re15 gionalize public water systems, as defined in section 

16 1401(4) of the Safe Water Drinking Act (42 U.S.C. 

17 300f(4)), and sewer services with respect to public 

18 participation in— 

19 (A) the decision to undergo such regional20 ization; and 

21 (B) decision making by the board of direc22 tors (or other governing body) of the entity that 

23 provides, or oversees or coordinates the provi24 sion of, water by the public water systems sub25 ject to such regionalization. 


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1 (5) DATA COLLECTION.—In conducting the 

2 study under paragraph (1), the Administrator shall 

3 collect information, assess the availability of infor4 mation, and evaluate the methodologies used to col5 lect information, related to— 

6 (A) people living without water or sewer 

7 services; 

8 (B) water service disconnections due to un9 paid water service charges, including disconnec10 tions experienced by households containing chil11 dren, elderly persons, disabled persons, chron12 ically ill persons, or other vulnerable popu13 lations; 

14 (C) tax liens and foreclosures due to un15 paid water service charges; and 

16 (D) disparate effects, on the basis of race, 

17 gender, or socioeconomic status, of water serv18 ice disconnections, tax liens and foreclosures 

19 due to unpaid water service charges, and the 

20 lack of public water service. 

21 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

22 of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the En23 vironmental Protection Agency shall submit to Congress 

24 a report that contains— 


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1 (1) the results of the study conducted under 

2 subsection (a)(1); and 

3 (2) recommendations for utility companies, 

4 Federal agencies, and States relating to such results. 

5 SEC. 4. HOUSEHOLD WATER WELL SYSTEMS. 

6 Section 306E(d) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural 

7 Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1926e(d)) is amended by 

8 striking ‘‘$20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2019 

9 through 2023’’ and inserting ‘‘$348,500,000 for each fis10 cal year’’. 

11 SEC. 5. STATE WATER POLLUTION CONTROL REVOLVING 

12 FUNDS. 

13 (a) SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS.—Section 602(b) of 

14 the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 

15 1382(b)) is amended— 

16 (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘will be made 

17 to the State with funds to be made available’’ and 

18 inserting ‘‘were made to the State with funds made 

19 available for fiscal year 2021’’; 

20 (2) in paragraph (13), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

21 end; 

22 (3) in paragraph (14), by striking the period at 

23 the end and inserting a semicolon; and 

24 (4) by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(15) the State will not provide financial assist2 ance using amounts from the fund for any project 

3 that will provide substantial direct benefits to new 

4 communities, lots, or subdivisions, other than a 

5 project to construct an advanced decentralized 

6 wastewater system; and’’. 

7 (b) PROJECTS AND ACTIVITIES ELIGIBLE FOR AS8 SISTANCE.—Section 603(c) of the Federal Water Pollution 

9 Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1383(c)) is amended— 

10 (1) in paragraph (11)(B), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

11 the end; 

12 (2) in paragraph (12)(B), by striking the period 

13 at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

14 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(13) to any municipality or intermunicipal, 

16 interstate, or State agency for— 

17 ‘‘(A) purchasing from a willing or unwill18 ing seller a privately owned treatment works; 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(B) expenses related to canceling a con21 tract for the operation or management of a 

22 publicly owned treatment works.’’. 

23 (c) INCREASING THE AMOUNT OF ADDITIONAL SUB24 SIDIZATION BY THE STATE.—Section 603(i)(3)(B) of the 


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1 Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 

2 1383(i)(3)(B)) is amended to read as follows: 

3 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL LIMITATION.—A State 

4 may use not less than 50 percent of the total 

5 amount received by the State in capitalization 

6 grants under this title for a fiscal year for pro7 viding additional subsidization under this sub8 section.’’. 

