I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2738 

To authorize the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to 

establish a program of awarding grants to owners or operators of water 

systems to increase resiliency or adaptability of the systems to any 

ongoing or forecasted changes to the hydrologic conditions of a region 

of the United States. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

AUGUST 1, 2011 

Mrs. CAPPS (for herself, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. EDWARDS, Mr. CARNAHAN, 

Ms. BERKLEY, Ms. SCHWARTZ, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of 

California, Ms. WOOLSEY, and Ms. LEE of California) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and 

Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce and Natural Resources, 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 authorize the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to establish a program of awarding grants 

to owners or operators of water systems to increase 

resiliency or adaptability of the systems to any ongoing 

or forecasted changes to the hydrologic conditions of 

a region of the United States. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 2738 IH

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Water Infrastructure 

3 Resiliency and Sustainability Act of 2011’’. 

4 SEC. 2. WATER INFRASTRUCTURE RESILIENCY AND SUS5 TAINABILITY. 

6 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

7 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis8 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ9 mental Protection Agency. 

10 (2) HYDROLOGIC CONDITIONS.—The term ‘‘hy11 drologic conditions’’ means the quality, quantity, or 

12 reliability of the water resources of a region of the 

13 United States. 

14 (3) OWNER OR OPERATOR OF A WATER SYS15 TEM.— 

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘owner or 

17 operator of a water system’’ means an entity 

18 (including a regional, State, Tribal, local, mu19 nicipal, or private entity) that owns or operates 

20 a water system. 

21 (B) INCLUSION.—The term ‘‘owner or op22 erator of a water system’’ includes— 

23 (i) a non-Federal entity that has oper24 ational responsibilities for a federally, trib25 ally, or State-owned water system; and 


emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 2738 IH

1 (ii) an entity established by an agree2 ment between— 

3 (I) an entity that owns or oper4 ates a water system; and 

5 (II) at least one other entity. 

6 (4) WATER SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘water sys7 tem’’ means— 

8 (A) a community water system (as defined 

9 in section 1401 of the Safe Drinking Water Act 

10 (42 U.S.C. 300f)); 

11 (B) a treatment works (as defined in sec12 tion 212 of the Federal Water Pollution Control 

13 Act (33 U.S.C. 1292)), including a municipal 

14 separate storm sewer system (as such term is 

15 used in the Federal Water Pollution Control 

16 Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.)); 

17 (C) a decentralized wastewater treatment 

18 system for domestic sewage; 

19 (D) a groundwater storage and replenish20 ment system; 

21 (E) a system for transport and delivery of 

22 water for irrigation or conservation; or 

23 (F) a natural or engineered system that 

24 manages floodwaters. 


emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 2738 IH

1 (b) PROGRAM.—The Administrator shall establish 

2 and implement a program, to be known as the Water In3 frastructure Resiliency and Sustainability Program, under 

4 which the Administrator awards grants in each of fiscal 

5 years 2012 through 2016 to owners or operators of water 

6 systems for the purpose of increasing the resiliency or 

7 adaptability of the systems to any ongoing or forecasted 

8 changes (based on the best available research and data) 

9 to the hydrologic conditions of a region of the United 

10 States. 

11 (c) USE OF FUNDS.—As a condition on receipt of a 

12 grant under this section, an owner or operator of a water 

13 system shall agree to use the grant funds exclusively to 

14 assist in the planning, design, construction, implementa15 tion, operation, or maintenance of a program or project 

16 that meets the purpose described in subsection (b) by— 

17 (1) conserving water or enhancing water use ef18 ficiency, including through the use of water metering 

19 and electronic sensing and control systems to meas20 ure the effectiveness of a water efficiency program; 

21 (2) modifying or relocating existing water sys22 tem infrastructure made or projected to be signifi23 cantly impaired by changing hydrologic conditions; 

24 (3) preserving or improving water quality, in25 cluding through measures to manage, reduce, treat, 


emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 2738 IH

1 or reuse municipal stormwater, wastewater, or 

2 drinking water; 

3 (4) investigating, designing, or constructing 

4 groundwater remediation, recycled water, or desali5 nation facilities or systems to serve existing commu6 nities; 

7 (5) enhancing water management by increasing 

8 watershed preservation and protection, such as 

9 through the use of natural or engineered green in10 frastructure in the management, conveyance, or 

11 treatment of water, wastewater, or stormwater; 

12 (6) enhancing energy efficiency or the use and 

13 generation of renewable energy in the management, 

14 conveyance, or treatment of water, wastewater, or 

15 stormwater; 

16 (7) supporting the adoption and use of ad17 vanced water treatment, water supply management 

18 (such as reservoir reoperation and water banking), 

19 or water demand management technologies, projects, 

20 or processes (such as water reuse and recycling, 

21 adaptive conservation pricing, and groundwater 

22 banking) that maintain or increase water supply or 

23 improve water quality; 

24 (8) modifying or replacing existing systems or 

25 constructing new systems for existing communities 


emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 2738 IH

1 or land currently in agricultural production to im2 prove water supply, reliability, storage, or convey3 ance in a manner that— 

4 (A) promotes conservation or improves the 

5 efficiency of utilization of available water sup6 plies; and 

7 (B) does not further exacerbate stresses on 

8 ecosystems or cause redirected impacts by de9 grading water quality or increasing net green10 house gas emissions; 

11 (9) supporting practices and projects, such as 

12 improved irrigation systems, water banking and 

13 other forms of water transactions, groundwater re14 charge, stormwater capture, groundwater conjunc15 tive use, and reuse or recycling of drainage water, 

16 to improve water quality or promote more efficient 

17 water use on land currently in agricultural produc18 tion; 

