II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 896 

To establish centers of excellence for innovative stormwater control 

infrastructure, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 13, 2015 

Mr. UDALL (for himself 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 centers of excellence for innovative stormwater 

control infrastructure, 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 ‘‘Innovative Stormwater 

5 Infrastructure Act of 2015’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 

8 (1) many water resources in the United States 

9 are declining, particularly in urban and agricultural 

10 areas; 

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1 (2) the decline of water resources is the result 

2 of— 

3 (A) an increase in population, water con4 sumption, and impermeable surfaces; and 

5 (B) the negative effects of urbanization, 

6 commercial and industrial activities, and in7 creasing and persistent droughts; and 

8 (3) an October 2008 study by the National Re9 search Council found that some of the benefits of in10 novative stormwater control infrastructure include— 

11 (A) increased water supplies; 

12 (B) the creation of jobs; 

13 (C) cost savings; and 

14 (D) a reduction of stormwater runoff, sur15 face water discharge, stormwater pollution, and 

16 stormwater flows to protect and restore natural 

17 hydrology, meeting local conditions to the max18 imum extent feasible. 

19 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

20 In this Act: 

21 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis22 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ23 mental Protection Agency. 

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1 (2) CENTER.—The term ‘‘center’’ means a cen2 ter of excellence for innovative stormwater control 

3 infrastructure established under section 4(a). 

4 (3) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti5 ty’’ means— 

6 (A) a State, tribal, or local government; or 

7 (B) a local, regional, or other entity that 

8 manages stormwater, drinking water resources, 

9 or wastewater resources. 

10 (4) ELIGIBLE INSTITUTION.— 

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘eligible in12 stitution’’ means an institution of higher edu13 cation (as defined in section 101 of the Higher 

14 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001)), or a 

15 research institution, that has demonstrated ex16 cellence in innovative stormwater control infra17 structure by— 

18 (i) conducting research on innovative 

19 stormwater control infrastructure to deter20 mine the means by which innovative infra21 structure reduces stormwater runoff, en22 hances and protects drinking water 

23 sources, and improves water quality; 

24 (ii) developing and disseminating in25 formation regarding the means by which 

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1 an organization can use innovative 

2 stormwater control infrastructure; 

3 (iii) providing technical assistance to 

4 an organization for an innovative 

5 stormwater control infrastructure project; 

6 (iv) developing best practices stand7 ards for innovative stormwater control in8 frastructure; 

9 (v) providing job training relating to 

10 innovative stormwater control infrastruc11 ture; 

12 (vi) developing course curricula for— 

13 (I) elementary schools (as defined 

14 in section 9101 of the Elementary and 

15 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

16 U.S.C. 7801)); 

17 (II) secondary schools (as defined 

18 in that section); 

19 (III) institutions of higher edu20 cation (as defined in section 101 of 

21 the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

22 U.S.C. 1001)); or 

23 (IV) vocational schools; 

24 (vii) training students regarding inno25 vative stormwater control infrastructure; or 

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1 (viii) providing information to the 

2 Federal Government or State, tribal, and 

3 local governments regarding the implemen4 tation of innovative stormwater control in5 frastructure. 

6 (B) ASSOCIATED DEFINITION.—For pur7 poses of subparagraph (A), the term ‘‘research 

8 institution’’ means an entity that is— 

9 (i) described in section 501(c)(3) of 

10 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; 

11 (ii) exempt from tax under section 

12 501(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

13 1986; and 

14 (iii) organized and operated for re15 search purposes. 

16 (5) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ 

17 has the meaning given the term in section 518(h) of 

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

19 1377(h)). 

20 (6) INNOVATIVE STORMWATER CONTROL INFRA21 STRUCTURE.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘innovative 

23 stormwater control infrastructure’’ means any 

24 green infrastructure stormwater management 

25 technique that— 

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1 (i) uses natural systems or engineered 

2 systems that mimic natural processes to 

3 infiltrate, evapotranspire, or capture 

4 stormwater; and 

5 (ii) preserves, enhances, or mimics 

6 natural hydrology to protect or restore 

7 water quality. 