9 SEC. 6. USE OF STATE REVOLVING LOAN FUNDS UNDER 

10 THE SAFE DRINKING WATER ACT. 

11 Section 1452 of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 

12 U.S.C. 300j–12) is amended— 

13 (1) in subsection (a)— 

14 (A) in paragraph (2)— 

15 (i) in subparagraph (A), by inserting 

16 ‘‘publicly owned, operated, and managed’’ 

17 before ‘‘community water systems’’; and 

18 (ii) in subparagraph (E), by striking 

19 ‘‘The funds under this section shall not be 

20 used for the acquisition of real property or 

21 interests therein, unless the acquisition is 

22 integral to a project authorized by this 

23 paragraph and the purchase is from a will24 ing seller.’’ and inserting ‘‘The funds may 

25 also be used for purchasing from a willing 


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1 or unwilling seller a privately owned com2 munity water system, or for the expenses 

3 related to canceling a contract for the op4 eration or management of a community 

5 water system.’’; and 

6 (B) by adding at the end the following new 

7 paragraph: 

8 ‘‘(6) EXCEPTION TO PUBLIC OWNERSHIP, OPER9 ATION, AND MANAGEMENT REQUIREMENT.—Not10 withstanding paragraph (2)(A), public water systems 

11 that regularly serve fewer than 10,000 persons, and 

12 which are not owned, operated, or managed by any 

13 person who owns, operates, or manages any other 

14 public water system, may receive assistance under 

15 this section.’’; 

16 (2) by amending subsection (d)(2) to read as 

17 follows: 

18 ‘‘(2) TOTAL AMOUNT OF SUBSIDIES.—To the 

19 extent that there are sufficient applications for loans 

20 to communities described in paragraph (1), of the 

21 amount of the capitalization grant received by a 

22 State in a fiscal year, the total amount of loan sub23 sidies made by the State in the fiscal year pursuant 

24 to paragraph (1) may not be less than 50 percent.’’; 


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1 (3) in subsection (e), by striking ‘‘to be made 

2 to the State’’ and inserting ‘‘that was made to the 

3 State in fiscal year 2021’’; 

4 (4) in subsection (g)(3)— 

5 (A) in paragraph (B), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

6 the end; 

7 (B) in paragraph (C), by striking the pe8 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

9 (C) by inserting after subparagraph (C) 

10 the following: 

11 ‘‘(D) guidance to ensure affordable, equi12 table, transparent and reliable water service 

13 provision, to provide protections for households 

14 facing service disconnection due to unpaid 

15 water service charges, and to promote universal 

16 equal access to water services.’’; and 

17 (5) in subsection (k)(1), by adding at the end 

18 the following: 

19 ‘‘(E) Provide assistance in the form of a 

20 grant to owners of private property on which a 

21 lead service line (as defined in section 1459B) 

22 is or may be located, for the purpose of replac23 ing the lead service line with a service line that 

24 is lead-free (as defined in section 1417(d)). 


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1 ‘‘(F) Provide assistance to a publicly 

2 owned, operated, and managed community 

3 water system for the purpose of updating treat4 ment plants or switching water sources due to 

5 contamination from a perfluoroalkyl or 

6 polyfluoroalkyl substance (as defined by the 

7 State in which the community water system is 

8 located). 

9 ‘‘(G) Provide assistance in the form of a 

10 grant to owners of a household water well that 

11 has been contaminated by a perfluoroalkyl or 

12 polyfluoroalkyl substance (as defined by the 

13 State in which the household well is located), 

14 for the purpose of purchasing and installing a 

15 household filtration system.’’. 

16 SEC. 7. DRINKING WATER GRANT PROGRAMS. 

17 (a) SCHOOL DRINKING WATER IMPROVEMENT.— 

18 Section 1465 of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 

19 300j–25) is amended— 

20 (1) in the section header, by striking ‘‘FOUN21 TAIN’’ and inserting ‘‘INFRASTRUCTURE’’; 

22 (2) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘fountains 

23 manufactured prior to 1988’’ and inserting ‘‘infra24 structure’’; 


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1 (3) by amending subsection (b) to read as fol2 lows: 

3 ‘‘(b) USE OF FUNDS.—Funds awarded under the 

4 grant program may be used to pay costs associated with— 

5 ‘‘(1) installing, repairing, or replacing the infra6 structure necessary to ensure that drinking water 

7 fountains, drinking water coolers, and bottle filling 

8 stations at schools are lead free; and 

9 ‘‘(2) monitoring and reporting of lead levels in 

10 the drinking water of schools, as determined appro11 priate by the Administrator.’’; and 

12 (4) in subsection (d)— 

13 (A) by striking ‘‘$5,000,000’’ and inserting 

14 ‘‘$1,050,000,000’’; and 

15 (B) by striking ‘‘2021’’ and inserting 

16 ‘‘2025’’. 