19 (10) reducing flood damage, risk, and vulner20 ability by— 

21 (A) restoring floodplains, wetlands, and 

22 uplands integral to flood management, protec23 tion, prevention, and response; 

24 (B) modifying levees, floodwalls, and other 

25 structures through setbacks, notches, gates, reVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:10 Aug 02, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2738.IH H2738

emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 2738 IH

1 moval, or similar means to facilitate reconnec2 tion of rivers to floodplains, reduce flood stage 

3 height, and reduce damage to properties and 

4 populations; 

5 (C) providing for acquisition and easement 

6 of flood-prone lands and properties in order to 

7 reduce damage to property and risk to popu8 lations; or 

9 (D) promoting land use planning that pre10 vents future floodplain development; 

11 (11) conducting and completing studies or as12 sessments to project how changing hydrologic condi13 tions may impact the future operations and sustain14 ability of water systems; or 

15 (12) developing and implementing measures to 

16 increase the resilience of water systems and regional 

17 and hydrological basins, including the Colorado 

18 River Basin, to rapid hydrologic change or a natural 

19 disaster (such as tsunami, earthquake, flood, or vol20 canic eruption). 

21 (d) APPLICATION.—To seek a grant under this sec22 tion, the owner or operator of a water system shall submit 

23 to the Administrator an application that— 

24 (1) includes a proposal of the program, strat25 egy, or infrastructure improvement to be planned, 


emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 2738 IH

1 designed, constructed, implemented, or maintained 

2 by the water system; 

3 (2) cites the best available research or data that 

4 demonstrate— 

5 (A) the risk to the water resources or in6 frastructure of the water system as a result of 

7 ongoing or forecasted changes to the 

8 hydrological system of a region, including rising 

9 sea levels and changes in precipitation patterns; 

10 and 

11 (B) how the proposed program, strategy, 

12 or infrastructure improvement would perform 

13 under the anticipated hydrologic conditions; 

14 (3) explains how the proposed program, strat15 egy, or infrastructure improvement is expected— 

16 (A) to enhance the resiliency of the water 

17 system, including source water protection for 

18 community water systems, to the anticipated 

19 hydrologic conditions; or 

20 (B) to increase efficiency in the use of en21 ergy or water of the water system; and 

22 (4) describes how the proposed program, strat23 egy, or infrastructure improvement is consistent with 

24 an applicable State, tribe, or local climate adaptation 

25 plan, if any. 


emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with BILLS
9 

•HR 2738 IH

1 (e) PRIORITY.— 

2 (1) WATER SYSTEMS AT GREATEST AND MOST

3 IMMEDIATE RISK.—In selecting grantees under this 

4 section, subject to subsection (h)(2), the Adminis5 trator shall give priority to owners or operators of 

6 water systems that are, based on the best available 

7 research and data, at the greatest and most imme8 diate risk of facing significant negative impacts due 

9 to changing hydrologic conditions. 

10 (2) GOALS.—In selecting among applicants de11 scribed in paragraph (1), the Administrator shall en12 sure that, to the maximum extent practicable, the 

13 final list of applications funded for each year in14 cludes a substantial number that propose to utilize 

15 innovative approaches to meet one or more of the 

16 following goals: 

17 (A) Promoting more efficient water use, 

18 water conservation, water reuse, or recycling. 

19 (B) Using decentralized, low-impact devel20 opment technologies and nonstructural ap21 proaches, including practices that use, enhance, 

22 or mimic the natural hydrological cycle or pro23 tect natural flows. 


emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with BILLS
10 

•HR 2738 IH

1 (C) Reducing stormwater runoff or flood2 ing by protecting or enhancing natural eco3 system functions. 

4 (D) Modifying, upgrading, enhancing, or 

5 replacing existing water system infrastructure 

6 in response to changing hydrologic conditions. 

7 (E) Improving water quality or quantity 

8 for agricultural and municipal uses, including 

9 through salinity reduction. 

10 (F) Providing multiple benefits, including 

11 to water supply enhancement or demand reduc12 tion, water quality protection or improvement, 

13 increased flood protection, and ecosystem pro14 tection or improvement. 

15 (f) COST-SHARING.— 

16 (1) FEDERAL SHARE.—The share of the cost of 

17 any program, strategy, or infrastructure improve18 ment that is the subject of a grant awarded by the 

19 Administrator to the owner or operator of a water 

20 system under subsection (b) paid through funds dis21 tributed under this section shall not exceed 50 per22 cent of the cost of the program, strategy, or infra23 structure improvement. 

24 (2) CALCULATION OF NON-FEDERAL SHARE.— 

25 In calculating the non-Federal share of the cost of 


emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with BILLS
11 

•HR 2738 IH

1 a program, strategy, or infrastructure improvement 

2 proposed by a water system in an application sub3 mitted under subsection (d), the Administrator 

4 shall— 

5 (A) include the value of any in-kind serv6 ices that are integral to the completion of the 

7 program, strategy, or infrastructure improve8 ment, including reasonable administrative and 

9 overhead costs; and 

10 (B) not include any other amount that the 

11 water system involved receives from the Federal 

12 Government. 

13 (g) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 3 years 

14 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and every 3 

15 years thereafter, the Administrator shall submit to the 

16 Congress a report on progress in implementing this sec17 tion, including information on project applications received 

18 and funded annually. 

19 (h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—To carry out this section, 

21 there is authorized to be appropriated $50,000,000 

22 for each of fiscal years 2012 through 2016. 

23 (2) LIMITATION.—Of the amount made avail24 able to carry out this section for a fiscal year, not 

25 more than 20 percent may be made available to 


emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with BILLS
12 

•HR 2738 IH

1 grantees for activities described in subsection (c)(10) 

2 (relating to reducing flood damage, risk, and vulner3 ability). 

Æ 


emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with BILLS