8 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘innovative 

9 stormwater control infrastructure’’ includes— 

10 (i) methods that promote absorption, 

11 uptake, percolation, evapotranspiration, 

12 and filtration by soil and plant life; and 

13 (ii) the preservation or restoration 

14 of— 

15 (I) natural topography, including 

16 hills, plains, ravines, and shorelines; 

17 (II) interconnected networks of 

18 natural land that protect essential ec19 ological functions critical for water 

20 quality; 

21 (III) ecological function, includ22 ing forests, grasslands, and deserts; 

23 (IV) bodies of water, including 

24 lakes, flood plains, headwaters, and 

25 wetlands; and 

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1 (V) native soil characteristics of 

2 composition, structure, and 

3 transmissivity. 

4 (7) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means— 

5 (A) each of the several States of the 

6 United States; 

7 (B) the District of Columbia; 

8 (C) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; 

9 (D) Guam; 

10 (E) American Samoa; 

11 (F) the Commonwealth of the Northern 

12 Mariana Islands; 

13 (G) the Federated States of Micronesia; 

14 (H) the Republic of the Marshall Islands; 

15 (I) the Republic of Palau; and 

16 (J) the United States Virgin Islands. 

17 SEC. 4. CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE FOR INNOVATIVE 

18 STORMWATER CONTROL INFRASTRUCTURE. 

19 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF CENTERS.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall pro21 vide grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible insti22 tutions to establish and maintain not less than 3, 

23 and not more than 5, centers of excellence for inno24 vative stormwater control infrastructure, to be lomstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 cated in various regions throughout the United 

2 States. 

3 (2) GENERAL OPERATION.—Each center 

4 shall— 

5 (A) conduct research on innovative 

6 stormwater control infrastructure that is rel7 evant to the geographical region in which the 

8 center is located, including stormwater and 

9 sewer overflow reduction, other approaches to 

10 water resource enhancement, and other environ11 mental, economic, and social benefits; 

12 (B) develop manuals and establish industry 

13 standards on best management practices relat14 ing to State, tribal, local, and commercial inno15 vative stormwater control infrastructure for use 

16 by State, tribal, and local governments and the 

17 private sector; 

18 (C) develop and administer testing and 

19 evaluation protocols to measure and verify the 

20 performance of stormwater infrastructure prod21 ucts and practices; 

22 (D) provide information regarding research 

23 conducted under subparagraph (A), manuals 

24 developed under subparagraph (B), and testing 

25 and evaluation performed under subparagraph 

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1 (C) to the national electronic clearinghouse cen2 ter for publication on the Internet website es3 tablished under subsection (c) to provide to the 

4 Federal Government and State, tribal, and local 

5 governments and the private sector information 

6 regarding innovative stormwater control infra7 structure; 

8 (E) provide technical assistance to State, 

9 tribal, and local governments to assist with the 

10 construction, operation, and maintenance of in11 novative stormwater control infrastructure 

12 projects; 

13 (F) collaborate with institutions of higher 

14 education and private and public organizations 

15 in the geographical region in which the center 

16 is located on innovative stormwater control in17 frastructure research and technical assistance 

18 projects; 

19 (G) assist institutions of higher education, 

20 secondary schools, and vocational schools to de21 velop innovative stormwater control infrastruc22 ture curricula; 

23 (H) provide training regarding innovative 

24 stormwater control infrastructure to institutions 

25 of higher education and professional schools; 

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1 (I) evaluate regulatory and policy issues 

2 relating to innovative stormwater control infra3 structure; and 

4 (J) coordinate with the other centers to 

5 avoid duplication of efforts. 

6 (b) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a grant 

7 under this section, an eligible institution shall prepare and 

8 submit to the Administrator an application at such a time, 

9 in such form, and containing such information as the Ad10 ministrator may require. 

11 (c) NATIONAL ELECTRONIC CLEARINGHOUSE CEN12 TER.—Of the centers established under subsection (a)(1), 

13 1 shall— 

14 (1) be designated as the ‘‘national electronic 

15 clearinghouse center’’; and 

16 (2) in addition to the other functions of that 

17 center— 

18 (A) develop, operate, and maintain an 

19 Internet website and a public database that 

20 contain information relating to innovative 

21 stormwater control infrastructure; and 

22 (B) post to the website information from 

23 all centers. 

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1 SEC. 5. INNOVATIVE STORMWATER CONTROL INFRASTRUC2 TURE PROJECT GRANTS. 

3 (a) GRANT AUTHORITY.—The Administrator shall 

4 provide grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible entities 

5 to carry out innovative stormwater control infrastructure 

6 projects in accordance with this section. 