17 (b) TRIBAL DRINKING WATER.—Section 1452(i)(1) 

18 of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300j–12(i)(1)) 

19 is amended, in the first sentence— 

20 (1) by striking ‘‘1 1/2’’ and inserting ‘‘Three’’; 

21 and 

22 (2) by striking ‘‘may’’ and inserting ‘‘shall’’. 

23 SEC. 8. LABOR PROVISIONS. 

24 (a) PREVAILING RATE OF WAGE.—Nothing in this 

25 Act shall affect the applicability of the requirements relatVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:42 Apr 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1729.IH H1729

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1 ing to labor standards of sections 513 and 602(b)(6) of 

2 the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1372, 

3 1382(b)(6)) and section 1450(e) of the Safe Drinking 

4 Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300j–9(e)) to projects carried out 

5 under those Acts. 

6 (b) PROJECT LABOR AGREEMENTS.— 

7 (1) CLEAN WATER REVOLVING FUNDS.—Sec8 tion 602(b) of the Federal Water Pollution Control 

9 Act (33 U.S.C. 1382(b)), as amended by section 7, 

10 is further amended by adding at the end the fol11 lowing: 

12 ‘‘(16) the State will— 

13 ‘‘(A) permit recipients of assistance under 

14 this title to enter into agreements authorized 

15 under section 8(f) of the National Labor Rela16 tions Act (commonly known as ‘project labor 

17 agreements’) with respect to projects for build18 ing or construction carried out with such assist19 ance; and 

20 ‘‘(B) ensure that, to the maximum extent 

21 practicable, recipients of assistance under this 

22 title carry out such projects through the use of 

23 such agreements.’’. 


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1 (2) DRINKING WATER REVOLVING FUNDS.— 

2 Section 1452 of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 

3 U.S.C. 300j–12) is amended— 

4 (A) in subsection (a), by adding at the end 

5 the following: 

6 ‘‘(7) PROJECT LABOR AGREEMENTS.—Each 

7 agreement under this subsection shall require that 

8 the State permit recipients of assistance under this 

9 section to enter into agreements authorized under 

10 section 8(f) of the National Labor Relations Act 

11 (commonly known as ‘project labor agreements’) 

12 with respect to projects for building or construction 

13 carried out with such assistance.’’; and 

14 (B) in subsection (b)(3)(A)— 

15 (i) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘; and’’ 

16 and inserting a semicolon; 

17 (ii) in clause (iii), by striking the pe18 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

19 (iii) by adding at the end the fol20 lowing: 

21 ‘‘(iv) with respect to projects for 

22 building or construction, will be carried out 

23 through the use of agreements authorized 

24 under section 8(f) of the National Labor 

25 Relations Act.’’. 


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1 SEC. 9. WATER OPERATOR JOBS TRAINING GRANTS. 

2 Section 414 of the American Competitiveness and 

3 Workforce Improvement Act of 1998 is amended by add4 ing at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(f) WATER OPERATOR JOBS TRAINING GRANTS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than the date 

7 that is 1 year after the date of the enactment of this 

8 section, the Secretary of Labor shall award grants, 

9 on a competitive basis, to eligible entities to provide 

10 job training (including pre-apprenticeships and ap11 prenticeships) and related activities, which are co12 ordinated with the public workforce investment sys13 tem, for workers to assist such workers in obtaining 

14 or upgrading employment in the drinking water, 

15 wastewater (including stormwater), and related sec16 tors. 

17 ‘‘(2) USES OF FUNDS.—Funds under this sec18 tion may be used to provide jobs training services 

19 (including pre-apprenticeships and apprenticeships) 

20 and related activities that are designed to assist 

21 workers (including unemployed and employed work22 ers) in gaining the skills and competencies needed to 

23 obtain or upgrade career ladder employment posi24 tions in the drinking water, wastewater (including 

25 stormwater), and related sectors. 