7 (b) INNOVATIVE STORMWATER CONTROL INFRA8 STRUCTURE PROJECTS.— 

9 (1) PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT GRANTS.— 

10 The Administrator may make planning and develop11 ment grants under this section for the following 

12 projects: 

13 (A) Planning and designing innovative 

14 stormwater control infrastructure projects, in15 cluding engineering surveys, landscape plans, 

16 maps, and implementation plans. 

17 (B) Identifying and developing standards 

18 and revisions to local zoning, building, or other 

19 local codes necessary to accommodate innova20 tive stormwater control infrastructure projects. 

21 (C) Identifying and developing fee struc22 tures to provide financial support for design, in23 stallation, and operations and maintenance of 

24 innovative stormwater control infrastructure. 

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1 (D) Developing training and educational 

2 materials regarding innovative stormwater con3 trol infrastructure for distribution to— 

4 (i) individuals and entities with appli5 cable technical knowledge; and 

6 (ii) the public. 

7 (E) Developing an innovative stormwater 

8 control infrastructure portfolio standard pro9 gram described in section 6(e). 

10 (2) IMPLEMENTATION GRANTS.—The Adminis11 trator may make implementation grants under this 

12 section for the following projects: 

13 (A) Installing innovative stormwater con14 trol infrastructure. 

15 (B) Protecting or restoring interconnected 

16 networks of natural areas that protect water 

17 quality. 

18 (C) Monitoring and evaluating the environ19 mental, economic, or social benefits of innova20 tive stormwater control infrastructure. 

21 (D) Implementing a best practices stand22 ard for an innovative stormwater control infra23 structure program. 

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1 (E) Implementing an innovative 

2 stormwater control infrastructure portfolio 

3 standard program described in section 6(e). 

4 (c) APPLICATION.—Except as otherwise provided in 

5 this Act, to be eligible to receive a grant under this section, 

6 an eligible entity shall prepare and submit to the Adminis7 trator an application at such time, in such form, and con8 taining such information as the Administrator may re9 quire, including, as applicable— 

10 (1) a description of the innovative stormwater 

11 control infrastructure project; 

12 (2) a plan for monitoring the impacts of the in13 novative stormwater control infrastructure project 

14 on the water quality and quantity; 

15 (3) an evaluation of other environmental, eco16 nomic, and social benefits of the innovative 

17 stormwater control infrastructure project; and 

18 (4) a plan for the long-term operation and 

19 maintenance of the innovative stormwater control in20 frastructure project. 

21 (d) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT FOR INNOVATIVE

22 STORMWATER CONTROL INFRASTRUCTURE PORTFOLIO

23 STANDARD PROJECT.—In addition to an application 

24 under subsection (c), a State or Indian tribe applying for 

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1 ture portfolio standard program described in section 6(e) 

2 shall prepare and submit to the Administrator a schedule 

3 of increasing minimum percentages of the annual water 

4 to be managed using innovative stormwater control infra5 structure under the program. 

6 (e) PRIORITY.—In making grants under this section, 

7 the Administrator shall give priority to applications sub8 mitted on behalf of— 

9 (1) a community that— 

10 (A) has combined storm and sanitary sew11 ers in the collection system of the community; 

12 or 

13 (B) is a low-income or disadvantaged com14 munity, as determined by the Administrator; or 

15 (2) an eligible entity that will use not less than 

16 10 percent of the grant to provide service to a low17 income or disadvantaged community, as determined 

18 by the Administrator. 

19 (f) MAXIMUM AMOUNTS.— 

20 (1) PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT GRANTS.— 

21 (A) SINGLE GRANT.—The amount of a sin22 gle planning and development grant provided 

23 under this section shall be not more than 

24 $200,000. 

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1 (B) AGGREGATE AMOUNT.—The total 

2 amount of all planning and development grants 

3 provided under this section for a fiscal year 

shall be not more than 1 4 ⁄3 of the total amount 

5 made available to carry out this section. 

6 (2) IMPLEMENTATION GRANTS.— 

7 (A) SINGLE GRANT.—The amount of a sin8 gle implementation grant provided under this 

9 section shall be not more than $3,000,000. 

10 (B) AGGREGATE AMOUNT.—The total 

11 amount of all implementation grants provided 

12 under this section for a fiscal year shall be not 

more than 2 13 ⁄3 of the total amount made avail14 able to carry out this section. 

15 (g) FEDERAL SHARE.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para17 graph (3), the Federal share of a grant provided 

18 under this section shall not exceed 65 percent of the 

19 total project cost. 