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1 ‘‘(3) PRIORITIZATION OF FUNDING.—Notwith2 standing any other provision of law and to the ex3 tent that there are sufficient applications for this 

4 purpose, at least 50 percent of the funds awarded to 

5 eligible entities under this subsection shall be used 

6 to carry out the job training services (including pre7 apprenticeships and apprenticeships) and related ac8 tivities described in paragraph (2)— 

9 ‘‘(A) for low- and very low-income persons 

10 residing within the geographical boundaries of 

11 the geographical area to be served by such serv12 ices and activities, which shall include high-pov13 erty, high-unemployment ZIP Codes; 

14 ‘‘(B) for low- and very low-income persons 

15 residing within the metropolitan area or non16 metropolitan county to be served by such serv17 ices and activities; 

18 ‘‘(C) for low- and very low-income persons 

19 residing in a metropolitan area or nonmetropoli20 tan county with significant representation of 

21 communities of color, low-income communities, 

22 or Tribal and indigenous communities, that ex23 periences, or is at risk of experiencing, higher 

24 or more adverse human health or environmental 

25 effects than another such area or county; or 


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1 ‘‘(D) for members of labor unions or work2 er organizations representing the individuals de3 scribed in subparagraphs (A) through (C). 

4 ‘‘(4) NO MATCH REQUIRED.—The Secretary of 

5 Labor may not require the provision of specified lev6 els of a matching share of cash or noncash resources 

7 from resources other than the funds provided under 

8 this section for projects funded under this section. 

9 ‘‘(5) PERFORMANCE ACCOUNTABILITY.—The 

10 Secretary of Labor shall require grantees to report 

11 on the employment outcomes obtained by workers 

12 receiving training under this section using indicators 

13 of performance that are consistent with other indica14 tors used for employment and training programs ad15 ministered by the Secretary, such as entry into em16 ployment, retention in employment, and increases in 

17 earnings. The Secretary of Labor may also require 

18 grantees to participate in evaluations of projects car19 ried out under this section. 

20 ‘‘(6) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

21 ‘‘(A) The term ‘eligible entity’ may include 

22 any of the following: 

23 ‘‘(i) One or more local governments. 

24 ‘‘(ii) One or more State governments. 


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1 ‘‘(iii) One or more nonprofit organiza2 tions. 

3 ‘‘(iv) One or more community-based 

4 organizations. 

5 ‘‘(v) One or more labor unions. 

6 ‘‘(vi) One or more labor-management 

7 organizations. 

8 ‘‘(vii) One or more worker organiza9 tions representing the individuals described 

10 in subparagraphs (A) through (C) of para11 graph (3). 

12 ‘‘(viii) One or more education and 

13 training providers, including community 

14 colleges, Historically Black Colleges and 

15 Universities, a Hispanic-serving institution, 

16 a Tribal College or University, and other 

17 minority-serving institutions listed in sec18 tion 371(a) of the Higher Education Act of 

19 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1067q(a)). 

20 ‘‘(ix) One or more local boards or 

21 State boards (as such terms are defined in 

22 section 3 of the Workforce Innovation and 

23 Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102). 

24 ‘‘(x) One or more Native American 

25 Tribal governments to provide job training 


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1 programs for publicly owned community 

2 water systems (as defined in section 

3 1401(15) of the Safe Drinking Water Act 

4 (42 U.S.C. 300f(15))) and publicly owned 

5 treatment works (as defined in section 212 

6 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act 

7 (33 U.S.C. 1292)). 

8 ‘‘(B) The terms ‘low-income person’ and 

9 ‘very low-income person’ have the same mean10 ings given the terms ‘low-income families’ and 

11 ‘very low-income families’, respectively, in sec12 tion 3(b) of the United States Housing Act of 

13 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b)).’’. 

14 SEC. 10. DRINKING WATER ASSISTANCE TO COLONIAS. 

15 Section 1456 of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 

16 U.S.C. 300j–16) is amended— 

17 (1) in subsection (a)— 

18 (A) by redesignating paragraph (2) as 

19 paragraph (3); and 

20 (B) by inserting after paragraph (1) the 

21 following new paragraph: 

22 ‘‘(2) COVERED ENTITY.—The term ‘covered en23 tity’ means each of the following: 

24 ‘‘(A) A border State. 


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1 ‘‘(B) A local government with jurisdiction 

2 over an eligible community.’’; 

3 (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘border 

4 State’’ and inserting ‘‘covered entity’’; 

5 (3) by striking subsection (d); 

6 (4) by redesignating subsection (e) as sub7 section (d); and 

8 (5) in subsection (d), as so redesignated— 

9 (A) by striking ‘‘$25,000,000’’ and insert10 ing ‘‘$100,000,000’’; and 

11 (B) by striking ‘‘1997 through 1999’’ and 

12 inserting ‘‘2023 through 2027’’. 

Æ 


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