20 (2) CREDIT FOR IMPLEMENTATION GRANTS.— 

21 The Administrator shall credit toward the non-Fed22 eral share of the cost of an implementation project 

23 carried out under this section the cost of planning, 

24 design, and construction work completed for the 

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1 project using funds other than funds provided under 

2 this Act. 

3 (3) EXCEPTION.—The Administrator may waive 

4 the Federal share limitation under paragraph (1) for 

5 an eligible entity that has adequately demonstrated 

6 financial need. 

7 SEC. 6. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY INNOVA8 TIVE STORMWATER CONTROL INFRASTRUC9 TURE PROMOTION. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall ensure 

11 that the Office of Water, the Office of Enforcement and 

12 Compliance, the Office of Research and Development, and 

13 the Office of Policy of the Environmental Protection Agen14 cy promote the use of innovative stormwater control infra15 structure in and coordinate the integration of innovative 

16 stormwater control infrastructure into permitting pro17 grams, planning efforts, research, technical assistance, 

18 and funding guidance. 

19 (b) DUTIES.—The Administrator shall ensure that 

20 the Office of Water— 

21 (1) promotes the use of innovative stormwater 

22 control infrastructure in the programs of the Envi23 ronmental Protection Agency; 

24 (2) supports establishing public-private partner25 ships and other innovative financing mechanisms in 

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1 the implementation of innovative stormwater control 

2 infrastructure; and 

3 (3) coordinates efforts to increase the use of in4 novative stormwater control infrastructure with— 

5 (A) other Federal departments and agen6 cies; 

7 (B) State, tribal, and local governments; 

8 and 

9 (C) the private sector. 

10 (c) REGIONAL INNOVATIVE STORMWATER CONTROL

11 INFRASTRUCTURE PROMOTION.—The Administrator shall 

12 direct each regional office of the Environmental Protection 

13 Agency, as appropriate based on local factors, to promote 

14 and integrate the use of innovative stormwater control in15 frastructure within the region that includes— 

16 (1) a plan for monitoring, financing, mapping, 

17 and designing the innovative stormwater control in18 frastructure; 

19 (2) outreach and training regarding innovative 

20 stormwater control infrastructure implementation 

21 for State, tribal, and local governments, tribal com22 munities, and the private sector; and 

23 (3) the incorporation of innovative stormwater 

24 control infrastructure into permitting and other reg25 ulatory programs, codes, and ordinance development, 

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1 including the requirements under consent decrees 

2 and settlement agreements in enforcement actions. 

3 (d) INNOVATIVE STORMWATER CONTROL INFRA4 STRUCTURE INFORMATION-SHARING.—The Administrator 

5 shall promote innovative stormwater control infrastructure 

6 information-sharing, including through an Internet 

7 website, to share information with, and provide technical 

8 assistance to, State, tribal, and local governments, tribal 

9 communities, the private sector, and the public regarding 

10 innovative stormwater control infrastructure approaches 

11 for— 

12 (1) reducing water pollution; 

13 (2) protecting water resources; 

14 (3) complying with regulatory requirements; 

15 and 

16 (4) achieving other environmental, public 

17 health, and community goals. 

18 (e) INNOVATIVE STORMWATER CONTROL INFRA19 STRUCTURE PORTFOLIO STANDARD.—The Administrator, 

20 in collaboration with State, tribal, and local water resource 

21 managers, shall establish voluntary measurable goals, to 

22 be known as the ‘‘innovative stormwater control infra23 structure portfolio standard’’, to increase the percentage 

24 of annual water managed by eligible entities that use inno25 vative stormwater control infrastructure. 

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1 SEC. 7. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 

2 Not later than September 30, 2019, the Adminis3 trator shall submit to Congress a report that includes, 

4 with respect to the period covered by the report— 

5 (1) a description of all grants provided under 

6 this Act; 

7 (2) a detailed description of— 

8 (A) the projects supported by those grants; 

9 and 

10 (B) the outcomes of those projects; 

11 (3) a description of the improvements in tech12 nology, environmental benefits, resources conserved, 

13 efficiencies, and other benefits of the projects funded 

14 under this Act; 

15 (4) recommendations for improvements to pro16 mote and support innovative stormwater control in17 frastructure for the centers, grants, and activities 

18 under this Act; and 

19 (5) a description of existing challenges con20 cerning the use of innovative stormwater control in21 frastructure. 

22 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

23 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

24 this Act such sums as are necessary for each of fiscal 

25 years 2016 through 2021. 

Æ 

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